I have some Juicy 5s, want some new brakes with better modulation. What do people recommend? They are going on an Alpine 160, don't want 4 pot brakes though.
Any deals on brakes anywhere?
What are Hayes stroker trails like?
I liek the look of Hope V2s as well, any thoughts?
I love my elixir 5's merlin had them on a good deal.
Elixers are good.
Another vote for Elixir. Plus if you have a bleed kit for the Juicy brakes, you can use it with the Elixirs...not a deal breaker but a bit of a bonus.
Hope or formula.
IMO.
Liking my 09 Magura Louise BAT's here and also my Magura Louise Freerides are still going strong despite being quite old now, 05 I think.
I bet Louise FR's are cheap on ebay due to their age.
shimano xt's
Hope if you can aford some.
Shimano if you can't.
Shimano - by far the most reliable and easy to service that I know. Older 2-pot XT's went through 3 winters commuting and lots of off-road action without anything but pads!
SLX's
SLX's would be my recommendation too. Unless you have the cash to go for hope/formula.
I replaced my Juicy 5s with SLXs. They look a bit er... industrial (for want of a better word) but maintenance wise everything is so much easier. For a start they seem to need very little! Bleeding is easier, so is pad replacement, and use mineral oil which is less hassle to work with than Dot 4/5.1 (IMO)
Replaced mine with Elixir CRs. Much better!
Best "do it all" brakes I've found are the Louise BATs (Carbons for bling if you need it). Excellent feel, and a cinch to set up and bleed. (Having had Elixirs, CRs, Martas, Hope Minis, Hayes to name but a few!)