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One of the better review articles I’ve seen as they do it more scientifically and show stopping distances.
https://enduro-mtb.com/en/best-mtb-disc-brake-can-buy/
Having run cura 2’s, cura 4’s, xt 2&4 pot, E4’s and v4’s I had similar experience as the result suggest - poor stopping on hope, eye popping for cura’s. And as they say with pads, throw in some crap after market pads and stopping speed goes up massively. I didnt appreciate just how much it’d affect the brakes but i struggled to feel confident in my E4’s running the Uber Race Matrix. The diference between them and Galfer organic was like night & day.
Is there one that’s been done this decade?
Is there one that’s been done this decade?
proper test I doubt it. Sponsored and funded by interested parties probably every edition of most mags?
Yep. Every brake test done since the one you like has been sponsored and funded by *someone* to further their own interests.
Who, exactly? Why wasn’t that one?
Should we discount everything that’s been released since?
thols2
Free MemberThe problem is that brake pads are elongated to follow the shape of the rotor. You can put the same force on the pads with a 2-pot brake as a 4-pot, but the distribution of force won’t be the same. Having a larger pad will help with high performance brakes because there is greater pad surface area and mass to dissipate heat.
For the first, do you think it matters? It's pushing a flat pad onto a flat disc so there's not much bending force, and the amount of "unsupported" pad is small in either the 4 pot or 2 pot case.I'd be amazed personally if this makes any difference. Larger pads have less predictable effects, since a large pad has less pressure per mm2, compared to a small pad being pushed by the same piston. More friction surface but less pressure.
I doubt pad size is really a factor in heat dissipation, again the realistic differences are very small.
My Tech3 E4s were, to me, worth every penny after the honky, fading SRAM brakes I had before or the leaky Shimano ones for that manner.
But I'm a sucker for an upgrade so have Tech 4 V4s with 200/200 2.3 rotors on the way.
I'll be moving the Tech3 brakes on, I need to stop hoarding bike parts.
One of the better review articles I’ve seen as they do it more scientifically and show stopping distances.
It would be interesting to see where the new tech 4 V4's come in that chart.
If you are serious about racing DH, some 4-pot Saints should be your benchmark.
They cost about the same price as for example the new Hopes, but are pretty much disposable, and the hopes you can service. Power aside, it seems to make more financial sense to get Hope over Shimano.
Power aside, it seems to make more financial sense to get Hope over Shimano.
If you're racing DH, power will be your first consideration. You don't have to buy Saints, the point is that they are the benchmark that would compare other brakes to.
I have some old Saints that I bought second-hand. I don't know how old they are, but I'm guessing more than 10 years. Honestly, if they run for ten years with just pad changes, that's a pretty decent lifespan for MTB gear.
Better brakes are worth it if you’re finding you need more power or you don’t like the way your brakes deliver their power.
Levels are an entry level / xc kind of brake. I had some on a commuter type bike and they were reliable and just did their thing.
I’ve used Guide R on an enduro bike and hardtail and they weren’t bad with 200/180mm rotors and were totally reliable for me (they were the later ones - not part of the batch that had pistons that swelled in hot weather).
I tried Guide RE as they came up cheap and they were much stronger as they had a big DH brake caliper - but had the same slightly wobbly levers after a while (bushings in the lever rather than bearings).
Moves to Code R when I saw a good deal and they were a big step up on guide r and a little bit better than guide RE - the levers are much stronger built with a bigger master cyclinder reservoir.
I’d love some Code RSC or Hope Tech 4 V4 - but I don’t need them / can’t justify the cost for finer margins. On the big bike I’m running a 220mm front disc and that gives more bite than the previous 200mm one - not sure if it’s the bigger diameter or the thicker disc or a bit of both.
And as they say with pads, throw in some crap after market pads and stopping speed goes up massively. I didnt appreciate just how much it’d affect the brakes but i struggled to feel confident in my E4’s running the Uber Race Matrix.
interesting to hear that you dont like uberbike race matrix pads, I've used them in a variety of brakes over the years, including sram code rsc, shimano xt 4 pot , magura mt7, and found them better than the stock pads by quite a long way. I havent really heard many people complain about the race matrix compound.
I did try uberbikes sintered pads (yellow) once , because it was all they had in stock, and found them very lacking in bite though.
I agree about superstar pads (although its probably been 8 years since I last tried a superstar pad) - they always felt quite weak.
I like uberbike race matrix in all my brakes when the weather is decent / it’s wet but not gone to full bog snorkelling territory. When it gets to the latter type of weather they can get overwhelmed and lose their bite.
For sram brakes the standard sram sintered pads are the best ones I’ve found for really bad weather. Uberbike sintered pads are ok but not great.
In my experience, no, they are not worth it. Budget Shimano brakes perform very well and are very powerful - they just come with less features than the more expensive versions.
Hayes Dominion A4s were totally worth it for me. I did wonder if some halfway house option might have sufficed, they probably would have, but with these I was confident it'd be one purchase to get the power and feel I wanted.
I agree about superstar pads (although its probably been 8 years since I last tried a superstar pad) – they always felt quite weak.
They've been totally fine since they re-started doing brake pads, their organic or sintered both work well with my Zee brakes.
But I find Shimano brakes still work pretty well with most aftermarket pads, as the 4-pots have plenty of power anyway.
When I had Code R brakes, they would show up cheaper pads a bit as the marginal loss in power was more noticeable - by not being able to stop on steep bits 😀