Hopes are cancelled. F U Winstanley Bikes!

Formula Cura – I proper want to get these but the faff with having to use formula mineral oil not shimano and the fact you can’t find the brakes and the oil in stock at the same place; It’d be alright if they came pre cut.

So the leave me looking at these 2:

XT M8120 from Mantel – I would go for the SLX but cant find them any cheaper so might as well try the XT.

Code R from Bike-components.de – Had these on my last bike and had no issues but fancied trying something new.

Basically my question is XT or Codes? Never used Shimano brakes before. Brakes are for an AM9 but will get moved to an ebike in September.

I would have said the Cura 4’s until I read about the part sourcing problems. I’ve been running guides and codes for the last 10 years without any problems…. Previously run XT’s and disliked the wandering bite point. I’m currently running Ghetto Code RS (Guide RE calipers on Guide RS levers) and prefer them to the Codes on my last DH bike.

Having had a go on a few bikes with Shimano brakes on that have a wandering bite point, and having had some deores of my own that micro leaked from the caliper seals I wouldn’t touch Shimano mtb brakes with someone else’s.

I’d get the Codes without any hesitation.

If you really want to try something different I’d probably go Magura MT5’s but make sure they had the better 1 finger levers on them.

Is that the 4 piston XT‘s? I can never remember the numbers. If so then both are really good. With an ebike make sure you have decent rotors and again I’ve tried both and
Spot on.

I would have just ordered the hopes from somewhere else! My local bike shop got me a set of Hope v4s in 3 days at the peak of lockdown. Do have a local bike shop that sells hope?
I figured if I didn’t order the hopes I would always be wondering if I should have have got them. Now I’m over the moon I did!
Having had several sets of shimano zee brakes, having to choose between shimano and sram I would go shimano but that’s just because I prefer the way their brakes feel

Codes all day long. I have both R’s and RSC’s on my bikes and I actually think I prefer the R’s. They just work…superb brakes.

Bit off topic, but I recently upgraded my Guide R levers to RSC and can’t believe the difference it has made. Best brakes I’ve ever had on a bike!

Providing it’s a worthy upgrade, where would I be able to source Code calipers from cheaply? Guessing a second hand pair of Guide RE would be a good bet? Same fitting as Guide calipers?

Sorry for the hijack 🙂

More on topic though, I had the non series Shimano 4 pot on one of my bikes and was really impressed for the money, so I can imagine the XT being even better. I really like the higher end Sram stuff though.

Went with Codes because I could get them pretty fast. Better the devil you know maybe.

I would have said the Cura 4’s until I read about the part sourcing problems.

I have Cura 2s, and the service from Geometron/Mojo Rising in sourcing spares has indeed been very poor (surprising to me considering the reputation they had for service as Mojo). Fortunately the German, Italian and French sites have almost all spares in stock and shipped faster than the one time I ordered through Geometron (they didn’t respond the rest of the times I asked).

I wouldn’t let it put you off.

I have Code RSC on the big bike and they’re really very, very good. I love them and I’d have them again in the blink of an eye. I have Guide RSC on the trail bike and had XT 2 pot (previous gen) on the bike before and the Codes are the best of all of them. They’re immensely powerful and have a really good feel to them.

I have Cura 2s, and the service from Geometron/Mojo Rising in sourcing spares has indeed been very poor (surprising to me considering the reputation they had for service as Mojo). Fortunately the German, Italian and French sites have almost all spares in stock and shipped faster than the one time I ordered through Geometron (they didn’t respond the rest of the times I asked).

I wouldn’t let it put you off.

The communication I got from Formula when asking a few questions on Facebook wasn’t very professional either. It makes no sense that they sell both front and rear brakes with the same hose length but make the Forumla specific oil so hard to get.

I have both and the codes are night and day better, after 3 years they’re still going strong and the bite point is always consistent. The only reasons I’d buy Shimano brakes is they’re cheap and a pleasure to bleed.

FWIW, someone on MTBR claims that Formula told him running Shimano oil wouldn’t be an issue for warranty. Sure it would be fine for a lever bleed when trimming hoses.

FWIW, someone on MTBR claims that Formula told him running Shimano oil wouldn’t be an issue for warranty. Sure it would be fine for a lever bleed when trimming hoses.

Forumla: Hello, thanks for contacting us ! Its better use our Mineral oil for maximum performances. Please contact our UK distributor Mojo Geometron to know where it’s available. It’s always better to bleed minimum the master cylinder when you shorten the hose

Me: If that’s not available is it possible to use other Mineral oil or will it void warranty?

Forumla: It’s available don’t worry 😉

Me: Basically my question is will shimano oil void the warranty?

Forumla: Yes it void the warranty