I have been running Hope tech X2's but didnt get performance I was hoping for but dunno what to go for next , R1's seem to be the one everybody raves about but they are pricey, I love the new look XTR brakes but are they too XC race orientated for a 140mm travel 'all mountain' bike, are they up to it? Then there's the Avid's, I want a fairly light ,powerful brake with great feel/modulation, budget £200 each brake max. help......!
The new XTR trail brake (M988) is designed for the exact type of bike you describe.
New XTR Trail? Heard that R1s are getting difficult to find as nobody is importing them, so spares might be a problem. Can't really offer advice on which as I'm after something similar myself. Not having Shimano again though as my current ones have been a constant headache.
Yeah been reading about it, It looks quite tasty as well with the cooling fins etc.. I would go for R1's straight away but I think they look really bland for a £210 brake.
What is wrong with the Hope's - looking at a set for Crimbo.
I also looked at the R1's, but at twice the price of Hope's...
Currently on Juicy 7 carbons - but sick to death of the 'no-tool' pad replacement and sticking pistons (now on a 2nd set of calipers).
I have had a nightmare trying to find R1's actually, nowhere has them
the hope's just didnt have the power I wanted and modulation was nowhere near as good as my previous old style M4's even with goodridge hoses.
Trail XTR's here, immense power!
Thats what I want hear, I really want the XTR's but have been worried about power
what size rotors?
was running 183mm rotors on X2's or is it 185 ? I forget, but 180 something, the 'saw' style rotors. Its probably a perfectly good brake for most people just didnt fulfill my requirements
I think there's a set of trail XTR's left in the shop if you wanted them desperately..... 8)
Get some RXs. Plenty power with good sized rotors I reckon. I have the "ones" which are astoundingly powerful but don't feel quite as nice as my old tech M4s.
Elixirs are pretty darn good on all those counts in my experience. Particularly at Merlin prices.
Its tricky finding even RX's in stock anywhere online. Depends on price of XTR's, CRC does them for £159.99 but they only seem to have them in stock for few hours but I'm inpatint so probably end up laying out full £180 elsewhere!
What are you going to do with those 'useless' Hope's, best to offload them quick (and cheap) 😉 since they're crap.
I've sold them already, they went quick, a lot of people love the X2 and rate it, I didnt personally but each to their own.
I've just noticed a brand new set of R1s in the classifieds at the mo.
cheers , I had a look at R1's post, may well follow them up, but think perhaps I'm leaning more toward the XTR's now, starting to worry about spares for formula's