Just bought some used elixir 9’s. Will I regret it? I used to hate avid brakes but I needed something ASAP. They’re only to go on the cx/hybrid. Reviews seem ok. I guess if I don’t like them I can move them on.

Anyone have experience of the elixir 9’s?

They perform well but are a lot of work to keep in good nick, relative to other brakes. Hence the bin-them-now comments that will shortly appear on this thread.

If they’re for street riding on a hybrid then they’ll be fine – brakes have an easy life there.

They’re not bad brakes… but as Garry said, they will take a (relatively) lot of work to keep working well. If you don’t mind dicking around with them and keeping them bled every few rides, then they should serve you well 🙂

They are fine when new for a few months.
Bleeding them is fun.
Everyone will hear you in the wet.

As above fine brakes but too high maintenance for me

I hated my first 2 pairs (why do they come on so many bikes?), my 3rd and 4th have been faultless though (3rd needed a bleed, but other than that).

I wouldn’t tell anyone to buy them, but if you’ve got them and they work then they’re fine.

Was hoping that as they are not going on an mtb they’d have an easy life so maintenance won’t be too much of an issue.

If they don’t come with a bleed kit, buy one. You’ll be seeing a lot of it

If they don’t come with a bleed kit, buy one. You’ll be seeing a lot of it

Good advice – the bleed kit does make it very easy to bleed them. The nightmare I had years ago trying to bleed some Hopes is the reason I’ve stuck with Avids ever since.

So – do Avids need bleeding far more often than other brakes ? Any reason why ?

Are other brakes now as easy to bleed as Avids – i.e. screw in syringes rather than a convuluted process involving tubes, spanners and sacrificing chickens.

A well set up pair of Avids will outperform a poorly set up paid of [insert other brand here]

But..as others have said, they can be frustrating to keep in tip top form.

I eventually gave up on Avid after 2 sets of Codes, a set of Elixirs and a set of Juicys since they were so hit or miss and I always seemed to be playing around with them.

Every time you change the pads in a set of Avids you end up bleeding them. I don’t know why. But with the bleed kit it is literally a 5 minute job even for a ham-fisted baboon like me

Everyone will hear you in the wet.

This.

I had a set; they were OK to use (noise aside) and the front one was fine; the back one wouldn’t stay bled…

I struggled with two sets, assuming I was just bad with brakes, before reasoning that even as an outside bet £100 for a set of Shimano SLX was a sensible option when faced with impending insanity.

It’s the best investment I ever made.

I had some going back a few years that were fine without ever being bled. They had an easy life with mostly xc type riding. I think I had 3 years of trouble free braking and as above the xts i use now are not significantly better.

Was hoping that as they are not going on an mtb they’d have an easy life so maintenance won’t be too much of an issue

Mine packed up after leaving them out in the sun for 20 mins

Dunno whether to take solace from the replies. Still don’t know if I’ve the right thing…

I’ve seen the brakes you’ve bought on here? They are the same year and model as my codes and they have been faultless for over two years of mtb usage. They are my favourite brakes I’ve ever had and I’ve had them all.

Contrary to my fears, initial impressions are pretty good.

avids, when they work folk love them
when they dont work, i back away quickly and direct the owner to a bike shop.

for balance, I had 3 sets on 3 bikes, and had zero problems with any of them. I sold the XT that came with one bike to put them on. Nothing needed other than pad swap and bleed.

Had Elixir 5R SL on my Pitch – faultless through two years and four sets of pads, including a week in the Alps. Never bled.

Avid Elixir CRs on both my bikes, both sets several years old (can’t even remember) but haven’t bleed either set once and one set has done 3 trips to the Alps

I’ve had Elixir 3s for a few years now and they’re fine. Could maybe do with a bleed but I don’t really get the bad rap Avid get. They’re a bit of a PITA to bleed sometimes but not that bad and they feel better than anything else I’ve tried. Didn’t like my SLX, they were too on/off with no modulation.

I’ve had three sets of Elixir R’s and two sets of Juicy 3’s.

The Juicys were OK but dull and binary.

The Elixirs… Two sets were great and best brake ever levels of reliability and performance. One set – the newest, just would not stay bled and basically behaved like it had a blown lever seal from the first I got it (sh). Gave up and replaced with XT when prices crashed ladt year and have been taking all my braking Shimano since more for supply sanity.

If they’re working, they’ll be great. Once the seals start to go, walk away.

I have them on my mega. Tried to change the rear pads. One piston stuck.
Bought a new rear XT. fitted that.
Elixir now in shed on hook.