Just picked up a rear slx from leisure lakes for £68 as an emergency as I snapped the lever on my formula lever last weekend.
Having fitted it, it blows all the other brakes I've ever owned out of the water! Very nice surprise, no rub fitting in seconds and really powerful!
Have all manufacturers brakes improved that much in the last 3 years or have Shimano just raised the bar with this generation of brake?
Having just used this I'm definitely going to get some xtr's on both my bikes in the new year!
Welcome to Shimano brakes! Nothing else comes close to the bang for buck.
Agreed, I've got Shimano on all my bikes now (Saint, XT, XTR) having used Hope for years and whilst the Saints and XTs are impressive the XTRs on my Enduro bike are phenomenally good, I really can't fault them tbh.
This generation of slx brakes are just amazing. Anyone who gets on my bike who doesn't know about the power and feel of the brakes is physically amazed by them. They are just that good.
Shimano > Everything else,
its like Canti's > V-Brakes
SLX's and Saints here. Both amazing.
Someone will be along any second to tell you how crap they are.
cp - Member
Welcome to Shimano brakes! Nothing else comes close to the bang for buck.
True they are well priced, still prefer the feel and power of my hopes, they cost more but will still be going in a long time.
Shimano on all of my bikes. They make a mockery of my old Hopes.
ChunkyMTB - Member
Shimano on all of my bikes. They make a mockery of my old Hopes.
my new hopes make a mockery of old shimano 🙂
(new brakes being better than old brake shocker)
mattbibbings - MemberThis generation of slx brakes are just amazing. Anyone who gets on my bike who doesn't know about the power and feel of the brakes is physically amazed by them. They are just that good.
Physically amazed? Your mates all need some baggier shorts pal.
But yes, Shimano brakes on all my bikes and they're fantastic. Never given me wood though.
A Hope fanboy spits his dummy shocker
ChunkyMTB - Member
A Hope fanboy spits his dummy shocker
Not really but having tried a lot of different brakes just not that blown away by the shimano offering, there is an immediate power which kicks hard but no real feel in there at all, people mention needing an very light touch but that just doesn't fit with being bounced round on a technical descent or going flat out through the rough stuff. Still they are cheap and when they break you just throw them away and buy a new one.
We did a heap of bike swapping on Friday night at a race for some pissing round and as Hope is as common as rocking horse crap out here in Tassie nobody really knew what my brakes were. it was about 70/30 in favour of the hopes after some razzing round with everyone mentioning feel being one of the key things (along with looks and really nice levers)
I used to love hope (started on XC4s, then went to minis with the wavy rotors), but after having 2 sets of the original mono M4s that just would not work correctly no matter how much I bled, cleaned and generally tinkered with them I tried Shimano and didn't look back.
I'd love to try new hopes, but I just can't justify the cost 🙁
Shimano all the way. Best, most reliable brakes around.
They are very good brakes which happen to be very reasonably,nay cheaply, priced.
Other brakes of similar or superior quality are available at comparibly extortionate prices, the owners of which will be along to justify their purchase shortly.
My xt brakes are excellent, I just have to learn to stop using them inappropriately.
What I need is ABS as I keep forgetting trying to change direction while still on the front brake normally ends with me on the floor trying to stop every cubic mm of breath from leaving my body, while thinking the whole time if I do not manage to take a breath soon I will surely die.
But the brakes them selfs are great.
(ABS pleases, someone)
They work
No constant messing with pad clearance
Cheap
Easy to bleed
Tons of power
I have full Shimano kit on both my full sus mtb and my commuter and unless something seriously goes wrong with the company I shall run Shimano for all eternity.
Even their 'low end' road stuff on my commuter rarely misses a beat.
I do like them. A lot. Saints in particular are fantastic.
Bit dull looking though aren't they :whistle:
I was looking at the Zee brakes as a poor mans Saint for my cheap DH bike build.
Any experience? Have read somewhere the seals go?
Had two sets of Zee's in the Alps for a year now, both faultless.
There's no need for an apostrophe.
😉
devash - MemberThey work
No constant messing with pad clearance
Cheap
Easy to bleed
Tons of powerI have full Shimano kit on both my full sus mtb and my commuter and unless something seriously goes wrong with the company I shall run Shimano for all eternity.
[b]Even their 'low end' road stuff on my commuter rarely misses a beat.[/b]
Yup. I got the mega cheap Deore deal from Merlin a while back also. The brakes are fantastic. They replaced M4's. I won't quote the performance difference, as not to upset the Hope fanboys.
I have Hope & Shimano XT's and prefer the Hope overall. However value for money Shimano wins.
What puzzles me most is people will write "Deores" correctly but then put an apostrophe in "XT's" for no apparent reason.
one_happy_hippyI was looking at the Zee brakes as a poor mans Saint for my cheap DH bike build.
Any experience? Have read somewhere the seals go?
The only thing I'd say is that they're not exactly "poor mans" price. They come very close to saints.
I had an issue with the lever on mine which seemed to be of lower quality than slx or deore. If I was going for shimano brakes with big power I see about getting some zee calipers built on to slx or xt levers.
Mixed reports on Shimano brakes. Had 2008 Deore LX on the Meta which became a constant nightmare with sticky pistons. Then had basic Shimano M445, or something like that, on my Ridgeback Storm which ended up leaking after a light 18 months of use. Now on the Deore M596 on the Meta and so far so good. They are good value for money, I like how easy they are to bleed, and the are powerful, however I still think they feel quite wooden compared to other manufacturers brakes.
i got xt. best brake ive used 🙂
^^^^^ Spent the money on brakes and couldn't afford a shift key for the keyboard. 😉
28 posts and no one's mentioned the wonderful Hope customer service and spares availability. 😉
muddyfunster - Memberone_happy_hippy
I was looking at the Zee brakes as a poor mans Saint for my cheap DH bike build.
Any experience? Have read somewhere the seals go?
The only thing I'd say is that they're not exactly "poor mans" price. They come very close to saints
I recently got a set from Tweeks for £82 an end so still very reasonable.
They are ace, have been ace for years but you can't service them. If they go wrong you chuck em away.
I had some Formula brakes on another bike, got back on my SLX equipped hardtail and nearly went over the freakin bars......Shimano all the way, even the old SLX is still good.
I really liked my Deore M596's - just looking to order some more but it seems that they are now replaced with M615. They look the same.
They break in freezing conditions (-5, both ends failed in 1 ride)
When the seals go, they spray a fine mist of mineral oil onto pads and discs, writing them off. (pads cannot be recovered with any known method at all)
When the seals go, you have to buy new calipers as they don't do spare seals. (buy cheap, buy twice)
Apart from that, they are good brakes, almost as good as Hope.
😈
The last couple of years of shimano XT's are the best mountain bike brakes known to man.
- never overheat , even on long descents on proper mountains unlike all the other brakes I've tried.
- never need adjusting (well not yet after 2 years of use)
- not snatchy
- cheap compared to everyone elses equivalent model.
- pads last well
I've got m395's on here and they are impressive enough.
So if a seal go on a shimano its a cheap brake. But if one goes on a Hope its a serviceable part? 🙂
@Kunstler. The latest 615 have a new caliper which takes the ice tech pads if you wish. Cosmetically completely different and look nicer.
28 posts and no one's mentioned the wonderful Hope customer service and spares availability.
Here goes: in my experience Hope's customer service is fantastic. This is a good thing, as you'll be needing to use it quite often.
When the seals go, you use the 2 year warranty to get them replaced for free.
Or notice that you could upgrade deore to xt for £20 (thanks crc!)
Put in a warranty request -> wait -> maybe receive new parts -> fit -> ride.
How many weeks will that take?
Buy seal kit -> install. Done in minutes.
if a seal go on a shimano its a cheap brake. But if one goes on a Hope its a serviceable part?
No. Yes. What?
in my experience Hope's customer service is fantastic. This is a good thing, as you'll be needing to use it quite often.
Yeh, better to buy your bike parts from a company on the other side of the world, who make fishing kit, and don't supply spare parts for their stuff.
Yeh, better to buy your bike parts from a company on the other side of the world, who make fishing kit, and don't supply spare parts for their stuff.
I don't need spare parts, because my brakes are made by Shimano, not Hope.
Got the latest Deores on my new bike and they're ace. Had Hope M4's before and Minis before that. Prefered the M4's to the Deore but not enough to change them. Saying that, If I was speccing a new bike and had the choice I'd get Hope. My new bike was second hand but never used so didn't have the option.
The only work either of my old Hopes required over the years I had them were pad changing. Their customer service is ace though as they fixed a Pro2 rear hub that was well out of warrenty FOC and replaced parts that were worn but not broken. 😉
ransos - MemberYeh, better to buy your bike parts from a company on the other side of the world, who make fishing kit, and don't supply spare parts for their stuff.
I don't need spare parts, because my brakes are made by Shimano, not Hope.
+1
Amazing how I've not needed any spare parts for my Shimano's in the last couple of years.
Always had shiny new spare parts arriving for the Hopes though when I ran them....
Totally opposite experience here TBH.
Who cares anyway, none of us work for / have shares in either company. Run what you like 😀
What formula's were you using? The One's are incredible! Tons of power, yet the modulation (almost) of Hopes. I have found shimano too easy to lock the back wheel, which is why I like the modulation of Hope.
My tech X2s and tech m4s have been completely maintenance free. They don't even seem to wear pads that fast.
The best bit though, is yes you can lock a wheel if you want to, but it's really easy not to lock a wheel, just keep if on that point where the wheel is just about to lose traction under braking, but arrange it so it never does. Brilliant
Unlike my Avids. Bleeding, freeing stick pistons, wearing pads, glazing pads, not stopping me. I mean I'm a 16st lightweight for goodness sake.
Which reminds me, I have a theory that bigger, more muscular riders (ok and fat boys like me) prefer Hope, while light riders go elsewhere. Discuss.
Committed hope user here. However, I bought an ex- demo bike which had slx shimano brakes which I intended to just bin / sell and replace with hope. I never quite got round to it, and the shimanos have been ok - admittedly and to my surprise haven't needed any fiddling yet. I quite like the feel too. But dread them needing work as - as above - not much can be done with them.
Ps - yes fat lump
Every single brake thread on here turns into Hope evangelism it's just boring. It takes nothing away from you if someone decides that something else is better.
better to buy your bike parts from a company on the other side of the world, who make fishing kit, and don't supply spare parts for their stuff.
I get Shimano from the UK, which is supplied from Europe? And they have a better spares catalogue than any large company that I know of - I've been in the warehouse and seen the Shimano spares section plenty of times. It's 'extensive'. But I doubt they can have everything at all times. Look up shimanotechdocs - much of the stuff listed is there. It's a full-time job ranging that many spares.
ime most disc brake spares aren't needed at anywhere near the levels that RD or other parts are, or when I have needed a new caliper (gen 1 XT issues) I got it and fitted a whole unit, to save fekking about with seals and potentially ruining them on installation. 10 years on their brakes and that's the only spare I've fitted or issue I've had to fix.
(not pro one brand over another, just a perspective on Shimano that people who've not seen inside a Madison warehouse won't have)
Oh, and they make golf stuff too )
Every single brake thread on here turns into Hope evangelism it's just boring. It takes nothing away from you if someone decides that something else is better.
Maybe it's because there's lots of people on here that have them and are very happy with them? If a thread is started about how good X brakes are would you not expect people to give examples of the brakes they've got and are happy with?
Instead of moaning why not tell us what you have and tell us if you're happy with them? You may well have already done so but I can't be bothered looking back up the thread.
All we need now is for someone to mention 650b then for someone else to copy the 'makes the trail come alive' joke for the 6,000,000th time.
My shimanos seem to survive -17 conditions, where the "seals go at -5" come from I do not know
Just gone back to Zee after a season on X0 (non-Trail version) as that was the spec on our team bikes.
Big difference I noticed immediately was reduced arm pump and feeling looser on the bike again, as the braking was in my finger, rather than having to use more arm strength to get the power through.
Similar feel (if not quite eyeball popping top end) on all the SLX/XT/XTR I've tried too - even the Deore is seriously impressive.
TBH there's not really anything that comes close in terms of usable power, lever ergonomics and ease of maintenance. The new funnel thing makes clearing air bubbles super easy.
I've been really impressed with mine (slx and xt). Can't tell any difference between them in use. Had various hopes (from the early E4s, C2's, mini etc and various Avid juicy and elixir). When I need a new set it will take a lot to make me look past Shimano now for value for money, reliability and performance. Just waiting for my last avids on my commuter to break so I can justify replacing them with a set of slx.