[Closed] 203/180 or 180 both ends?

You'll still stop OK with the 180, but if you get the 203 you'll know you can't stop any better.

I got 203 both ends for this reason.

yeah but then it's €20 each end for adaptors as opposed to €8 and i've only once had probs with 160 on the rear (deore brakes) with the lever feel going squidgy.

plus i'm no a biffer.

203 on the rear is over kill i'd have thought...

Also worth considering is that the 203 looks cooler 😉

It looks nicer with a bigger rotor upfront in my opinion... (probably works better too, but obviously thats secondary consideration isnt it)

Avid adaptors look about the cheapest at £6.99 and use your exsisting 203 front rotor? Or see if the place your looking at brakes will throw an adaptor into the deal.

I have a 203 up front strictly because its overbiked or nothing!

...oh and it looks cooler as mentioned above, especially with these bad boys:

[img] [/img]

I beg to differ ( of course 🙂 )
Smaller /lighter / more efficient. go with the least you need. If you do big alpine descents then the big rotors will help get rid of heat otherwise why bother with more brakes than you can use>

becasue by using bigger rotors you use them less?

or to put it in a more coherent way. If the brakes are more powerfull, you dont need to squeeze them as tight, and your arms get a bit of a break.

Don't ever need 203 on the back though.

I'm 80kg + kit and ran 160s fine both ends in the alps (on avids) on my prophet. Only had heat problems once, and plenty stopping power for the grip on that bike.

Same brakes but 200s on my DH bike, cos bigger softer tyres and better sus mean more grip, so I can haul on harder and notice the better braking. I did have a 160 on the rear for a while though as a spare when I bent a 200, and it was fine too.

I think most folk are probably over-braked. There are disadvantages other than rotating weight, to bigger brakes. It's harder to get them hot to get pads properly bedded in, it's easier to ding a rotor riding, and easier to bend one in transit too (more likely).

Try the smaller rotors, and get new bigger ones if you feel you need more power?

I have Oro K18s, and find 180s front and rear perfectly fine for my needs; I'm 12.5 stone (not sure what that is in cubic litres) and do mostly uphill and v slow downhill. 🙂

yeah, i'm thinking 180 up front will be fine.

the k18s are said to have very good heat dissipation plus i save €20.

so does that mean i should stick 160 on the rear to keep it looking 'core'?

Jamie, that pic makes me want to go and clean my bike, you could eat your dinner off those tires.

oh! and i have 203's front and rear, just because i can.

For bike park and big alpine descents, why wouldn't you run 203 up front?

For xc/racing, I run 180/160, for trail/whistler riding, 203/180, for bike park, 203/203. brakes are for stopping, you may as well make sure they do the job they are supposed to.
Overbraked?.. probably, but better that than arm pump half way down a sketchy descent imo.

arrrrgh!

ok, 203/180.

end of.

ordering now.

I ran 185/160 hard in Morzine last year without any problems and I'm 85kg in my birthday suit.

ETA: Peer pressure, don't you just love it!!

203 on the rear can never be justified, surely?

what about 185mm?

🙂

justification - i know i've got the maximum braking power I can have.

Why does it need to be justified though, its not like i spent $4k on some ridiculous full sus bike that i don't really need, I spent 20 quid an end and got bigger rotors and better braking.

or 180/160.

not ordered yet.

can't find the GF's bank card.....

180/180

180/160

or 203/180

The thing about the rear end though, is its pretty easy to lock out anyway, so there's no need for the bigger rotor really. Get 203/185 because that's what I've got, so it must be the best.

If its the GF paying, just go 203/203

rs:

Jamie, that pic makes me want to go and clean my bike, you could eat your dinner off those tires.

Don't feel too bad. That was when it was just built. Looks like shite and the tyres need changing now

Can't think you'd ever need even 180 on the back for general trailing about. Surely it will just lock with the slightest squeeze?

People say there's no need for 203 on the back are those who have never tried it.

i know 85% braking/stopping force goes through the front wheel.

like i say, i've only once had a prob on a long alpine descent.

but like i say the oro lose heat v. well (so i've read) so prehaps 203 up front is over kill.

re. the GF bank card, i will have to pay it back - when i get a job, could be a few months mind....

Having got a 203mm (rear) disk very blue, I'd say there's a need for some riding. That said I didn't die when I broke my frame and used a hire bike with 203/185 on it.

Nothing I've ridden in this country has been at all scary on 185/160 though. I think on very steep stuff you end up using the rear for most of your braking to avoid going over the bars and keep your speed to reasonable levels, but there's nothing steep enough for long enough that I've ridden here to cause any real problems. (85-90kg bone dry)

I've got 203mm up front and 180mm to the rear, love it!!

someone was selling some new k18's without rotors on the classifieds earlier for £150. Just in case that works out less than the ones you are buying.

and they are awesome brakes, best i have used and silly light too.

I would have thought that 203's were standard issue for Alps riding!

Formula make 220mm rotors, i have one due to a pricing error making them the cheapest way to buy a front brake. Utterly pointless other than looking 'core.

ive got 2 203 rotors and matching adaptors for sale mate 😉

I weigh close to 100kg with biking gear and use 203/180 because I know I need it on a full sus. On a hardtail I use 180/160 and its fine, I have tried different combos and this one worked best for me. If you ride hard and fast and you like to wipe speed of quick and brake late go for the larger rotor. I would always prefer to have to much than not enough, especially in the Alps!

i'm in germany so i don't know if people (mike (firestarter)) are willing to send across the channel....

i guess i could ask though.

mike, you willing to send to germany? ££'s?

203s on the back are more than you'll ever need, but they look cools as ****. for this reason, I'd go for 203 both ends, and then let my mates take the piss out of me.

i dont see why not i could check postage but its a pair of 203mm rotors if thats what your after. oh and the adaptors are for post mount brakes
post to post front and is to post rear.

where are you i lived in paderborn for about 7 years (with various breaks thrown in like 20 months in bosnia lol)