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I have Avid Juicy Carbons at the moment. Running 203mm rotors at both ends. I'm 105 kg. In the UK I seldom, if ever have problems. However on longer Alpine descents I tend to lose the back end. Boiling, pad wear, disc wear, screaming brakes- all the nasty things you might imagine.
I've tried LOTS of different types of pad, best to date are SSC kevlar, They work well, cost is good, don't scream but wear quickly 🙁 Organic and sintered are either too soft or too noisy and boily hot.
I'm using a high boiling point automotive 'racing' fluid. And a Hope floating rotor. And I am doing my best not to over-brake- but sometimes I do need to slow down.
All in all I'm getting a bit cheesed off. Is it posible to fit a different (i.e. more suitable for my needs) caliper to the Avid levers?
Any suggestions?
Bump.
I think its probably more to do with an underpowered lever rather than the caliper ?
I'd wondered about that- not shifting enough fluid to actuate a bigger/ more pistons?
As a emergency fix- I've run a Hope mini lever with a Juicy 7 calipre -
Gone back to the fixed mono hope - but may swap back as juicy was better(?)
BTW are the juicy pistons phenolic or metal? IIRC the Phenolic will resist heating more? BUt a low volume may heat more? Bigger more/pistons like M4's etc may dissipate heat better? So you may just be ltd to your setup?
Curious that its the back, rather than the front.
The majority of braking goes through the front disc and with a 203mm disc at the back, i wouldnt expect it to be boiling up without the front going the same way first.
I suspect you're dragging the rear brake more and as a result you're generating more heat, whereas the front you are modulating its use hence its getting a chance to cool down.
Perhaps you need to consider a more powerful 4 piston caliper setup so that they can slow you down without dragging the brake all the time?
juicy carbons are diddy little callipers are they not? I'm guessing you're dragging the brakes enough for the fluid to boil. I've no idea what the cooling circuit in them is like but it's pretty much the only way you can heat up a rear enough with a 203 rotor to make it fade. (I'm 75kg and I can't make a 160mm rear fade for love nor money)
Time for bigger brakes (at least when you're in the alps)
What about a Code caliper?
Also Juicy levers work with Elixier calipers - although the caliper hose fittings seem different.
We find that Avid Juicy's are by far the worst-performing brakes out here in the Alps - in terms of heat build-up at least. They're almost always the first brakes to fail in any group. Pretty much anything would be an improvement.
Never seen anyone boil Hayes, Shimano or Formula (with an appropriate rider/rotor combination - put a big bloke on 160mm rotors nd you can boil almost any brake).
I'm 90kg just-out-the-shower (over 100kg fully kitted-up with guide pack) and I've never boiled my Hayes 9's (run with 203mm rotors and sintered pads).
drop the rear brake and get a Hope Moto V2 with the vented rotors instead?
Mate (120kg+) bought a set on the 3rd day in the Alps, after setting fire (really!) to a set of 203mm Hayes 9s.
I use one on the back of my DH bike, and even without the vented rotor find it dissipates the heat much better than most other stuff I have used (Im 96kg in armour) when Im riding in the Alps.
Dan