I need a new set of brakes – my bikes all run shimano brakes and although reliability seems to be going downhill, I’m going to stick with them for compatibility of pads, bleed kits etc.

Are SLX still the best performance/value option? Is it worth looking for M675s or are the M7000s ok reliability wise?

Are there any good deals around at the moment? I’d like a UK based seller that will be easy to contact in the event of a warranty – the caliper of the M8000 I bought a few months ago self-destructed in about 3 weeks.

The latest M8000s seem very reliable, no reason to think M7000s wouldn’t be too given they’re pretty much the same minus a knob.

I had a pair of m7000’s or new slx if you like, they were really good and never let me down, always tended to use slx’s over xt’s mainly because the bite point adjustment on shimano’s doesn’t do anything and that they’re near enough similar to slx’s otherwise. I work in a shop and we seem to get a lot of m8000’s back but that’s maybe because they’re quite common on higher spec bikes and popular with customers.

Have you had a look at the m6000’s? Shimano’s newest deore offering. They’re basically m7000/m8000 levers just without the bite adjust or tool free lever adjust. Not used them myself but they do look smart

I think the calipers are different (lower spec) on the M6000s, and they’re virtually the same price as the M7000s!

Yeah, I imagine the calipers will be different, just like SLX and XT calipers are different. I hadn’t looked up the price of the new deores but think there seems to be some good sales on SLX’s at the moment either way

I’d guess M8000’s are about to get cheaper due to the four pot XT’s if you fancy playing the piston seal lottery.  If you get a good set of Shimano’s and you like the lever feel, they’re great.  I’d definitely keep the receipt in case of weeping caliper seals though.