Hi. I’m tempted to get a set of XTR Levers for my Saint M810 brakes as ive heard the combo is very good.

I just wondered what peoples thoughts on this would be?

Cheers

Whats wrong with the Saint levers ?

nothing but im used to have the SLX M666 And loved the levers and thought that the power of the saint brakes with the XTR levers would be unbelievable.

Having done this very thing, I can heartily recommend it. Much prefer the lever feel of the xtr’s.
No loss of power. Huge increase in pimp factor 😉

@guitarhero thanks for the reply. Thats what id heard.

The levers look the same to me.

What am I missing ?

Use the Trail levers and make sure you use new narrow bore SM-BH90 hoses.

Trimix, this is an M810 Saint lever –

And this is an M988 XTR Trail lever –

why do i have to use the new style of hoses?

It apparently increases the modulation a bit, which is always good with the old M810’s.

Wouldn’t be much more to just sell the brakes and buy a new set of Zee’s though. In fact seeing as you are considering XTR levers why not just go the whole hog and get the new 2013 Saint brake?

i see. Is it possible to keep the old hoses still or will that wreck the levers somehow?

the new saint levers are the same style as the m666 ones.

thats a fair point and it is very tempting. but as i got the brakes very cheap i just want to upgrade the levers. Do you guys reckon xtr trail or 2013 saint levers?

You need the new narrow bore SM-BH90 hoses as the new levers work on a smaller amount of fluid than the old ones.

I was thinking about this myself, as replacing levers can be done for about £50-60, but with changing hoses also bumps it up by £40, which makes it easier to just sell them and replace with Zee’s or new Saints.

I’m guessing it’s not the hoses that are critical in reducing the fluid flow, but the brass insert that limits it, so wondering if the BH90 insert fits in existing Saint hoses.

I guess I’m asking for those that have tried swapping levers, who has swapped hoses and who hasn’t and what has the effect been?

Cheers

I have worked on bikes where new levers have been used with old hoses. They feel like they need a bleed but even if you bleed them perfectly they still feel a bit vague.

Yep, I’ve fitted my Goodridge hoses to new XTR M980 levers and they’d previously been fitted to older style Shimano levers.

That said, I’ve not noticed any difference.

ETA: I’m looking to do this very thing myself, XTR levers on Saint calipers.

Thanks for the feedback. To be on the safe side I’ll probably go for some new Zee’s instead.