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[Closed] Zee brakes

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[#4579147]

I was thinking of putting these on my bike, I saw one online store has them at around £115 (no rotors or anything else) but then noticed same store sells the lever for £28 and the caliper for £40, which seems like a big mismatch, I figure hose etc should only cost £10 an end, a bleed kit from epic works out £5 per end.

Given how easy I hear these are to bleed (and therefore presumably also to fill from scratch) this seems like a no-brainer, am I missing something?


 
Posted : 21/11/2012 3:19 pm
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Nope, you're not missing anything.

I have the Superstar hoses and fittings, plus Superstar sintered pads (same model as the new Saint ones). Was about £20 for hoses and fittings.

Dead easy to assemble and bleed. only thing you will need is the block thingy to grip the hose when you push the barb in, but you could easily make one. It's just a block cut in half with a hole down the middle.

[img] https://encrypted-tbn1.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQdGEpxGe4XSRGRFAjMDTNqjQRfsD0qwpxxLmLFQ5E6s69mMcPF [/img]


 
Posted : 21/11/2012 3:24 pm
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When i was India many years ago, i saw a bizarre TV show called zee horror show.

It was so stupid and badly made it became watchable; the locals thought it was mega scary.

Maybe it too was made by Shimano.


 
Posted : 21/11/2012 4:47 pm
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aren't zee brakes SLX levers with the 4 pot caliper?
Saint are XTR levers with the same 4 pot caliper?


 
Posted : 21/11/2012 5:51 pm
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The levers look similar to SLX though I think Zee is missing tool free reach adjust. SLX levers basically cost the same anyway


 
Posted : 21/11/2012 5:59 pm
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Great to see link for the £40 caliper please


 
Posted : 21/11/2012 6:09 pm
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Not sure what forum rules are on that, but if you do a Google shopping search for "Zee brake calliper" its the first item that comes up.

However, it is from an online company that seems to generally have an OK reputation but I noticed some people have had issues with items that are not "in stock"


 
Posted : 21/11/2012 7:46 pm
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Me thinks you will get no joy from the first company to list it as they do not allow you to put the calipers in your basket


 
Posted : 21/11/2012 10:12 pm
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Maybe I got a different result to you, I am looking at Winstanleys and I could add to my basket fine. I haven't tried checking out as I'm not spending the £'s yet but it certainly went into the basket OK


 
Posted : 21/11/2012 11:31 pm
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I ordered them so let's see!


 
Posted : 22/11/2012 10:41 pm
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muddlemeister, funny but I couldn't add them to basket on my desktop computer but on my ipad it worked perfectly.


 
Posted : 22/11/2012 10:43 pm
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slx lever and zee caliper ordered
65 quid delivered
not in stock
ordered anyways
In no rush but starts the clock


 
Posted : 22/11/2012 11:38 pm
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Stuarty what hose are you going to use - shimano bh90 seems to be recommended but there must be cheaper around


 
Posted : 23/11/2012 9:14 am
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Taking this further, you could buy a XTR lever (£56) and zee caliper and have saint brakes for £95 an end! Cheapest I can find them is about £145 so a saving of £100 on a pair.


 
Posted : 23/11/2012 9:25 am
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Can buy the actual Saint lever for £58 from CRC


 
Posted : 23/11/2012 9:28 am
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Doh.


 
Posted : 23/11/2012 9:31 am
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Well I just got a confirmation email saying part was ordered so doesn't appear to be a mistake.

Anyone got suggestion for cheap(ish) hose (or at least cheaper than BH90 UK retail price). I emailed Superstar but got a useless response.


 
Posted : 23/11/2012 5:50 pm
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Superstar hose is bang on. Same fittings as Saint. Under £20 all in!


 
Posted : 23/11/2012 8:31 pm
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ERM hope hose ain't a scud
Was going to get the knob around the corner to does some lines using that hel hose that the bsb boys use just to be trick

Seeing loads of peeps sending shimano back to them German sites
TBC
Pizza delivered


 
Posted : 23/11/2012 9:38 pm
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I seem to remember that the SLX lever has different internals...it will work but you won't get the same braking dynamics as a proper zee setup.


 
Posted : 23/11/2012 10:16 pm
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Yeah this. Zee master cylinder is bigger to create fluid push through. Apparently 10% or so, can't be sure but definitely took more to fill than xt.


 
Posted : 23/11/2012 10:19 pm
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Smaller cylinder works for me
Better hydraulic ratio more power offset by having to pull lever slightly harder

Whether it modulates the same remains to be seen

Might be the proverbial stick through the wheels


 
Posted : 23/11/2012 10:33 pm
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It also means the pistons might have to be run closer to the disks if they don't push as much oil....


 
Posted : 23/11/2012 10:52 pm
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Until you get used to them, Zee are horror power.

Then you get used to them and braking uber late. You forget after a bit, then borrow a mate's bike and get a reminder how phenomenal Zee 4 pots are.......


 
Posted : 23/11/2012 11:07 pm
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If it helps others in decision making I have slx m666 on my dh bike and they are definitely more than powerfull enough, german websites have them cheaper than the setup listed above for zee if you dont need the 4 pot power.


 
Posted : 23/11/2012 11:32 pm
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So buy the Zee levers? Could I run Zee lever with slx caliper on the rear?


 
Posted : 24/11/2012 9:27 am
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Bike discount we list zee caliper ,lever,hose etc
Less than 100 quid probably better than the way I'm going but i'll have a higher tech brake hose than the 3 core shimano

Does any one sell ,balls,or man the **** up tablets


 
Posted : 24/11/2012 11:11 am
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Whatever you're having, I want some...

What is the "hel hose that the bsb boys use just to be trick" ??


 
Posted : 24/11/2012 12:33 pm
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Never mind I worked it out.

What sort of banjo do you use with that hose?


 
Posted : 24/11/2012 12:35 pm
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Price of the Zee caliper on WSB is now £76. Guess it was a mistake.


 
Posted : 24/11/2012 12:45 pm
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There for one
[url= http://www.winstanleysbikes.co.uk/index.html ]here ffs lol[/url]

Erm yip price seems to go up when u click into it further

Wonder if they will honour earlier orders


 
Posted : 24/11/2012 1:07 pm
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I can't say I've had much luck with winstanleys in the past, their customer service has been shocking.

Hopefully they will make up for it by delivering me some discount brakes 🙂


 
Posted : 24/11/2012 1:22 pm
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Matt not sure what combo off brake your fitting
As the later servo wave levers are designed for the newer big bore hose

Shimanos pdf shows the sizes
As for hose
Im swaying towards goodridge dash ~3 (3.5mm) carboflex with black ends
As for the fittings the knob around the corner will fit them save me ordering the wrong type


 
Posted : 24/11/2012 1:33 pm
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I was planning to do Zee front calliper, SLX rear calliper, undecided whether to do SLX levers or Zee levers


 
Posted : 24/11/2012 1:48 pm
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Just giving this some thought - if SLX master pushes a little less fluid than the Zee lever, shouldn't that improve modulation at the cost of a bit of power for the same pull effort?


 
Posted : 24/11/2012 5:53 pm
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Doesn't this indicate that the Zee and SLX levers are interchangeable?


 
Posted : 25/11/2012 12:05 pm
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Looks like there's nothing stopping you putting a zee lid on a slx body and possibly having tooless reach adjustment and what ever length lever you prefer
Makes you wonder if they gained the better modulation just using the bigger hose


 
Posted : 25/11/2012 9:59 pm
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Stuarty, take a look here

http://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/xtr-trail-levers-and-saint-calipers


 
Posted : 26/11/2012 12:17 pm
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despatch confirmed from Winstanleys today for 2 zee calipers 🙂


 
Posted : 03/12/2012 1:14 pm
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I haven't got any such notification...:(


 
Posted : 03/12/2012 1:19 pm
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dizcostix out of interest what levers are you going to use?


 
Posted : 03/12/2012 1:19 pm
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using the XTR M988 levers with the xter BH90 hose as advised by madison:

"Hi Dave,

Thank you for your email.

You can use the M988 levers with the new Zee 4 pot calliper. You must use Shimano brake hose SM-BH90 as the inner diameter is smaller.

Regards,

Shimano"


 
Posted : 03/12/2012 1:22 pm
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fyi my understanding is that you need to use BH90-SBS or BH90-SBSL (this is the Saint hose with the long gold banjo) with Zee calipers as the Zee and Saint calipers have shorter banjo bolts than XTR/XT/SLX


 
Posted : 03/12/2012 1:39 pm
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Got email my stuffs been dispatched
Wished I ordered 2 calipers now

Rember something about the longer banjo for heat transfer


 
Posted : 03/12/2012 8:02 pm
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They couldn't honor my order for two calipers. So I canceled my order 🙁 And if you already have the M985's just drop the new calipers on and bleed ?


 
Posted : 03/12/2012 8:17 pm
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