just bought a bike but need a set of brakes for it, last bike had current slx which were good but not much feel to them.

Bike before that had 2010 elxir r sl which were a pain in the the arse and dragged all the time.

what current brakes would you recommend to go on a 2011 stumpy full suss.

I weigh 17.5 stone to so need a bit of stopping power !!!

cheers

steve

Formula.

I have the ones on my ht and megas on the fs, they both rock.

im bigger than you and using slx, got 203mm rotor on the front and 180mm on the back.
tbh, i think they are superb.
‘bigger’ means close to 23 stone btw.

2012 XT are excellent, almost as powerful as Saints without the weight penalty. XT with 203mm rotor up front would stop pretty much anything I would think.

EDIT and can be had very cheap from rosebikes if they have them in stock.

holy sheeet marty !!

the slx i had were 180 front and rear, initial stopping was good but seemed to fade the more i squeezed them.!!!!

holy sheeet marty !!

the slx i had were 180 front and rear, initial stopping was good but seemed to fade the more i squeezed them.!!!!

formula are good if your bother about power to weight. but if your more botherd about power to price hope tech m4’s are un beatable. 203 up front always makes a massive diffrence. HOPE are the god of mtb brakes go with them you wont be disapointed and if anything ever does go rong put it in a box and send it back for repair

Saints

+1 Saints

I never had a problem with 160mm rotors and Juicy 5s when I was massive.

lol.
and im not the heaviest at my work, not by a long shot.
(bus driver)
i got brake fade during a fire road descent braking from about 35mph using deore brakes 160/160mm.
not had any bother since switching up to the slx and bigger rotors.

Bike Radar Brake Test
Formula or Hope beat everything else for power.

Hope will last, and they will fix anything that goes wrong and if you ever see a hope truck you can get them bled/checked/setup

Bike Radar Brake Test
Formula or Hope beat everything else for power.

I think you mean Formula beat everything else for power.

Although those brake tests are surely pointless, just some numbers that no one really understands, although they provide great ammunition for forum brake arguments.

I’d probably just get some shimanos since everyone seems to recommend them and they’re cheap.

You’ll be fine with SLX and 180s front and rear, if you want peace of mind 203 on the front. Think about a wider tyre up front for a larger contact patch too

As a bantam weight 16.5 st back from the Alps I recommend SLX/XT and 203mm rotors for Sir’s braking pleasure.

Shimano SLX are pretty good but I think the Juicy 5s have more power and bite probably due to the larger pads. That being said the SLX feel much nicer and seem much easier to bleed. But then the SLX levers look **** ugly with the massive silver reservoir cover thing. TBH I think for my next brakes I’ll probably go back to avid despite the fiddly bleed!

From OP

last bike had current slx which were good but not much feel to them.

If you don’t like the feel of a single piston brake like an SLX then I would suggest the Tech M4 Evo – lots of feel

Im 16 stone and my bog standard Deore with 160mm rotors both ends work fine

Hayes Prime

Week in the Alps with no issues 😆

Cheers all.

I had a set of 2012 xt brakes with 203 ice tech rotors and they were so much more power compared to the slx ones I had !.

I’d say rotor size is far more important than brake choice for more power

New shimano Zee.Saint power at slx money (in stock too).

I’m 19 stone and run a 203 rotor at the front with hope M4 and a Shimano M555 with with a 180mm at the rear. I I don’t get fade on long decents but I warped my 180mm front rotor and have had no issues since upgrading to a 203mm superstar components floating rotor.

Word of caution if you go to a larger rotor and are running non Maxle front forks, with standard front QR skewers there have been instances of the braking force ripping the QR from the location slots leading to the front wheel flying out!!

I run Hopes on both my bikes and weigh 15.5 stone (xc hardtail 180f/140r X2’s , gravity sled 203f+r Mono M4 with tech levers) I can lock both ends on either bike easily. So I’ll be reccomending Hope brakes too.

Formula Megas with big rotors

I run both SLX & XT with no dramas here…

And I’m the same weight..

I can lock both ends on either bike easily.

Thats generally a bad thing, I prefer the hopes as I can vary the braking from slight to lock. Power with control

Hope moto V2’s here.
200 rotors are a must though.
No fade, tons of power. Endo’s at 25mph if you so desire.
I’m 18st.

M4 for general UK use, V2 for DH or Alps stuff – 203 mm rotors.
Great modulation on both, especially with Tech levers. (16.5 stone)

I don’t think you will go far wrong with any modern hydraulic disc brake TBH

agree ^^

just learn how/when to brake.

I use hope tech m4’s 203 f and 185 r and they have huge amounts of power can’t recommend them enough im 20 stone by the way