Looking for new brakes. I’ve bought an ex demo 29er as a last ditch foray to see if my love for mtb is still there.

In the six months I’ve been without a bike, I’ve put on a stone. The 29er also carries a lot more speed and the level tlm brakes on the bike were scary on my first ride yesterday. Pulled the lever before the first fast corner and there just wasn’t a lot going on.

My last bike was a 27.5 and I ran Hope E4s on that. They were a decent brake but at times I did wish they had been a bit more immediate in their stopping power. I found they regulated my speed rather than outright stopped me on a penny when I needed it.

So, the reviews are glowing about the Codes and the weight issue is not a major factor for me. However, are they on / off type brakes? Will I be catapulted over the bars due to lack of modulation?

Codes have pretty good modulation, so you should find plenty of easy to control power.

Nobody ever said ‘you know what? My brakes are just too damn good’

If you aren’t bothered by weight (and tbh, theres about 350g a pair
difference between the absolute lightest and big DH brakes) then go as big as you want.

What size rotors are fitted?

any brake set up can struggle if they are say only 160mm for a potentially big 29er bike + large rider.

i also prefer early outright power over progressive / modulation so i buy shimano

half inch of lever travel on my slx’s and i’ve stopped.

I have the Codes on a long travel enduro bike and they have good modulation and excellent outright power.

Would be happy to put them on trail bike too. I have Zees on that anyway, which are probably less modulated.

I run them on my Whyte T130, loads of modulation, not grabby, never have to pull sqeeze (?) them particularly hard. But then again, I don’t go very fast 😁.

Thanks to everyone who took the time to reply.

Brownsauce there’s a 180 / 160 rotor set up. Definitely need to go at least 180 each end. I’ve seen smaller guys than me running 200s on both ends on the same bike.

Levels should be ok as long as you’re not to heavy. I run them on a fairly aggressive hardtail, although 200/180 rotors. Don’t find them lacking much, I can tell the difference to my guides but they are better than xt 2pots. If it’s ex demo I’d be giving them a bleed with fresh pads and then upping the rotors first, see how that works as you’ll want to upsize the rotors anyway for codes. Might give you enough to avoid dropping the £300 on codes, nothing lost if not.

Assuming this is a trail end of the spectrum 29er.. if we’re talking a burly enduro job then just chuck a set of code rsc and big discs on and be done with it.. 👍🏻 you’ll want RSC though to get the best feel and the contact point adjust, awesome brakes.

No reason you can’t put a Code on a trail bike – I’ve got a Code R / Guide RE combo on my fs bike.

For the price of Codes you can get Saints and 2 icetech rotors. I got mine from a guy on Pinkbike cheaper than usual https://www.pinkbike.com/buysell/1901545/ (you can link through to his website to get rotors added)

Theres also a 2nd hand set cheap on their at the moment Saints

I’ve got xt 4 pot on my trail bike so no reason not to. More power then I’ll ever need but I really like the feel and modulation. Have you got a friend with Codes that you can have a little go on to see if you like the feel before dropping the money on them?

Meant to add Guide RE’s will work with your current rotors and if you have hinges handlebar clamps on your levels target should work with those too.

Cheaper than Codes – hey have the Guide R lever with he previous Gen Code caliper which has plenty of power.

+1 for Guide RE. I was a bit underwhelmed with the stock pads but with some race matrix in they are great

CRC have got some cheap Guide Ultimates at the moment (hose too short so will need replacing).

I’ve just bought some for myself as my Level TLs are a bit lacking on the long/steep stuff.

Thanks again to everyone. Stood on the scales with my riding gear on today. Ouch! 15 stones on the button.

Second ride today on the steep lane I live on and the bike has a few “issues” I wasn’t aware of when buying. Gouge out of carbon on the rear triangle just behind the BB. Back wheel is very laterally flexy and won’t stay in Eagle gear. My best guess is something jammed between the rear tyre and the frame and has gouged the carbon rear triangle and borked the rear wheel. If I can get the issue sorted I think it will be Code RSC or Code RE.

Got them on the fatbike as was finding the bigger and heavier wheels needed bit more slowing down. Very happy with them.

Code RSC is a lot more expensive than Guide RE. There is a Code R between those 2 options in terms of price.

Having got both the Code R and Guide RE I know they’re both pretty good. The Code has a nicer lever / bigger capacity master cylinder so in theory will stand up longer to sustained braking – however both were ok on a full day at BPW.

CodeR’s are fine, I’m heavy so I run 200mm rotors front and rear,recently had a Stumpy Evo on demo kitted out with RSC Codes, awesome brakes if you chant to spend that much money

I’ve got RSC codes on a trail bike and the speed I go I could probably put a foot out and stop. Who cares, awesome brakes with great modulation. Levers are much nicer with the other code / guide versions and the contact adjust works really well to allow you to keep consistent bite point through the pad wear.

If you’ve got the moolah you’ll love em.

Pulled the lever before the first fast corner and there just wasn’t a lot going on.

Have you checked the condition of the pads? They may be glazed, contaminated or new, and require replacing or bedding in. Could be the cheap solution..

Got Zees on my Five and I wouldn’t swap for anything. Mint in the wet (which is basically half my riding), or on long Lakeland descents where your arms get pumped.

So, went with some Guide REs and a couple of things have come up.

Power feels like it’s “pulsing”. Almost feels like pad contact – no contact- pad contact when applying consistent grip to the lever. Anyone got any idea what might be causing that?

Second is with modulation. Fells very on / off. It’s hard to find the sweet spot where you just want to decelerate rather than throw you over the bars stopping power. Would a different lever help?

I had gone 200mm at the front when trying to get the Level TLMs to work and I think the combination of 200 / 180 rotors with the Code caliper may be contributing to being unable to find the happy medium!

Define ‘trail’ and define ‘overkill’.

I’m a big lad. I ride some big and steep descents. I’ve worked out that I cook single piston Deores.

My four pot Deores, on better non-shitmano pads, are brilliant.

I’m envious of eldest_oab’s Magura 5’s – I’d happily ride that power and consistency with that control all day long.

Power feels like it’s “pulsing”. Almost feels like pad contact – no contact- pad contact when applying consistent grip to the lever. Anyone got any idea what might be causing that?

Sram centerline rotor?

I’ve got code RSCs on my DH bike and Guides on my trail bike. I don’t reckon the Codes would be overkill for a trail bike and would get some myself if I hadn’t spent way too much money recently!

So, went with some Guide REs and a couple of things have come up.

Power feels like it’s “pulsing”. Almost feels like pad contact – no contact- pad contact when applying consistent grip to the lever. Anyone got any idea what might be causing that?

Second is with modulation. Fells very on / off. It’s hard to find the sweet spot where you just want to decelerate rather than throw you over the bars stopping power. Would a different lever help?

I’ve got a Guide re on the back of my big bike and haven’t noticed this. What discs are you using and are they definitely straight?

On all the Guides I’ve had the modulation has been brilliant (and the Code) – not really grabby at the start like shimano but pull a bit more and they have loads of power.

I really rate guide RE’s myself, but that’s because I’ve ran shimano for years and they’re much bitier than the more expensive sram brakes so they feel more at home.

The more expensive codes are incredible as well though, lovely modulation and great power behind but, though it always takes me a little while to get used to them going from zee’s.

Not a fan of guides myself as they lack a bit of power in comparison and fade on longer descents, especially down here in South Wales where mates have cooked them on long steep 3 minute descents.

Running Centreline rotors. Shop didn’t mention anything about the rotors being warped in any way.

Sounds weird then in terms of pulsing. Did you bed them in properly? I normally do about 10 really hard stops from speed on the road before taking bikes off road.

I have seen a few pulsing centerline rotors, including new out the box.

Swapping to Shimano SLX rotors fixed it.

Might try that fix bigyan.