Power is meh, can’t get the rear to even lock up, it either rubs or it hardly works.
I had the same issue on the mechanical system that came with my arkose. Probably my fault, but I could never get them right. I swapped them for Giant’s Conduct system and couldn’t be happier.
Well that's a whole lot of conflicting views. I think the OP needs to try different brakes and make his own mind up.
To add another element into the whole debate between different brakes, I think it can come down to things that people don't talk about when discussing brakes. People's weight, their braking style, terrain they ride, brake set up and weather they ride in. I think all the above can really have a big affect on people's view on brakes. I suppose it's the same with everything really, it's all just personal perception.
the inner adjuster gets clogged up and is a bastard to turn through the wheel unless I take the pads out and give them a damn good clean and a squirt of WD-40
The inner adjuster can be turned with a T25 torx if it's tight by hand. Might be a stupid question but I hope you're keeping the WD-40 well away from the pads and rotors?
those who are having issues with mechanical brakes not working something is wrong. I have had a couple of sets and all as powerful as any hydro brake. Lever feel is not as nice and they need adjusting but power? No problems at all.
In my experience if you have BB7s come on a bike, the basic cables they come with likely won't be good enough. If there is stretch in the inner cable or compression of the outer when pulling the lever it won't get near the potential braking force. Like a well bled hydraulic brake it should not feel spongy and there should be a defined bite point felt through the lever.
Yes I’m keeping wd40 away from pads and rotors 🙂
If you've had them since 2014, have you ever taken them apart to service them?
My BB7s are on a 2013 Fargo and have done 25000km of commuting with little TLC. Could lock up the wheels when new and now.
They have alligator pads in at the mo.
you could go up to as much as 200mm
How much difference do you think that would make to the stopping power?
It will make a noticeable difference. TJ is right - if BB7s are lacking power, there is something wrong with how they are set up. If it were me, I'd fit an 8" rotor and new pads on the front, plus make sure the cable is clean and lubed. You'll need to bed in the pads again, but if it's all adjusted properly and the cable isn't sticky, they should have plenty of power. If you decide to go for hydros the bigger rotor will be useful, so it's really just costing you a set of pads.
scotroutes
Full Member
Well set up BB7s with compressionless cables are as good as a cheap set of hydros so you may not notice a huge difference. However, the performance of hydros is a lot more consistent, they need less maintenance and adjust for pad wear automatically.
Absolutely this.
I love BB7's, but you need a bit of experience to get the best out of them.
Previous gen Shimano hydros are flawed. They leak.
Older and newer ones, fine.
My wife has a 15 year old set of Hope Mono Mini hydraulics - infinitely rebuildable and have never had a single issue.
Pay the Hope tax and have pretty much perfect brakes that will last forever, or buy BB7's and have the same reliability and functionality with less feel and more tweaking.
TRP Spyres, imhe, should be great, but aren't.
The design makes perfect sense but they just don't work in real life. I have no idea why.
I ran BB7s (with XTR levers) for 11 years, initially while living overseas but then simply because they worked. Couldn't fault them. Like RustySpanner, I can't say the same for the Spyres I've had for the last 12 months - pretty poor, although I'll try some different levers before giving up on them.
Three year old XT/SLX brakes on the mountain bike have been fine; no sign of the Curse of the Wandering Bite Point, but I do use them regularly, and refresh the oil with a quick gravity bleed when I change the pads. Are they 'better' than the BB7s were? Marginally. Will I still be using them in eight years? Unlikely.
Had TRP spyres on my last commuter, they were shite. Cheapest of the cheap shimano hydros on current commuter have been flawless over the same period of use.
Nobeer
Same. Replaced BB7s and just better.
I'd buy a pair of Clarks M2 OP.
You'll not find much cheaper hydraulic disc brakes, they are Very good VFM.
Pop the BB7s in the spares box and see how you get on with the M2s...
Absolute worst case you'll not like them and make a reasonable chunk of, a not huge spend, back flogging the M2s on. Best case you'll take to the M2s and a pair of BB7s will probably more than cover the cost on eBay (people still seem to pay over the odds for them).
Cable disks are attractive to all those who think they might one day do a round-the world tour. See also: steel frames, 26" wheels, Schwalbe Marathons.
The only brakes that I've ever had outright fail on me - are Hope C2s circa early 2000s and Deores. Avoid at all costs.
Agreed on the Maguras.
I'd happily run BB7's again if I needed to at the moment I'm running Klampers which are just lovely but $$$, TRP Spyre's just haven't bee great for me.
Saying that the GRX levers and Hope RX callipers are great, but can't tell the difference from the Klampers with TRP levers both running the same size rotors!
Cable disks are attractive to all those who think they might one day do a round-the world tour. See also: steel frames, 26″ wheels, Schwalbe Marathons
I hate sweeping generalisations. 😉
Got a set on my sc 5010 cc.
And my chameleon.
Set up, they just work. If they came in a box with decent cables prepped and people just strapped them on to their bikes like they do hydros they'd do far better.
Nick - have you ever looked at the cables, or more specifically, the cable outers?
Have a look at the Clarke’s ones, they get great write ups on here and are mega cheap.
Also plenty of write ups on how crap they are, and how they dont last and how spongy they become, and plenty of bike threads over the years about the 50 ways people will suggest you should try to bleed them.
Then theres the reason you can get a 2nd hand set of ebay for a tenner- Because theyre crap and nobody really wants them.**
Buy some Hope's, and look towards mono minis(The black and gold ones)*, just look for good cosmetic condition, which is usually a sign theyre been looked after and not heavily used.
** Standing by for abusive posting.
All hopes up to mini mono's are for 165/185mm rotors, which in 6 bolt are like hens teeth.
*Mono mini and above(later) are very good, and Hope brakes in general, most here have them. Reason enough 😕
Oh - op. 160mm? F no! 200s ftw.
Nick – have you ever looked at the cables, or more specifically, the cable outers?
Yes, they are SRAM brake outers, should I be looking at something else?
Ok thanks all - I think I will have a look at some cheap and easy shimanos like the mt200s or mt400s as they seem to be quite popular and are above the base shimanos. And maybe I might upgrade to 180 all round just for cooling benifits since I am buying new rotors anyway.
@Nick
Compressionless outers make a big difference.
I like the Gusset xl linear brake cable. Costs about £10 per brake.
This is a good guide to BB7 set up:
http://howtosetuptheavidbb7.weebly.com/how-to-set-up-the-avid-bb7.html
@ajantom thanks! will take a look, and change the cables, cheaper than buying new brakes at least 🙂
I can join the club of TRP Spyres being woeful on cx bike. They were OK when it was dry and my wife is happy with them on her road bike, but when it gets mucky they need too much mid-ride fettling. About to swap them for hydro (bought, just to fit them this week).
You can't blame the calipers, pads or levers unless the cable movement is virtually friction free and it is easily achievable.
If you're feeling resistance when pulling the lever then your cable outer is either full of crud, split or poorly routed.
If on flat bar levers run a gear cable inner in brake outer. Fibrax stuff works fine. Reduces drag between inner and outer and i've never snapped an inner or torn the nipple off.
Road brifters (Shimano) as you can't use gear inners, although I have thought about adding solder to the nipples, you have to be careful on cable routing as drop bar cable routing will always add friction, tend to get sharp bends on chainstay to caliper mount too which doesn't help.
Over the longer term I've generally found mechanicals more reliable. When hydro's work, they are great with easy power and light feel. However, when they don't it can be a right arse to sort. And I've not had a set of hydro's not lose power to the rear brake to the point where I can't lock the wheel on tarmac... Used Hope Minis. Mono-Minis, Hayes HFX9 and all just lost power at the back end, probably due to over heating.
Yes mechanicals need a bit more TLC, however this can be achieved much more easily than with Hydro's. Also, if left to stand or stored for a period of time, Hydros seem to lose fluid or something, meaning they don't work when you pull them back out of the shed. Mechanicals may need a little WD40 on the cables, and they're good to go.
And I'm running Shimano M475 mechanicals with random Clarks pads, as that is what I could get at the time.
Cable routing and condition is critical, and compressionless is best.
Drop bar cables brakes are not as good, as the reduced cable pull of the levers seems to make them even more sensitive to poor cables, and with the tight bends under the bar tape and chainstay mounted calipers, friction is put into the system at both ends. Full length compressionless cables are more important here than on MTB's IMHO.
All this could have been resolved if Shimano had increased road-brake cable pull to math MTB V Brake cable pull in the 1990's. They've gradually been increasing the cable pull of their road brakes over the years, but how much better would it have been to have the ability to MTB disc calipers with road drops?
Got bb7s on my xbike. Thought I'd upgrade, never bothered as they do work. Even replaced a set myself (whilst letting the shop do anything beyond replacing pads on hydro brakes). Just that you really do need to test before every ride, picking up speed on a road descent is not the time to wonder when you last checked them...
Anyway, only posting because no one else has said that cheap SRAM hydro aren't very good. (My experience: of feel and how long they last before breaking; whereas my experience of Avid -ages ago- and Shimano which I've got on my current MTBs's been positive to the extent I've never really thought about them).
