I bought some Avid Juicy 7s secondhand a while ago and got round to putting them on my PA. After lots of faffing about last week, I got them bled properly but the tiny amount of clearance between pads and rotor means a small (but audible) amount of drag. I can’t get them to retract properly so may be looking at needing a caliper overhaul.

Added to that, they squealed all the way round Afan on Saturday, until towards the end, when the rear brake started making a warbling sound, possibly related to the top of the arm on the rotor being part of the braking surface. I’ve got spare pads to try but rather losing enthusism for them.

I had some boggo Shimano Deores before that gave me no trouble at all and I’d have put them back on, but I’d already given them to a mate. Some LX or maybe SLX ones are looking pretty tempting – should I just ebay the Juicys and go back to Shimano? Or have I missed something and a fully rebuilt, properly set up pair of Juicy 7s would still be a worthwhile brake setup to have?

Ive got juicy 7’s and ultimates and like them a lot. The warbling sound you hear is a common issue with them. Had it on both of mine an cured it by running Hope rotors.

Cheers
Rich

Are they G2/G3 rotors? New rotors might help. Granted there’s not a lot of clearance.
Mine are fine. Bought new over two years ago. Bled once. I really like them but I’ve not spent time with anything else. If I had that problem I’d probably buy others though.

new pistons are about 5 quid from CRC. sound like they just need a service.

alternatively if you’ve got the cash a new set would obviously be less faff!

Not sure if you saw this??

http://www.singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/avid-sicky-piston-update-amp-thanks-to-lbs

Not sure if you are using aftermarket pads or not, but it might worth a go to remove the paint from around the caliper edge if there some there. Doing this and resetting the calipers took mine from ‘seriously binding’to ‘just about touching’.

One thing I noticed when i bled the rear brake is that the spacer block that Avid supply doesn’t actually push the pistons ALL the way back into the calipers. I haven’t fiddled anymore with them as they are working satisfactorily now & they are very powerful, but in future I might remove a bit of fluid from the system, while pushing the pistons fully back.

You might need a new seat of seals for ‘as new’ performance though. I might give one of mine a go at some point and see how much of a pain it is and how much better it makes the performance…..oh and how long it lasts before resorting to current performance.

The sustained squeeling sound is poor calliper alignment. Read the other thread as it’ll be helpful.

i’ve got them on 2 bikes, have never had them squeal… unlike the hope mono minis i’ve just started using (that are also very underpowered by comparrisson) that scream like babies at the slightest hint of moisture.

I had Juicy 7s for a while, as the reviews I read suggested that they were great. Unfortunately, I also had problems with the pistons and constant drag, and in the end decided that life is simply too short. When it came to time to build up a new bike with parts from the old one, I just switched to Formula ORos – never looked back.

Ta, it’s worth a look at the pads but I’m pretty sure they’re stock Avids. Rotors are G2s and about as straight as rotors ever get.

Does anywhere sell just the bits I’d need to replace for a caliper overhaul? CRC and the like just seem to do a £30 kit that includes bolts and all sorts.

Still a bit torn – the other issue is that they’re both 203mm rotors which just looks a bit silly on a hardtail. If I was to buy new rotors and adaptors too I’m getting closer and closer to the cost of a new set.

ill have your old set 🙂 seriously i take stuff out of the bin 😉

Mine do the warbling thing now and again – usually when it’s been very dry. Not sure why but it doesnt really bother me.