and is the Stroker Trail still up there as a good brake choice?

I now have 4 sets of wheels, light to heavy duty..

So that both of my bikes can swap out to any of these 4 sets at will.. I am planning on installing the same brakes on both my bikes. Each set of wheels will get 8in front and 7in rear rotors, thus easy swaps will be possible. I have Juicy’s on one bike and Strokers on the other.

I have been happier with the Strokers in terms of dependability etc, so I figure I’ll retire the Juicy’s and have Stroker Trails on both bikes.

Good idea?

Hayes seem to have a terrible rep for reliability. If you need one new set, I’d go for Shimano or Magura.

You’ll probably need to get some rotor spacing shims too, it’s very unlikely that all your hubs will have identical rotor positioning.

Rather than new brakes, I’d just make sure all the rotors are the same size and either as above, space them so they all sit in exactly the same place (which you’d have to do even if you have the same calipers), or be prepared to adjust the caliper position everytime (which you’d have to do even if you have the same calipers).

Rather than new brakes, I’d just make sure all the rotors are the same size and either as above, space them so they all sit in exactly the same place (which you’d have to do even if you have the same calipers), or be prepared to adjust the caliper position everytime (which you’d have to do even if you have the same calipers).

+1

And I’d not use Hayes brakes.

I standardised on XT with this in mind but found that in reality I was staying on the same wheelset/bike pairings all the time so didn’t deliver that particular benefit….but if you standardise:
1. You only need to worry about packing 1 pattern of spare pads.
2. You get used to a consistent feel/performance
3. You can always rob to make one good set from the remains of two.

Also, don’t forget to consider the varying wear rates of the drivetrains and their relative usage. You might not end up with all the workable combinations you might expect.

tried that several years ago with a couple of my bikes…the brakes were the same but the hubs were not. everytime i swapped the wheels over, i had to carry out some bodgery with the washers to align the calipers over the rotors as i hadnt taken into account the different widths of the hubs themselves.
before you take the plunge though try swapping them as they are to see if the hub widths are different, if you dont get any disc rub you may be able to get away with it.

I’ve been trying to standardise to make things like pad purchasing easier.

Got 2 sets of Formula R1s, 160mm both ends.
Got 2 sets of Hope C2s, one is 185/165 and the other 203 both ends.

One set of C2s is on it’s way out, certainly the front, so going for Formula The Ones when a cheap set come up on Fleabay/classifieds as can use same pads and various sparesas the R1s. It definately makes sense, for the reasons Ecky gives above.

for spacing rotors syntace spacer seem to be the best (can order direst)

I’ve just been through this as my spare wheels needed spacing out – even though they both run hope hubs – must be the colour 😆

2 sets of Magura Marta’s for me – not to standardise wheels as they need a bit of jiggery pokery to swap between bikes – one is FS, one SS but…

much easier on spares and I can swap brakes between bikes if needs be…