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Just bought a Whyte 629 on the ctw scheme, as standard it's come with avid elixer 1 brakes which are in my experience pretty poor. Was planning to upgrade them in the next month or so, want to spend £200 max, any recommendations? Shimano xt/slx seems the obvious choice.
Cheers.
stick with shimano....but if you sell the avids and add this to your budget you could possibly have enough to buy some hopes instead...
I've been pleased with both my XT's and my Deore brakes; lots of power, reliable and I love the shape of the lever blade. My previous experience was really positive too (original Saint's).
I'm tight, so I would find it hard to justify the extra money for some more boutique brakes like Hope (which I don't like anyway) or Formulas (too pricey) especially when the Shimano brakes work so well and cost so little.
You cant go wrong with Shimano. Have XT's on my new bike and so far so good. I have Hope V2's on my other bike which are also very good, but for the money you can't beat the Shimanos.
They perform differently; the XT's have a much stronger initial bite but overall braking power is similar.
Thanks guys, been looking at hayes and formula brake sets on merlin website but think some xt would be the best buy. Are they easy enough to service/bleed?
Cheers Pete.
my previous bike have had shimano brakes...verdict has been they are good especially for the price
other bike ran hopes...again good performance but you'd expect this given the price you pay...
current bike runs a hayes/formula set up....the hayes for the price has been brilliant...doesnt have the subtlety of the shimano/hopes but it does the job...the formula has been just as good but can often be a bit temperamental....would i change to another brake?....i want to but find it hard to justify this at the moment due to the good performance of my current setup...incidentally the hayes is now about 5 years old and is still working perfectly and has never needed rebleeding etc...the formula is nearly a year old, but was a second hand unit so given its condition/age...so far so good
hope this gives you food for thought...
Thanks gonzy, which hayes brakes are you running? I like a nice firm initial bite if that makes sense, found avids very spongey and a pain in the ass to bleed. I have an old set of hopes on my cove, not the most powerful but easy to service.
my front brake is a hayes 9...like i said its not the most subtle of brakes but the stopping power when applied is immensely brutal. sadly no longer in production (i think)...but if you have a look around on the internet you may still find a set for sale...
found a pair for you on ebay...
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Hayes-HFX-9-Nine-Mountain-Bike-Disc-Brakes-inc-160mm-Rotors-Hope-Avid-Style-/111094915144?pt=UK_sportsleisure_cycling_bikeparts_SR&hash=item19ddc5e048