# v-brake bosses removal



## PissedOffCil (Oct 18, 2007)

Hello there,
Last year I changed my brakes from rim to disc. This year I finished changing parts on the same bike and when it was all done with I looked at the bike I figured I might as well have it repainted since only the paint (and frame) is still from factory on that bike. The v-brake bosses are still on the frame (of course) which causes the disc brake cable housing to be "pushed aside". Since I'm thinking of repainting the frame I'd like to remove the bosses prior to doing so. Is this possible and what would be the best way to do this? The frame is a 2003 Norco Strom (7006 aluminium I think) by the way!

Thanks


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## pvd (Jan 4, 2006)

sell the frame and buy what you want. modifying it and repainting is a poor investment. If they frame has no resale value and you really love it, then hack saw those puppies off (clean up with file) and paint it up. my local powdercoat place does a frame and fork for $120 or a frame for $110.


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## PissedOffCil (Oct 18, 2007)

pvd said:


> sell the frame and buy what you want. modifying it and repainting is a poor investment. If they frame has no resale value and you really love it, then hack saw those puppies off (clean up with file) and paint it up. my local powdercoat place does a frame and fork for $120 or a frame for $110.


I want to have it repainted cause I came up with a drawing I want airbrushed on the frame. Plus I'm really happy with the frame's geometry and see no point in changing it. Can removing the bosses with a hack saw make the frame weaker where the bosses were?


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## Walt (Jan 23, 2004)

*Hack 'em.*

How else are you going to remove them? Plasma cutter?

Sorry, couldn't help it. I agree with PVD - either ignore it and ride (cost: $0) or hack/file the studs off and paint as many flaming skulls and naked ladies on there as you want (cost: any semblance of good taste you might still have, unless you're a former GnR roadie, in which case you rule).

-Walt



PissedOffCil said:


> I want to have it repainted cause I came up with a drawing I want airbrushed on the frame. Plus I'm really happy with the frame's geometry and see no point in changing it. Can removing the bosses with a hack saw make the frame weaker where the bosses were?


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## PissedOffCil (Oct 18, 2007)

Walt said:


> How else are you going to remove them? Plasma cutter?
> 
> Sorry, couldn't help it. I agree with PVD - either ignore it and ride (cost: $0) or hack/file the studs off and paint as many flaming skulls and naked ladies on there as you want (cost: any semblance of good taste you might still have, unless you're a former GnR roadie, in which case you rule).
> 
> -Walt


Yes i could simply ignore it, of course. I wonder how much it affects my rear brake though and since it's a pretty small job anyways I'll probably give it a go. To be honest I was thinking of grinding it off rather that cutting it with a hacksaw. As for the drawing it's a tribute to my father which bought me the bike in the first place and has died since. Simple payback with lots of skulls of course! No naked ladies though...


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## vmajor (Oct 1, 2007)

Eh, unless your frame is something really special, the bosses are simply screwed into the frame. Get a large adjustable wrench, locate the squared off sections of the bosses, apply wrench, and presto, bosses come off!

However, you will be left with large holes in the frame, however these will be flush with the frame rather than sticking out.

I have removed the bosses both from the frame and my new fork this way. 

V.


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## PissedOffCil (Oct 18, 2007)

vmajor said:


> Eh, unless your frame is something really special, the bosses are simply screwed into the frame. Get a large adjustable wrench, locate the squared off sections of the bosses, apply wrench, and presto, bosses come off!
> 
> However, you will be left with large holes in the frame, however these will be flush with the frame rather than sticking out.
> 
> ...


Actually they're welded into the frame... I think I'll e-mail Norco to know if it's safe... I wonder if I'll have an answer


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## Walt (Jan 23, 2004)

*What?*

The boss being there affects your rear disc brake in absolutely no way. Removing it will make no functional difference.

If you want to grind it, you'll need a belt sander of some kind. Angle grinder wheels are usually meant for ferrous metals, and if you use them on AL, you're running the risk of heating them up until they explode. Which would be bad.

Let us know what you find out.

-Walt



PissedOffCil said:


> Yes i could simply ignore it, of course. I wonder how much it affects my rear brake though and since it's a pretty small job anyways I'll probably give it a go. To be honest I was thinking of grinding it off rather that cutting it with a hacksaw. As for the drawing it's a tribute to my father which bought me the bike in the first place and has died since. Simple payback with lots of skulls of course! No naked ladies though...


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## PissedOffCil (Oct 18, 2007)

Walt said:


> The boss being there affects your rear disc brake in absolutely no way. Removing it will make no functional difference.
> 
> If you want to grind it, you'll need a belt sander of some kind. Angle grinder wheels are usually meant for ferrous metals, and if you use them on AL, you're running the risk of heating them up until they explode. Which would be bad.
> 
> ...


It's true that it doesn't really push the housing a lot but I still prefer to do a clean job while I'm at it. I prefer cutting them (rather than grinding) to be honest so I just wrote to Norco and I'll wait for their reply.


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## dumper (Feb 15, 2004)

*I sure wish my latest frame (Giant Anthem)*

HAD v-brake bosses in the rear (the screw-in type). I still prefer v-brakes. Except for this week, it never rains here and I don't use the bike for DH. You may want to leave the bosses on your bike, because one day it may become your back-up, or liquor store bike, and no need to have discs for that...


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## pvd (Jan 4, 2006)

PissedOffCil said:


> I just wrote to Norco and I'll wait for their reply.


All companies will reply to not modify their product. Screw 'em. Hacksaw and file. It will take you 10 minutes. If you do a carefull job, nobody will know they were there after paint.



vmajor said:


> the bosses are simply screwed into the frame.


No, the bosses are welded to the frame and the posts are screwed into the bosses.


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## Treybiker (Jan 6, 2004)

One thing. Norco (if they respond) is going to advise aganist you modifying anything on their frame due to liability purposes. I think its better to just either blow it off or get a new frame. 

And I agree with Walt. Unless you were a GnR roadie........


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## Squash (Jul 20, 2003)

*Hold on a sec guys.....*

I think there is some confusion in terminology here. Brake bosses are welded to the frame and cannot be removed with out destroying the integrity of the seat stays. It probably could be done with VERY carefull low speed griding and filing. But I wouldn't trust a stay that this had been done to. What several previous posters are refering to as "bosses" are Brake Mount Studs. These are the posts that are screwed into the the threaded bosses and in turn the brakes are mounted to. They can (in nost cases) be removed with a wrench. But that's not what the OP is talking about.

To the OP, if you intend on riding the bike after it's been painted etc. I'd highly recommend leaving the bosses as they are. Like I said above, it could possibly be done, however it would be WAY too easy to take out a bit too much material and weaken the stays. If you were just going to use it as a show piece then I'd say fine, gind em a bit, file em down, and sand em smooth. But if you intend to ride the bike afterwards, leave them alone. The integity of those stays is much more important than looks.

Good Dirt


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## PissedOffCil (Oct 18, 2007)

Squash said:


> I think there is some confusion in terminology here. Brake bosses are welded to the frame and cannot be removed with out destroying the integrity of the seat stays. It probably could be done with VERY carefull low speed griding and filing. But I wouldn't trust a stay that this had been done to. What several previous posters are refering to as "bosses" are Brake Mount Studs. These are the posts that are screwed into the the threaded bosses and in turn the brakes are mounted to. They can (in nost cases) be removed with a wrench. But that's not what the OP is talking about.
> 
> To the OP, if you intend on riding the bike after it's been painted etc. I'd highly recommend leaving the bosses as they are. Like I said above, it could possibly be done, however it would be WAY too easy to take out a bit too much material and weaken the stays. If you were just going to use it as a show piece then I'd say fine, gind em a bit, file em down, and sand em smooth. But if you intend to ride the bike afterwards, leave them alone. The integity of those stays is much more important than looks.
> 
> Good Dirt


I think you got it right on here and thanks for the info. English is not my native language so I can sometimes get confused with terminology. What I'm talking about is really the bosses that are welded on the frame. The brake mount studs have been removed (of course, no point in having them stick out) and so you answered my concerns regarding the weakness that I might introduce by taking them off. Since I will ride the bike I think I'll just let them as they are. Still I'll see what Norco answers and post if they say it's fine just so others know about it. Thanks for the help! :thumbsup:


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Wow! You guys never do anything to your bikes "just because"? POC, I can`t say what would happen as far as the structural integrity of your frame, but your reasons sound good enough to me, for whatever that`s worth.


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## PissedOffCil (Oct 18, 2007)

rodar y rodar said:


> Wow! You guys never do anything to your bikes "just because"? POC, I can`t say what would happen as far as the structural integrity of your frame, but your reasons sound good enough to me, for whatever that`s worth.


I'll take this as some support!!! hehehehehe

As far as the frame's integrity isn't compromised I'll remove the bosses whatever people might think of it... last of my concerns really!


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## pvd (Jan 4, 2006)

removing the bosses will not reduce your frames strength one bit. don't worry about it.


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## PissedOffCil (Oct 18, 2007)

pvd said:


> removing the bosses will not reduce your frames strength one bit. don't worry about it.


Who to believe? Concerns concerns... :madman:


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## Schmucker (Aug 23, 2007)

If you have to ask, don't do it. If it was steel, I'd say go for it regardless of your skill level, but I'm always hesitant to do anything with aluminum.


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## pvd (Jan 4, 2006)

why?


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## PissedOffCil (Oct 18, 2007)

I'm looking at the bosses right now and I wonder how removing the bosses could possibly weaken the frame. I mean the bosses are simply welded onto the tubes so as far as I only sand off the welds I cannot see how a weakness would be introduced. The bosses don't seem to fill a hole in the tubes, they're just sitting on top of them so I suppose it's safe. Am I right?

P.S. Norco answered I'd void my warranty by doing this. Of course they didn't answer my question at all and who cares about the warranty anyways?


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## cornholio666 (Apr 1, 2007)

> If you want to grind it, you'll need a belt sander of some kind. Angle grinder wheels are usually meant for ferrous metals, and if you use them on AL, you're running the risk of heating them up until they explode. Which would be bad.


I can't agree with this. I used to grind welds smooth on 100s of aluminum frames for awnings, and I had no problems using an angle grinder.


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## j e SS e (Dec 24, 2007)

Dremel. 

I find it had to believe that cutting/grinding/sawing/filing that little bit of material will get it hot enough to weaken it; it's already been welded. You think you can file fast enough to reach welding temps? Now sure, if you're laying into a 1/2 ton I-beam for 15 minutes with an angle grinder, it's gonna get red hot. But that simply isn't the case here. 

If you do it carefully enough, and this is key to brake boss removal (as I've done a few  ) you will only be grinding/filing the weld, not the actual tubing.


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## Fulton (Feb 6, 2004)

I've done it on 2 aluminum frames. one gt sts, and an old cpc fs frame. hacksaw, dremel, file, and sand smooth. both frames are still being ridden. Just take your time, go slow, as this will keep you from getting the metal hot, and reduce the risk of you taking off any seatstay material.


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## PissedOffCil (Oct 18, 2007)

Thanks Jesse and Fulton. I'm glad to see people have been doing this successfully so I'll probably go on with this project.


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## grundy (Jan 12, 2004)

pvd said:


> sell the frame and buy what you want. modifying it and repainting is a poor investment. If they frame has no resale value and you really love it, then hack saw those puppies off (clean up with file) and paint it up. my local powdercoat place does a frame and fork for $120 or a frame for $110.


Who is your local powdercoater? at that price, I might just have drop a frame off!


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## pvd (Jan 4, 2006)

Poly Engineering in Richmond, CA. SF Bay area.

Their paintjobs are not perfect, but an excellent bargain if you are primairily looking for rustproofing and a color. A show quality job will cost you a lot more money somewhere else.


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## ong (Jun 26, 2006)

Class Act Coatings in Portland, OR, does a really nice job for $125 for a frame and fork... I have used them a couple of times for restorations on old steel frames.


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## grundy (Jan 12, 2004)

pvd said:


> Poly Engineering in Richmond, CA. SF Bay area.
> 
> Their paintjobs are not perfect, but an excellent bargain if you are primairily looking for rustproofing and a color. A show quality job will cost you a lot more money somewhere else.


thanks, that's close to me too.

I'm looking for a bargain paint job for a cheap frame, sounds like they fit the bill.


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