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Binned it in the wet last year and brake (juicy something) lever made heavy contact with a tree. Managed to glue it back together but has since worked loose.
So, want to replace. Looking at slx. Is there anything else that isn't silly money that should be considered?
Ta
Shimano at whatever budget suits is my default response
Shimano have been good but I think the latest batch I.e. Year haven't been as reliable - several posts on here and other forums flagging issues with them.
The Sram brakes are very good...not Avids but proper Sram.
What is your budget and do you have a preference?
I had XT. The calipers leak and it seems to be pot luck if you get good or bad ones.
Maybe it's fixed now, but I've now gone to Hope, which don't leak and feel much nicer.
I'd go with Shimano. My experience is they are the closest to 'fit and forget'. Pick one at budget to suit, though simple Deore are cheap and very good
I've had decent experience with Formula too
I won't buy SRAM again after owning Juicys
Agreed, Juicy's are truly grim, but the SRAM-branded brakes are far better...
I've a pair of '15 slx on my hard tail and they work very well...even better since I chopped the hoses and reduced the lever through. I think it is the more recent brakes that aren't quite so fit and forget, however, they do meet the most price points.
Shimano are good but regard them as consumables.
Sram guide are ace, I'll be replacing the XT on my other bike with them Soon as well.
I'd pretty much always been a Hope man - old C2s, then Mono Minis and M4s.
In the last 3-4 years I'd gone over to Shimano - newer shape Deores and SLXs. Both have been fine, but the SLXs have suffered from the variable bite point issue that a lot of people get, and the Deores always felt very wooden.
I recently set up two bikes with newer Hopes - Race X2 Evos and Tech 3 X2s. My word they feel so much nicer than the Shimanos! Modulation to spare, and they feel and look so much better quality, even compared to the Mono Minis and M4s of yore.
Cost wise it wasn't too big a hit - the Race X2s cost £150 for a set on Ebay. Looked unused too. The Tech 3 X2s were £216 new for the pair - so only £30-40 more than a set of the new M7000 SLX brakes
I've tried some guides on a demo day and I liked the feel - I've got some of those clarks brakes at the moment and they are surprisingly competent for a budget brake
After some fannying around, I've decided to keep using Formula The Ones. Still nothing that really compares IMO. The Guides are probably the closest I've tried. (the set that just went onto my XC race bike used to be in my DH bike, not many brakes that'll excel at those 2 jobs)
I can't explain why, but using the term 'du jour' in the thread title makes me irrationally hate the OP and think that he must be a prize ****. Not like the term is being particularly misused or anything. Sorry OP, my fault not yours. A better man would just ignore it.
Oh, in answer to your question. Just get the best Shimano you can afford.
Thanks for all the suggestions.
Angeldust: I'll take note for the next I want sound all posh and that.
Just been eyeing up some guide r's. Look like good value and buying one would mean being able to use it on the front while swapping the good juicy leaver to the back brake.
Bit then the shimano deores look good value and not much more for a set than one guide r.
Budget is not strictly limited but I have just got a new road bike so spending on the MTB would produce lots of grief.
😀
I've just changed a pair of venerable Juicy's for the SLX's from Merlin PSA'd on here a couple of weeks ago.
I never really had an issue with the Juicy's though changing the pads was more convoluted than other brakes. Over the years I had one stuck piston that I drilled out then rebuilt the caliper and a few rebleeds following the intricate Avid instructions. They were fine. I changed them as I'm not riding that bike much and wanted something really fit and forget. The SLX's were really simple to install though the front needed a bleed as I had to shorten both hoses and swap left for right as they come Euro stylee. I like a firm lever/immediate brake and they are just that. Perfect. Good value at ~£100.
I also rebuilt and bled an old Mono M4 lever/brake at the same time. I still prefer the Hope's. The lever piston seals had given up after 10 years and all the fluid escaped. After a rebuild and bleed, they are still as good as ever. If later Hope's are even better, they must be ace.
I was a massive Shimano brake fan but have binned them off after the disaster that were my XTR Trail brakes and XT 785's. The XTR's suffered really badly from inconsistent lever throw and the XT's were always super mushy, even after being returned for a proper factory bleed. My Zee's were OK but could sometime play up/ My Deore's were the nest of the bunch and proper fit and forget.
Since then, I've moved to SRAM Guides and have been really impressed - the RS and RSC's are worth the extra over the R. I now run RSC's on my Stanton and my Demo. A year or so in and they've been reliable - good power, better feel than my Shimano brakes and the pads (resin) have lasted well.
A few months ago I swapped from a set of shimano XT M785's to some Hope tech 3 e4's.
The Hope brakes are better than the shimano's , but they are very sensitive to setting them up right, and they take an age to bed in fully and start generating decent deceleration, they do have very good modulation and power overall.
The shimano's on the other hand were quick to fit and instantly worked, they generated the same amount of power as the hopes, but less modulation.They never overheated despite long alpine descents etc . They were reliable over 4 years or so, and were substantially cheaper than the hopes.
Out of the two, if on a budget go shimano, if you have the money go hope, but be prepared to spend a while installing them correctly (pay attention to caliper alignment), and then ages getting them bedded in , it Took about 10000 feet of descending before they starting to generate full power for me.
Shimano newer versions - what ever suits budget. Apart from finish there appears to be little difference in power above Deore.
FWIW, I have found of 5 Shimano sets, two have had mysterious loss of power issues about 3 years in, although they are previous to this generation (the square ones).
I now have two sets of Magura MT2's on our bikes and love them. Equally as powerful, far more modulation and a bigger pad retraction, simpler pad replacement etc. I plan on more as and when we need them....