My lady friend wants some new stoppers for her trail/AM bike, but is a bit out of touch with what’s decent these days.

She rode my bike recently, to try some XTR trails, but found them a bit snappy for her dainty hands and has also ridden a couple of other bikes with various other Shimano brakes and had a similar effect.

I thought about suggesting the new Guide RSC’s – they seem to have very favourable reviews, which is race for a SRAM brake, but i’m unsure about the longevity of them. Every SRAM/Avid brake i’ve had in the past has been a pain in the arse to keep running sweet & I have no doubt it will be me who will be looking after them.

Other option was the Hope Race E4? Any opinions?

As Shimano is out, what else have I missed? No Formula, as they make Avid look reliable, nor do I want anything obscure that parts are a challenge to find.

Shimano. She’ll get used to them in no time.

I’ve just removed sram guide rsc brakes from my capra pro and replaced them with hope tech 3 e4’s. I prefer the Performance of the hopes and how adjustable they are, they’re also neater looking on the bars imo.

Haven’t used the latest Hopes but the Guide RSC’s on my new bike are a clear improvement from my previous Hope Mono M4’s

The hopes E4’s are amazing but you will have many people on here telling you otherwise but what do they know.
She may be able to get away with x2’s. They will be lighter but won’t be as powerful as the E4’s.
It may be worth considering the tech lever instead of the race because it is the only brake lever that the reach adjust and bite point actually work on which means they are very easy to set up for smaller hands.

XT

Brillant. 2 out of 6 posts so far recommending the one brand she doesn’t want because of the way the brakes feel.

Which I understand completely, as they are very on/off. I can see why people don’t like that, nor would want to get used to it.

XT, slx or even deore, as long as it’s new generation shimano you wont be dissapointed

Guide RSC, Used a few sets now, all have been very nice, Feel good

Zee

SLX

Brillant. 2 out of 6 posts so far recommending the one brand she doesn’t want because of the way the brakes feel.

Which I understand completely, as they are very on/off. I can see why people don’t like that, nor would want to get used to it.

The latest Shimano brakes do not feel like that at all. Recent ones did.

The latest Shimano brakes do not feel like that at all. Recent ones did.

I’d respectfully disagree, having 3 different bikes with Shimano’s on (820 Saints, XTR985 Trails & XTR9020 Trails) they are still very on-off.

No point in offering or suggesting something she has no interest in. Having ridden all of my bikes it’s a battle I will never win. She doesn’t like them, simple!

Seeing as other people are suggesting Shimano which was ruled out as being grabby, why not spray the pads in oil 😆

Or get X2 Tech 3. At least you won’t need to keep replacing master cylinders or calipers, seeing as it’ll be you doing the spannering.

Shimano deore / slx with organic pads and appropriate sized rotors, will not feel on/off or grabby, at all.

On my road bike, i have shimano hydros with organic pads and 160/140 rotors and they are absolutely fantastic in terms of modulation and stopping power when needed.

In contrast I have Elixir 7 with sintered pads and 185/160 on the MTB and these feel very grabby in comparison, but also seem to lack ultimate stopping power.

Zee are not grabby unlike SLX (xt, deore etc)

I am running some Magura MT2’s which I got from Rutland Cycles. They were very cheap and have been faultless. Just replaced the pads which lasted all winter too.

Seriously? Can’t people read, or do Shitmano have paid stooges on this forum, or what?

The obvious answer is Hope. X2 Race are nice and light and stop my fat ass, but I am not that fast on the downs. If she is fast, E4s may be better, or E4 front X2 back.

I also think Magura is an obvious option. I’ve always liked the modulation on offer across their range. Easy enough to work on too.

Serously?

Yup. There’s nothing to touch even Deore brakes. And not even ‘for the money’ either, I mean at any price. Although they are cheap too. I wouldn’t even go above Deore personally. The higher models just have bells and whistles and don’t work much differently.
We’ve got 6 bikes in the garage that all have either Shimano or Magura brakes, and I service all models of brakes. Shimano wipe the floor with anything else.
I’m a Magura man personally, but these days I’d buy Shimano without blinking an eye.

(I think a lot of the reason they’re superior (and Magura too) is simply down to the mineral brake fluid)

Surprised no one has suggested Shimano yet. Thought they were popular on here.

Have a set off MT2 Maguras, Shimano Deore, SLX and Zee on other bikes. Yes, they vary in disc size for application, but the 180mm x 180mm Uber floating discs, sintered Uber pads and Deores are just laughable power. Nothing for the money comes close. Your friend needs to learn how to modulate braking power better,thats all.

Probably should have made it clearer. She doesn’t want a budget brake either, quite happy to spend some money on them.

I expect I’ll get a load more suggestions for Shimano and Deore now, seeing as they are the two things she doesn’t want.

I’ll suggest she needs to learn to like Shimano though & let you know that one pans out.

I will have a look at the Magura options though, never considered those.

Thanks

PeterPoddy

(I think a lot of the reason they’re superior (and Magura too) is simply down to the mineral brake fluid)

Absolutely.

Seriously? Can’t people read, or do Shitmano have paid stooges on this forum, or what?

No, Shimano are just a giant company who make affordable products that work well. This is why people recommend them. It’s ironic that you should mention paid stooges though since a number of people in the bike industry have told me that Orange and Hope do just that, on this very forum (and a few others).

cant comment on them yet, but I’ve just bought the guides from bike-components.de pretty cheap. Just realised that wiggle will price match them too (see their price match request page)

I have read the OP, but I am still going to recommend XT. But send them to me for a bleed first, then she’ll like them.

They are crap that stops working and can’t be fixed. I don’t care how bargain basement they are, if they give up the ghost ON BOTH ENDS within 5 minuts of each other one one ride, then they are not going on my bikes, period. If I can’t get parts to fix them, they are not going on my bike, period.

It’s ironic that the very first thing out your cakehole after butterbean saying “Shimano is out” (and explaining why) is “Shimano”!

LOL

Why not just put shimano brakes on the bike but cover them in colourful tape so they can’t be seen?

Tell her they’re Magura or something, they could do with the good press.

The ‘what brakes/argument’ thread started early this week.

Currently running Guide RS.
Had them for a couple of months and they seem pretty good so far, plenty of modulation with a nice amount of power.
Had no changes in the way they feel over the relatively short time I’ve used them, which is already a better experience than the Juicy or Elixir brakes I’ve owned in the past.
I had to bleed the back brake when fitting as I made a ham fisted attempt at shortening the hose.
Really easy to get a good bleed, surprised me tbh, lever feel as good as the front, and no faffing about like the old Avids.
If they are still cheap (ish) at CRC I’d buy them.

I bought some SLX from Evans 2 weeks ago, I think they were £90.

Love my Hope X2’s, more ‘feely’ than the XT’s on my hardtail. No end of trouble with older Avids mind.

My wife has just come from SLX to X2’s and it’s taking some getting used to, but she also didn’t want the stoppy/starty feel of Shimano.

If power is a problem then you can always go big on Rotors…

4 pot shimano’s do not grab like the 2 pots – unless she has tried zee or saint I’m still going to recommend them.

not shimano, nice feel, it’ll be me maintaining them

how about mechanical ? spyres, jagwire outers, big rotors ???

I’ve had Race X2 Evo for about 18 months now and have no complaints. Nice feel, easy to set up and easy to maintain. Also got Tech X2 on another bike. Same story really.

Personally I prefer the feel (and looks) of the Race lever, but I’ve got big hands and I’d agree with the earlier point that the reach and bite point adjustments are better on the tech lever. So they might work better for smaller hands.

Do her fingers not work properly or something?

Saying that such and such brake is either on or off is a complete load of tosh to be honest with you. One of the genius ways our body works is the ability to gently squeeze something or give it a good hard grab. Shimano brakes aren’t on or off – no brakes are – they just perhaps take less effort to get a really decent stop on, which doesn’t mean that you can’t lightly feather them, but does help you go faster and reduces arm pump etc.

There is without a doubt such a thing as overly grabby brakes. Ridiculous to suggest otherwise.
My Spesh Stumpy came with Avid Juicy Ultimate 7 disc brakes. There was absolutely nothing between zero and full-on braking power, I nearly went over the handlebars the first times I tried them and then on slippy trails they would lock the front wheel without any warning, I removed them and put Hopes on almost immediately.
In my experience so far, the SRAM Guide RSC brakes have a similar feel to the Hopes with good modulation but with more overall power if I need it.
I don’t fancy using brakes that will require the finest of fingertips to avoid locking my wheels, if that is what Shimano brakes are like (I haven’t used them).

Avid Juicy and ElixrCR – very smooth, ultimately they will let you down
Formula – good but a bit sharp, don’t last
Shimano – not much different from either of the above with the added feature of reliability.

All the talk of Shimano being “grabby” or “on/off” IMO is blx I put off buying them because I listened to the naysayers on here and then had no choice in the end as I got a last minute Alps holiday and needed new brakes in a hurry. Bought SLX, never looked back.

The obvious answer is Hope.

I’ve had Hope and Shimano XT. I much prefer Shimano – more powerful and more reliable. They’re also half the price.

Why do people got so defensive about their choice of brakes? I’ve ridden bikes with Hope, Shimano and Avid brakes. I prefer Hope, but if somebody else prefers Shimano that’s fine. I don’t feel any need to convince them that they are wrong.