New brakes… cant see past slx/xt… anything else to consider?

As title really.

Im looking for some new brakes and at the moment I cant see past either a slx or xt set up !!

Is there anything else around the same price as these to consider?

I noticed a Sram guide R disc brake on merlin?
is this any good?

Magura MT5. Both the cheaper MT5 and MT7 have been getting great reviews. The MT5’s are lighter than XT/SLX, they produce as much power as a set of Saints and they modulate better. You’re just tied into their brake pads as they use a split design, to give them more braking ages – which makes sense to me as if you take a look look at motorbike pads you’d notice they also have more braking edges.

Hi, always had Shimano brakes, including the latest much raved about XT, however just got a new bike with Guide R brakes, very impressive, more powerful than my XT and the modulation is good. Hope this helps!

Supposedly the Guides have finally got rid of SRAM/Avid’s reputation for making temperamental brakes….I’m yet to be convinced and went for second hand Saints on my FS the other day.

If I was buying new (and I will be shortly) then it’ll be XT on my hardtail next.

cheers !!

nope it hasnt helped at all lol !!

I’ve just switched to Zee on the new bike, I’ve been on Shimano brakes since the original XT 4 pots, mainly XT/Deore over the last 7 or 8 years.
I never had a particular problem with the modulation on the previous 2 piston Shimano brakes, but having ridden the Zee I wouldn’t go back, excellent power, good modulation. Brilliant.

http://enduro-mtb.com/en/preview-issue-015-enduro-magazine-disc-brake-group-test/

The Maguras won this shootout.

Same position re brakes, looked at magura (old Louise FR still going) Formula Mega(own the one and they are something else, positively until as all the nay sayers tell me they die) Hope (own and feel they were underpowered x2 with 180 rotors) Sram and choose xt after owning deores,

XT it was, they are good and for the price pretty unbeatable and I still hanker for my original 4 pot shimano xts…..

What’ve you got at the moment Renton? Why are you changing? Depends whether you are looking for more power, more modulation, easier serviceability, lighter weight?

Not saying you don’t need new brakes but depends what you are after. I love shimano brakes but haven’t used the Guides. They review well but long term reliability would worry me.

Viewer

The group test is here.

currently running a set of formula oro k18 and whilst they are good Ive had better on previous bikes and I feel as though these are holding me back a bit if that makes sense!

XT it was, they are good and for the price pretty unbeatable and I still hanker for my original 4 pot shimano xts…..

As do/did I. Get the Zee’s!

Get MT5’s 😛 Best mix of power/weight/price.

Oros have great modulation but not much power for big guys. Shimano are good, Zee are ver good.

Love my Maguras, used to love my XTs, won’t be getting SLXs again.

where is cheapest for the mt5’s?

Germany, probably. Seeing as they are German.

Google.de is your friend.

I think rose bikes had some going for 70 odd quid an end.

Edit: 85 from the German rose bikes site, 88 from the UK one. 32 quid total difference over front/rear zee, but well over 150g weight saving over zee and a bit lighter (80g than xt). Still….have a look around on google.de

If low price is your main decider, go SLX. No point buying XT.

Merlin have XT brake set at £104.95. Rotors and mount extra. That is silly cheap.

I know !!

magura are £88 each !

Again, it depends what your priorities are. Zee power, better modulation and fade resistance with less weight than XT, or price.

In which case, skip XT and go for SLX as the weight difference is negligible and the XT bite point adjuster is worthless.

The only thing worth buying XT is shifters and the new 11 speed rear mech, until the 11 speed SLX mech comes out.

I’m slumming it at the mo with SLX on one bike, they really are good performers and stupidly good value. Outclassed by my The Ones to be honest, but then the entire brakeset would cost about the same as a replacement caliper for my The Ones, so they bloody ought to outclass them.

Not sure I’d even pay the extra for XT, the SLX are so good. Mid-class brakes at entry level prices, don’t know why anyone else bothers.

IMO a totally fresh, top condition Oro is actually a better brake… But it’s a 10 year old design and I think last made in 2009 so they’re all pretty tired. And just not economic to fix up. My set used to be on my dh bike, now they’re on my commuter 😆

Emphasis on fresh, oros shit themselves to death. At least when Shimano’s do, they’re cheap enough to throw in the bin.

The new Formulas are probably great, had k18’s, K24s and the old style The Ones and they all died. Where as all my Hopes (who have a bad rep for some reason) have lived for decades.

mmmm ok xt’s from merlin with rotors etc is coming out at £166.85

maguras from rose bikes are £181

slx with rotors 124, @ merlin

If you’re looking at SLX and wanna save some cash what about Deore?

Edit: £88 with rotors from CRC.

Again depends what kind of rising the OP is doing, they don’t have the ceramic piston do they?

Deore are great, until you point them down long alpine length downhills.

It all comes down to need vs want I guess.

are the deore as good as slx?

Pretty much, except for heat resistance. Again, I wouldn’t want to take my pair out to the alps.

My next set for alpine excursions/UK downhill tracks will be Mt5’s for sure.

Im only doing trails really with the occasional downhill bit if I feel brave enough. the thing is the bike builds up quite a bit of speed so I need something reliable and also something I am confident in knowing it will stop me.

Yeah they don’t have the ceramic pistons of SLX so conduct heat into the fluid more readily. As you say depends what type of riding you do.

For a direct comparison….

I borrowed some Guide CRsomething when my XT’s poo’d themselves in Nepal. I was running XT on the front, Guide on the rear.

The guides were great. Modulation, sqush, outright power, all comparable with the XTs.

The lever consistency was better with the Guides but you’d expect that being a fresh out of the box brake vs. some that have had a massive hammering since their last bleed.

The Guides are flop-flop. No messing around with hoses and levers if you buy cheap abroad. This means you can take a single brake away with you as a spare.

Either matchmakers or i-Spec to suit your shifters & dropper/reverb make a difference?

I prefer the XT lever shape & length but honestly, the Guide lever is fine and you just get on with it when you’re hooning it down a 45 dergree scree face or a dusty, rocky trail with massive drop off the side. You forget about the minutiae or lever shape in those moments.

So either way, I don’t have anything bad to say about the Guides and they even have some improvements over the XTs.

But… y’know…. they’re Avids really aren’t they?

😆

HTH

p.s. in 2 years of hard riding, me and the Mrs have each cracked a piston in XT brakes….

What the heck is a flop flop brake? By the way my SRAM Guides are awesome brakes, best I’ve ever had, and I hated earlier Avid offerings.

Flip flop means the lever doesn’t have a top or bottom so can be run on either side of the bars by flipping it over.

I’ve got the latest Deores (615??) which came with my bike, the older SLX (666???) and a set of Hope X2s.

Delores are the best of the 3 and I’ve used them on some very long descents. They can fade if you’re on them for several minutes a pop in 30ºC heat, but I’d guess any brake would. I think you can fit finned pads to them.
The Hopes fade much more rapidly.

Oh… This is ever so slightly cheeky but, those SLXs I mention will be spare as soon as I get my finger out and fit these Formulas. TBH, I’d probably buy new considering how cheap they are, but if you’re interested give me a shout!

After having a set of super expensive mt 8 brakes I’ll never touch Magura again. Utter rubbish when it comes to bleeding them, UK distro is more than unhelpful and trying to get parts is nearly impossible. Shimano all the way for me

Had hope, deore and xt now on Zee which are without doubt the best brakes i’ve ever had. Stopping power is incredible.

Although the Magura’s come out better in that review a friend has some and they have had to be sent back twice in a year.

My Louise BAT’s were highly rated, but I still can’t get the front one to bite.

Just a little hijack to northwind
Hi
I would be interested in your slx ones, what model and how much please.
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The plastic master cylinder on the mt5 brakes is very delicate.