MTB Disc Brake Purchase Advice....
Discussion
I’m after some advice on a new set of disc brakes for my Cannondale.
Fitted with a set of Juicy 3’s from new, they were crap to start with and 5 years and a lot of nursing later I’ve finally given up on getting the rear to work anymore. One of the pistons which regularly sticks, had decided it just wasn’t going to budge – no matter how much I tried. Saturday morning started badly having found a dirty great patch of oil under my new car – so I vented my frustration by removing the brake and trying to “fix” the stuck piston with a hammer. Repeatedly. The result being that on the offchance that I didn’t actually need a new brake – I do now.
So – having found the Avid range incomprehensibly difficult to understand (more models than Audi…) I’m tempted by a set of Hope X2’s. Can find them online for about £112 each ready to fit, butthen would need new mounts and rotors – so no change from £300.
Anyone got any opinions or alternative suggestions?
Cheers
Fitted with a set of Juicy 3’s from new, they were crap to start with and 5 years and a lot of nursing later I’ve finally given up on getting the rear to work anymore. One of the pistons which regularly sticks, had decided it just wasn’t going to budge – no matter how much I tried. Saturday morning started badly having found a dirty great patch of oil under my new car – so I vented my frustration by removing the brake and trying to “fix” the stuck piston with a hammer. Repeatedly. The result being that on the offchance that I didn’t actually need a new brake – I do now.
So – having found the Avid range incomprehensibly difficult to understand (more models than Audi…) I’m tempted by a set of Hope X2’s. Can find them online for about £112 each ready to fit, butthen would need new mounts and rotors – so no change from £300.
Anyone got any opinions or alternative suggestions?
Cheers
I'm running Avid Elixir's which have generally been OK, although many others find them a total pain.
If I was going to switch I'd probably go for some Shimano's, they always seem to get brilliant reviews and people always praise them. They have a model to suit all budgets, maybe some SLX?
If I was going to switch I'd probably go for some Shimano's, they always seem to get brilliant reviews and people always praise them. They have a model to suit all budgets, maybe some SLX?
I went from Juicy 5s to Elixir CRs which were MILES better but needed bleeding constantly - Avid changed them (FOC) for a set of XOs (fancy Elixirs) and they have been utterly superb.
Juicy aren't great IMO - hateful to change pads, awkward to bleed although performance is okay.
Many are rating the higher end Shimano brakes very very highly - happy with my bargain X0s but if buying again I think I'd go for XTR brakes.
Formulas are well rated but for ages, the customer service was dire; might be better now.
My wife's Rockhopper has Juicy 3s so the hate has not yet subsided - even a bike mechanic mate had a nightmare changing pads in them recently!
Juicy aren't great IMO - hateful to change pads, awkward to bleed although performance is okay.
Many are rating the higher end Shimano brakes very very highly - happy with my bargain X0s but if buying again I think I'd go for XTR brakes.
Formulas are well rated but for ages, the customer service was dire; might be better now.
My wife's Rockhopper has Juicy 3s so the hate has not yet subsided - even a bike mechanic mate had a nightmare changing pads in them recently!
Here you go:
Shimano SLX:
http://www.merlincycles.com/bike-shop/mtb-parts/br...
Or if you're on a budget, Shimano Deore:
http://www.merlincycles.com/bike-shop/mtb-parts/br...
Both quite capable braking systems.
Shimano SLX:
http://www.merlincycles.com/bike-shop/mtb-parts/br...
Or if you're on a budget, Shimano Deore:
http://www.merlincycles.com/bike-shop/mtb-parts/br...
Both quite capable braking systems.
The only problem I have with shimano are that (I believe) NONE of them are re-buildable.
I stand to be corrected on that one, but if a caliper gets sticky after getting a little bit of corrosion into it due to salt on the roads in winter, you won't be able to simply replace the piston and put a seal kit into it as you would with a set of Avids. You'll be buying a whole new caliper.
Try searching for 'Shimano Seal Kit' on wiggle or chainreaction. You'll see all the Avid, Hayes, Hope etc kits, but no shimano.
For me, that's a big downer. I don't want to have to buy new calipers every time something goes wrong.
I stand to be corrected on that one, but if a caliper gets sticky after getting a little bit of corrosion into it due to salt on the roads in winter, you won't be able to simply replace the piston and put a seal kit into it as you would with a set of Avids. You'll be buying a whole new caliper.
Try searching for 'Shimano Seal Kit' on wiggle or chainreaction. You'll see all the Avid, Hayes, Hope etc kits, but no shimano.
For me, that's a big downer. I don't want to have to buy new calipers every time something goes wrong.
I've got Deore XTs on my commuter which have done over 10,000 miles of pure filth and are still going strong. The rear is a pain to bleed though.
On my other bike I've got Avid Elixir 3s which I didn't want to like but they're great. Merlin are doing Elixir 5s cheap at the moment.
Meanwhile I put some old Shimano M486s on my kids bike and they're fine too! I think you can get them for £16.
On my other bike I've got Avid Elixir 3s which I didn't want to like but they're great. Merlin are doing Elixir 5s cheap at the moment.
Meanwhile I put some old Shimano M486s on my kids bike and they're fine too! I think you can get them for £16.
All I've ever had have been Formula RXs and Avid X0s
The Formulas had better stopping power but were very on/off. There were also quite noisy although a set of Superstar kevlar pads seems to have sorted that.
The X0s are much more controllable but don't seem as strong. Prefer them overall though and they are lighter on the fingers and work better with 1 finger.
Both have been used for around a year and neither have needed bleeding or adjusting in any way other than caliper re-aligning which takes around 2 mins - done once with each.
The Formulas had better stopping power but were very on/off. There were also quite noisy although a set of Superstar kevlar pads seems to have sorted that.
The X0s are much more controllable but don't seem as strong. Prefer them overall though and they are lighter on the fingers and work better with 1 finger.
Both have been used for around a year and neither have needed bleeding or adjusting in any way other than caliper re-aligning which takes around 2 mins - done once with each.
Gumstabber said:
Just out of interest why would you need new rotors and mounts for the Hope's unless you're changing the size of the rotors?
Good question - I had thought there might be a compatability issue across Avid v's Hope? But if the Hope's will work with Avid rotors/mounts then I'm sold on the Hopes...Hope's are pretty awesome, the original Tech levers are a bit bulky and a bit heavy though, I don't mind the weight, but the bulk made it hard to get shifters where I wanted them, and if I was being hyper, hyper critical my V2's were a tiny bit wooden.
The best brakes I've ever owned were Formula RX1's they were a Lapierre OE set made up of R1 levers and RX callipers, I've got plain old RX's now, they're great but not quite as nice. They need a delicate touch, much more so than any other brake I've ever had, including the insanely powerful Avid Code's I ran years ago.
I've had loads of Avid brakes, they're OK, but inconsistent IMHO, bite point moves all over the place, both whilst riding and 'over night' and the ones I've had haven't been very well made.
The best brakes I've ever owned were Formula RX1's they were a Lapierre OE set made up of R1 levers and RX callipers, I've got plain old RX's now, they're great but not quite as nice. They need a delicate touch, much more so than any other brake I've ever had, including the insanely powerful Avid Code's I ran years ago.
I've had loads of Avid brakes, they're OK, but inconsistent IMHO, bite point moves all over the place, both whilst riding and 'over night' and the ones I've had haven't been very well made.
Bobley said:
Meanwhile I put some old Shimano M486s on my kids bike and they're fine too! I think you can get them for £16.
Don't get me wrong - when I said about Shimano not being rebuildable, I wasn't saying they were good brakes.I have the M486's on my commuter - which gets untold amounts of abuse - I've ridden this poor old thing to work and back every day this year through snow, ice, salt etc etc. The 486's gave up when the pads started driving me mad rubbing on the discs. I cleaned everything up & did a full fluid flush on them, but the seals weren't up to coping with the conditions I was putting them through every day.
It was at this time I found out that they aren't rebuildable, so I thought I'd get some XTR's - which would more than likely be up to the job. Once I found out that these too can't be rebuilt, I wasn't willing to spend top dollar on brakes that I couldn't service.
I found Chain Reaction were selling M486's for about £12.50 per complete brake - albeit with the levers back to front (short hose - front brake - left lever etc) So I bought 4 sets of these, swapped the levers over and bled them up. This was cheaper than buying decent pads, so in summary, I bought the same brake again because they were so cheap, I could buy myself a few spare sets!
If I was buying for my best mtb though, I think I'd probably be happy enough with something along the lines of XTR as it'd get cleaned thoroughly after every ride, so the chances of them failing is greatly reduced. But I'd definitely want to know that they can't be serviced so that I could take it into consideration when deciding what to buy.
Everything is great whilst it keeps working - it's when it goes wrong that you make your mind up whether or not to buy the same item again.
The mounts you're talking about may be just IS to postmount converters (or vice-versa). If this is the case then you can buy these for £5 each or usually just re-use them unless you change the rotor size.
On my bike I have Hope mono mini calipers. I increased the front rotor size from 160mm to 180mm and all you need to do is buy one of these http://superstar.tibolts.co.uk/product_info.php?cP... in the right size/shape.
How about posting some pictures if you think that would help.
On my bike I have Hope mono mini calipers. I increased the front rotor size from 160mm to 180mm and all you need to do is buy one of these http://superstar.tibolts.co.uk/product_info.php?cP... in the right size/shape.
How about posting some pictures if you think that would help.
I've got a set of XT brakes from 2006 on my 5, and I haven't had any trouble with them at all, only things I've had to do is change the pads and fluid. If I was buying new brakes, then Hope would be very tempting, but I think I would stick with Shimano. Another plus is they use mineral oil, so it doesn't matter if you get it everywhere when you bleed them.
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