Is there any supposed performance benefit of using braided hoses? Or is it simply the pimp-appeal? Seems to me like it’d add a bit if weight though, no?

I personally can’t see how the performance would be better with braided! Also think black hoses look better on my Butcher!

I wouldn’t upgrade for the sake of it, but if your old hoses are damaged its worth considering. The braided hoses are much more flexible than plastic hoses, especially if you have the old chunky 6mm Hope hoses. (as opposed to the much thinner 5mm hose)

all of my magura standard hoses on both ht jump/fr bike and freeride fs bike have creased over time and needed replacing. This occured very quickly on my fs. Ok so I could have repalced with more std hoses, but whats the point. Braided is the way to go. I think they are generally tougher too for impacts, both the hose and the connectors.

Braided hoses distort less when the hydraulic fluid is under pressure, so that the lever feel is more solid and direct. The advantage is very small and maybe even imperceptible. But I’ve got braided hoses on my bike and it gives me the confidence to hit the brakes 1/1000000th of a second later than I otherwise would :D.

In the end, it looks good. And braided hoses are the ultimate engineering solution for a high pressure fluid line, even if the benefit is probably unmeasurable – the physics and maths back it up 🙄

Goodridge back up their hoses with a “forever” guarantee rather than “lifetime” It demonstrates their total beleif in their product and explains why Motorsport teams use their hoses and connectors as their standard equipment.
If you’ve ever put Goodridge on Avids and felt the difference, you’ll understand the benefits of performance over standard hoses.
The narrower bore diameter givs more direct fluid transfer, and the hoses don’t flex as much as regular hoses.
Tey are rated up to at least 3000psi and are safe for use in automotive applications. So bicycle brakes won’t even use 10% of their capability.

I think they feel a lot better, the levers don’t feel as spongy

I think they feel a lot better, the levers don’t feel as spongy

But how much of that is because when you install them you’ve freshly bled the brakes?

The narrower bore diameter givs more direct fluid transfer, and the hoses don’t flex as much as regular hoses.

wtf does this mean?

The only true difference in feel is the weight compared with standard. imo

they look good
they may be a bit more durable if you’re rough with your kit

anyone who claims a performance benefit is kidding themselves. it’s the new hydraulic fluid that makes them feel different.

The narrower bore diameter givs more direct fluid transfer

said by someone who evidently doesn’t understand hydraulics…

They weigh a ton.

I had some on some Juicy Ultimates and it made no real world difference at all, just cost more and added weight.

As above, if bikes only use 10% of their capability do you really think you’re exceeding the performance levels of plastic hose?!

Yeah, wot Njee said.

They look nice if you like that sort of thing and are probably a bit tougher but that’s it.

This

The narrower bore diameter givs more direct fluid transfer, and the hoses don’t flex as much as regular hoses.
Tey are rated up to at least 3000psi and are safe for use in automotive applications. So bicycle brakes won’t even use 10% of their capability.

Is pure drivel.

why do they have them on 200bhp Race motor bikes? Im not sure it’s because they look pimp. Very little difference over new standard but better performance overtime on braided.

why do they have them on 200bhp Race motor bikes?

Well I’d hazard a guess that there is an advantage in that particular application. It doesn’t necessarily follow that there is an advantage in all applications. A 200bhp race motor bike being a very different application to that of a mountain bike.

same principal, similar levels in % of benefit. just if its 3% better braking at 30mph id doubt id notice. But if the standard ones are old and knackered there would be a much greater % improvement in performance.

Having had both on Hope tech brakes I wouldn’t bother with them on any bike where keeping weight down is important.

I was sceptical until I bought a set of second hand XTR brakes with goodrich hoses on them. They feel noticeably sharper than an identical set up on my other bike with standard Shimano hoses and new fluid. Both systems bled properly by me with the same new fluid.

Also recently I test rode a couple of motorbikes – both pretty similar aged SV650’s, one had goodrich hoses and the other had standard. The braided hose brakes again felt much sharper, but I don’t know how old the fluid was in either system.

Having said that, I haven’t bothered replacing any of the hoses on my other bikes, if you want better braking a bigger rotor is cheaper and less hassle.

I’ve used em, reckon you could possibly tell the difference on a rear (not on the front), wouldn’t say it’s a proper selling point tho. More flexible so good for FS frame routing and I doubt you could brake one in a crash – well a crash you could walk away from anyway – so less chance of that ruining a ride. I’ve kinked a few normal hoses in crashes. But as said heavy, dunno how much heavier tho, i’d guess only 50-70g per brake. any numbers njee?

got em on rufty tufty bikes not on light-ish bikes

You get a better, more positive, lever feel with braided hoses. You can often see the hoses flexing when you pull the brakes with standard hoses, that translates into lever feel. It’s not a massive difference, but there is a difference.

If weight is a bigger factor that a bit of an improvement in lever feel then don’t fit them.

why do they have them on 200bhp Race motor bikes?

Because they are braking HARD over and over and over again from high speed, on an ultra grippy surface, on whacking great big sticky tyres, and they weigh 250-300kg with a rider and fuel on board, so the brakes tend to get a bit hotter than poxy little MTB brakes used on non-grippy dirt!

Did you not think that statement through?

But as said heavy, dunno how much heavier tho, i’d guess only 50-70g per brake. any numbers njee?

Yes IIRC it’s about 150g for the pair if you use the fragile aluminium fittings (as I did), that’s still the difference between SLX and XTR though…

same principal, similar levels in % of benefit

Don’t be daft – you can’t compare braking performance on push bikes and motor bikes. A motor bike brake is exerting a vast amount more pressure at far higher temperatures, and stopping far more mass from a far greater speed, you just can’t extrapolate.

You can endo a road bike very happily on good rim brakes – do you think we’ll see beefed up Dura Ace calipers in Moto GP?

You can in % difference it wont be far off, I’m clearly not saying they are the same but highlighting there is an improvement between the two. which is waht the OP asked.
If it was purely on weight we would still use canti brakes, but most have gone for mono block aluminium for less flex and better performance (less rim damage).
Buell tried rim brakes didn’t work too well, Im off to the GP later I will check if anyone else is having a stab at them.

I disagree, using a plastic hose on a racing motor bike would be a significant comprimise, greater than 3% difference. Plastic hoses could genuinely be a limiting performance factor.

You’re not at the limits of plastic hose on a push bike in the same way, so the difference is far smaller. No one ever lost a race because of their plastic hoses!

I replaced my std Shimano hoses with Goodridge ones and the difference was noticeable. The brakes were regularly bled, given that mineral fluid doesnt go off as much as DOT fluid, I would attribute the change in firmness solely to the hoses.
Plus I have Clarks hoses on another bike and when I haul on rear brake I can see the hose actually move, so there’s obviously some flex there somewhere.
I think also braided can help with heat dissipation, although I accept this probably isn’t particularly relevant for most UK riding.

I agree it may be slightly more but not much when new and they are rubber (as standard on the motor bike). The point is they stretch over time. MTB use a hardened plastic as the rubber would be too soft off road. The hardened plastic as such is very ridgid and suceptable to restricting flow, it also has a slightly lower performance to braided. Not on a bench test but in the application designated

So my answer to OP would be yes but not much.

Can’t honestly say I’ve noticed a significant improvement, getting the brakes set up right has been far more noticeable.

They look ace though 🙂

There is supposedly a performance benefit, but they also look good and seem to be a bit tougher than standard hoses. The people rubbishing them are only doing so because they don’t have them and secretly yearn for their braided goodness.

Aren’t Avid’s supposedly designed to work with flexy cables? Sure I read that somewhere…

I’m rubbishing them and I have them 🙂