I'm putting together bits for my new bike project. I've decided to spend invest money on the frame and am going to get a cotic soul. Going for 130 forks with beefyish (for me) flow hoops, but I don't want to add extra weight if I can avoid it.

I need to save some money on the brakes because of the expensive frame, but with all the makes and different models out there I'm more than a little confused. I've got hope Tech X2's on my Five which I've been really happy with, and some avid juicy's on my old hardtail which have been a complete pain. But that just about sums up my knowledge of brakes.

I guess Ideally I want to spend up to £150 but would prefer to spend less and get something good but second hand. But that won't be enough to get myself a new set of 'good' brakes as far as I can see which seem to be around the £200 mark.

So any ideas of what I should go for and why? Or what I should be budgeting for?

So singletrack massive what's it to be???

Anything take your fancy here ?

http://www.merlincycles.co.uk/mountain-bike-disc-brakes/avid-disc-brakes/avid-disc-brake-sale.html

Anything take your fancy here ?

Well quite possibly but I don't know the difference (well I presume more expensive = better)
ultimates vs elixirs?

They look quite good value though…..

i have a pair of new style xt brakes i could sell you if you were intrested. would sell for around £130 with rotors??

Can't fault my new Shimano XTs. Also tried SLX which work equally as well and the deores on my wifes bike are more powerful than my Hope mono minis.

Ultimates are old hat now – go for Elixirs. I think the "Rs" are just in budget. Just got some CRs and love them – soooo much better than my old Juicy 5s!

Plumz do you have pics, rotor sizes? mount type?

its a possibility, I'm just a bit dazed by the amount on offer out there at the moment !

Personally I'd go for Shimano SLX or Avid Elixir 5's
(Elixir Rs seem like a pointless 'upgrade' IMO, who 'needs' tool-less reach adjusters over allen key ones?)

Else if you were to spend over £150, I'd be looking at Magura Louises, Shimano XTs or Avid Elixir CRs

Avid Juicy 3s and Magura Julies are alright, just not as good as Elixirs or SLX

Personally I haven't got on with Hayes Stroker (Ryde or Trail). Way too grabby and on/off. I like some kind of in between what feels like fully on and fully off (okay, so I'd probably get used to them if I had them for more than one ride)

Long term.. Hopes everytime, as they are totally rebuildable have good modulation and have decent power.
Hayes as you say are not exactly the most subtle but work well and spares are available.
Most powerful I've used are Magura FR Bats, but then you have to send them back to the distributer for servicing – they have a great warrenty if bought new though.
Most grief.. Avids

other brakes are available.. that all I've used/experienced though

you wont do better i've used the seller no worries

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/NEW-2009-MAGURA-LOUISE-DISC-BRAKES-COMPLETE-SET-/150441964968?cmd=ViewItem&pt=Cycling_Parts_Accessories&hash=item23070a35a8#ht_500wt_1182

My history of brakes:

Hope – no thanks.
Avid – great but a bit delicate.
Shimano – best out there IMO. Had old style Saints, superb. Now have the new SLX and loving them so far.

are dual control a bad idea ?

these seem quite good value XT dual control

? although they don't have rotors, there are some similar cheap ones on crc.

Im afraid i dont have any pictures at the moment as the bike there on is at the LBS.
there XT m775 leavers and calipers. with xt rotors 160mm 6 bolt. international standard post mount fitting.
can do pictures when i get the bike tomorow?

Shimano every time, so easy to adjust and bleed, Avids are a PITA, Hopes are nice looking but over priced for what the are (IMO), Hayes work in Whistler but a bit shonky in the UK.

I test rode a dual control bike, and it was horrible. Not my cup of tea at all.

+1 for dual control = horrible
+1 Hayes Stroker being horribly grabby

XT good so expect SLX would also be good.
Hope are best if you can get them. If you can't afford new, S/H Mono Mini's are just so reliable and easy to sort. Plenty of stopping power unless you are big and/or do long steep descents. Need minimum 183/160 rotors

i'd get deore; really good brake regardless of the price.

It looks like shimano are getting a good thumbs up, or some hopes if I can find some. Thanks for the advice guys.

PlumzRichard: They sound interesting , give me a shout when you get your bike back or give me some more details. no rush.

Hope are best if you can get them

in your opinion…

in my opinion they were a pain in the ass.

shimano, in my opinion, are far better and mroe reliable.

My experience;

Hope; yes please.
Avid; Avoid at all costs. Never, ever again.
Formula; fine but fiddly to bleed.
Shimano; good but can be a little fiddly to bleed also.

Shimano are the only brakes I've had that have never had heat issues or seen clients/mates in the alps not have issues with.

The new hays do seem really grabby.

Not sure about the new hopes, but the old ones were rubbish (minis M4s etc) and it has put me off. Also they are over priced IMHO.

Avids look nice, I have no realy experience of them, but the few pairs I have used once or twice seemed spongy (but that may have been set up)

I've had XT and Deore and I'd say the performance is fairly similar. I just wish the Deores had a proper bolt and not a ****tting split pin

I, too, have a Five and a Soul. The Five came with Hope Mono M4's and 180mm discs.
I figured I wanted both bikes to have the same stopping power so I didn't have to think about it when riding, so put the same on the Cotic.
Also like Hope for their serviceability/easy part replacement.
If you're trying to keep costs down, why not just buy from Classifieds? Cos Hope last for years and spares are available you're not any really worse off buying used except they might not be so shiny

Broess : yes I'm hoping the five and soul will be a good combination. It was my original plan to go for the same hope tech x2 s that I have on the five but they are going to work out too expensive and they dont seem to come up used ( well I guess they are quite new ). Yes the plan is to get something used possibly from the classifieds but I needed some help settling on a brand and type

Btw how do you find the sizing on the soul compared to the five. I'm riding an 18' five and tried out a medium soul at thecweekend which seemed about perfect for me.

Use both Deore M535(Hardtail) and SLX (Pitch) very similar looking caliper on both and both work very well.

Magura are very good brake too. I've had Julies for years, always been super reliable, even on long descents with me weighing in at 15-16 stone kitted up.