Are formulas really worth the small fortune and realiability problems ive read about? I’ve got Codes at the moment and they arent very reliable so im thinking of changing them to etither Formulas, Shimano, Hopes etc. What are peoples opinions? What do you think is the best dh brake around?

Saint.

Formula The Ones have been entirely trouble free for me for a good year or two, haven’t even needed to bleed them. Performance is amazing, and they’re light too.

Saints look like they might be a bit tougher in a crash.

It’s been a while since I owned Formulas (I had two pairs of The Ones, on both by trail and DH bikes). At the time they were by far the best brake I had used, in terms of stopping power and modulation, but while they were not exactly unreliable (they never actually went wrong) they were extremely fussy and high maintenance.

There was minimal pad clearance so setting them up with slightly wonky rotors was a nightmare, spares were hard to come by, they ate pads (on one occasion I went through a rear set in one day!)and they were a nightmare to bleed.

That may have all changed but then so has the performance of other brakes. The Shimano XTRs I have now are every bit as powerful as the Formulas were and have non of the set up and maintenance issues; they even use mineral oil.

Given how good they are, I can only imagine that the new Saints must be astonishing, if heavier than the XTRs. If I wasn’t worried about weight then the Saints would be where I put my money.

Have you considered Formula Megas. I picked up a set and they have been excellent. Good progressive feel mated to 203mm discs. They are a good price 2nd hand too.

hope evo m4 races are all I ever need in a dh brake

All you need are v brakes/cantis, as you can lock the wheels with em.

Any takers?

I’m on V2’s and they are amazing, the new V4 looks good but can get some amazing deals on the V2 because of the new release.

It’s been a while since I owned Formulas (I had two pairs of The Ones, on both by trail and DH bikes). At the time they were by far the best brake I had used, in terms of stopping power and modulation, but while they were not exactly unreliable (they never actually went wrong) they were extremely fussy and high maintenance.

There was minimal pad clearance so setting them up with slightly wonky rotors was a nightmare, spares were hard to come by, they ate pads (on one occasion I went through a rear set in one day!)and they were a nightmare to bleed.

I think the latest Ones are a different design? I’ve never really had any of the problems you mention, apart from they do go through pads reasonably quickly.

What geetee said… I used to have a set of Formula Ones and they were OK but found them a bit hard going in the Alps, fiddly to set up, ate pads etc. Now running XT’s on the trail bike – very simple, no maintenance issues and performance as good as, if not better, than the Ones. Got Saints (older style) on the DH bike and they feel so much better than Ones.

Hmmm are you comparing them to older The Ones too? At the risk of sounding all ‘my brakes are the bestest’ I have a mate with XTs and another mate with XT levers and Saint Calipers and they both agree that my Formulas are way more powerful.

I guess they might not have theirs set up well, but the XTs were on a new bike.

Zee? a poor man’s Saint.

i’m not a fan of Formula. nice and fancy looking with lots of power, but i’ve seen several pairs held together with either a bodged M4 bolt of even cable ties when the pivot bolt on the lever has disappeared.

Got Zee’s on my dh bike and there awesome, seriously powerful!

If you get new XTs bled well they are plenty powerful, failing that Zees or Saints. Only problem is finding spare seals etc for them as they tend to sell them as units (I.e. if a seal goes you have to buy a new front lever).

Hope are quality, fantastic power when set up properly and spares are really easy to come by and very cheap (plus Hope customer service is second to none). The only problem I found with hope is they are quite prone to sticky calliper pistons (have had 2 sets of tech M4s and tech V2s all of which suffered from it in one form or another).

I personally would either go for XTs (unless you/your bike is quite heavy) or tech M4s. I run saints on the DH bike and find them a little too overkill if I am honest, albeit they have much better power modulation than the XTs.

Que derision from all – but I use avid elixir 5’s with the cheapest superstar 203 discs on my dh bike and never had an issue. I’m a 14 stone fat serial braker.

I have some of the old Saints and remember laughing after the first run in the Alps at the raw power. The only problem was bleeding them, was tricky and I wasn’t keen on the lever shape.

I think I’m going to try some Zee’s or new Saints this year.

The newer Formula brakes have changed in that they offer greater ‘roll back’ on the caliper now, so have increased clearance over the rotor and less pad wear.

If you have the money there isn’t really anything to touch the new The One in terms of power and weight. The new XTR is close, but heavier and less powerful. I’d question if it could put up with sustained DH abuse too, otherwise Saint wouldn’t exist.

I’ve got a set of formulas and I found them easy to set up and are bloody powerful and I’ve only got the rx. Never had a problem with them and I’ve had few set of formulas

There isn’t a better brake than the modern The One, IMO. Power is superb without feeling excessive or unsubtle, and I’ve no idea what it takes to make them fade, I can’t do it.

But they don’t feel as durable as Saint. Lever pivot etc has much less metal in it. They have break-off clamp bolts to protect them though, and there’s a big weight saving if you care. Fully servicable unlike Saint but the parts aren’t cheap.

So, not open-and-shut but I can’t see past them, I have the Ones on my 23lb titanium hardtail and on my dh bike and they’re absolutely ideal for both. But it depends whether you like subtlety or not, and whether you value weight or ultimate strength.

There was a pit walk-round on Pinkbike which concluded that at the world cup, every single rider that didn’t have a brake sponsor was on Shimano or Formula. But these days how many brakes aren’t downhill-suitable? You could fire on Deores and be very happy. My Dare had 7-year-old Oros, no worries.

New Shimanos. I have XTs on mine, cheapish, work brilliant, power & modulation and no fade and very easy to bleed with the new cup thing. XTs also on my normal bike and faultless in the Alps so couldnt justify spending more on Zee / Saint.

But these days how many brakes aren’t downhill-suitable? You could fire on Deores and be very happy.

This is why my elixir 5’s work great. I used to be under braked, then I got shimano saints and was over braked, I found they were just too powerful, weird I know, the avids are spot on.

This is why my elixir 5’s work great. I used to be under braked, then I got shimano saints and was over braked, I found they were just too powerful, weird I know, the avids are spot on.

I found this when I first got The Ones, but I went down a rotor size (to 185/160) and now they are spot on.

For me on long, steep technical descents (like in the alps) where your arms are getting pumped you want all the braking power you can get TBH.

Thanks for the responses. I ride in the alps in the summer when i get chance. When suspension is compressed grip levels can be huge which is why i find my codes a bit weak, they could be better. elixir 5’s are good, i used to own a pair, but i do not think they hold anyway near enough power. It looks like im leaning towards the saints…