good or no good, powerful or poor?

Got mine as an early release, they can be very powerful but they need alot of finger energy to get them full on, sometimes this has lead to a few crashes as i pulled them half expecting to stop, well i didn’t.

The design is nice and they compliment the bike well, but the lever height adjust screw, i lost both of those in the first month. The original pads are shiny and bright, so had to replace those pretty quick.

Now they have bedded in and ive adjusted how i use the brakes, they are fine if your on a budget, if not would go for something else.

I had a set on a new bike – quickly swapped out for hopes. They worked but were crudely made and no spares are available. However they are very cheap. You get what you pay for

Mine have worked perfectly for 7 years, no spares needed. Feel is identical to my xtrs and I don’t see anything crude about them.

TJ always bangs on about shimanos because they have no spares…he’s pretty much the only one to dislike them on here, while hope have many detractors.

Druidh recently said of all the brake problems his workshop has to sort, 0% are shimano.

Go figure.

Interesting, seems like a divided opinion

My set worked for years with no problems. Not the most powerful, quite heavy but reliable and cheap.

had a set since ’05, after about 18mths they were moved to the missus bike.

faultless in all that time
cheap, reliable, mineral oil – i will be buying shimano next for myself.

(currently running M4s and Louises)

i’ve had all sorts of brakes over the years, hopes of various flavours, hayes, avids, and shimano.

the avids died, the hayes died, the hopes kept falling apart – but were repairable.

shimano brakes have been very reliable*.

i’ve got several sets of deores, and have had zero problems with them ever. 1 set is now 9 years old, it’s been to the alps a few times, some Dh racing, some commuting, and lots of neglect.

as for power, my oldest are ferocious, i swear they want to kill me. they’re a bit heavy, they’re not very adjustable, but they don’t lack oomph.

all disc brakes are basically brilliant, just keep the discs free from oil. don’t use spray lube.

(*i’ve had some lx calipers which leaked oil in the cold – this doesn’t seem to be a problem with deore brakes though).

oh, and i don’t have to deal with DOT fluid. which is evil stuff.

I’ve got some 4 year old Deore Hydros and they’re great, infact I have Shimano brakes on all bikes from sub Deore level to Ultegra

And guess what – cynic al on to the personal attack again on something he does not understand

Look at how many folk on here recently have had issues whith shimnano that need to be scrapped because of no spares. its just something to be aware of.

You don’t see anything crude about them? YOu really do have zero idea don’t you. for example pad retaining – a cast hole with a mild split pin, Hopes a machined hole with a stainless steel pin with a stainless spring clip

Which is why I say you get what you pay for – cheap functional disposable – shimano. repairable high quality – hope.

dan1980 – Member

I’ve been through 2 sets of permanently stuck calipers from SLX brakes in about 6 months.

If they jam, there’s nothing you can do, apart from get a new caliper. I’ve replaced them with formula k24s and I’m liking them so far.

spock – Member

shimano slx/xt are good at first, but when something goes wrong you may aswell put them in the bin

trail_rat – Member
shimano xts – lasted 15 months trouble free , then let go. piston seals fried them selves coming down ben nevis north face path. – phone madison – ill have a caliper service kit please – “doesnt exist” – urm . piston seals ? “dont exist – non replacable item” – errr i have the old one in my hand !

TJ read the op, he didnt ask about SLX or XT

and trawling the site to find three examples of shimano problems comes across as a bit sad – what spares did you actually need for your set of crudely made deores?

i have the LX ones (same but silver) and they have been great – been on my bike for over three years behaved perfectly – overheated once coming down a mountian in spain (160mm rotors) I have the newer deores on my other bike (with big rotors and they were more than powerful in the alps.

gratuitous shot cos it’s friday!

2 of me!! by thom1984, on Flickr

Nice pic 🙂 cool think I will have a go and try them out cheers

soobalias – thats was in response to cynic al who said no one has problems with shimano and the lack of spares. Didn’t take much trawling as it has been mentioned here a lot recently.

I had no trouble with my 525s as I sold them straight away to replace with hopes. I sold them while they were new and had some value

Its simply an issue to be aware of. Buy shimano they are fine until they fail at which point they are scrap. They cannot be repaired.

And guess what – cynic al on to the personal attack again on something he does not understand

I’m not attacking you TJ, put the tin foil hat down. I’m just commenting with my experience and that of others on yet another topic where you have to take a controversial and extreme position that no one else supports.

Please don’t patronise me either, how do I not understand?

I can accept that the details you have outlined go a tiny way to justifying the massive difference in price between hope and shimano…but what do they matter in the real world? To me, not a jot.

As for your examples – it seems one was a general hearsay type comment, one was sorted by warranty leaving one genuine problem created by unavailability of spares. I could post examples of complaints about hope but there are way more around.

I;’ve been in the Alps a few times with both my shimano braks, no problems. Maybe I’m not dragging my brakes 😉

So what do you say to my experience? 7 years of ownership of 2 pairs with only one problem sorted under warranty after 3 years…and still going strong.

We’ve had 2 sets in use on various bikes for years – both have been absolutely bullet proof, to the point where I’m going to be using them on the dh bike for a while

They cannot be repaired

Rubbish. Oh, and in my experience it’s a good thing that spares are available for Hopes as you *will* need them. However, that is *my* experience and opinion. I am willing to accept that others have *equally* valid opinions based on their own experiences.

Back on topic. I had a pair of 525 that gave me about three years of faultless service. After that though, they started to get a bit tired and I replaced them with Hayes, which I also like.

<awaits TJ to come along and correct me that Hayes are crap too>

TandemJeremy – Member
I had no trouble with my 525s

so thats the ‘nitty gritty’
have you ever had any problems with your Hopes?

another topic where you have to take a controversial and extreme position that no one else supports.

Bullshit! its not extreme its a fact. It is a fact that there are no spares available. Plenty of folk have been disappointed to find that their brakes cannot be repaired. I gave you 3 recent ones from here.

I said nothing about their reliability at all.

why you have to make such distortions of anything I say and use this as a personal attack is beyond me.

Please stop

This is what I said – and it is a fact. Not an extreme position that no one else supports

They worked but were crudely made and no spares are available. However they are very cheap. You get what you pay for

My apologies TJ, but I don’t think I can be criticised for reading into your argument that shimano brakes are unreliable – as without that point the unavailability of spares is irrelevant.

So you defer to the vast majority of comments that shimano brakes are reilable then?

there are no spares available

that’s not strickly true, you can buy a new caliper for £25.

and a new lever for £25.

has anyone looked inside a shimano caliper? – what are the seals like? – O-rings or something a bit more cleverer?

Yes – I have never said differently! I have never once said shimano are unreliable.

Oh here we go, another TJ anti-shimano rant 🙄

It’s the same when SRAM vs Shimano comes up.

Unfortunately it’s never based on fact but opinion.

Do you reckon he’s secretly got some pent up hatred for the Japanese?

sorry, tell a lie.

deore 525 caliper and rotor = £14.

linky

Hardly a rant

#
TandemJeremy – Member

I had a set on a new bike – quickly swapped out for hopes. They worked but were crudely made and no spares are available. However they are very cheap. You get what you pay for

TandemJeremy – Member
Yes – I have never said differently! I have never once said shimano are unreliable.

Erm what was this bit about then?

Look at how many folk on here recently have had issues whith shimnano

What on earth was the point of your guff on this thread if you don’t say Shimano are unreliable? Unavailability of spares is then meaningless!

Why you do this – it’s like you carefully craft an argument that implies/assumes something without actually saying it, and can then smugly sit back and say “well I didn’t actually say that”. Apart from you being able to fold your arms and nod behind your pc afterwards, what is the point?

Four O’clock in morning, why you play music?

Had a set for 4 years swapped onto several bikes. Cheap and reliable. Not the most powerful but fine.

meh

Al – another personal attack – why can you not read what I say? Why the continual attacks
Non of what you say have I done.

I simply pointed out that no spares where available. its a piece of information that I think is useful for people thinking of buying the brakes.

When you leapt into the attack saying that

..he’s pretty much the only one to dislike them on here,

I attempted to defend myself by pointing out a couple of folk who agreed with me

I made no comment about the reliability of the brakes implied or not

Why you have to keep on inventing things you think I have said I don’t know – and then attempt to justify your personal attacks by claiming I implied this or not

you really read far too much into this

its tiresome to have to defend myself against personal attacks from you that you invent justifications for. Why do you continually do this?

I simply pointed out that no spares where available

This is simply not true, the only spares you cannot buy are piston seals, which are not designed to be replaced.

and with crc knocking out a complete caliper and rotor for £15, im not surprised.

TJ it’s no personal attack. When I agree with you I say so. When I think you are talking guff I say so.

Any reasonable person could have inferred what I did from what you said – as ever you have refused to rebut the points I have made.

I simply pointed out that no spares where available. its a piece of information that I think is useful for people thinking of buying the brakes.

Reliability being an issue is an implicit assumption in this statement too.

Oops thought this was about the new style ones, the older ones i had a pair on my Trek 6500, best brakes ive ever had, they are still on the bike, i know the person who brought it off me and he loves the brakes, great action. Its the new one’s ive had some trouble with. The 2010 model.

Al – bullshit. Its not reasonable to infer that at all.

What points Have I refused to rebut?

You simply leap into attack on me without stopping to think then flounder about inventing justifications for the spurious attack when challenged.

TandemJeremy – Member

What points Have I refused to rebut?

Erm…this one:

cynic-al – Member

My apologies TJ, but I don’t think I can be criticised for reading into your argument that shimano brakes are unreliable – as without that point the unavailability of spares is irrelevant.[/u]

…and this one:

cynic-al – Member

As for your examples – it seems one was a general hearsay type comment, one was sorted by warranty leaving one genuine problem created by unavailability of spares.

Oh and do you really need to bring profanity into it? It’s really not worth getting upset about IMO.

I had a Deore on the front of my Stumpy and its been the best brake I’ve used. It is much more powerful than Avid Juicy 3’s, modulates more nicely too, but the lever isn’t as nice. I’ve now got Formula Oro’s with a 180mm rotor and I still think the Deore was more powerful than that.

Sadly I smashed into a car and killed it, but if you don’t mind the basic levers they are amazing brakes.

🙄

In neither case have I said what you claim I have done so there is nothing to rebut.

Even reliable things break down sometimes so its nice to be able to have spares

You claimed no one else had an issue – I showed some People who agreed with me

However you will not take anything I say as written but have to distort it and / or invent things to justify you attack on me

Why you have to do this is beyond me.