Hi, new to the forum.
My 4 year old Avid juicy 5 seem to be dying a death.front keeps sticking and keep loosing stopping power.
Is it worth servicing MTB brakes or should i start looking for an Upgrade? I have recently changed the fluid and they have bled up quite well(easier than my cars anyway) but the front keeps sticking. once freed it doesn’t take long for them to stick again. Liking the look of hope brakes with on the fly adjustment and reach but they do come at a premium price tag.
Really don’t fancy Avids again as they have not been that good tbh, unless things have changed in the last 4 years.
I have found Formula sets on CRC at a rather tasty discount for a complete set which seem to get good reviews. Also Clarks skeletal, but the reviews of these none to pleasing. so are Formula a good set up? Can you reccomend anything else ?
Or bite the bullet on Hope and get a front,and a rear when the budget allows?
cheers.
Jason

I got some bargain elixir crs last week

I can tell you what everyone is going to tell you though

HOPE HOPE HOPE HOPE

I would have gone for hope myself if I’d had the cash, unfortunately I’m on a tight budget

Having owned avid juicy brakes they are great until they start locking on the rotors, then you find yourself bleeding them almost monthly to keep them going. I replaced the seals in the lever and caliper which fixed it. However I swapped over to hope mono mini’s and they are much easier to work on and don’t need as much attention. I’ve just gone to shimano Xt and they have a very good feel and power, they are also simple to bleed.

Have you tried lubing the pistons with brake fluid? Usually frees them up.

If you like the shape of the Avid lever and pivot position then Elixirs would be a good bet. On-one, CRC or Merlin usually have them cheaper than RRP.

Formulas usually have good stopping power and feel but in my experience have poor auto adjust on the pads meaning that the lever throw gets bigger as the pads wear. Not the end of the world and easy to sort but annoying. The older Oro series can be picked up cheaply and have a similar lever shape to avid but are a bit annoying to bleed. The newer RX/R1 pivot further from the bar and can’t comment on the pad wear adjust for these models.

Hope I personally think are overpriced for what they are but they do look pretty if that floats your boat. They are also easy to work on, which in my experience you get lots of practice at……

The best brakes I have used (power, feel and manufacture) are Maguras. 4 sets have been faultless on mine and the other halves bikes. You can pick up Louise brakes fairly cheaply and they perform very well. Fit and forget, easy to work on when the need arises.

Hayes seem to be making a comeback but other than saying that the lever feel is similar to Magura/Shimano I’ve never used them.

Shimano get good reviews but again I’ve never used them.

before my elixirs I had Hayes

they were great for 5 years, only got bled when changing the length of the hose

rear one failed and probably just needs a new seal, but after weighing up the prices of service kits, and thinking that the front would probably need doing too in the near future, I decided to try something else

I wouldn’t have any problem buying another set of Hayes though, and you can get a new set of strokers for £100

cheers for the feedback.
inside piston is not behaving,outside comes out on the slightest of lever application. Hold in the outside piston and the inside reluctantly come out,though not flat or even.
Cleaned and added the smidgest of lube to it,cleaned it all off and it has improved. I’ll monitor it for this week and see how it behaves. Not looked to closley at Hayes or Magura. Will keep my eye out.

Thanks again.
jason

EDIT:
do avid sell the little T-10 torx screw for the levers? can’t find them for love nor money,mine is starting to loose its shape.
cheers

you say:

added the smidgest of lube

what lube do you mean?

your piston seals are designed for DOT fluid, using 3in1, WD40, GT85, etc. will knacker the seals.

(they’ll swell, and cause the pistons to stick…)

I’ve just put some xtr brakes on my new bike, having had avids on the old one. Don’t think I’ll be going back to avid!

I’ve fitted Elixir 5’s to my Nicolai and to be fair I’m very impressed, way more power & feel than the SLX I replaced

I’ve just put some xtr brakes on my new bike, having had avids on the old one. Don’t think I’ll be going back to avid!

You might do when you see the price of pads – £27!

got a brand new set of avid elixir r with 160 mm rotors that have never been fitted if ya interested,came off my anthem x2 i just brought
looking for £120 posted

I’ll never buy hope again- the V2’s I had worked sporadically and i couldn’t get back on formulas quickly enough.

what lube do you mean?

your piston seals are designed for DOT fluid, using 3in1, WD40, GT85, etc. will knacker the seals.

(they’ll swell, and cause the pistons to stick…)

just a greasy rag.hopefully not enough to cause any problems,basically just to get the crap off the pistons.

@ potter, i’ll bare it in mind next week mate thanks.