Quite a few threads on these but has anyone actually got a set that work reliably like the older Shimano brakes?

Mine have always had a slow return on rear lever and bite point far too close to bars.

Bled them tonight and got all the air out but levers still pulled to bar once pads were back in. Then pumped lever loads (!) of times with funnel on to get a decent bite point. Not sure if it will stay like this.

Think I have a dodgy set to send back for warranty or just par for course?

Ive had two sets of these and actually trimmed the hoses on my current set.

I have to say Ive had no probs with them whatsoever and maybe the best brakes ive owned!

I believe its a bit of an art to bleed them correctly though

Mine are working ok now…although they went back to Rosé who sent them back to the importer for fiddling.

Bleeding does appear to be a spin in the bum. My old Saints were so easy to bleed, but they didn’t like the cold.

Mine work just fine, trimmed and swapped hoses without needing to bleed and get loads of stopping power. Bare in mind that these brakes are supposed to have a fair bit of lever travel before they bite. It’s all to do with the servo wave bobbins.

I can’t believe how much harder it is compared to my other Shimano ones. Maybe this is a result of how much more powerful they are than the old ones.

mindmap3 – how long did it take to get them back from Rose please?

mmel…. I thought they were designed to have less lever travel ?

mine certainly move a lot less than the avids they replaced!

Yeah I thought it got the pads in quickly for not much lever travel. With mine it’s not just that – there’s no bite at all.

Have you bed them in ??

Is there any fluid on the pads or discs at all?

Just in the process of bleeding mine for the third time, work ok for a couple of weeks then the bite point starts getting closer to the bar. Think i’m going to be using the warranty.

Flattyre – it was only a couple of weeks. The delay was with the distributor.

Interestingly, my freestroke adjuster actually works, so can adjust the lever stroke. I say interestingly as most people say it does naff all. I run mine with minimal lever travel and close to the bars.

No experience of Avids so don’t know how they compare, all I know is that the lever is supposed to move a bit before the brakes bite during which time the servo wave does it’s bit and moves the pistons the greater part their travel.

The free stroke screw does indeed work, but not as most seem to expect. Some presume it’s there to alter the pad clearance but this isn’t the case. I wound mine out to for the rear lever to make the brake a little less harsh and prevent the rear wheel from locking so easily.

So in effect the lever should move less!

My levers are solid and move a whole lot less than the avids I had before and are also not spongy.

Also the power on them is lot better.

Not sure the levers should be solid, but they may well move less than the Avids. I had Tektro brakes before the XT’s and I could set them with Solid levers but the pads would rub like crazy, it was a balancing act to get the feel right.

Have you bed them in ??

Is there any fluid on the pads or discs at all?

I have had them I while but just
gradually got worse. Were fine to start with.

I can’t find any leaks.

They seem to have sticky pistons too like avids with uneven pad wear and harder to push the pistons back in.

I could detect a small difference with freestroke but not enough to warrant having the screw hanging half out…

Sorry by solid I mean firm, not on and off but very confidence inspiring brakes.

I had avids before(not sure if I have metioned that !!) and the lever feel changed all the time from firm to spongy, from lots of travel to very lttile travel.

totally unpreditcable to be honest, a bit like the hopes I had too….

OP something does sound amiss with yours, It sounds as though there is still air in them if the lever comes back to the bars after a bleed ?

I dont want to teach you to suck eggs and my apologies if I do but it may be something simple like not leveling the lever out that you are missing.?

Have you tried new pads too?

EDIT.. you said the rear was giving you issues… have you checked the hose over to see if there is any damage or kinks to it?

Havent tried new pads as loathed to change them when they have some life left. Should probably it give it a go.

Thanks for replies and suggestions all.