Howdy. After a few failed and just generally unreliable shimano brakes I am looking for what is considered to be a properly reliable brake. I have some older avid ultimate four pots which have been unbelievably reliable.

Thoughts?

I’ve found Shimano Deores to be the most-reliable brakes, but their more pricey ones have often been problematic.

Sram seem reasonably reliable now, but the Guides are a bit underpowered for enduro kind-of riding IMO – so perhaps Codes or the Guide RE if you’ll be doing gnarly things.

Both Shimano and SRAM have shamed themselves in terms of reliability in the last few years.

Hope are both reliable and repairable although the power isn’t as instant and sharp as some people like, but it’s hard to fault the modulation.

Formula.

Everyone has had different experiences with different brakes.

For me, Shimano Deores has micro leaks from the caliper seals in a very short space of time.

Sram hasn’t gone wrong for me – it seems they had a bad batch of early guides where the piston in the lever swelled in heat.

I haven’t tried Hope / Formula (except some early cable ones which aren’t comparable) / Hayes / Magura etc.

All I know is all the Guide R’s / Guide RS’ were fine for me – and at present I have a mixture of Code R’s and Guide RE and they’re all good too. Would definitely take the Code at over the RE as the lever is much nicer – but the RE for a more budget option is very nearly as powerful.

I haven’t paid loads either for any of them – all the brakes I’ve picked up have been on eBay where people have had them on bikes they’ve bought and immediately swapped them out for colourful / shiny Hope brakes. Often some bargains on there.

Shimano Deores has micro leaks from the caliper seals in a very short space of time.

I have had the same experience. Tried several Deore, SLX and Zee. All start leaking pretty quickly from both caliper and lever seals. Won’t be using them again.
Really considering paying the extra monies for Hope when the time comes. Slightly tempted to give Magura a go though.

Avoid Shimano in our house….one set of deore seem indestructible though

We have
Hope overall brilliant any problems Hope have been outstanding.
Formula, I like but bolts made of cheese, modulation limited but they certainly stop you
Magura yes good but also underwhelming power

I’ve always ran hope or Shimano high end brakes. Generally no issues however I built up one of those bargain on one scandals on a budget and bought a set of Clark’s M2’s they are superb value £58 for the set delivered(inc rotors etc) done around 200 miles off road on them and they work brilliantly. Firm at lever and enough power to stop when needed !

They are well finished and look way more expensive than they are.

I’ve had cheaper shimano’s which wondered, have also had Guide R and RS’s which didnt wonder but lacked a feel of good bite. Didnt want brakes to ruin my first Morzine trip last year so spent out on the SRAM Code RSC’s, they are excellent, bite doesnt wonder for me, good lever feel and bite and have needed nothing more than a pad change in the rear since new over a year ago.

I’ve had Shimano Deore (2 sets) and I currently have Magura MT5’s on two bikes.

ALL have been faultless. Changing pads is a lottery; some are good while others are bad :o)

Formula for me – reliable, easy enough to service, not too expensive to buy or replace parts

I’ve been pretty lucky with brakes over the years except for Avid. Never had a problem with Shimano but my mate’s XT are a bit unreliable.

Hope ftw though, they cost a chunk but for me they are lovely bits of kit that just work.

Early Guide RS’s here for 4 years. Swapped out the pistons when they became sticky in heat and re-bled. did that two years ago. They have been faultless otherwise. Good trail brake.

Not had any issues with SLX either.

Thank you all for the input, it does appear shimano are a no-no. Such a shame as I love their stuff.

Anyway, this is all for my bikepacking bike so long term reliability was what I was after over crazy stopping power.

Have ended up with a pair of Clarke M2’s from my LBS. Super cheap and they have not had a single pair fail. Not the most powerful, but that’s not what I need.

They feel like they cost a lot more.

What you’ve done there is ask about a reliable brake but then go and buy the cheapest!

We buy those in, in a set, with rotors for about £30… They look the part and I happily fit them to low use bikes but I wouldn’t recommend them for serious use. The pistons look like some cheap metal and rarely move equally together always one sticky one.

Your riding loaded up which means they’ll heat up and fade quicker.

I hope they work out for you but I think the following will apply.

You get what you pay for

And

Buy cheap, buy twice

I am looking for what is considered to be a properly reliable brake

There was always only one answer to this question, and it was given above. Hope.

You’ll be fine with Tech3 X2 with a standard hose, and organic pads. They’re spendy, but they’ll last a very very long time. And when a seal reaches the end of its life? Buy one from Hope for pennies.

I’ve used various iterations of the XT brakes over the years, the last 1,5 years of those with the M8000. Surprisingly for Shimano, those were unreliable and fragile. The wandering bitting point was dreadful and the levers broke at each crash.

The 1 year ago I got a complete bike with Code Rs. Not being a Sram fan, was skeptical at first. To my surprise, those are the most reliable, consistent, fit and forget brake I ever had. They just work. The levers are huge and ugly but tough. Bitting point is on the mushy side Vs Shimano but it stays the same no matter what. Bleeding involves DOT oil, but it’s seldom needed and turns out to be a clean and quick affair.

I think Sram did a Shimano product by mistake

Surprisingly for Shimano, those were unreliable and fragile. The wandering bitting point was dreadful and the levers broke at each crash.

The wandering bite point is a common complaint, but TBF, complaining that the levers break in a crash probably comes down to you needing to crash less. If you’re constantly dropping the bike, you’re going to be constantly breaking things.

Sram hasn’t gone wrong for me – it seems they had a bad batch of early guides where the piston in the lever swelled in heat.

If you have this problem it’s easily fixed by sanding the edge of the piston down a little. I also removed the heat shields from my Guide calipers and it’s stopped the pads rubbing on the rotors. What I love about Sram is every part is very easy to strip down, service or replace. Plus I really like the lever feel and the look too. Because I can service and fix everything I don’t see a need to replace the Guides I have for a very long time.

Anyway, this is all for my bikepacking bike so long term reliability was what I was after over crazy stopping power.

With that in mind I’d have gone for BB7s or Spyres.
Reliable, stop you ok, very easy to set up, service, and fix.

My xts have been great first m765 for four years no issues now m8000 4 pots going well too. They have very small reservoirs though so you need to top up as the pads wear. I think that’s what causes the wandering bite.

I’m no hope fanboi but for reliability, they would be my choice.  I’ve an 8 year old set of X2 Evos, which have had no regular maintenance other than pad changes – never needed bleeding. I had to top up the fluid once when there was a small leak after a crash. Other than that, perfect – maybe not the most powerful straight away, but the modulation is great.

singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/reliable-brakes-2/#post-11218786

@hols2, so you think crash survivability is not a feature to like on a component? Over 1,5 years on M8000s I went through 3 levers, after 1 year on Codes, crashing the same, I have a slightly bent right lever. I’d say the Codes are better for my user case on that regard.

Also, not a fan of either, but for each “you need to crash less” argument there’s a “maybe you’re not riding hard enough to crash” one

They have very small reservoirs though so you need to top up as the pads wear. I think that’s what causes the wandering bite.

But that means when you replace your pads you’ll have too much fluid.

That’s what the reservoir is supposed to be for, you shouldn’t need to add or remove fluid because your pads wear.