Morning folks

Am idling thinking about replacing the Elixirs on the Voltage and although Saints would seem the obvious choice for a gravity machine, the specs for the XTR trail brakes seem curiously appealing. Similar price, powerful, lighter and potentially less hassle than 4 pots (maybe)

Just wondered if the XTRs would be man enough for some gravity action

Faff-free operation is a priority

Cheers

XTR brakes are much better than the saint i have used.. try both if you can they are very different beasts

XTR brakes are much better than the saint i have used

tell me more about how the XTRs are much better than Saints…

Im running the XTR’s on a Orange Alpine with 180 rotors front and rear.

Work great. More than enough power.

I have Saint M820 having come from older XTs which were never short on power. They have quite a long lever throw compared to other brakes I’ve tried (almost all other shimanos and Hopes) but then once they bite, there’s a small part of the stroke that allows you to trim off some speed and then the braking force is insane and there’s even more after that too. It’s like riding into a brick wall.

I like the power they have, but I can see they’re very marmite.

The new Saint’s really good- didn’t like the last version at all. Shimano feel generally doesn’t suit me but the Saint’s a step in the direction of subtlety.

I wouldn’t buy either- Shimano parts availability is less of an issue for a cheap brake but if I’m spending this much I want to be able to buy bits for years.

They have quite a long lever throw

Have heard that & not entirely sure if I like the sound of it

if I’m spending this much I want to be able to buy bits for years

Hmm good point Northwind

What would you recommend?

I’m a Formula fanboy…got the previous model The One or R1 on everything these days, The One’s a ridiculous brake- fit it to a dh bike or fit it to a 20lb ti hardtail, does the business on both. But expensive, and yeah though you can get all the bits they’re expensive too.

But it’s all personal taste, I love the super-graduated feel of most Formulas, other folks would say they feel weak because there’s no initial grab.

Ok thanks – will have a look at the Formulas