I’m getting to the end of my Soul 27.5 build and have stretched my budget…

Can I cut the corner on brakes?

Everything else is XT, Fox 34 forks. CB wheels as a left-field choice.

If I get some Clarks ones to see myself through a few months until I can afford matching XT/obligatory Hope, or will this ruin it?!

Used to use Deore 1 pots which I thought were fine, until I got Guide REs on my Stage 5 which make the Deores feel weak. BUT this is on a lightet, smaller wheeled bike…

Will share phots when I start to put it together!

I got some Shimano MT501/520s for a build whilst I waited for some bling brakes. They worked, but thankfully not as well as what replaced them.

Compromise and get the ‘deore’ 4-piston brakes?

If I get some Clarks ones to see myself through a few months until I can afford matching XT/obligatory Hope, or will this ruin it?!

In your position I’d be fitting some parts bin specials in order to be able to ride the bike for a bit; and then rejoice in the upgrade.

I probably wouldn’t buy middle-ground “pretty decent but not my first choice” brakes, just because you’re going to be spending north of £100 for something like the Deore 4-pot, and that’s £100 which would be much better off going toward your XT/Hope/Trickstuff or whatever you end up getting 🙂

Depends how tight you are really 😀

Yeah those are my thoughts! Stock levels at present obviously limit choice too, mostly on the mid-line eg Deore 4 pots.

Hope 4 pot front 1 pot rear definitely appeals but that’s £400 near enough once you have bought the rotors! At present I’m aiming for sub £1,900

Hope 4 pot front 1 pot rear definitely appeals but that’s £400 near enough once you have bought the rotors! At present I’m aiming for sub £1,900

Sub-£1900 for the brakes? 🙂

If you’re trying to get the whole thing in under budget, as opposed to saving up for fancy brakes and cost be damned, that’s a slightly different thing.

I’d be prepared to bet that the MT501/520s would be fantastic, and are apparently available (albeit from e.g. bike24 rather than CRC). I’d personally never be able to justify nearly £400 on brakes currently though 😐 so in my mind it’d be a question of “what’s the best brake for me for up to £150”.

Secondhand SRAM Guide R? ~£100/pair on ebay as they’re uncool, and IME pretty good once the pads are bedded in, not as instantly grabby as shimano single pots which I missed, but quite a nice feel to them.

But the OEM pads do take a lot to bed in, I went out and did the local 16% road hillclimb and did spints/2s braking alternating wheels the whole way down, with my weight right back and as much force as could be applied. By the bottom the front tyre sounded like it was about to lock so they’re definitely powerful enough now.

tektro hydro discs brakes were £16 on crc

Budget brakes you say? I recently threw some Zoom HB-875 hydraulic brakes on a bike shed build. Seem to be some sort of Shimano clone, going on the brake pads fitted, but they work fine.

I probably wouldn’t use them on the Megavalanche or something, but for normal riding duties they do a good job, and in black even look tolerable. The hoses also weren’t a stupid length like most of the Clarks stuff I’ve purchased for similar money.

I have Zee’s on both of mine, usually pick them up £75 an end, maybe im just lucky. if weight isn’t an issue these are my go to, similar to the 520’s, but with banjo fitting at the caliper.. levers are similar bar the dimples i think..

Budget brakes you say? I recently threw some Zoom HB-875 hydraulic brakes on a bike shed build. Seem to be some sort of Shimano clone, going on the brake pads fitted, but they work fine.

I probably wouldn’t use them on the Megavalanche or something, but for normal riding duties they do a good job, and in black even look tolerable. The hoses also weren’t a stupid length like most of the Clarks stuff I’ve purchased for similar money.

Have these on the road bike. Incredible how good dirt cheap brakes are now. They do a full hydro brake

https://www.alibaba.com/product-detail/ZOOM-HB-875-Bike-Hydraulic-Brake_62521807954.html?spm=a2700.7724857.normalList.146.1a6035565u34cq

These are £17.34 minimum two sets order. crazy times:-

Thanks for the responses.

Has anyone used Magura MT trails? That seems like a decent compromise.

Hope is just too much for XC/trail riding to justify the cost, I agree.

the MT trails were on my list at one point

RCZ Bike Shop are good for cheap Shimano brakes. I got XT 4-pots for £60 something an end not long ago.

I agree with spoon, second hand, new/take off Guides are where I would go.👍

I’ve had a set of MT Trails on my solaris for a couple of years and they’ve been great. I’m 100kgs and they’ve not let me down.

I’m looking to build up a new full suss soon and if I didn’t already have a set of Hope E4’s in a draw i’d buy another pair of Maguras straight away.

I’ve just rebuilt my Soul (one of the early 26″ wheeled ones) with an 1×11 drivetrain and some nice light wheels (the 1400g or so Hope Hoops with the wierd 3-bolt discs) and pretty much the only bit that’s remained unchanged is the cheapo Deore brakes as they work really well.

I might upgrade them at some point but I suspect it won’t really give any performance advantage.

Gotta be Deore 4 pots, run them on both my bikes as they’re superb brakes and cheap as chips.

Not MT trail but got MT5 on both my bikes now.

Quite cheap from bike discount

I’ve ordered some Magura M2s with Storm rotors included. Possibly an easy upgrade to a 2-pot Magura on the front come winter if I feel the need.

Will be a few weeks then I can get building it!

I have Tektro Draco’s on my commuter bike and they survived a long fast gravel descent dragging thanks to the 32C city rides without any fade. Bloody good and was still pulling stoppies at the bottom.

My missus has Clarks M2s as well, they are also decent enough.

Not sure if they are good for a full on DH but more than worthy of being a stop gap until something better comes along.