Thinking of replacing my old C2s, and wondered what brakes were worth the money.
Don't need mahoosive DH stopping power, but I don't want racerboy 140mm discs either.
So, what's to look at and what's to avoid?

Shimano for boring reliability.

Avid Elixirs for brilliance.

I've been pleased with all the Magura Martas and Louises I've had so either would get my vote.

Elixir 5s are very good.

Look for brakes that have Shimano SLX written on them! Can't go wrong

A vote for Hayes stroker trails/carbon/gram.

Much praise from me.

Shimano, not the lightest or the bling-est, get on with things. May lack power
Avid: eat pads, replacing pads is fraught with unseen dangers and swearing (from what I've witnessed of trail-side replacement).
Hayes: See Shimano with added weight
Magura: Talk to your bank manager
Formula; They're made by Italians, how much extra info do you need? R1 are eye-wateringly expensive.
Hope; made in the UK (by giant Far eastern robot machines that run 24 hours a day, and dream of taking over the world like that scary computer from War games…) Brakes are OK though…

Anything else, people will laugh and point at you and say they came from a Xmas cracker….I expect

SLX – Mine have been 100% for the last year or so. i run mine with 203's and they do a good job of stopping me!

SLX – Mine have been 100%

It's good to have brakes that are always there, I'd hate for mine to fade in and out of some temporal time shift so that sometimes there was only 83% of them present at any given point in time

the only brakes that could persuade me to buy anything other than shimano have been;

wait for it;

formula – stunning amounts of power, felt nice too.

(but yes, shimano are cheap, and they work, and i like the 'feel' and you can bleed them without wearing a haz-mat suit)

Can we add Stoppers and anchors to the room 101 of cycling words

Penrod: you mean like 'steed' for bicycle?
If ya like, I'm not fussed.

Was considering SLXs, as the price looks right and I've never seen anyone write vast screeds of hate and abuse about Shimano brakes, and they're cheap enough that I could get away with pimping the hoses and lever blades when I get bored need an upgrade…

Elixirs are some I've also looked at, but are a bit spendy compared to SLX. Nice to know that not everyone has 'pad fitting' horror stories though.

Nice to know Formula brakes are top notch, but they really are a bit expensive, no? Still, that's the way to go if I get extra in my budget!

Juicys were a pain to fit the pads, Elixirs are much easier.

I've never had pad fitting horror stories with my elixirs. In fact, they're very easy to fit. Although I've only ever had to do it once or twice in over a year of having them, the pads last very well (superstar).

Realman,Which ones do you use? Anyone tried the Kevlar ones in Elixirs?
Ian

Kevlar ones work fine, did have to remove some paint of the back of the pads as they were a bit thick but since then they have been powerful and seem to last.

Keep the C2's, a new set of seals is a bargain, and nothings ever felt as good or as powerfull.

Unless you regulalry cook them, in which case formula are ace, shimano are cheep and 90% as ace.

I use sintered in elixir CRs.

ta
Ian

Thisisnotaspoon: They are good brakes, but they will need servicing/repairing soon, and Hope no longer offer a service on them. Shouldn't be a problem for a decent mechanic/my LBS, but it would be nice to know what else was out there when the time comes to change (like when this set of pads wear out).

If you want 1st refusal on them when they go, give me a shout.

Another vote for Shimanos here. I've got Deore, LX, SLX and XT on my bikes. Just got some SLX from Ribble Cycles the other day as the price was great.

I've a shed full of brakes already, but if theyre going cheep I'll considder them, IIRC hope wont service them anymore, but did still have a stock of seal kits when I asked.

Aztec rotors from SJSCycles, are well pleased with them!

Tektro IO{new Land Rover mtb] and Shimano Tourney caliper brakes [v-brake block upgrade] from the Council dump-can't fault them!

+ 2 for Elixirs. Brilliant brakes (I have CRs which are £200 for a whole set from Merlin – BARGAIN!!)

@johni: Just seen the prices at Ribble… Bloody good news. I think I'll be giving them my money when I get paid. Cheers for the tip-off!
Thisisnotaspoon: YGM

I've often theorised that with a few parts and a bit of tinkering (with a dremel) you could turn a set of C2s into an open system. Do that and they should be as good as anything out there. At the end of the day, you move the lever distance x and it pushes pads through distance y.

Onzadog: I'm sure you're right. I am, however, nothing like as skilled as I'd need to be with hydraulic systems and powertools to be to stop me from turning half decent brakes into interesting landfill.
One for the engineers among us, I reckon!

I too have some elixirs and I am right pleased with them.

Have a look online and see what's on offer.

I can't think of a bad brake I've used, but some feel better than others in use and some are more fiddly to bleed and refit pads to (step forward Avid!).

have some new hayes stroker trail for sale if anyone wants them. just removed from the bike. £150 posted.

johni are the SLX's good on price but not cheap on feel? I want powerful stoppers that arent a short-cut.

don't care about graphics, colour, grams etc- its performance that I crave.

SLX should suit you very well then. Very nice brakes, annoyingly they're hardly any different from my XTs…

argyle Merlin have them at silly prices at the moment.

Why do I still crave the XT's? 🙄

do the SLX brakes from ribble come with fixing bolts and adaptors for the calipers?

I have just discovered R1's are better than Marta sl's.

Shimano, Hope, Magura – I like.
Hayes Nine – dislike although seriously reliable.