Best cable based downhill brakes.

[vrooom]

I had enough of my hayes HFX 9 brakes. its quite hard and messy to bleed it.
i want to replace it with cable system on my kona stinky.

What the best (cheap) brake setup out there ?

i got shamino cailpers and avid levers on my old bike.

Jay

[Hard-Drive]

Cable brakes on a DH bike? Forget it!

If you are doing proper DH you will need hydraulic discs. If you are not really doing DH riding but just riding a DH bike on normal trails then I've heard some of the higher end SRAM/Avid stuff is quite good...

[Beyond Rational]

You can't live with one specific model of disc brake so therefore all are bad? Get a bike shop to bleed them properly, cheaper than changing..maybe learn how at the same time.

[snotrag]

Yup, get them bled properly if you cant do that.

Failing that, Shimano Deore Hydraulics.

[MrTom]

HFX9's are a total pig to bleed, not particularly great at stopping you and badly designed (reservoir has a plastic plug that falls out). When I took mine to LBS they broke one of the seals. After that I just put them on ebay and changed to hope m4.

heres the best cable disks IMO.

http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Models.aspx?Mod...

[vrooom]

What advantages does hydraulic has over to cable? I cant see any.

what so bad about having a cable based brakes for downhill?

would anyone enlighten me please.

[mat205125]

You bike probably doesn't have bosses for rim brakes.

[Nuova500]

If it's proper D/H you will have D/H specific rims, thereby making the use of rim brakes impossible.

Since purchasing some Hope hydraulics discs 5 years ago, I have never entertained rim brakes again.

[vrooom]

i have disc brakes. so i can use disc based cable brake set up.

[neil_bolton]

vrooom said:

i have disc brakes. so i can use disc based cable brake set up.

Listen mate, cable disc brakes are a liability on a DH bike.

If your cable snaps you will have no brakes. Hydraulic is much more reliable and easier to maintain. Additionally friction within a cable brake is its worst feature - the cable gets gunked up and you lose much of your braking energy in friction between the outer and inner.

However you have had probably the worst brakes ever for maintenance - I know, I've had them in the past; so, why not try another set recommended by one of us:

My opinion: get a set of Shimano hydraulic - cheap as chips for a Deore hydraulic system (I reckon you could find a complete new levers/calipers/discs set for ~£90), and are utterly UTTERLY reliable and easy to get set up and they stay set up.

Take a hint, when pretty much everyone is saying the same thing, it may well be true

[Nuova500]

As above, my Hope system has had nothing done to it in 5 years, bar a few sets of pads & 1 set of discs. Not even a fluid change.

[Moose.]

I used to have cable disc brakes and they were a total pain, needing continual tweaking to push the pads closer to the disc as the braking material wears down. I very nearly came a cropper at the bottom of a very long descent as the pads had been wearing all the way down (it was wet and muddy that day). As I came into a sharp right hand bend, I had no front brakes Only option was to lay the bike down, bloody lucky I go away with just a few cuts and grazes. It was after that little incident that I switched to hydraulics.

Now running Hayes HFX 9s which have been faultless and provide much much more braking power than cable discs

Edited by Moose. on Wednesday 27th August 09:22

[P-Jay]

Avid BB5's are about the best Cable Discs, but sweet Jebus no on a DH bike. You wont be able to one finger brake with cable discs, you'll end up with outrageous arm pump.

Have a look on ebay for a set of hopes, they at least don't need much maintenance.

[mat205125]

vrooom said:

What advantages does hydraulic has over to cable? I cant see any.

Cables are good where a movement at the applicator (the handlebars) needs to translate into a movement at the working end. This is why they are suited to changing gears.

Hydraulic systems are also good for movement (e.g. a JCB), but in braking terms are very good at applying pressure. The fluid in a braking system will compress under pressure less than a cable will stretch under tension for the same pad pressure on the disc. The lever will therefore feel better.

Tuning piston sizes in the lever and caliper, and the leverage on the lever piston, can tune to give a much better and more powerful brake.

Would you want cable brakes on your car?

[Chris71]

mat205125 said:

Would you want cable brakes on your car?

I sort of co-own an Austin Seven Special with cable brakes. I'd be about as inclined to take that down a DH course as a bike with the same braking technology.

[mk1fan]

The best cable discs are Avids BB-7's not the BB-5's.

If you REALLY have to use cable then use BB-7's with 203mm rotors. If you're not actually racing the DH bike then they should be adequate. Although, you'll need to do regular checks to ensure they stay in tip top condition. I'd have no problems using them around the Alps.

There are some advantages to using cables over hydraulic but there are also disadvantages - snapping a cable is one.

[System-G]

Also another thing to note is most cable brake systems I've seen seem to work a single piston. Pull the brake and you'll see the disc flex to one side. Many of the cheap hydraulic systems are the same.

If you're doing D/H, you really want decent brakes on there. Twin piston setup (i.e one on each oposing side), decent fluid and decent pads