I’m considering upgrading my brakes, and am tempted by the 2012 spec XT items. Just wondered if anyone has used them in filthy conditions (like this years Kielder 100 for example) and whether the fancy lever arrangement means the pads are held away from the discs enough when not braking to make a difference to pad wear – I blew through a bike set in about 40 miles with my Hayes.. Any thoughts?

My thoughts are that I forgot about this feature on mine and had the pads wound right in for Keilder. Reckon it’s got to be better than a kick in the teeth, but I don’t know how big a gap it creates.