Both my Avid XX failed after 2 years of struggle so I am on the market for new brakes.
Currently I have 2 very good offers – one for R1 2015 and one for SLX 665 at almost the same (low) price. There aren’t much recent reviews of the R1 and I gather that there have been some changes in the recent model years.
I had tons of problems with the XX and would really love to get a set and forget pair of brakes… On the other hand I really dislike the Shimano feel and modulation and the R1 are sooo light.

What would the singletrack crowd advice me?

No contest SLX. I have swapped from R1’s to SLX because they were awful. Gits to bleed, levers coming back to the bars once pads are half worn and have to replaced as bleeding doesnt resolve the problem.

I have the formula Rx brakes- wouldn’t buy then again- been a pain to bleed and have never felt as good as they first did. Several friends have slx brakes and say they are great

Deore ?

R1 I’ve had about 5 pairs over the years on various bikes, loved Formulas and had no issues on any of them

Here’s my best STW-style reply.

I’ve had a set of Formula Rx which I quite liked but had heat problems in the alps. I now have XT which are great. You didn’t ask about either. TBH I think, though, that my main issue with the Rx brakes would have been fixed with the new Shimano discs rather than a full brakeset.

I’ve had Formula’s for the last 5 years C1 and ORO and never had any problems, never tried Shimano though.

Mick

have had both…R1s are a bugger to set up but I much prefered them, just as powerful and a lot lighter

That said, where are you getting R1s for anywhere near the price of SLX…they cost me about twice what my XTs did.

loved my R1s I’ve never owned a set of brakes with such a positive bite – actually it took some getting used to, but they were unreliable and fussy and when they went wrong it manifested itself in the lever suddenly loosing bite and hitting the bar – once is enough for me.

I actually bought a cheap deore set because the R1s had broken (again) the day before I left for the Alps, I expected they’d be a bit rubbish, especially as I’m not the best gravity rider in the world and drag brake when I know I shouldn’t – but they worked perfectly, they’re still on my bike now – best brakes I’ve ever owned AND the cheapest – I keep telling myself I’ll buy some SLX or XT brakes to up the bling factor a bit, but I’ve never bothered.

Frankly I’ve no idea why any brake manufacturer still uses DOT fluid, when mineral oil works so well?

have had a couple of pair of formulas (the ones / T1’s though) and had a couple of pairs of shimanos (slx & zee’s) i prefer the feel, modulation and power of formulas when they are working correctly, however they are temperamental especially as they get older, and as others have said a pain in the arris to bleed. shimanos on the other hand are pretty much fit and forget and easy to bleed, just not a nice a feel. currently using zee’s as they were the best compromise i could find

i’ve just gone from XT’s to Formula CR1’s as i have had yet another XT rear brake fail. Shimano are not quite as fit and forget as people think.

Must say, i am preferring the feel of teh formulas, nice and progressive lever feel and the power really builds the more you squeeze, unlike Shimanos all or nothing.

i have no experience on the longevity of the Formulas as yet.

something i forget to mention is that you can’t get spares to service the shimanos which i didn’t know before buying them. i had cracked a ceramic piston and had to buy a whole new caliper which i was shocked buy. formulas you can pretty much get every part to rebuild them form the ground up – unfortunately you may well need this spares availability

Get anything Shimano that takes your fancy. I wouldn’t use R1’s if they were free and certainly not as a fit and forget brake! Even as a light XC mincer they would fade awfully on an sustained steep DH, could never be set up without the rotors rubbing, ate brake pads at a shocking rate, small spares cost more than a complete Shimano caliper or lever… the list of things wrong with them goes on. Direct comparison riding XTR with the same pads, same rotors and same routes and weather is night and day in performance and reliability.

I’ve got XT’s on one bike and R1’s on the other. Both have been faultless over the years but I personally prefer the feel of the XT’s rather than the on/off feel of the R1’s.

is your XX going o be for sale soon?

other half got slx and xt brakes , tried it but never liked it bu she s happy bunny with them shimano brakes

SLX aren’t really in the same league as R1s. XT maybe. I’m still running 2010 R1s, love the power and can modulate braking just fine, I had issue with lever bolt coming loose when I first got them, otherwise faultless.