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[Closed] Brakes upgrade....
Looking at upgrading my brakes from the bog standard 180/160 Deore with resin pads to something....else.
How are the current batches of SLX? I'd be thinking 4pot up front and keep the 180mm discs.... Do I really need 4pot on the back (given it's a 160mm disc.... Would there be that much benefit to 4pot at the back too?). I'd prefer XT but out of budget and SLX seems to be quite well priced if you do a little Googling.
Previous bikes had XT and Guide R - I know people don't rate these at all but I had zero issues with them - I just prefer the feel of Shimano over Sram brakes.
Thoughts on Magura maybe something like the Mt4?
In the last four years i've had 2-pot XT, XTR, SLX.
Then i got 4-pot MT5 and it was a revelation YMMV.
A 200 mm disc up front is the simplest way to improve them, along with better pads. You could also fit a four-pot Deore caliper up front.
Yes that's the cheaper option I guess, but I'm not sure 200mm up front is really necessary. Would feel odd 200f and 160r!
By the time I've upgraded caliper, caliper mounts, pads and discs...Hmm
Last Magura brakes I used were Julies on an Sworks Enduro late 90s.
By the time I’ve upgraded caliper, caliper mounts, pads and discs…Hmm
You'll need a new front rotor and an adapter. You could also put your 180 mm rotor on the back, which would require another adaptor. Pads are consumable, you have to replace them regularly anyway. If you put a 4-pot Deore caliper on the front, you could save the existing front pads and put them on the back when the back ones wear out.
If you are looking for more powerful brakes, that is a fairly cheap way to do it. I run 200 mm rotors front and 160 rear on my bikes. Works fine for me.
Bigger discs are certainly the easiest and cheapest way to do thi
+1 for bigger disks. New 200 for the front, put the 180 on the back. You can pick up adaptors very cheaply.
No need to change the calipers at this stage.
+1 on better pads - I use Uberbike Race Matrix on Deore 4-pots to stop my 90kg frame down Munro's.
+1 on a bigger disc. Noticeable power upgrade.
+1 on Magura MT5 being absolute hoofing good brakes, serious step up in power from my Deore's. Eldest_oab has them and I want a pair next time I need brakes.
If your frame is postmount then going to 200mm front and 180mm rear can be as simple as move the front disc and adapter* to the rear and fit new ones to the front.
Even if the front doesn't currently use an adapter or the rear is IS mount it's still only an extra £6 adapter for the rear.
* Assuming front is a 160mm postmount + 20mm adapter.
Ignoring the 2pot to 4pot caliper change the higher levels of Shimano don't give more power iirc. You get less weight, better finish and more toys (e.g. tool free reach adjustment). Sadly all suffer the same leak issues 😠.
So after the piston in my 4 pot XTs disintigrated and I couldn't get a replacement I bought TRP Quadiems. I've been riding longer than I can remember and I don't think I'd buy anything else now. Outstanding stopping power, and more importantly for me where I stay absolute consistency in lever feel no matter how long the descent.
@aphex_2k if you do decide to change breaks and are after 4-pot SLX, give me a shout as i'm about to sell some nearly new ones - half a dozen rides before i swapped them out for saints on my e-bike (i'm a heavy rider and the bike weighs 50lb +)
as other have said tough, i'd try bigger rotors and sintered pads as first port of call
Cheers sofaboy it's more a longer term plan than an immediate need, but appreciate the offer.
I think I'll try the cheaper option of disc upgrade and pads - I'm not overly bothered about tool free adjustment really - the Deore have a small allen bolt to adjust and once done I don't think it's going to need to be fettled with.
Excellent advice lads n lasses. Cheers
I did this recently, went from 180 up front to 200 with a new set of resin pads, and 160 rear to 180 with a new set of sintered pads. The difference was night and day. Thats with shimano mt400 calipers. Cost around £75 all in if i remember correctly
Yeah the 200mm front rotor and the existing 180mm to the back and stick in some sintered pads or something like Uberbike Race Matrix may do the trick.
If not then just buy a deore 4 pot caliper and replace the front 2 pot one with it. Xt is no better than slx 4 pot. Not sure there’s a huge different slx to deore - except maybe the higher model has a banjo so you’d need a new hose.
Well I'm going to go cheapest option for now and see... RaceMatrix pads probs gonna cost me as much in postage as the actual pads so I'll see what semi-metallic ones I can get get locally.
Looking last night - front disc is 180mm Ice Tech and bites fine, it's just the rear that's a "bog standard" Shimano disc so perhaps a better set of pads will help with a little more power. Plus the fact new pads will be fractionally fatter and might reduce piston push.
I.... Well, wife, is all for the cheap option.