MTB brake questions

[Daveyraveygravey]

Help please! Not sure what I need to replace my front brake.

I have a Boardman Comp hardtail which is about 7-10 years old. Just had a service lots of new drive train bits. The guy who did the work warned me that there is a location pin in the front brake which he said was damaged or worn and could fail at any stage.

A few rides later it has, meaning the pads clamp onto the disk and don't release fully. Looking at it with glasses half full, it's a great way of adding resistance training to a ride...

They are Avid Juicy Three brakes, with an IS mount. The holes are 51mm apart and the bolts screw through the forksa t right angles to the disk.

I can't seem to find a direct replacement, unless I am being thicker than usual. Are IS mounts old style which have been replaced by post mount brakes? Can I buy a post mount brake and adapter, and if so what do I need? There seem to be some good deals on single brakes out there, but that only works if you can fit it to your bike!

[anonymous-user]

Does it actually need a new caliper? I know you said "pin" but there is the little piece of metal that comes with each set of pads which holds the pads out. It's not simply that that's failed?

I think most calipers are now post mount as most forks are also post mount. I have cable discs on my hybrid that have an IS mount, so I use an adaptor. But my MTB has post a mount caliper and fork. It can be a bit confusing to be honest. Something like this should work. Select from the drop down menu the appropriate size. What diameter is the disc?

http://www.superstarcomponents.com/en/disc-brake-a...

Edited by RenOHH on Monday 23 March 07:48

[anonymous-user]

Daveyraveygravey said:

Just had a service lots of new drive train bits. The guy who did the work warned me that there is a location pin in the front brake which he said was damaged or worn and could fail at any stage.

No shop worth your money should be sending you away after a service with parts in the braking system that "could fail at any stage".

[vwsurfbum]

Bin the Juicy 3's as soon as you can, not worth fixing when you can buy a much more efficent and better brake like a deore for minimal money.
http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/shimano-deore-m...
Or even these, not a bad brake at this price for a set.
http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/shimano-altus-m...

[richardxjr]

I replaced crappy Juicys with some of those M355s. Fantastic. I also another pair on my singlespeed and I've got SLXs on another bike to compare with.

The lever reach is adjusted with an allen key and they are a bit long so you might want to mount inboard for single finger operation but that is it.

It's a no brainer for £30.

ETA Just noticed out of stock.

[schmunk]

vwsurfbum said:

Bin the Juicy 3's as soon as you can, not worth fixing when you can buy a much more efficent and better brake like a deore for minimal money.
http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/shimano-deore-m...

I did this (Avid Elixir to Shimano Deore) and the Shimano brakes are so much more reliable.

[anonymous-user]

I have shimano m395 brakes and they are excellent. Can't recommend shimano enough. Lots of people comment on how they feel, thinking that they are really expensive. That would be a good replacement for you, though you'll probably need the adaptor still.

[gazza285]

IS to post adapters are cheap and available from loads of places, but I thought Juicy 3s were post mount anyway, so you should have the adapter already.

[vwsurfbum]

gazza285 said:

IS to post adapters are cheap and available from loads of places, but I thought Juicy 3s were post mount anyway, so you should have the adapter already.

they are, it will be two 5mm bolts at caliper end and a 4mm at bar end

[Daveyraveygravey]

pablo said:

No shop worth your money should be sending you away after a service with parts in the braking system that "could fail at any stage".

I know what you are saying, but this is a local guy, trusted, and way cheaper than any lbs. He is happy for his customers to get the parts in, he is honest enough to say he can't get them any cheaper than we can, and he would then have to mark them up to cover his time sourcing and buying the bits. It also means he isn't over-loaded with partly serviced bikes waiting for components to come in.

The part didn't fail as such, it stopped me beautifully. It is just harder to ride now than it should be and I need to sort it out.

[Daveyraveygravey]

gazza285 said:

IS to post adapters are cheap and available from loads of places, but I thought Juicy 3s were post mount anyway, so you should have the adapter already.

Thanks for all the help and advice so far. Better check I have IS/post mount understood, my forks look like that attached.

This is IS mount right? So if I get the Shimano replacement, do I need a IS to post mount adapter or the other way round?

[yellowjack]

I agree with what most people have said already. At 7 to 10 years old, the Avid brakes have done a shift, and you've had your money's worth out of them.

Shimano for the win! Deore M615 are what I swapped to for £69.99 for both ends, bought as a set from Ribble Cycles. I even paid less than that, as I had a voucher code that saved me £8.40

They are fabulous brakes, and I can't see any way that I'd ever need anything better than these. At least not unless I started chucking myself off the top of mountains regularly.

[gazza285]

Deore 615 here as well, 203 front and 185 rear, one finger braking all day long.

[richardxjr]

Davey, yeah that's IS.

Check there's no adaptor on the Juicy 3 (My old Juicy 3 was a postmount caliper on an adaptor, also on an IS fork. If so take that adaptor off and use it with the new caliper)

Otherwise
www.chainreactioncycles.com/shimano-mount-adaptor-...

Description said:

Features:

For post type disc callipers to be mounted to international standard front forks.

[joema]

You would just use the juicy calliper brackets and bolt the new shimano callipers on.

Do your brakes work other than the fault with the pads? You could easily change the pads.

[gazza285]

I think these have a pin on the piston that locates in a hole in the pad backing, if that is worn the pad could be moving about too much.