Katie’s Canyon Spectral is a great 140mm trail bike. However, it came with 200mm XT disc on the front and 180mm on the rear. She’s sub 60kg kitted up and I think the brakes are just too powerful. I’ve never felt underbraked on 180mm rotors on more progressive brakes and pretty sure the excess power has caused her to lose the wheels a few times.

Is there any way of making them more progressive? I’ve never like the on-off nature of XT. How much would knocking the front disc down to 180 make (the rear is direct mount 180 so can’t change it)?

Just put some wd40 on the rotors…

A smaller rotor will make a difference but it’s probably more like technique still being the issue, you’ll only lose a wheel or wheels if you’re braking at the wrong time. She should feel lucky – her braking zones will be much shorter than those of a 80+kg man

A smaller rotor will make a difference but it’s probably more like technique still being the issue, you’ll only lose a wheel or wheels if you’re braking at the wrong time.

I don’t know, I had some issues with my Hopes when I’d got them mounted too far in so the notch on the end of the lever made the action less progressive and I’ve almost thrown myself over the bars of XT bikes when I’ve ridden them on the flat. They need a really delicate touch – I can imagine hitting a bump could cause you to over brake. Sure, if you’re only on the flat and straight shouldn’t matter, but you still need to brake on off-camber traverses

How much would knocking the front disc down to 180 make

About 10%.

The grabbiness/bityness of Shimanos is something I don’t get on with very well, I prefer less initial bite and then progressive power after that* and when I first swapped over to using Shimano it didn’t take me longbefore I downsized all the rotors.

160/140 for me on XC bikes, 180/160 on bigger bouncy bikes, I still find the 180/160 combo a bit bitey but needed to leave the bigger rotors on for overall power when needed, but I prefer the feel of the smaller rotor’d bikes.

*previously always used Hope and hayes, and I prefer the older Hopes I have on other bikes and seriously thinking about converting the remaining Shimano bikes back over as the Hopes seem to be low on intial bite, but then increasing in power when needed, my Shimano go the other way, massive bite and then fades when needed. My Wife on the other hand loves her Shimanos, she finds the bite gives her confidence and works with her lower finger strength so as always brake feel is very personal.

Don’t pull the brakes as hard.

put some long-life pads in should degrade the performance. Otherwise, she’ll just get used to it.

I rate Deore higher than xt for this reason, much less snappy bite but still bags of power when you pull. I have zees on the main bike too, which are much nicer, but I’m 90kg or so. Chuck a 160 on.

180/160 on mine and i’d go larger if anything but i’m 14.5 stone in my birthday suit.

Going down in size will def make a difference tho

180/160 on mine and i’d go larger if anything but i’m 14.5 stone in my birthday suit.

Are the centre lock? Want to swap your 180 (and adaptor) for a 200mm and 160mm-PM fork adaptor?

The rear is, surprisingly, a 180mm direct mount, so can’t drop the size of the rear disc.

I think the brakes are just too powerful

What does she think?

Personally I think the rider needs to just get used to them. They’ll soon learn to modulate them. Like anything it just takes a little patience and practice. I’d much rather have too much braking power than not enough.
I am intrigued by the phrase “lose the wheels”. Do you mean skid?

Personally I think the rider needs to just get used to them. They’ll soon learn to modulate them. Like anything it just takes a little patience and practice.

3+ years with my Shimanos, it’s not that I’m not used to them, or can’t modulate them, it’s that I just prefer a different feel to my brakes, the Shimanos annoy me when really brakes should be either invisible or even better, delighting me.

I’d much rather have too much braking power than not enough.

It’s not really about the amount of power, pretty much every MTB brake on the market has enough power to overcome your level of traction in 99% of circumstances, it’s about the delivery of that power. I like a brake that feeds in gently, no grabbing, and then delivers more power as and when I ask for it in a fairly linear fashion depending on how much harder I pull. With the Shimanos I have (2x SLX, 1x XT)what I get is a gob load of initial bite, followed by a bit of an increase in power, followed by a slight tailing off after that.

Swapping to smaller rotors tames the bite slightly and still gives enough power for most cases after that, but I still prefer the feel of $OTHER brakes with bigger/normal rotors where I can get the feel I want, and the power if needed.

Basically it’s simple preference, I like things that work in one way, others like things different, it doesn’t make either of us right or wrong, it just means we want different things, and fortunately there are options out there for different tastes.

Dial your xt leavers closer to your bar. You will find it easier to modulate them.

Dial your xt leavers closer to your bar. You will find it easier to modulate them.

aimed at me? or OP?

As above, its not that I can’t modulate them, it’s that I prefer the feel of other brakes, I’m an ex-trials rider, brake control is not something I have a problem with, but brake feel is something I’m quite picky about (FWIW, they’re already set quite close). I get that other people love them, my wife is one of those people, and I’m not dissing them, they’re good brakes, but you don’t need to try and convince me I’ll like them too if I persevere/adjust/fiddle/MTFU 😆

OP’s question was about reducing rotor size and if it has any effect, the answer is yes, it does, but only a bit, it might be worth a try for him (well not him, but Katie) as it might just take the edge off enough. The other options might be different pads, but I don’t know what the OP is currently using.

Bigger rotors should make the brakes stop better but also give more modulation, no?

I’ve found going up rotor sizes with Shimano barkes has made them feel less grabby in the past.

Currently on Deores with 180mm/180mm and I have to be careful not lock up and “lose the wheels” in loose conditions.

A different approach could be to move the levers in so that it’s possible only get one finger on them.

It’s a bit of a sticking plaster but I’ve just done this with my 4 pot XTs as I found I was automatically using two fingers which makes it easy to over-brake. I’ve only done a few rides with them so far and will probably move them back out again as I get used to them.

Just wait a week or two until the piston seals start leaking and the performance will be more to your wife’s liking 😉

I’m 70kg and ride 180 front and rear… Jnr is 25kg (wet through,kitted up and carrying my water) and has 160 front and rear and has no problems modulating*.

He does lock up when he wants but that is because he doesn’t pay for tyres…

This:

Dial your xt levers closer to your bar. You will find it easier to modulate them

Thats another reason why they fit span adjusters….

They’re already set up for one finger braking and close to the bars. One thing that is good about XT is that the lever and contact point adjustment really works.

I’m with Amedias. I’m sure I could learn to ride them but I definitely prefer the feel of Hope or Sram Guides. The greater modulation surely gives more control and is more forgiving. Ideally I’d just put the Guides on that are on an bike that’s not getting used but bloody centrelock roters and i-spec shifters mean it’s not so simple…

I’m used to my ancient Hope C2s so I get the desire for modulation and feel. The four pot XTs are very good to be fair but then they’re not a Shimano design..

I never liked my friends HFX9s because they were so on/off. He loved them but thought my Hopes were “squishy”. I’m sure either one of could have got used to the others brakes but it would’ve taken time.

It sounds like these brakes of hers are pretty new, are they worth enough to sell on and fund another set?

simons_nicolai-uk – Member
180/160 on mine and i’d go larger if anything but i’m 14.5 stone in my birthday suit.
Are the centre lock?

No, 6 bolt.

I’m ~60 kg with SLX brakes and had 180 mm discs fitted front and rear to my full sus. For me that combo was a little too efficient at stopping; I had trouble controlling my speed and would lock up way too easily. I’ve many years experience riding, run the levers wound close to the bars, brake with one finger and know how to modulate as opposed to digital braking so it wasn’t a technique issue. I’d never had any issue on my XC bikes but there I was generally running 160 mm with sometimes smaller on the rear. I dropped down to 160 mm on the rear of the full sus and life became completely different and enjoyable, that included whilst riding out in the Pyrenees on the steep stuff where I was able to control my speed more appropriately. So for me 180/160 mm is the perfect combo although sounds like that’s not an option for the OP.

I’ve had Deores on 160 F&R, 180 F 160 R, Zee 180 F SLX 160 R and XTR M9020 203 F&R.

I would say the best out of those in terms of feel for me are the XTR with 203mm rotors. With the Zee on 180 not being too bad.

My GF who is under 55kg with kit rides with SLX M675 180mm Rotors and likes them now, at first she felt they were a bit grabby though.

My son who is a skinny 12 year old rides with slx brakes 203/180 discs and has never had an issue with poor modulation or being over powerful. I guess he knows how to use the levers