I’m wanting to get some new brakes, got some Juicy 7s and i’m fed up of having pads which rub when they are new cos the pistons wont go fully back and the spring keeps wrapping itself around the rotor when the pads are half worn down.

Not wanting to spend a fortune, parhaps £100 each, looking for a pair.

which of these would people recommend:
Magura Louise
Magura Julies
Shimano SLX
Hayes Stroker Ryde
Hayes Stroker Trail
Hope Tech X2

Any others i should be looking at?

Formula Oro K24/K18?

If the pad retraction thing is such an issue for you, then its SLX for you sonny! Servowave means they sit further from the disc until you apply the brake.

Servowave, yeah good thinking. are the SLX brakes powerful as well?

oh, and can they be used with non-shimano rotors or will i need some of them too?

anyone know?

They’ll be fine with your present rotors no problems at all.

SLX are good stoppers.

They should be fine with non-shimano discs, I run my XT’s with Hayes discs and no problems there.

any other recommendations or should i start looking for good offers on SLX ones now?

you can get an xt set for £200 on merlin..

I’ve become a huge fan of Maguras. I’ve used loads of different brakes, but the set of Maguras which I have now, have caused me the least hassle by a long way. In fact, they’ve caused me no hassle at all, which is a first of any sort of brakes.

i have got Magura Louise on all my bikes from XC to All Mountain and they are great. Easy to bleed and great stopping power, but maybe a bit hard on pads compared to other makes.

How are the maguras for changing pads? easy/hard/what?

maguras are dead easy to change pads. just unscrew a little pin and take the pads out – one of the simplest designs out there.

Bedding in is the most important aspect of the magura system. do this properly and you will have great power and life from the pads. get it wrong and they last for 3 rides!!!

I have Shimano XT on two bikes and Deore on my commuter. Never had problems after switching from Juicy 5s and Hopes which I had too much hassle with.

i think shimano now have a really good range of brakes. plus almost every bike shop in the UK sells spare parts. i’d go for the XT’s if you can afford them as they offer amazing performance for the money. my mate has XT’s on his commencal and i have the new saints on mine.

Second the Formula Oros – K18 are £100 per end and powerful with lots of modulation and genuine fit and forget. Love ’em

+1 for Oro K18s. nice looking as well as excellent stoppers.

reading this with interest as i’m soon going to get new brakes

have Hope mini’s at the moment, they have been exceptionally reliable, but looking for something with a bit more power (plus they overheat)- and have heard mixed things about the X2’s

had Magura’s before – really good back then (one of there first efforts) and i like most things Shimano make (unfussy – but work) so probably go with either of those…