I use them, and plan to do so again this summer. I used to use Juicy 7s, but having had a few scary boiling issues I changed.
Things I have learned.
1- Being a 106kg biffer doesn’t help.
2- Dragging the brakes is a BAD idea, let go and develop confidence in your ability to stop. If your brakes are dragged they will constantly be hot so you can sometimes take them over the edge and boil them.
3- I now use competition DOT 4 fluid- it has a higher boiling point than normal. I bleed the system fully before the trip and take spare fluid, just in case.
4- 203mm rotors at both ends are great. They can soak up a lot of heat.
5- Pad choice makes a big difference. I use Superstar Kevlar and carry spares too.
6- I like to stop and take in the view, and it lets things cool down a bit too.
7- I have big fat 4 pot calipers, dark grey in colour. A great heat sink.
All of the above needs to be considered with the fact that I am a big scardy cat who gets intimidated easily. Alpine Greens, Blues and the odd Red are my limit at any kind of speed. Black- don’t make me laugh!
Possibly my worst moment was the return from the GR5 Ardent loop in Morzine when the back end failed repeatedly on the long fire road descent down to Les Linderets even with frequent rest and ‘quenching’ stops. That’s when I learnt not to drag, but to pulse the ends instead.
