Found some Fives in the cupboard to swap over for some broken BB7’s.

I can’t remember if they’re the soft cheese model requiring hourly bleeding or not? They’re on and work fine so far, 200 rotors so not much to go wrong there.

Also, what good are minions with no middle tread and plenty of outer?

They work dead well, and feel nice.
When they work.
But I had to keep them really, fussily clean and lube pistons, and bleed them regularly.
But good brakes. When they work.

What was the thing about Juicy brakes?

They’re crap.

^^^

That doesn’t mean Avids / SRAM are crap though. Juicys give Avid a bad name.

In general they work for a bit, then go squidgy, then you bleed them and they still aren’t right, then you fiddle more and finally bin them.

Had X0s (based on Elixir) for many years and they’ve generally been good. Still have the Avid soft feel rather than the binary on/off OTB feel some like on other brakes. However the Trail & Guide brakes are another thing entirely. Awesome brakes. Definite bite while still retaining the modulation of Avid and reliable with very little need to bleed.

Also, what good are minions with no middle tread and plenty of outer?

Not sure what you mean there. There’s a definite centre tread and that’s the bit I like the most. Has a straight centre tread with channel for the mud and gap between the centre and the side which also helps clear the mud and finally good chunky side knobbles for the corners. For me run up front they cut a straight line through crud and loose stuff. Even good for straight power through sand (with a good rear). Some don’t like the gap between centre and side though.

I had some Juicy 3s on a bike once, terrible things, the pistons started sticking after a few months and no amount of new seals, bleeding, faffing or fettling could fix them. Binned them in the end.

Also had some Elixir Rs. They lasted a bit longer but went the same way in about six months. Sticky piston, loss of power, seal replacements worked for a while but the same problem came back eventually. Perhaps I was just unlucky, but I’ve never had those problems with the Formula, Hope or Shimano brakes I’ve run over the years.

Have Juicy 7s on 3 of my bikes and all worked perfectly.

I still have juicy 7s as they’ve worked flawlessly for years. I’ve bled them annually and that’s it. I must have a good pair.

I read somewhere that Formula came up with the basic design of the Juicy and for some reason decided never to use it themselves, and sold it to Avid. If you’ve got a good set they’re fine.

cfinnimore – Member

Also, what good are minions with no middle tread and plenty of outer?

Semi slick innit. Tres ongduro.

Drac – Moderator

Have Juicy 7s on 3 of my bikes and all worked perfectly.

at the same time?

At the ‘peak’ of my riding yes.

My recollection of Juicy 7s is the complete nightmare changing pads. Seemed the “gap” was about 1mm too small leading to rubbing and locked brakes. Remember having to carry around a metal lever to separate the pistons if I needed a mid ride change.

I’ve had 7s and ultimates, both were good and received little attention. My 7s were better than the ultimates and required less attention.

I’m still running 5s, 7,s and Ultimates on my three MTBs. The 7s are by far the best. I’m not sure what it is about the Ultimates I don’t like so much. I suspect it’s because the levers are a bit flexy which makes them feel like they need a bleed compared to the 7s.

I got the 5s off a friend. He didn’t want them because the pistons had seized. I changed the seals and they’ve been spot on ever since.

Changing pads can be a PITA. Big tyre lever to push the pistons back and you’re fine.

My recollection of Juicy 7s is the complete nightmare changing pads. Seemed the “gap” was about 1mm too small leading to rubbing and locked brakes. Remember having to carry around a metal lever to separate the pistons if I needed a mid ride change.

This.

The only brakes ever to come close to Elixirs in terms of pure shiteness.

I had juicy 3’s (they came on the bike) they were fine, fairly average but not terrible. However, one day they went squishy and I bled them, they got a bit better, pads ran out, I changed pads (a recurring nightmare), bedded them in, went squishy soon after, rebled them, still fairly squishy, tried different pads, took them to the lbs to bleed/check them (as I thought I was doing it wrong) was told this was pretty standard with Juicy’s.

Stopped riding for a bit and left the bike in the lock up (lived in a flat) and some yob stripped parts from my bike (All my Hope bits, bars and other stuff I forget) and thankfully those steaming turds called brakes, the juicy’s.

All covered under insurance of course, they were replaced with a set of Hope Evo Tech M4’s 203/183 floaties front and rear and braided lines (obviously had to put some cash down for this upgrade). When I got the bike back was the day I discovered proper brakes for the first time.