Changing the front brake rotor from a 180mm to a 160mm one.

As supplied, my new bike was fitted with a 180mm rotor on the front and a 160mm on the rear. I know down-hillers and free-riders will laugh at me but I find the front brake too powerful for my mainly road-based type of riding. Also, and call me picky if you will, I thought the adaptor the 180mm required on the fork was a bit ugly and the mismatched rotor sizes looked a bit odd on a cross-country bike.

Finding an Avid HS1 rotor on ebay was a pretty easy job so when it arrived, I had a crack at fitting it. It looked like a simple job until I hit that "Arse!" moment and realised I'd need shorter bolts... A quick trawl of the 'net was surprisingly hopeless in terms of finding which parts I would need. I found an Avid bolt kit at a local bike shop and after a long trip there and back, the fitting kit was useless! A search on ebay for Avid bolts found no steel ones but a guy selling kits of four titanium bolts described as  'm6 x 29mm for Avid brakes'. In a flash of inspiration, I took a bolt out of my rear brake and mic'd it - 29mm! I ordered a set and they were perfect!

The brakes aren't run in yet obviously but a few spins up and down the road suggest they're going to be great, lots of control without the power of the 180mm rotor. Oh, and I think it looks better too and we all know titanium makes your bike faster!