Resurrecting the thread, just got a set of 2012 SLX’s for total of £69!! Much Rose cheapness – voucher from FB and Brakes reduced to £35/38 each end. Woot!
Sorry – 2011 SLX, not ’12. Still happy with ’em
And are the levers the wrong way around? Easy job to fix to UK style?
Aye – brakes will be Euro way round so I’ll have to swap them. But couldn’t turn that saving down, since it’s half what Merlin are charging for the same!)
It doesn’t really matter which way round they are, as you will more than likely have to shorten the hoses anyway, so you can swap them over at the same time.
BTW, I got my 2011 SLX brakes from Merlin and these were the Euro way round, so you probably wouldn’t have had the option of running long hoses either.
I’m very pleased with mine, although I paid a bit more than you did 😥 but, on the other hand, they were still a very good price compared to other suppliers at the time. (I suppose they’ve come done since the 2012 models were launched)
I also mounted the brakes inboard of the shifters and found the configuration so good, that I swapped them on my other bike too. I am now wondering why the manufacturers supply bike with the brakes outboard.
cp – Member
ds3000 – can you let us know how you get on with the Deores? I’m very very tempted by those.
Had 3 or 4 rides out of them now and they are excellent, bargainous to be honest. The best modulation of any brake I’ve used, Oro/mono mini/juicy3. I would definitely recommend, bargainous.
I wondered the same but in the end figured that the XTs are such a good price, I might as well order them. The only snag is that they are currently out of stock so there’s a bit of a wait at the moment.
Fitted mine yesterday on my EX8, had to shorted the hoses but it was thankfully very simple (used the guide as linked earlier in this thread), and been out for their maiden voyage today….
Wow, these brakes are awesome – so much power for so little effort (and I thought the M775s I had before were good)! Great price and quick delivery once they were in stock from Rose Bikes. Happy chappy 😀
EDIT: just realised they’re now out of stock again, 19 weeks til more stock arrives apparently 😯 Glad I got in quick!
The irritating thing about the SLX brakes is the pad retaining clip requires pliers to remove. On the XTs it’s an allen bolt. A simple thing, but it used to irritate the hell out of me on my old SLXs – you need to carry pliers on a ride in case you need to change pads.
I bet this saves no money at all, I’m sure Shimano just do it to differentiate the XTs from SLX. Well, you know what? It’s worked. I’ve bought some XTs now.
My rear XT brake came today, front was out of stock when originally ordered but now on it’s way. So needing to cut the hoses down I have the inserts but not the hose clamp things. I have a vice, but will this damage the hose or can i push in the insert with my hands?
Interestingly, my XT’s arrived today. The bag with the yellow bleed spacers and hose clamps were in with the front brake bag… so prob just wait till the front arrives 🙂
wenanwhere – Member
Does anyone know what the (real world) difference is between the xt’s and slx varieties apart from the pad retention system?
XT have a bite point adjuster screw, SLXs don’t. XTs have a bulbous, ugly lever body covered in a horrible plasticky chrome finish, SLXs look neater and have a nicer finish.
I’ve got SLX, replacing with XT’s that arrived Friday, will report, expexting to be the same just more bling, slightly lighter, supposedly stronger due to manufacturing process, also the pin that keeps the pads in uses an allen bolt instead of what appears to be a hair clip!?
I’ve bled my rear one many , many times and it’s now at Maddison getting disciplined. My front’s been fine though. The internet seems to think that the sealing at various points was a bit iffy on some of the sets.
Have you accepted and installed their application (facebook app)? When you do that, and you click on the app within facebook (on the left hand side under applications), you’ll go to a page with a mahoosive voucher code across it.
I finally got round to installing my new XT’s yesterday… it’s the first time I’ve ever actually cut hose to the right length on discs, as I had to swap the hoses over… normally can’t be bothered!
From Rose bikes, they came with resin, non-finned pads as standard. Aluminium backed, they are crazy light! Felt really light in the hand.
Some facts and figures some folks may be interested in…
Summary
Brake pad weight, pair inc. spring – 11g
Front brake, no pads, about 150mm taken out of hose – 248g
Front brake, as above, with pads & retaining pin – 262g
Rear brake, no pads, again about 150mm taken out of hose – 264g
Rear brake, as above, with pads & retaining pin – 277g
Going to try and fit mine soon. If I need to bleed them do I need to use the funnel, if so any in stock anywhere? Or has anyone used a syringe instead successfully?