I have always had Avids, jucy 5`s, Juicy 7s and now a single Elixir CR on the front.
So I like the “Feel” of Avids

I have put an XT (785) on the rear and its powerful, but not as progressive as the Avids, very on /off

I had set my heart on a set of XT for the Brodie, but after having the rear fitted for a while I’m not so sure.

Also looking at Hopes (race evo m4) at the moment but not sure what they feel like in comparison to Avid ?

If they are closer to XT than Avid, that will be a no

The other option is Formulas ?? as I believe they are very similar in their progressive feel to avid ?

Or do I just get a new set of Avid XO’s ?

Really struggling with the decision and don’t want to make an expensive mistake ?

Anyone have a real world comparison between brands / feel ?

Thanks in Advance
Cheers
Dom

I’m currently on Formula, best brakes I’ve ever used, but I’m no expert, faff free and do the job and nice modulation.

Having ridden lots of different brakes with differing levels of modulation/ feel- I used to care but now not fussed and find it relatively easy to adapt from one to the other. Current bike even has avid rear and hayes front. (what i had left that worked- not out of choice!) Both complete opposites for modulation.

I’d ride what you’ve got for a bit longer and see if you stop thinking about it. If it still bothers you then go back to avid for the rear.

I have at one time or another had virtually every mainstream brake out there. From experience Formula are fantastic but can typically be a pain to bleed, i have owned ‘the ones’ and Mega, both were VERY hard to get all of the air out (even with the correct bleed kit).

I personally do not like Avid, every set i have had went wrong. Sticky parts mostly- lever seals, pistons the list goes on. A real pain for me. However, most recently i found the X9’s I had very good.

Ive ran various Shimano’s, i do like the mineral oil because it does not kill your paint, however i find it cooks too easy. I lost all braking in the Alps last year with some new M810 Saints- it didnt happen with my Hopes. The other thing is parts- got a leaky seal…sorry its new lever or caliper time. They dont’t do small parts.

For me the out and out winner is HOPE. They are just bombproof and virtually maintenance free. When they do need a bleed or seals, its so simple- even a traditional ‘car’ type bleed works a treat. I personally use the HOPE bleed kit, this makes them work as good as brand new in minutes- its so simple, even on your own.

I ride Hope tech M4’s (2012) on my HT and Moto V2’s (around 2008?) on my DH bike. Both just always work no matter what, and thats something i havent found with any other brand. When they do need parts Hope are a pleasure to deal with- not like many others.

True- as yetiboyjay said – i’d look at bleeding, reliability, spare parts etc over anything else.

I’m lucky enough to have a full set of Formula The Ones and R1s. They’re too expensive new, even for their performance it’s not worth it but if you can get them for a sensible price they are superb. (oh, and bleeding them is very simple, just a case of following the instructions!)

Shimano are hard to argue with on value terms but I don’t like the feel personally. And for all Avid are great brakes when they work I can’t see any reason to tolerate their flakiness when there are other great brakes without it.

Northwind – Member
Shimano are hard to argue with on value terms but I don’t like the feel personally.

This is what I have found

Yak, I have ridden with the xt for quite a while and its that initial “stiction and then go” as its overcome I cant get away from….

I`ve had more lockups on the rear since fitting it than I ever had with avids, as it seems to be “All or Nothing” or more accurately “Nothing, Nothing/EVERYTHING”

Braking should be something you can perform without thinking about it, it always has been for me, and now I find myself getting it wrong with the rear more than right. the only thing that’s changed is the rear brake (same disc, just XT set up for lever and caliper)

I’ve also got Formula R1s’s and am very happy with them, bought second hand so got them at a good price IMO.

I’ve always rated Magura brakes too and have been running my very old 2006 Louise Freeride brakes in the Alps and Andorra on many occasions without a hitch or overheating, fading etc. terrific modulation, great feel….whilst everyone else’s seemed to suffer one way or another.

Not sure what modern Magura are like though.

Shimano brakes always get good reviews too and my old XT brakes did wonders in the Alps years back but after a tumble the rear became impossible to bleed with any satisfaction. Not had any since but a pal rates his Saints very highly.

True- as yetiboyjay said – i’d look at bleeding, reliability, spare parts etc over anything else

If these are your top priorities when buying brakes, get some cable operated V brakes.

Otherwise, get some shimanos or formula. The older shimanos (pre servo wave) have a less on/off feel.

Fair enough.

Well my 2ps worth is that out of the lot I’ve ridden, avids have had the most feel/modulation, then some old magura louise frs that I thought were great, then everything else – xts, hayes etc are at the other end for feel. Not tried formula though. Of the better modulated ones, the maguras needed the least maintenance and I have a broken avid in the bits pile that needs attention.

If these are your top priorities when buying brakes, get some cable operated V brakes.

Used to be quite happy on these, and then prior to that happy on cantis too 😉

I did some back to back runs of the WC DH at Fort William this summer with Avid Elixir R’s, Hope Tech M4 and Formula The Ones. I’d also used SLX and XT previously on the bike but didn’t have them on the day for the comparison.

Long story short, The Ones blew the others out of the water. I’ve had two sets of Hope Tech M4s, and whilst I really really liked them, they were massively underpowered compared to The Ones. That said, if you want a medium powered brake which is super easy to fix/bleed, Tech M4s are a good (if expensive) purchase.

The Ones are also pretty light, which is an added bonus.

I was a Hope brake fan for about over a decade, avoiding Formula after a shoddy set of brakes a while back. Totally blown away by The Ones. If you’re after an off/on brake it’s definitely not for you, but the modulation is prefect for me, plus it comes into its own on long, heavy braking descents.

Used to be quite happy on these, and then prior to that happy on cantis too

😀 Just think of your rims!

You’ve just knocked my rose-tinted specs off. 🙂

If I ever need a new pair on my big bike, I may well downgrade from SLX to the latest m616 Deore – the ones with the revised caliper to take the ice tech pads. The new black enamel look is a big improvement, and the on/off feel is somehow much improved over the previous Deore M596 or my current SLX.

Peterfile, that’s great info thank you, Whats the feel / Modulation like on the Hopes ?
I`m looking at Race M4’s which are supposed to have more power than the Techs
I`m thinking if the feel and modulation is closer to similar to the avid / Formula end of the scale than the XT (on/off) end, then that might be a good compromise ?

Or failing that, anyone know of any good deals currently on Formula stuff ?

I got on very well with my Avid XO, and regret selling them when I downsized my bikes. I currently have xtr which are not as well modulated, but stronger. I’d buy XO trail again next time, but then I’ve always found Avid brakes to be reliable

Love the new xo trail brakes and agree about the feel being better than with Shimano.

Well I really like my m596’s. Wouldn’t say they are are on/off more…exact. Don’t like spongey breaks myself.

I’ve not had hope brakes for years, having used shimano recently. I find the xtr trail brakes very powerful and easy to maintain but they are on off in feel, I found the excellent deore brakes to have modulation. But I agree that you tend to get used to them either way quite quickly. Glad to hear that hope brakes are so good these days perhaps I’ll buy British next time.

Oops double post

In STW tradition I will recommend my own brakes. Hope V4’s. Great modulation and never short on power. It did take a while to get used to the increased free travel (over elixirs) but it’s all good now and I don’t miss bleeding the elixirs or the sticky pistons causing brake rub.

Having just swapped out my old elixir 3’s (got bored of draggy seals, slack leavers and pistons getting gummed up) for a set of Hayes prime pros’s I have to say that I prefer the Hayes…. Just seem nicer to pull (1 finger) and they have loads more power, only downside is the slightly large master cylinders/ lever body.

That is all.

True- as yetiboyjay said – i’d look at bleeding, reliability, spare parts etc over anything else.

In that case you want Maguras. They don’t need spare parts, they’re as easy to bleed as anything else out there and use mineral oil like Shimano.

Zees, got two sets now, best brakes I’ve used thus far and I have been around awhile 🙂

Check the PSA for SLX brakes mate,someone just added a link for an even better deal on XT’s. At that price you can’t go wrong!

I did see the psa, but I don’t like the feel of the XTs

Just pushed the button on a set of Hope stealth Race Evo M4s from halfords
So hopefully they’ll do what I want !
Cheers for all the suggestions everyone

The Ones are ridiculously good. I’ve used them on uplift in the Pyrenees and no fade ever on long descents – one finger braking all the way and I weigh 16st +