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You're better off actually [s]thinking about your braking rather[/s] Rubing cheese on your nards than spending money [s]over engineering a solution[/s] on juicys.
IMHO
Just about the worst to bleed, overheat easily and poor lever feel. never had as many problems as I had with them. Hope, Shimano, HFX9 in that order of overall perfomance.
My formula the ones were proper pants. If you get a nice reliable pair then they seem ok. But mine over heated within 5 minutes went through brake pads at the same rate I go through cake, pulled to the bar, had no feel and were not that powerful.
Don't buy m4s if buy v2 motos for the (basically) same weight!
As for the 2012 xt,
If they are anything like the 2011 xtr, (I suspect exactly the same) then mine are so powerful I'm almost scared to touch them after I've been riding my other bikes with oth brakes. (except my v2s) awesome brakes.
I've owned all the brakes I've commented on too.
mk1fan - I killed a pair of Superstar organic pads in half a day of riding at Pila (mainly the freeride run to Aosta) in my Formula The Ones.
Did yours fare any better there? Wondering whether to blame pads or brakes... since my riding style is obviously beyond reproach
😉
There was something about the original Formula The Ones. I had a doggy set too. I was left utterly bemused at the rate they went through pads, couple with a catalogue of other issues.
I took a real gamble on a set of 2011 The One's, and they have been like chalk and cheese compared to the earlier brakes I had.
I'm still running the same set of pads in them after a whole winter, and 10 days in the Alps, including racing the Mega. 185mm rotors front & back & they are comfortably as powerful as my Tech V2's on my DH bike.
I'm tempted to get rid of them for another set.
As an aside point you can run the V2's with any normal rotor too, I had a discussion with the Hope guys. You just drop an X2 pad in the caliper (same size backing as the V2, just slightly less pad material) and it works fine. They suggested it would make the brake a bit less grabby, but not have any real world noticable effect on the overall power. I've not really noticed any difference in the power.
My Formulas are 2009 I think. They were fine in Morzine and the PdS but as soon as we got to Verbier and Pila (steeper and longer runs) they were eating a pair of pads almost every day.
I assumed it was the pad material just disintegrating because of the heat generated by the near-constant braking.
Did you get any better results with sintered pads HobNob? Early signs are encouraging (they lasted two days in Les Arcs and still have at least half the material).
I'm going to get my K24's rebled as I've discovered that one piston on the rear pushes more than the other (off-centred) - air pocket?
They were never the most powerful which looking atthe reviews looks 'odd'.
Pads? I don't mind if I go through a set a day- as long as the brakes work whilst I'm out there. So if soft material is the way to go to stop fade- I'm all ears! (Plus superstar/disco is cheaper).
chakaping - Membermk1fan - I killed a pair of Superstar organic pads in half a day of riding at Pila (mainly the freeride run to Aosta) in my Formula The Ones.
Fitted them half way through a 3-day visit and did over 45kms of runs on them. Plenty of pad left in them when I left. Next outing for the bike is Cwmcarn in September.
Taking the Hustler to Cwmcarn and Morzine in August - with the same brake set-up.
chakaping - I tried every single pad manufacturer who made them for that brake at the time & none made any difference. Very strange but it did seem to be an issue that a lot of people suffered from (along with huge lever throw when the pads started wearing).
I just gave up & sold them on in the end.
I don't understand people's pad wear rate. I thought in les arcs i was going to chew through pads. Changed the rear after the 1st day as i'd had 5 months out them previous. Didn't change the front one's once and this was riding every day (red 10, black 8 the DH runs etc)
This was avid elixir
Pad wear seems to be more about bedding the pads in correctly than anything else.
Formulas Vs Saints
I always at least try to attempt to bleed my brakes myself if I get issues, sucessful 9 / 10 times. I could never seem to get the levers to feel solid on the Formulas. Plus when I used to take them to the LBS, they always used to mutter something under their breath when they saw the brakes, maybe we just didn't know the best method to bleed. I like the saints as they are just simple to maintain.
I'm also pretty heavy on my brakes.....a 2hr decent in Mammoth and zero fade. I really like them !
A friend has XTR trail with 180 front and rear. I've not tried them myself yet but they should arrive any day now. He went from Hope Tech M4. I currently have M4 front and X2 rear which are being transferred to my wife's bike.
He is a pretty heavy guy and rides pretty fast and loves them (hence me deciding to get them). Great price at bike-discount.de and the spare pad prices (watch the exchange rate/currency charge from your card provider - Post Office credit card is good).
I've gone for the XT 6 bolt Ice Tech rotors.
I also chatted with someone off here or bikeradar who had tried M4s, The Ones etc etc and weighed more than me (I weigh 100kgs) and rode the alps frequently and he rated XTR trail above everything else.
Mine worked out about £370 all in.
Will there be a revised Saint 2012 version soon?
See that's just it. I can't face paying those sort of prices. Are 370quid brakes really that much better than 140 K24's?
On forks- I couldn't pay 700 for a set of forks either. 350 max on forks.
I went out to the alps a few weeks ago with a new set of SLX brakes on 203mm rotors. At first I was a bit worried that these wouldn't match up to the performance of my 2007 Saints.
After a week of use I can confirm that they work just as well.
When you can get a complete set of brand new Oro K24s with rotors and mountings for £145, can't see any reason to spend more personally.
I'm just susceptible to bling. Hopefully it's a passing phase... But I do like to get my bling at a reduced price.
Another for Formula Oros but if you're heading to the Alps then bigger rotors are advisable
Ha! We all have our bike vices...mine is my CK rear wheel 🙂
Hope mono6 for me,they need to be set up right but when they are - wow. You can get a good deal second hand too. I use Superstar Kevlar pads & they're ace. I've no problems to report. Oh, Goodridge braided hose & 203mm floating discs. Bling! 😉
Update, from using XT's. Mister Dragger (heck I had a death grip on the rear basically all the time) - not once did they pump or fade.
With the soft Superstar pads = no sequel either. With sintered OEM's = Squeal.
Hope V2s with 203 rotors all round and *gasp* OEM sintered pads for the last few years in the Alps, never had an issue, including 5 runs down Pila's 11km DH in one day. Fantastic brakes.
Moto V2's here. On the bike bike, and the hardtail. Cant beat them iMHO.
Alps, US, and Canada have been ragged on long descents and not a moment of fade, 1 finger is all thats needed to become an instant 'over the bars' superman.
I'm 18stone by the way, and dont like to go slowly.
Hope 4 pots here (X4's). I was on the same holiday in the same group as Hora (although we didn't see much of him) and the rear pads were Superstars that I've had in for about six months. No brake fade or pump at all, and I still have loads of pad left both front and rear, whereas most others in our group had to change their pads, some more than once in 4 days.
16 Stone idiot + Hope Monos 203 f & 185 R + floating saw + Braided hoses + Sintered Pads = Super Bling and serious stopping power