Shimano 4 Pots brakes – Deore, XT, Zee or Saint

Going to upgrade the Chromag to 4 pot brakes (and 200/180mm rotors) as I find 2 pot shimanos a little under powered.

Has anyone tried some/all of the brakes?
Much difference the deore/XT vs Zee/Saint aside in terms of power and modulation?

I think…

XTs have different pistons to Saint to allow for the same initial bite, bit lower over-all power, better suited to Endruo tyre grips levels compared to full-DH tyres.

Zee are Saint Callipers with Deore levers, so functionally the same, without the bit point adjust and you need a hex key to adjust lever position.

The ‘Deore’ 4 Pots are actually technically sub-deore OEM E-Bike brakes, but that doesn’t make them any less. They’re deore levers with a version of the Saint/Zee/XT calliper that’s got more material to make them cheaper to make.

They all share the same piston size (15 and 17 mm) so I wouldn’t expect much performance difference between them. Just bells and whistles, ceramic pistons, threaded pad retainer, banjo hose, etc.

I have just fitted a new XT 4 pot in place of my front SLX M7000 2 pot caliper. So far only run down the road a couple of times to bed the pads in, but first impression is more modulation (which is what I was after) and more stopping power for a given leaver pressure, haven’t been able to really test outright power but would expect it to be up on the 2 pot.

They all share the same piston size (15 and 17 mm) so I wouldn’t expect much performance difference between them.

The difference is night and day between deores and saint (own deores, have ridden saint) The saints are vastly more powerful.

So if one wanted to upgrade some SLX’s, the best option is Zee or Saint calipers, which should be the same as each other?

a certain magazine did a good review

https://singletrackworld.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/review-shimanos-powerful-deore-xt-m8020-4-piston-disc-brakes/

i have new XTs and saints. both awesome.

see also Bird’s thoughts

https://m.facebook.com/notes/bird-cycleworks/hands-on-with-the-new-deore-4-pot-brakes/852367234948828/

The difference is night and day between deores and saint (own deores, have ridden saint) The saints are vastly more powerful.

I guess the Saint levers must have a different pull ratio, can’t see how else they would deliver more power with the same piston size.

I upgraded from 2 pot M785 to the new 4 pot XT’s, the 4 pot has more modulation and plenty of power (more than I need). I’ve even gone down a rotor size at the same time. I’m very impressed by them but I’ve never used Zee’s or Saints.

So those of you with the dual pot xt brakes, have they sorted that horrible wondering it’s point? If so I may order a set for my new build.

My 2 pot SLX do the annoying bite point thing occasionally so I’d like to know if they’ve sorted that too.

No issues so far with the Deore 4 pots.

JP

Apparently the hoses are different on the saints. The hose is the same size, but as it has (thicker?) wire strands (I believe for protection on DH courses) they don’t flex so they are more powerful.

Just fitted some new XTR M9120s, compared to the older M9020 twin pots, nowhere near as grabby initial bite but masses of power and amazing modulation, it’s early days, but I think we’re gonna get on well!

no wanderingness on the new Xts no

The ‘Deore’ 4 Pots are actually technically sub-deore OEM E-Bike brakes

They are deore level iirc just not part of the groupset and are available aftermarket, not just from grey market oem sellers. Mine came from my lbs, via madison.

The difference is night and day between deores and saint (own deores, have ridden saint) The saints are vastly more powerful.

Some of my identical brakes have been more or less powerful than each other according to how they’re feeling that day, as well as the obvious pad and rotor size things.

Zee 4pots here and pretty impressed to be honest. Got them on my new BFe and buckets of power with a nice predictable feel. Only other Shimano brakes are the basic deores which I like but they do suffer from the weird bite point / pump up issue. For the money I think the Zee are pretty good.

I’ve just put Zees on my hardtail. Not for out right power, but their modulation is lovely.

Rolling/sliding down a nasty clay drove last night, it was really obvious how much more subtle control I had of the previous XTs.