any body got any? just getting the 'word' on the street about these, how do they perform? powerful, easy to maintain? QUIET???? quiet in the wet?
this is an exxxtreme backup plan if i fail to stop my hope tech x2 front brake from whinging like a pig whenever i tend to pull with any force....
Why do they need to be quiet? As a general rule, Shimano = excellent and Hope = Fail.
As a general rule, Shimano = excellent and Hope = excellent
Never had any trouble with any of the disc brakes I've had. 09 XTs are pretty good, more power than the old monos, less than m4s, just as reliable as either (IMO) but you might be right about squeeling like pigs in the wet, not a deal breaker tho surely?
i cant stand the howling squeal everytime i touch the brake, im not even talking hard on the brakes just the slightest grab in the damper conditions and its unbearable, my mate has some older xt ones 2007 i think and last night in the piss down rain his were silent unless he hammered his front brake from 30mphs to a stop on just the front brake....mine, well it honked from top to bottom regardless of speed and how hard i was braking 
i like the look of the xt's and they seem to be a good price....
dont know any one after a fairly mint set of hope x2's by any chance 
Depending on how much you are after for them, I may be interested...
hmm temted - for a cheap price - well they are in an unusable condition at the moment aren't they
Have you checked they are aligned properly? All my hopes are IS so not much trouble to setup they moan a bit in the wet but not like you described.
mine are fine. powerful, and controllable. lovely lever feel.some 'singing' when wet, but that's disk brakes in general.
Yeah, XTs always been quiet for me.
Really powerful and well modulated too.
they are only 4 months old, had a silent summer and then the dreaded winter kicks in and its all gone wrong, the performance has'nt dropped at all though i may add
to some people they can live with the squeal, i just cant, it puts me off riding, and i cant concentrate and i hate squealling to a stop when trying to pass walkers etc.....
I've got a pair and have nothing bad to say about them at all. I love the feel most of all, really solid levers, great modulation, tons of on the fly adjustability, v quiet in the wet, after a few pumps to kick any water off. Look great too, love 'em.
The only thing I would say though, is avoid running a 160 front if you can, it's just a little bit weak for the front end. Powerful enough for mostly anything though if you go a bit bigger.
cheers for the info daniel, appreciate it, are they the 09 model ones?
shimanos-reliable
hope (that they work)
hayes breaks
Didzy I have a 2009 set of XTR's front and rear, both with 160mm disks, I also have a 203mm front disk and adaptor if you want to beef up the front power. Interested in a swap?
Mail in profile
Didzy, yeah they are '09 ones.
I'm pretty much a disciple now (as far as Shimano brakes go).
I had a pair of the new servowave XTs on my hardtail, which has a 180mm rotor up front. They were too much for it. I was thrown over the handlebars going into a corner in the woods! Have since swapped them to my more relaxed head angle full susser, which works splendidly with them. Having fiddled with a number of other makes (Hayes, Formula) I would only buy Shimano brakes now (and have done for a few years: old XT, new XT, LX and XTR).
Are your rotors straight/true? There's tiny wobble 1-0.5mm on my front disc & it howls when i break hard. Maybe that's why your breaks are so noisy?
Just got some 09 xt ones today, they are pretty nice, but they feel too "tight" compared to my old minis! Anyway, a tip I used for quieting down the hound of the diskervilles (hope brakes, in case you don't get me) is to put a little copper slip grease on the back of the pads, not the front, although that will quieten them down.
Make sure it is a very thin smear though, not loads of it.
what is the thinking behind the copper slip thing? I've never understood how it works as its the pad rubbing against the rotor that makes the noise, or so i thought..
I am going to try some tomorrow
I let you know but gosh they really do look fugly
I've got a set on my SS and a set on my road bike... bloody awesome. Modulation galore, and so powerful.. i want another pair for my full sus
Best brakes out there, easy to change pads and so simple to bleed
Mine are reliable and extremely effective, very pleased with them, but they do make a racket. I wouldn't want to blame the brakes for that though, it could easily be the discs, or the frame itself, or some combination of pads and discs etc, no idea. Great brakes though. I think if I was buying now I'd get SLX, mind.
bomberman - Member
what is the thinking behind the copper slip thing? I've never understood how it works as its the pad rubbing against the rotor that makes the noise, or so i thought..
The squeal is caused by the pad vibrating at high frequency in the caliper - the copperslip on the back of the pads fills the gap and hence dampens the squeal. Works on cars, and I've always found that it works on bikes too...
tried coppergrease didnt really notice any difference to be honest so got rid of it straight after first ride on it....
im not really after swapping them to be honest, but if anyones interested in buying them then feel free to make me an offer, a friend of mine is going to have one last ditch look at the hopes tonight for me to see if im missing something simple, and if that fails ill be selling them and getting some xt's 
always up for a change anyways ive got xt hubs and everything else so at least everything will match brand wise
tech x2's 4 months old, with braided hoses and standard saw tooth 183mm rotors....btw
I've got a set of XT M775 Levers on XTR M975 callipers if you'd be interested in a swap?
They're about 6 months old, but have only ever been used in the dry. Maybe 200 miles done on them.
Perfect condition.
e-mail in profile if you're interested?
to be honest dont really want to swap, would prefer a shop brand new with warranty if something goes wrong, cheers for the offer though...
but if your interested in the x2's make me an offer and if its good enough you will have first refusal if its good enough
Try some other pads? Organic pads can make more noise than sintered ones. Bevel the edges of the existing pads with a file.
Try cleaing the rotor surfaces with some wire wool and fairy liquid.
Have the mounts been faced on the frame (if you're running IS mounts)?
My XTs never miss a beat, bar the odd squeak / groan when drying out.
tried all of the above buddy, sintered were MUCH worse for me, forks are post mount so no facing required...cleaned rotors, switched rotors etc....
my mate has some 07 xt's and his are pretty much quiet even when wet, he gets the odd soaking squeal but a few pulls and its gone, just like yours by the sounds of it....
even if they do squeal if i do get the xt's they surely cant be as noisy as my x2's
Oh, bugger.
Erm no idea then, sorry!
They're your brakes, how much would you be looking for?
I have XT brakes on both of my bikes, great feel with loads of stopping power!
im really not sure mate to be honest, i'd probably ebay them see what sort of interest gathers, im not entirely sure of how much to ask but as much to put towards the xt's as possible..
pretty good positive feedback anyways, when asking the same question about hopes they tend to get mixed reviews, but its all pretty much positive here what ive read! shimano the way forward so it seems!
cheers guys for all your opinions much appreciated!
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