Just wondering if my 2017 XT 2 pot brakes are going to be up to a week in the Portes Du Soleil in Aug. Last time I went to Morzine in 2015 I was running older versions on my then Commencal Meta without any issues. On my T130 I haven’t had any issues as yet which includes a long weekend in the Lakes, BPW and Snowdon Ranger today….but the Alps will be multiple and longer runs every day for a week. Has anyone here had problems with brake fade running 2 pots – specifically the brakes I have? They are fine in the UK but thinking 4 pot Hopes might be a worthwhile addition to the bike to make the most of the holiday…if they aren’t up to the job I’ll end up having the replace them there which will prob cost a shitload more to keep me riding for that week. Any advice?

How much do you weigh? Running 203 rotors, front and back? In the alps I find rear pads wear out quicker so I’m assuming I drag my rear brake more to keep speed under control. You’ll probably be ok.

To some extent the “must have N+2 pistons otherwise you’ll die” is hype (says the person with monstrous 4 piston hopes with vented rotors). I didn’t die with my last brakes (v2s), nor the ones before that (Hayes 9s). I nearly did with the preceding hayes hmx, but the eenie-weenie 160mm rotors were largely to blame there. What I have noticed is that better brakes don’t necessarily stop you any quicker or are that much more resistant to fade/boiling. It’s just less difficult to apply enough pressure to keep things in check during the hours of descending. Less arm pump, fewer moments where I need to move from single finger to death grip braking.

Bigger/better rotors and pad choice probably have the most impact, so icetec pads, and larger rotors, possibly also icetech if you want.

The biggest factor is rider tbh. In any alps group there’ll usually be one guy that’s constantly complaining about their brakes- and often someone else with the same brakes who doesn’t. So it’s hard to say how much brake you individually need.

Number of pots is a bit misleading too, it doesn’t really work much differently from a single bigger pot. Except for having more seals to gack up anyway. And fins are absolute bollocks, just a sticking plaster- either your brakes are good enough and they do nothing, or your brakes are shit and you shouldn’t try and fix it with fancy pads. IMO 😉

Me, I’ll stick with my antique Formula The Ones for yet another year, and wonder how my 10 year old brakes are still doing a better job than some of the latest and greatest. I reckon your XTs will be fine unless you drag brake a lot, and if you do you don’t have to fix that with hardware.

4 months in the Alps last year with two piston brakes. Changed out the 180 rear rotor to 200 pretty quickly. After that everything was fine.

I’ve had mixed luck with my m8000 xt’s in the alps before.

Last time I was generally okay but noticed the bite point would come out a lot on longer runs, and I managed to completely boil the rear bombing down the fireroad from halfway down the col de cou to champery after a thunderstorm appeared on the horizon. That needed a complete bleed before the brake worked again.

Finned sintered pads and decent rotor sizes help, and it’s dependent on riding style as above. I’m doing the same again this year but taking the precaution of bringing a spare set (365 day returns on crc) and my bleed kit with me.

I’ve ridden the Alps with M8000s and the older versions plenty of times without drama.

Shimano oil has a pretty high boiling point and doesn’t degrade so they’re pretty well suited.

Tbh, and this might not make me popular, if you’re riding a bit out of your element and dragging brake top to bottom then no amount of pots, fins, fancy pad material or whatever is going to help, not for long anyway. That’s not to say I’m some riding rod, I’m anything but. But when I was a new to riding and new to the alps I had nightmares with brakes, bleeding them every evening, going through endless sets of pads etc. As I got a bit more confident and to be honest stuck to stuff I could actually ride and not just survive it’s not really and issue now.

223mm rotors & a decent bleed.

Bigger/better rotors and pad choice

This ^ is far more important to true brake performance than the No of pistons in your Caliper.

Tbh, and this might not make me popular, if you’re riding a bit out of your element and dragging brake top to bottom then no amount of pots, fins, fancy pad material or whatever is going to help, not for long anyway

That, is the reality. You can mitigate it as much as possible, by running rotors as big as possible, but you’re going to cook any brake if you are dragging it endlessly down a mountain for repeated runs, every day.

Dragging brakes kills them. I wrecked a set of formula’s in Spain in a week. New discs and everything needed mainly because I was feeling out my depth and dragged brakes everywhere.
Got a steep and natural day with dirt school and a set of xts and the Alps were much better (apart from the bowling pads). Magura mt7s even better, but then I’m now much more confident on steep loose stuff (again howling pads so it’s proper magura pads for this summer).

I had Hope X2s in the Alps and suffered occasional total absence of brakes – bearing in mind I’m 95kg and a bit of a brake-dragger.

I’m now on Hope V4s which have been flawless on two Alps trips.

Been having this exact thought this morning! Liking the look and price of the Guide REs as an upgrade from the Guide R but it all seems to be a bit of a minefield. From the reviews I’ve been reading I’m between the XTs and the REs.

On a hot day in Pila I did ok with the front with a radiated 203 rotor but the 180 rear was struggling.

Do your XTs not have the option of keeping the levers and changing to the M8020 calipers for a cheap upgrade?

Thanks all.
Just been alerted to 2 full F&R XT 4 pots minus rotors for £140 all in…shall I do it? 😉

No

Just been alerted to 2 full F&R XT 4 pots minus rotors for £140 all in…shall I do it?

Only once you’ve let me know where from (assuming new and available for more than one set)!

Just been alerted to 2 full F&R XT 4 pots minus rotors for £140 all in…shall I do it? 😉

If you want new brakes. Yes.

I’ve used those exact brakes a few times in Morzine. The only time I had issues is one day on the long fireroad descent right from the top of Swiss National (I forget the name). End of the day and just dragged the brakes all the way as it’s high speed (and boring) so didn’t want to die. By the bottom the rear had gone a little bit spongy. 10mins later it was fine for the rest of the trip.

Mostly pad choice i believe, generally speaking organics will give good consistent pro-longed braking performance, where’s as sintered will bite well irrespective of weather, but performance will drop rapidly as they heat..

There’s a thread on here somewhere with a link to a swedish and german test that was really good. Pads made by Trickstuff Organic came out on top with Shimano organics being next best..

I’ve done multiple Alps trips with m785 2 pot xt brakes, finned pads and ice tech rotors (203mm front and back) with no issues at all.

(Edit: and I’m heavy on the brakes!)

Mostly pad choice i believe, generally speaking organics will give good consistent pro-longed braking performance, where’s as sintered will bite well irrespective of weather, but performance will drop rapidly as they heat..

Nope. Sintered have a higher resistance to fade but they dump more heat into the oil so you are more likely to boil them, they often don’t give as much immediate stopping power as organics in the dry. They are however better in the wet and when run with new or decent DOT fluid you are never going to cook the lines.

https://www.worldwidecyclery.com/blogs/worldwide-cyclery-blog/mountain-bike-brake-pads-sintered-vs-organic

The trickstuff organic pads are powerful because they simply use a really soft compound. If I were going to the Alps I would run a trickstuff pad in the front and a standard sintered in the rear.