I’ve never liked the power and feel of these brakes (the bite point doesn’t feel positive enough) even when bled properly.

I need to bleed them again and perhaps service one of the levers. Should I bother servicing them and forking out on some braided hoses to see if that makes them a little more grabby, or bin them and get some Hope V2s?

There’s something wrong with them or you because they are “positive” enough to stick most people over the bars no bother; one of the most powerful brakes out there. You won’t find many better at any price.

They are pretty powerfull, but on any bleed be they my own or a shops to get that power I have to be two fingered braking. Sintered or Organic. I like and have a habbit of late braking. Basically I want a brake with a much lighter touch where the power comes on quicker and was hoping some Goodridges might save me some money. I also want brakes that have a narrower bite point margin as I have to run em pretty close to the bars (girly hands).

Also Oro’s **** me off no end when bleeding and I don’t remember having these problems with my ancient M4s.

I liked my old Hopes that I had years ago that were grabby as hell. I also noticed that during Dyno testing the M4’s were considerably more powerfull at 50N of pull force than the Oros. If some shiny braided hoses do **** all I’ll get some new brakes. So all in all I wasn’t asking your opinion of how good Oro’s are, they piss me off…that’s all there is to it and I’d like to make them grabbier or get rid of them. Ta

I would say that all current disc brakes (with appropriately-sized rotors for the type of riding you’re doing) should be powerful enough for 1 finger braking when they’re working properly. Better, more expensive, brakes feel nicer, last longer, are more reliable etc but in terms of pure power, even some super pimp XTRs will only be slightly better than a basic hydro disc. It comes down to simple mechanics at the end of the day (mechanical work applied at the lever is proportional to work at the rim).

I.e. if you can’t do one fingered braking then something’s wrong. If you’re happy about the bleed and they’re not leaking, the only thing left really is the pad / rotor combo. Clean the rotor with strong degreaser / alcohol (I run mine through the dishwasher, seems to work well) and burn the pads with a blowtorch / gas hob until they top smoking.

I had Formulas back in 2007. Really didn’t like the way they felt. A lot of people (me included) will say good things about the new XT M785 discs. I’d go for those over Hopes any day.

I had Formulas back in 2007. Really didn’t like the way they felt. A lot of people (me included) will say good things about the new XT M785 discs. I’d go for those over Hopes any day. !

good luck ! 8)

I have K18’s on two bikes, PITA to bleed IME but they work great (certainly enough to lock the wheels quickly one-finger breaking if you overdo it). I’ve only used Hayes Nine’s and Stroker Trails for comparison but they’re better for feel than both and at least equal on power. Currently using SS kevlar pads but they worked fine with the original organic pads (although they only lasted 50km) and also fine with SS sintered, I’m just using the hoses they came with to rather than braided.

If you want the “power to come on quicker” you could try moving the pads out a little from their resting position.

Take the wheels off and give each lever one full squeeze. This should move the pads a little nearer to the rotor so they grab quicker.

APF

I had K24’s back in ’07 & thought they were awesome & easy to bleed.
Have you tried just back bleeding them? Worked fine for me & always had plenty of power with 180 rotors in the Alps & no overheating problems.
OK they felt a bit soft compaired to Hayes or Hope, but only when sat stationary pulling the levers, never noticed them feeling soft when actually out riding.

These are the only brakes I have come across that really suffer more than any other brake. If someone has a shimano or hope brake on their bike for 2 years and never serviced the brakes.. they usually feel fine. They will be in need of new fluid but nothing seems to get contaminated like k18’s.

You bleed them and more often than not find that the fluid is like milk. Often filthy too. Maybe its the conditions around the highlands,i’m not sure.

To be honest these folk are neglecting their bikes,not just the brakes. I would still say that the K18 dies a bit sooner due to neglect than anything else i have seen.

Hmm not trying to come across as a K18 fanboi here but one of my bikes was bought mid-2009 and I haven’t actually bled them on that one and they don’t feel like they need it either…

Yeah they can often feel fine but if the pads wear right down and the pistons need cleaning before pushing them back into the bores then you might find it a bit tricky getting them flush into the bores.. then the bleed shows how bad the fluid is.

You should flush them out a few times to clean any crap out of them as i have also seen scoring on metallic parts in the lever along with worn out seals. New fluid to get rid of all the old crap can only help with how long these small parts will last. Saving you money in the long run. The parts don’t come cheap.

I must be doing something wrong 😕

Had my Oro 18’s on for 4 years, never bled them, and 1-finger braking is still powerful enough to throw you over the bars. Don’t even see the need to bleed them. Would be nice to trim the hoses a bit, but as they say, if it ain’t broke…
AFAIK Formula run the pads closer to the disc than most too, so come on quicker anyway.

Do what alex says to fix the bite point to your liking. Never had an issue bleeding them apart from having to be careful with the caliper side o ring. They do have lots of power but mine also seemed to tire out a bit compared to new. They were 2006 brakes and I always wondered if the hose had gone a bit elastic with age robbing power.

Just put new XTs on my bike and they are as incredible as I remember the OROs when I first fitted them. The XTs are much more of a faff to bleed ime.

Thanks for the great info guys. I’ll try your suggestions…. if I’m still not happy with them though I’m going to get some Saint’s, V2’s or R0’s.

As I said, I just want a brake that needs a lot softer touch. I’ve been getting arm pump whenever I’ve been on the brakes at downhill tracks….. doing some grip training that appears to be helping but again….I just don’t like the feel of these brakes at the moment. It’s like whatever I’ve tried the power only comes on at high speed when I’m really grabbing them…. even after a bleed it’s as if the hoses are like balloons….kind of this feeling as though they’re expanding as opposed to the pad biting the disk.

I’ll try the suggestions for the bite point adjustment…..but if proves a pain in the arse constantly readjusting them with the above mentioned method I’m going to ditch them. Small hands and I’ve pulled the brake levers into my middle finger on a number of occassions.

I too got very cheesed off with K18s mainly because they tended to seize without warning usually in remote places. This was from almost new.When they worked they were good but they didn’t work consistently enough. I replaced them with SLXs which have been excellent and trouble free

Oros don’t have huge initial bite- very progressive power rather than the spiky power some people like. But should be no need for 2-finger braking, something is Definately Not Right (I run 3 sets and I single-finger on all 3, one of those is a downhill bike- admittedly a downhill bike ridden by a mobile chicane but then I guess that proves my brakes work!)

Bleeding isn’t exactly a knack, it’s more a case of actually following the instructions. Might sound daft but I thought I could see a shortcut, tried it, and failed miserably. Doing it as prescribed works flawlessly, and is nicely clean too.

So, all in all there is something wrong with them or you. Just in my opinion like, hope this doesn’t piss you off mr grumpy.

andytherocketeer – Member

I must be doing something wrong

Had my Oro 18’s on for 4 years, never bled them, and 1-finger braking is still powerful enough to throw you over the bars. Don’t even see the need to bleed them. Would be nice to trim the hoses a bit, but as they say, if it ain’t broke…
+1. Had mine since fitting them, new, in ’08, and have never serviced or bled them. I probably should have, but they’ve never given me any problems, so I’ve not needed to! I’m a big fan of fit and forget, and these fit that to a T.

I’ve had them about a year or so. Fitted straight off pre-bled. No special adjustments, they’re powerful enough for my heft, the rotors are lightweight and they make an awesome noise when I brake.

I used these K18’s for a couple of years and loved them initially.

I’d say from your description and what I have encountered that one piston is “lazy” – is moving less than the other – possibly semi seized. This seems to push the disk away from the effective piston etc.

Anyway I got rid of them after a different problem, but that sticky piston thing can happen to any brake.

5 years fit and forget here, had to let a little fluid out of the rears initially but done nothing since, they’ve been great. pad lifes been good to bar one very wet loop of whites.

In terms of sticky pistons, on the off chance I clamp the smooth one down with a small g-clamp. Then I pump the lever so all the pressure goes through the sticky one. This usually frees it up.