Looking for peoples opinions here;

I have some Elixir 5’s and, as per many posts on here, they can be a bit temperamental.

So i’m looking for something new, looking to spend about £160-180 for a new pair.

Whats the consensus, my options seem to be;
New XT, second hand Hope or Formula, or Magura MT4 from Bikediscount.

XT

XT

I’d always sacrifice maybe the tiniest bit of stopping power from some of the competitors and go for Hope 4 pots every time – beautiful to look at, great modulation, adjustable for bite and reach at the lever, unbelievably easy to bleed, well made, can change pads with wheel in, customer support (that I’ve never needed)! What’s not to like?

For that budget, XT. Well worth the money

Stopping power is dictated by tyre grip. Any hydraulic brake should be powerful enough to lock the wheel. I got a cracking deal on ebay for some new Formula RXs, from High on Bikes I think. About £160 for everything with 203mm disks (wasn’t particularly after 203 discs but its what they came with). They’re great. Rode a mates bike with Shimano SLXs and they are good but didn’t like the feel of them, but that’s subjective I guess.

I wanted Hopes but they are pricey.

Just one question regarding the XT’s. If I buy them from say Germany, is everything included that I will need to shorten/swap the hoses?

Cheers lads.

Why buy from Germany?

http://www.ribblecycles.co.uk/pp/mtb-bmx-bike/brakes-mtb/bram

Are you sure theyre not cheaper in the uk? They were when i bought mine a few months ago, but yes did include everything needed to shorten hoses as they were way too long anyway

Think I might be tempted then. Do I need any additional inserts or shorten the hoses?

SLX from Ribble, £100 – sorted

They do not come with the finned pads, olives etc, but for the price impossible to argue with…installed mine a couple of nights ago, superb brakes.

I went XT as thought they came with the finned pads, go SLX for £100 🙂

Great think i’ll get some. Do I just need new olives to shorten?

Sorry to disappoint but slx and xt are now sold out at ribble. Deore supposed to be pretty much as good though.

Olives and this brass thingy that goes into the hose, although you may be able to reuse the one fitted.

Mine came with everything i needed and finned pads

The single XT’s are still in stock 🙂

And it will be worth getting the bleed funnel

Oh and some brake fluid

http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/shimano-olive-and-connecter-insert-bh90/rp-prod69605

That the part?

Shimano xt, slx had mine for ages

Thats the one

Edit… Actuaaly mine looked closer to this one…

http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/shimano-universal-olive-and-insert/rp-prod1801

creamegg thats a bh59

Does it have to be new? 2nd hand pair of Formula The ones? I just bought some as they were a bargain from a mate and I cant believe how little effort they require. Used for the 1st time today at Bike Park Wales and after 11 runs, they were still so easy to apply the power. Not sure on parts availability and how easy to service yet, but v/very impressed with them. Now dropping to 160 rear on my FS to save weight as I dont need 180 anymore

XT for sure.

I’ve always rated Magura, yet they seem to be out of favour now. Hmmm.

I’d go for a used set of The Ones (the MY10 or 11, not the earlier ones as they’re pish). Should be doable in your price range and are still among the best brakes ever made- dh power, xc light, very reliable (and fully servicable) and none of the grab/unsubtlety of Shimano. I took my own advice, got 3 sets- one on a dh bike, one on a 6 inch alpinated full suss, one on a 23lb ti hardtail. Absolutely ideal regardless.

That said, the Shimanos are stupid value, and some people do prefer the much more abrupt lever feel of Shimano over the subtlety of good Formula and Hope.

You get used to the bite on shimanos. Ive got hopes on one bike and i adapt quickly between bikes. Can be a suprise if your not expecting it though

Mate of mine got some of the Ribble XT’s, came with 800mm front and 1200mm (too short) rear hoses, unboxed, just wrapped in cardboard and bubble wrap, no spare sintered pads, no olives and barbs, after the price of a new rear hose and shortening kit was included they didn’t work out to be the bargain they seemed..
The advert is misleading IMO, they’re OEM not aftermarket brakes.
He sent em back…
There’s still some good deals on Formula brakes on the Formula website.. Here..

Stopping power is dictated by tyre grip

That old misleading nugget. Stopping power is dictated by the control and power of the brakes. For example, on all road cars you can lock-up the brakes if you want to. That is not the same as saying all cars have equivalent brakes. And anyway, most if not all of the time on the bike you aren’t braking at full power anyway. It’s all about control.

Shimano every time for me. Excellent reliability, price, performance and ease of maintenance.

TheArtistFormerlyKnownAsSTR – Member
I’d always sacrifice maybe the tiniest bit of stopping power from some of the competitors and go for Hope 4 pots every time – beautiful to look at, great modulation, adjustable for bite and reach at the lever, unbelievably easy to bleed, well made, can change pads with wheel in, customer support (that I’ve never needed)! What’s not to like?

POSTED 11 HOURS AGO # REPORT-POST

Deffo get them then aye, **** the performance! I love an attractive brake! 😆

Go with the xt pal, best brakes out there by far! And they do have good modulation, although if you’ve come from hope brakes that have no power then they will take a ride to get used to, as these babys have so much more power! But once you’ve had them, you won’t go back! 8)

I don’t feel my Tech M4’s are lacking power, couple that with the fact that locking the wheel is the last thing I want to do I’d prefer the feel/modulation of a 4 pot brake over the grab/instant power of the shimano. That and it’s all serviceable without binning the actual brake is a massive positive.

I dont like Shimano brakes, the bite point is too far into the levers travel for me and the levers feel a bit small. Plus the older ones looked better, the new ones with the reservoir where it is look crap to me. I had SLX for a while and went back to a set of Elixir 3s. I just prefer the Avid lever feel/shape and the bite point is where I like it. Plus they dont leak like my slx did. Or have pistons that are prone to cracking.

That being said they can be fiddly to set up well and I reckon id spend the extra on formula if I was buying again.

Never felt my Tech M4’s lacking either – maybe they don’t throw you over the bars, but they are good for stoppies and I can lock the rear on tarmac without unweighting.

Yeah pussy ^^^ their looks was the ONLY reason I recommended them 🙄

Lovely braided hoses too 😉

I went from M4’s to XT’s – night and day difference. Hope’s feel utter shite compared to them (before I get a lecture the Hope’s were set up correctly)

All my bikes are Shimano now, even the cheap Deore’s pee all over the M4’s.

The Hopes look nice. I prefer overall performance though.

I’ve owned s**t loads of brakes from various manufacturers.
A set of t1’s will be much lighter than xt or xtr trails and much more powerful, however, a bit pricier than xt’s and lever positioning is a bit more difficult to get right.
Running in a set of pads on all brakes is important but seems to be more pertinent with formulas.
I’ve taken my ro’s off my enduro bike and am using 25th anniversary t1’s which are lighter and have a sharper feel.
Imo shimano do have the best feeling lever shape of all brakes and xt’s are great value if slightly heavy.

Serp alert

Brakes are ONLY there to look good cos if you’re an anyway decent rider at all you’ll never actually need anything other than on/off

no deals on XTR anywhere?