I can get a set of both for about £200.

Opinions please! They’ll be used for everything from XC to occasional DH.

Ta!

Anyone ?! :-/

Can’t comment on the Avids, but The Ones are fantastic – light and awesomely powerful. Haven’t had them long enough to comment on reliability, but they coped really well in the Alps this summer.

The Ones are very powerfull and have good modulation,The set i had ate pads and needed bleeding alot,were very noisy in the wet,and had awful backup in the uk.
My Cr carbons that i have now are excellent,just as powerfull,pads last well,and are a lot quiter.Pads are cheaper and more readily available.

Dan,

I’ve had both, well The Megas which is same as the One with less dials etc.
The Formulas were completely trouble free for the 2 years I had them, I don’t think I ever had them bled.
The Avids, I’ve had for 5 months, and the power is about the same, modulation the same, but one of them has never worked well for a good length of time. Its been bled three times and now appears to be leaking air in through the Lever body somewhere.

I’d go Formula over Avid anyday.

Hmm interesting Si!

I had the elixirs on the voodoo and they seemed OK but never as powerful as I thought they should be.

Maybe its worth trying formula then…

Had Elixir CRs for a year now without a single issue.

I really like them.

Having been in a similar dilemma myself I decided to go for XT M775 brakes which I got for just under £200.

My bro has the formulas, his pistons have worn and the distributor quoted £150 to replace them and that’s per wheel! Out of the two, I would go with the avids but if you are considering other options, shimano…

I decided to go for XT M775 brakes which I got for just under £200.

I have these on my glory, very very good straight out of the box and £65 per wheel ex. Rotors.

I have had the ones for over 18 months now, no issues and excellent performance. They do go through the pads quick but the feel and stopping power is unrivalled at their weight.

Another thing to consider is pad availability. A friend of mine couldn’t get any pads for his formula the ones in whistler. You’ll always be able to get avid pads anywhere I would have thought.

My Elixir CRs have been faultless, been to Wales and the Alps and apart from changing pads not had any issues.
If you’re not bothered about the adjusting bit then Elixir 5s are pretty good as well.

formula
i also had a crazy qoute for some spares from formula. i have had to take them off as i refuse to spend nearly the same as i would on a complete brake on some parts. they were nice brakes tho loads of power.

avid
i have had loads of avid and love em i doubt i will ever buy anything else from know on.

The Avids, I’ve had for 5 months, and the power is about the same, modulation the same, but one of them has never worked well for a good length of time. Its been bled three times and now appears to be leaking air in through the Lever body somewhere.

Was it the back one by any chance? I had some for 8 months (though I note I’d done a lot more miles in that time than the long-term test bikes in MBR this month) until the back one packed in (bled twice in a week as not holding pressure). LBS reports lots of problems with rear Elixirs needing frequent bleeding.

Andy

(Swapped them for Hopes, which are much better but doesn’t help the OP’s question).

no, its the front one.

Hmmm, opinion pretty divided then!

I’m just not convinced either way!

Phototim – Member

“My bro has the formulas, his pistons have worn and the distributor quoted £150 to replace them and that’s per wheel!”

Considering that they’re 21 euros per end for a piston and seal kit, there’s something really badly wrong with this story. A complete The One caliper is only 138 euros.

and avid pads are the easiest to change as well

is there something up with Formulas distribution at the moment ? R1s are not in stock anywhere in the world..

Phototim – Member

“My bro has the formulas, his pistons have worn and the distributor quoted £150 to replace them and that’s per wheel!”

Considering that they’re 21 euros per end for a piston and seal kit, there’s something really badly wrong with this story. A complete The One caliper is only 138 euros.

Yeah thats what we thought, completely true though. Apparently its a fiddly job that requires special tools. They were £180 a wheel (inc. levers) in CRC so he’s just had to put up with them pulling to the bar with reduced power. Its not like he got years of abuse out of them either, only a couple of years I think, maybe not even that.

Splash out on some Shimano Saints, you wont regret it.

is there something up with Formulas distribution at the moment ? R1s are not in stock anywhere in the world..

I was wondering this too, the Propel site seems a little

Actually scrap that the website has changed since this morning

As from Monday 8th November Propel has ceased to supply Formula disc brakes, spare parts and associated products. Propel no longer provides technical or warranty support on behalf of Formula Srl.

Any enquiry concerning the supply of Formula products, technical support or warranty should now be directed to Formula until such time as a new UK distributor is appointed.

All outstanding warranty cases will be passed directly to the manufacturer or to a newly appointed distributor.

Formula can be contacted on the details below:

By telephone: +39 0574 603609

By email: info@formula-brake.it This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

At this time we are not aware of any new appointment but as soon as we have news we will post the information here on our website.

Oh well Toby seemed a nice chap and certainly sorted me out when I had issues with my K24’s.

that explains a lot Bimbler

Propel are just up the road from me – heard very patchy reports about their service. Guess it got pulled?

FWIW, he tried to sort out a load of issues I had with my The Ones, in the end I got given a new brakeset, which surprise surprise, were just as bad as the last.

It’s a shame, because when they worked, with fresh pads & a fresh bleed, they really were awesome, but they were just way too flakey. Lots of people out there with issues with them too, especially considering the low volume of sales compared to say an Elixir.

Spares were virtually non existant for months on end at a time too.

I have such a mixed opinion of Formula brakes, before these I had (and still do) a set of Oro Puro’s which must be getting on 4 years old now, they have been used & abused on everything from my DH bike to my XC bike & have been utterly faultless. New bike came with a set of RX’s on it, and i’m still holding my breath – they may have to go.

You can get The Ones or Oro Biancos here for silly money:

http://store.formula-brake.com/items/brake-set-oro-bianco

I have the Oro Biancos and with 203 front / 183 rear I can’t see how you would need much else in terms of power / modulation.

Been running a set for 2 years now with no issues whatsoever. Just ordered another set for the new build too 🙂

Got formula “the ones” and mega’s no problems at all.

WAFL – yep, it was there I noticed the The Ones!

hmmmm, I’m still not sure :-S

RRR: Go for it, you wont be disappointed 🙂