• This topic has 23 replies, 18 voices, and was last updated 4 years ago by mrjmt.
Viewing 24 posts - 1 through 24 (of 24 total)
  • Clarks disc brakes . How do they do it ?
  • RamseyNeil
    Free Member

    I see that they’ve just bought out a four pot disc brake , front and rear with discs included for £70 . How do they do that , are they the brake equivalent of the Brand X dropper post ie why would anybody spend more or are they likely to be crap or just not bling enough ?

    Poopscoop
    Full Member

    They are likely to be slightly under powered compared to, say Guide RS, a bit clunkier too but very reliable and stupid good value for money.👍

    Might get a set for me lads bike in fact. Or my Winter HT actually.

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    molgrips
    Free Member

    I bought Clarks single pot brakes for £20 an end, including discs for my daughter’s bike. Maybe slightly less stopping power than XT or Hope, but not much. And functionally they are spot on – both pistons move, lever nice and firm, no complaints. I was astonished.

    squirrelking
    Free Member

    I flung a pair of M2s onto the wife’s bike. Absolutely brilliant for the money, even better at half price.

    I don’t think they will be troubling the top end but at that price point they may be worrying the manufacturers of the more, shall we say, disposable systems.

    mattyfez
    Full Member

    Yeh they do seem to be a lot better value than the budget sram/shimano/tektro offerings.. I’ve not personally used them, but if I wanted a bargain basement hydraulic brake set I’d be very tempted from what I have read.

    paulhaycraft
    Full Member

    Yeah, I’ve used 2 sets of M2s on different bikes and out of the box they are far better than equivalently priced Shimano.

    winston
    Free Member

    I put a pair on my fat bike in place of the comedy cable brakes it came with and at less than 40 quid they have exceeded expectations. As others have said you would need to buy SLX or equivalent to better them. The levers are slightly flimsy but stopping power even with massive 5inch tyres is fine. 4 pots will be even better I guess.

    squirrelking
    Free Member

    Aye, they set up better out the box than my daughters stupid draggy Shimanos.

    molgrips
    Free Member

    Budget Tektro on my other kid’s bike are also superb. Not sure about price tho.

    Oh, also with the Clarks – at £20/end they were assembled and bled but I also got a spare fittings kit in the box in case I wanted to shorten them.

    tdog
    Free Member

    If anything they’ll beat Sram’s offerings of guides etc hands down AND £300 odd cheaper flippin eck!!

    tthew
    Full Member

    Levers are a bit wobbly because of plastic bushings, and the pads are, a bit loose in the calipers so it feels like a loose headset, but I can live with that at the price.

    jakd95
    Free Member

    Got a set of M2s on my commuting bike, think they were about £35 with discs + bolts/olives and barbs for shortening/and maybe even caliper adapters. Really can’t go wrong at that price as long as you aren’t expecting top performance.

    Edukator
    Free Member

    Guide RS

    The first time I used mine somewhere hot and gnarly (Ainsa) both master cyclinders failed. A common problem said the man in Intersport as he replaced with Shimano SLX. I’d go with the the Clark’s rather than SRAM.

    stevextc
    Free Member

    Really can’t go wrong at that price as long as you aren’t expecting top performance.

    Hmm… not sure of the choice of words. Too close to “what’s the worst that could happen ….. if my brakes fail”

    tthew
    Full Member

    Josh Bender might find the 2 pot ones a bit lacking, but I reckon you’ll be safe enough. Reputable British company will know how to do due diligence on a product they’ve likely sourced from China.

    downshep
    Full Member

    My Ute came with Avid BB5s on 160mm discs. Not the stoppiest of brakes for a big ole’ cargo bike. Shirely these M4s must be way better for not much wonga? Tempted I am, just need to price a rear tandem hydro hose….

    edhornby
    Full Member

    If you’re really worried about reliability you could get one for the rear and a hope for the front

    I’ve got them and they’re spot on – does anyone know if they are mineral or DOT ?

    PePPeR
    Full Member

    Mineral oil for the Clarks

    sootyandjim
    Free Member

    Tempted I am, just need to price a rear tandem hydro hose….

    Yoda owns a Ute, who knew?

    keithb
    Full Member

    Anyone seen a release date for those M4s?  Would suit me I think…

    squirrelking
    Free Member

    The bleed kit for the Clarks is compatible with everything as well, very handy.


    @downshep
    a Hope hose should probably work, think it was £4 a metre when I checked. I can confirm in a few days as I have some on order and an offcut off the M2’s I can compare it to.

    mrjmt
    Free Member

    I had a set of M2 on my commuter, the rear seemed to leak from the piston seals as the pads quickly got contaminated and the paint had started to bubble like the caliper was corroding.

    I just swapped them for the new clarks clouts (a bit cheaper than the m2), they seem to work fine, feel a bit less wooden to me than the m2 but that’s not particularly important for a sub £15 brake on a commuter.

    Also came with olive and barb to shorten hoses. I shortened the rear using the shimano method so I didn’t need to bleed it, but the front has a lot of lever movement out of the box and i’m pretty sure needs a bleed (i’ve not shortened the hose on that one).

    Overall seem decent, hopefully the caliper won’t go the same way as the m2 it replaced.

    Also the clouts are in the CRC clearance sale thing that the current voucher code applies to.

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