Bb7s brakes any good?

I recently got a pair of these on a bike I bought. I swapped them right out for codes but they are mint and I’m considering using them on another bike. Anyone have any experience of them good or bad ?

Sometimes can be a bit of a fiddle to set up but once you’ve done that they’re great!

as drofluf says, they’re great when set up right – not sure you’d race WC downhill on them but they’re good enough for any general riding

Thanks guys I might have to give them a try.

I’d rather have bb7s over any other brake with an avid/sram logo on it. 😆

Had a pair on a road / gravel / tourer bike for years. Was so impressed tried on a MTB (29er). They came off pretty quick, bottom end hydro are much better option.

Yes they are good.

If they are not good it is because you have either crap compressible outer cables and/or flexy levers (Avid’s own levers are good), or badly setup.

And proper setup is important.

It’s easier to get it right when you realise they work by the outside pad pushing the rotor onto the inside pad. Thus the less gap you can get away with between the rotor and the inside pad, the better. The bigger the gap there, the spongier they will feel. A warped disk will also make them feel spongy.

I’m testing a set of TRP Spyres at the moment, and with their dual action pistons, they are much easier to keep adjusted. I may end up replacing all my BB7s with these, but they are more expensive.

They can be a right pain to set up, as the spring pushes on the centre of the pad and it can sit lop-sided in the calliper. Also, the adjustable piston (Inboard one) can seize solid if not looked after. This is more of a problem on the BB5 but I’ve seen it write the calliper off. It’s possible to strip the whole calliper down and clean it out though.
They do work very well and they are powerful, but by modern standards (TRP…) they’re very bulky and a bit of a fiddle to set up in comparison.
They’re also made by Promax, and if you want something cheaper the Promax Render is virtually the same as a BB5….

Ah, not actually being made by avid explains why they are ok! 😉

Johnny, yes, spot on! 🙂

Got a set on the commuter/tourer and other than being a pain to set up and having to fine tune the front qr everytime I remove the front wheel, they actually stop me quite well. I’ve got some low compression outers on there but they still feel quite spongy. Running avid fr5 levers, is it worth upgrading to sd7 levers?

Yes, for the bimbling about that I do, that is no competitive descending/long alpine descents, they are fine once set up. Slightly worried about admitting that as have quite a few sets on various bikes mostly sourced on ebay from others who took them off new bikes and replaced them with “something proper” so concerned that this thread may lead to drying up of supply.

Got em on my CX commuter. Winter riding on salty roads has corroded them severely. They still work but the finish is “bubbled”. The inner plates on both front and back are corroded into place and are no longer adjustable, not too much of a problem but not ideal. Hindsight would have seen some more regular cleaning during the winter months but getting home cold and wet and in the dark is not conducive to cleaning especially if you know the weather/ roads will be the same for several months…

Used em for years on my MTB

Great for ease of use, can be a bit tiring on the fingers on a long downhill.

Not if you’re into downhilling, but 6 of my bikes run on them so yes they are great.

fd3chris – If you do want to sell them on can I have 1st dibs please?
my email in my name link thingy above.

I recently canned the ones on my CX bike because I was bored of adjusting them. Pretty good stopping power when they work but too much of a time-sponge for my liking.

Very good brakes, for me they are as close to fit and forget you can get.
Change the jagwire cables and housing every two years and thats it, also the old g2 rotors and stock sintered pads last a loooong time. Easy to service and no problems when you take the wheel off and accidentally pull the lever.
Have them on all bikes with disk brakes (two mine + one wifes).

Yes they’re great but,, rattle like a spray can and can be a pain to get the wheel back in as the pads flop in all the time.

rattle like a spray can and can be a pain to get the wheel back in as the pads flop in all the time.

err,

Love them. They just work. No pissing about with bleeding etc. And easily as powerful as hydros if you pull the levers hard enough.

another one that they just work for …..

no issues coming through the larig au laiogh or gaick pass on a loaded 49lb fat bike.

I’ve used everything from early Hope to Codes and BB7s are currently on both my MTBs. The set that are hooked to to XTR Servowave levers are stupidly progressive and powerful. I agree that if you don’t find them good, they are probably set up wrong.

No problems with BB7s here either. I did kill a set of BB5s though a few years ago. They don’t like full immersion…
I imagine 7s would be the same.

Setting them is easy what the gell does everyone else do?!

Setting them is easy what the gell does everyone else do?!

I think it’s easy once you know how. It’s a ten minute job now to install a caliper but it took me a while to work out how!

Found it a pig to get new pads to sit properly in the calipers, but that may have been due to a cold dark garage and general mechanical ineptitude.

Nearly 3 years faultless commuting/gravel/crap winter riding out of mine.

Very happy with mine. 5 years and c. 12,000 miles on the Peregrine. Got the mtn versions with tektro drop levers.

Replaced the cables once, went for full length jagwire compressionless outers, spent some time following the tips out there about dremeling outers to smooth 90 degrees. Big improvement.

Only ever use 1 finger in the drops, plenty of smashing round downhill off road. Only improvement I’d like would be more comfortable hoods on the levers – the tektros are a bit sharp on top.

another one here. have sets on both my mtbs, have done alpine holidays with them with plenty of descending where others were cooking hydros.
hydros are great until they start playing up, then they’re a sod unless you have the spares and facilities to hand.

@nedrapier are the Tektro levers a “mountain bike” pull or are you running road levers and MTB calipers?

Thanks

The bb7s on my touring / commuter are wanting re-cabled. What’s the cable outer de jour? Current ones are a little springy this being replaced.

drofluf – yep, mtb pull: Tektro RL520. I think there might be one or two others out there.

scruff – jagwire compressionless have been great for me. Well worth spending some time setting them properly – prepping the cut ends of the outers.

scruff9252 – Member
The bb7s on my touring / commuter are wanting re-cabled. What’s the cable outer de jour?

For the run of the cable where it doesn’t need to flex, use solid outers if possible. The cheapest way to do this is to buy some alloy tubing from B&Q or other hardware store, and use teflon airhose as a liner.

Just get the alloy tubing that’s about the same size as a cable, and any teflon airline tubing that fits inside is good enough.

You can bend the tubing to shape (carefully) with your thumbs, so it doesn’t all have to be straight runs. Flexy brake noodles are useful too.

Or you can spend a black fortune on something like Nokon cables. 🙂

Thanks!

Mine have come with avid speed dial 7 levers and jag wire outers. How do you tell if it is compressionless or not ?

Jagwire ripcord/mountain pro = compressionless = good 🙂