Prob been done recently, but the search up there ^^ found nothing of note.

I’m needing a new brake set after my Clarks Skeletal have finally died after 5 years sterling service, despite being a ~£50 brake set.

What is the current brake set du jour? Quite fancy hope, if for no other reason than you can get them in orange, but they are quite spendy…

A few years ago, Shimano were the default ones to go for, but there seems to be quite a high rate of seal failure requiring ditching the entire brake.

Seal failure reports on shimano probably more reflects the huge amount of users over many other brands.

I’ve had them on 3 bikes for years with very few issues.
Very happy to run shimano.

Deore for cheap and very good.

What kind of riding do you do / how much power do you need?

Also what shifters are you running?

I’ve got Sram guide r’s on one bike and Shimano swore on the other. Quite a big difference in cost but the Guides are better modulated, and have endless power.

Not to say the Deores are bad (they’re the ones before the current ones I think and have a 2 finger lever that feels quite long), just the guides smash them into the middle of next week.

The last Hope discs I had were C2’s and mono minis from at least 10 or 11 years ago so can’t comment on the current brakes – other than they look a bit too bling for me and are very spendy.

The new commute from next month has a route through the Pentlands so hoping to rack up the natural miles.

As for the shifters – I have Sram XO gripshift.

I’d rather ample stopping power to stop 95kg of me + bike reliably if at all possible – having to resort to heel on back wheel / seat stays to slow down after brake failure today lost it’s funny side quickly.

So, I’m after – decent power, reliable and adjustable reach / bite point adjustment and a reasonable cost.

Pretty happy with the SRAM Guide RE so far, no shortage of stopping power but plenty of modulation too.

adjustable reach / bite point

The shimanos can’t offer this, imho. The “free stroke” on my XTs is rubbish. Other than that they’re good, and powerful enough (I’m as heavy as you, and more if I’m not riding butt naked), but are pretty much on/off.

My other bike has Guide RSCs and they’re really rather good and adjustable. They’re also have way more feel than just brakes off/slam the anchors on like the XTs.

Slx on sale at chain reaction for £60.

If you’re looking at Hope then take a look at Rush Cycles. They have some decent bundles. Stay away from the braided hoses and floating rotors and all is well 😉

Personally I’m running Guide RS’s on main bike and M675 SLX and M785 XT on another two. I’ve got a second set of Guide RS’s, the only thing really stopping me fitting them is that the SLX bike has a Shimano drivetrain and it’s all neatly iSpec’d up. The XT bike probably isn’t staying around long so I’m trying to leave it as is. Of the two, I reckon the SLX brakes are better/less faff than the XT, and I prefer the Guides over the pair of them by a country mile, for the reasons Joebristol quotes. It’s like trying to compare Zee or Saint brakes with regular Shimano, but with foolish amounts of modulation on top.

No-one ever really regretted Hope brakes so long as they could afford them and they could see past the fugly levers. Guides have basically exorcised the ghost of Avid past apart from odd hardcore holdouts. Shimano aren’t as on/off as they used to be but they’re definitely still a more positive feeling lever than SRAM, but with far less subtlety. Buy whichever you prefer the lever feel of, but do make sure you keep the receipt for the Shimano. I take Kayak’s point about volumes, but the Shimano leaky caliper seals story is starting to get to the levels of Reverbs for how often you hear failure stories.

Shimano from me.
Deore or SLX (only difference I could see was the reach adjust knob on the SLX, With Deore it’s an allen key job. Not a deal breaker imo).