Anyone thinking of buying the XTR brakeset just to be clear that these are the ‘race’ set not the ‘trail’ set i.e. you don’t get the free stroke adjustment.
I bought a pair of SLX from Germany a few weeks back and they are the best brakes I’ve owned and used (including hope mono minis, 1st gen saints, M775 XTs)
They are more powerful and feel nicer than my M775 XTs. If you don’t need the free stroke adjustment get SLX
For info –
The SLX and XT calipers are the same (both have ceramic pistons)
I cannot tell they are not ‘one-piece’ in use
Swapping levers was easy
The lever is a lot shorter (I now run these outside my shifters)
The complete brakes are lighter than my M775 XTs
I’m having second thoughts about the XTR BB – someone told me that the only differences between xt xtr and saint is the amount of sealing? Had problems with grit getting in the bearings already with my xt.
you can get away with reusing olives, but if it doesnt seal then you need to replace them. For the sake of a couple of quid Id get some olives in ready for the swap so that you dont have to wait for them to be able to test your lovely new brakes 🙂
EDIT its infuriating that theyre so expensive. I was lucky to get 10x sets as a bulk buy of eBay once. Same with powerlinks, got 10x for a fraction of the cost of 10x individuals.
One thing to bear in mind with these brakes is they use a different hose insert to the older brakes. So if you plan to cut the hoses down you actually need Shimano part number 8JA 9802. If you just intend to swap them and use a new olive then the older part number that Stoner links to will be fine, just use the olive and discard the insert. Or you could buy just an olive, part number 8H2 0400.
Anyone thinking of buying the XTR brakeset just to be clear that these are the ‘race’ set not the ‘trail’ set i.e. you don’t get the free stroke adjustment.
huh?
it says M988 which is the code for the trail lever
you can get away with reusing olives, but if it doesnt seal then you need to replace them. For the sake of a couple of quid Id get some olives in ready for the swap so that you dont have to wait for them to be able to test your lovely new brakes
EDIT its infuriating that theyre so expensive. I was lucky to get 10x sets as a bulk buy of eBay once. Same with powerlinks, got 10x for a fraction of the cost of 10x individuals.
On the Rose website it looks like a copy and paste error as both the Race and Trail brakes say M985 in the header. The products themselves look correct to the descriptions.
Wish I’d’ve thought of these things before I ordered. I was worried that there’d be a rush on the brakes and they’d be gone before we could all import a load.
In fact if you look at the link to the olive and insert on the Roase website it actually lists it as “Attention! Not compatible with Shimano brake cable SM-BH90”
The finned pads are one-piece but you can ‘normal’ pads without the fins.
Another bonus is that they are now symmetrical so you can switch them around if they are wearing unevenly.
Although the finned pads are labelled L & R but not sure why. Airflow?
The BR-M596 brakes use the new brake hose SM-BH90 so you need the silver insert, part number 8JA 9802.
BR-M596 diagram
In fact if you look at the link to the olive and insert on the Roase website it actually lists it as “Attention! Not compatible with Shimano brake cable SM-BH90”
I was a touch worried as i’d put up the PSA over the weekend before they could ship the brakes and thought afterwards that with the rush, I might end up getting none.
Good news, they are in the country according to the DHL tracking info…….
Looking forwards to getting them, but haven’t got any olives (or inserts) which was a touch silly. Have to find some of the correct ones from the uk.
Possably a silly question about swapping the levers around, the above posts say all you need is the olives but wouldnt you lose some of the oil in the hoses and need to bleed them as well?
I expect to bleed them when swopping but can’t see why you need an olive unless you shorten the hoses.
The olive will be compressed onto the hose at the insert so unless shortening the hose it should be fine.
