currently have deores which have been fine (only niggle is it's a pain to change pads out on the trail due to silly pin), but will put those on the GF bike enabling me to get something a bit more, you know.... nicer.
don't want anything silly heavy as i generally ride up as well as down. i ride in the alps so cooking an issue. modulation similar to deore would be good.
also price an issue, 250 quid for a set would be good.....
those Quad that were reviewed a while back in mag... any experiences? liking the idea of something white and not silly expensive.
what are hope's offerings like? prices have come dowm here due to exchange rate.
atomlab pimp come in fancy colours and look, well, a little pimp. experiences?
i'm not a fatty if that counts.
cheers
J
One of those personal choice things I think... but my vote would go for Magura Louise for a balance of cost and reliability. Styling might not be to everyones taste compared to the latest designs but mine have been on two bikes now. 2007 and a half..bought from Merlin in the New Year Sales... still on original pads.
Personal Choice indeed, but Shimano always get my vote. If you go for SLX or XT over the Deore's you will no longer have a silly split pin, but instead have a pin that's very easy to remove with a 3mm allen key (which you should have on your trail tool anyway).
The only other brakes that have made me even think twice about leaving the Shimano fold in years are the new Avid Elixirs. I've not ridden a set, but if they're as good as the hype, and as good as they feel on the trail as they do in the shop, they'd be worth a consider for definite. But Shimano's always for reliability/convenience/performance etc.
I'm slowly sliding into the shimano camp - good & reliable.
Might not set the world alight but they do the job.
XT's for me.
Big S for me too. Been using old 4-pot XTs for a while now with no issues at all. Been hating a set of Juicy 7's on a bike I bought second hand (off here), so I'm now waiting for a set of SLX's to arrive.
P.S. Fiona, the Nomad's still going strong. Cheers.
I am a big fan of hopes for two reasons - I like the feel at the lever - they are a much "softer" feel at the lever than other brakes I have tried giving more modulation at the expense of initial bite. Ultimate power is not affected as the limiting factor will always be traction between the tyre and the ground. They can still lock wheels if you want. That is very much a preference thing tho. Secondly that they are infinitely rebuildable, spares backup is excellent and the service you get from hope is second to none. If you want to buy one set of brakes and never need to buy more then IMO hope is the way to go.
Shimano XT's -- minimal maintenance required, excellent modulation.
I prefer Magura or Shimano. XTs are a doddle to set up and very nice to use, but Magura Louises are more powerful.....
The latest shimano XTs get my vote too... can need bleeding a few times when they are new to get them perfect (mine did anyway) but there is plenty of adjustment and I think the feel is fantastic!
Like people have said though, it's personal choice to, I like a sharp brake, some people don't!
If you think the pin on the Deore's is a pain, try Hope Mono Mini's, you have to take the frikkin wheel out to change the pads. 🙄
Magura Louise, £110 each any size rota, and a 5 year warranty. Say no more. I have had a set of the new Louise's and they are great. Loads of modulated power. Great brake.
Shimano, every time.
No one's recommending Formula? Oh well... I'll give them a plug, go with Oro's, K18 if you're on a budget or K24 if you have a bit more cash. Or even Puro's or The One's if you're really flush (or like your bling, like me 🙂 ) Very very good brakes in my humble opinion (though the Magura 5 year warranty sounds pretty good!)
Dibbs _ huh? Not with my mono minis - undo the clip, push the pin out. Pads fall out.
i`d go shimano or formula oro for definite.
it seems everyone who rides my bike wants a set of oros after
[Heresy]
BB7s - simple to set up, simple to fettle, plenty of power & good modulation. I'm trying XTs but can't get them to work properly (& no advantages over BB7s).
[/Heresy]
Went from XT's on the old bike to Hope Mono Minis on the new one. In direct comparison I would say that the XT's have more power, but the Hopes have slightly better feel, and I marginally prefer them. Personal though as others have said. Also reckon that Shimanos suffer a bit more than the Hopes from sticky piston syndrome
Also reckon that Shimanos suffer a bit more than the Hopes from sticky piston syndrome
Good point, left mine standing for a while and had to strip the caliper down to un-seize it... still wouldn't let it put you off though, like I said, might need fettling but well worth it in my opinion
very happy with my Oro K24s
im selling some nearly new XT's
£125 posted
like my mono m4's, plenty of power, good modulation and fantastic feel to them. Also, they'll be good enough for your Alps riding without any cooling issues. Run 203mm's F&R on mine. tried the XT's which i thought had fantastic power, though lever feel wasn't as good as hope's.
As above I like my M4's, Mono mini's don't seem to be quite as robust. Also run Avid's, which are a real pain to change pads and seem to drag on the rotor a lot.
I am curious about being able to change pads without removing the wheel though...? I'm lucky if I get away without having to remove / clean pistons just to get new pads in.
I have run hayes, hope etc and I can honestly say the best by a MILE were Formula K18's, light, powerfull, no issues at all. (I dont have them anymore but they were great in all apects)
I have a pair of Hayes Stroker Carbon on my bike which work very well and were a breeze to set up. However, on my last bike I had Avid Juicy 7s which were faultless - great stopping power, feel, build quality and very simple to bleed.
You could stick these on the system you have for under £100 with new hoses, or build a brand new set for about £140 or £160 with the new style levers.
[url] http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Models.aspx?ModelID=21305 [/url]
I have just done the same but not ridden it to test them as yet though...
Mind you a new set at that price doesnt sound too cost effective, its a cheap upgrade to you existing brakes.