Guide RE doesnt have the bleeding edge adapter, just the regular threaded port. I haven’t had them long but like the feel and performance so far, can’t comment on long term reliability.

I’d go for the Zee, as bleeding is really easy on Shimano brakes.

Will have ample power to slow down that beast of a bike. I love the feel of them as well, great modulation.

I have Guide Ultimates. Prefer them them to the Shimano M XT 785’s on my other bike.

I haven’t had to bleed the Guides yet – as they are Ultimates will they definitely be Bleeding Edge? They are about a year old. I believe they are the S4 calliper.

It depends how long you plan on keeping the brakes, I had Zees on my Aeris, used them for the Mega in 2015. They were awesome, used them again in 2016 and boiled the rear stuck behind a brake dragger, lever to the bar closely followed by the front.
After being boiled no amount of bleeding seems to get them to feel consistent. At that point they’re 2 years so as they’re unserviceable they’re for the bin.
Went for Hope E4s this year which are lighter with plenty of power to slow down 100kg of me consistently when following brake draggers.
The Zees may have more power new but I don’t like throwing brakes away every couple of years.

Lever on the Guides is still screw in at the lever end.

Any of the Guides with an S4 caliper is bleeding edge. The guide re doesn’t have an S4 caliper though – it has a guide r lever and code caliper for more power again (as it’s designed for e bikes).

I haven’t tried an se yet – but imagine they must be really powerful. My guide rs couldn’t possibly need any more power from what I’ve seen so far – they’re on 200/180 discs just with standard pads at the moment.

Not done an entire uplift day yet though for a flat out test. My old Sram Guide RS on sintered pads with 160/160 discs were fine at BPW though last year.

Big Guide fan here, first Avid/SRAM brake I have ever really used with any success.

Light, easy to bleed, adjusters work well, good power, good control. Whats not to like?

I would say they are a decent improvement on the Hope E4’s I wrecked after a summer in Canada.

Guides feel great and are powerful with more modulation than the Shimano (less than Hope), but are near disposable and the levers don’t like the heat.

Explain the last part of the sentence?

Early ones had an issue in hot weather with the MC jamming up due to close tolerances. Not something I ever experienced.

I took the bike out for the first time with my new V4s fitted at the weekend. To sum up, they’re like RSCs, but just a bit ‘more’ of everything -power and modulation. The feel is very similar though.
If I hadn’t had clearance issues with the top tube I wouldn’t have sold my Guides. The V4s are very, very good, but more finicky with setup. And a lot more expensive. They are, however, incredibly easy to bleed, especially if you’ve got a Mityvac!

Only complaint I’ve got is they do sing a bit on first application after periods of non use in the wet, which my Guides never did.

Guides feel great and are powerful with more modulation than the Shimano (less than Hope), but are near disposable and the levers don’t like the heat.
Explain the last part of the sentence?

The levers don’t like the heat part? I had this the other day…direct sunlight (or heat) causes the brake lever internals to swell and stops the lever from working. Well known issue in places like Texas…not in Scotland FFS! Supposedly redesigned internals on the 2017 model has sorted it. It is also possible to strip the lever and trim/sand the part that swells.

The levers don’t like the heat part? I had this the other day…direct sunlight (or heat) causes the brake lever internals to swell and stops the lever from working. Well known issue in places like Texas…not in Scotland FFS! Supposedly redesigned internals on the 2017 model has sorted it. It is also possible to strip the lever and trim/sand the part that swells.

I assumed that was the fluid expanding in the heat. Happens to me if I leave the bike in the van on a hot day.

[video]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2traaBHJAoA[/video]

Saints on all my mountain bikes.

Never boiled in the Alps, on the trail bike or Dh bike.

Mate this year boiled his guides on his Dh bike in Pila. Bought some Zees out there. No boiling. Same mountain, same tracks.

If I was going for new brakes, I’d only be looking at ones with mineral oil.

Saints, with XTR levers (to bring the lever loads right down to help arm pump on long alpine descents) and asymmetric pads (metalic in one side, kelvar / organic in the other side). Job done 😆

The Guides I’ve used are ace, but the range is getting a bit bewildering, I’m not even sure what version they were. Not quite got the modulation and power of my beloved The Ones but not far off at all.

If I was going for new brakes, I’d only be looking at ones with mineral oil.

Just curious though – if mineral oil is better, why do car brakes use brake fluid?

My understanding was that water always gets into brakes and naturally sits at the caliper because it’s denser than oil, so if the brake gets hot the water boils and you lose your braking control. Brake fluid absorbs the water and has to absorb a huge amount before the boiling point drops too low.

Had XTR, but after 3 warranty replacements, they were replaced with Hope E4/X2 (front rear) on 183mm rotors.

Utterly fabulous. Indescribably good feel after the XTRs and with plenty of power.

Just curious though – if mineral oil is better, why do car brakes use brake fluid?

This explains it all pretty well.

http://www.epicbleedsolutions.com/blog/dot-brake-fluid-vs-mineral-oil

Another Guide fan here. Have RSC’s on both my Stanton and Demo and both sets have been trouble free for 18 months othe than requiring pads. They’re the older versions but are easy enough to bleed.