I keep on breaking brakes. My Elixirs lasted 6 months before they were beyond economical repair. What is out there that is not simply a money pit? Budget is something that doesnt worry me IF they are fixable for cheap.

How do you break them?

My Hope brakes tick both boxes. They've been indestructible and service parts are available and affordable.

Always been impressed with hopes and the stacks of spares, I've used original minis, mono minis, mono m4's and now tech m4's – all have been great and simple to bleed/ repair if needed. Special mention to the new tech lever for it's adjustment.

BB7s

Fixable trailside.

Rebuildable – just replace the tiny circlip with a heat resistant O-ring.

Not the ultimate brake out there but more than adequate and they're light. And you'll see them on bikes where obviously price was no object even though there are blinger brakes.

I don't know what the current crop are like, but I'm still running Hope C2's on one of my bikes, bought in 2001, not made since shortly after.

They've not required a lot of maintenance over the years, the only damage they've ever had has been a couple of bent rotors, and I can still get parts for them when they need serviceing…

I've also had Hayes 9 & El Camino, Juicy 5 & 7, & Shimano cable operated (poo) and the Hope have certainly been the best of the bunch for reliabilty.

Alaric.

Hope or Shimano for me. There always seems to be someone on here bitching about Avids. I'm happy to learn from other's experiences so have them in my 'don't buy' category along with fox forks

How do you break them?

Mostly seized pistons that cant be removed not matter how much I persevere. Although the Elixirs seals and master cylinder went at the same time as the pistons decided to **** up. It is not a case of poor maintenance and I unfortunately don't get to ride a hell of a lot so they are not getting worn out.

My mk1 saints are brilliant and seemingly bombproof…

Another one for Hopes. My Mono Minis have needed nothing but pads and the occasional bleed despite being used at least twice a week, including some of the biggest, steepest descents in the UK

I've run a set of Shimano Deore disc brakes since 2003 with no maintenance other than pad changes and some fresh oil. In Morzine when other peoples Hope and other superdooper brakes were boiling up the good old mineral oil Deores kept offering their reasonable performance.

There are better brakes but the Deores are cheap and are long lasting with minimal fuss.

saints dont ever break………….. 8)

I have had problems getting spares for my previous generation XTs :-(.

Hope always seem to have parts for older brakes. Once you have 'invested' in the bore cap tools, they are pretty easy to rebuild.

Tom

Magura are the gods of indestructable brakes. Absolutely fantastic IMO.

+1 for Magura.

Another Shimano M535 M585 vote here…
Always always always work. Not fantasticly powerful like my hayes 9's, but i know when i pull that lever the bike will slow down.

+1 for shimano

I've had the Deore M535's on several bikes for years and never had to do anything other than pad changes.

Odly enough it's my Formual R1s I've never had any trouble with. Maybe due to being on race bike and used infrequently.
Also, Magura HS33s, eat pads, but otherwise great.

vote for hopes here

was rebuilding c2s as a 13 year old kid – simple to work on work good

had e4s , m4s and minis since then

moved onto shimano as they were cheaper – found out why recently – the seals blow and are not replacable ….

hope are great at keeping spares to keep old systems going , avid , shimano and hayes – all stop making spares soon after (if they ever made any )

all brakes go wrong as some point.

or bb7s as per epi – if you cant get them feeling sweet then you need to go to a propperly qualified person – i love them for simplicity !

hope .. moto V2.
Stop on dime, and i ride my bike with them on about 20 times a year. 2 years on, no servicing, no problems, and 1 week in Les Arc under my belt.
changed pads about twice.
brilliant, but not cheap, or light.

i rate shimano SLX brakes highly. i've got two sets (one for DH, one for XC)and they both work ace. in about 2 1/12 years i've had to bleed one of them once and thats it.

having said that, i'd warranty the elixirs sounds like a manufacturing defect to me. SRAM were well good at all the races i went to this year for servicing stuff and replacing faulty products.

I like my Simano-s but I haven't had them that long (12 months and they've needed no attention) The hopes on my other bikes (Minis, 6pots) are super dependable and a joy to work on. Doubt I'd ever use a hayes or an Avid again.

The Ashima Pancake brake looks interesting and potentially troublefree, but I'll let someone else be the pioneer. Plus I don't like the master-cylinder being plastic – no matter how fancy it may be.

Shimano Deore, no bother in 3 years, still original oil. Only pads.

Scotland, local Golspie, Pyrenees – Ax les Thermes 1200m descent, no fade.

les Houches Hughs way, lots of steep braking – no fade.

Nick

when I threw myself on my bike the other day the brake leaver popped out but happly went back in with no really worries, Formula K24's here 🙂