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I'm looking to upgrade to Hope E4s on the front in the near future. I've never had four pots before and was wondering if it's worth it on the rear or do I save a bit and put an X2 back there. Many thanks.
theres no downsides to 4 pot on the back, x2= tiny savings in weight & cost vs extra power and control, especially if youre on long descents
IMV the back brake is the one that you're more likely to overheat as it's the one that you'll be on most of the time.
I run 4 pot Saint calipers on the front of two bikes with 2 pot SLX on the back for the simple reason that I had a set of each and figured I was better using the 4 pots on the front. That's with 200 mm rotors up front and 180 on the back. I've never felt the need for any more braking power on the back.
If you're overheating the rear brake, a bigger rotor will probably help more than a 4-pot caliper.
Four pots back and front. Forget performance, only having one type of brake pads to keep a stock of wins it for me.
I have Magura MT Trail brakes (4 pot front, 2 back).
They're great.
🤷♂️
I've got v4 front, X2 back. With the benefit of hindsight and for reasons above, I'd be having v4 or equivalent front and back now.
IMV the back brake is the one that you’re more likely to overheat as it’s the one that you’ll be on most of the time.
if thats the case, it'd be worth doing some training. the vast vast majority of your braking should normally be on the front
+1 on 4-pot front and back for the same pads.
+1 on your poor technique is the issue for overheating rear brake - it should be the front that is worked hardest.
if thats the case, it’d be worth doing some training. the vast vast majority of your braking should normally be on the front
I've been told and read this many times over the years, I'd say it depends entirely on the type of trails you ride as to which brake does the most work. Last time I was told this was when I was buying a 200mm rotor for the rear (Hope tech 3 e4 brakes), salesman was adamant I shouldn't put it on the rear as 'the front brake does 80% of your braking' but then couldn't explain why I get through 4 sets or rear pads to every set on the front. I might not 'need' the bigger rotor but the bike is better than it was on a 180mm rotor, especially on steep off piste trails. I'd 100% say four pot both ends tho
Rear tends to get dragged more on steep stuff, none of us here are racing so if it's not the right technique who cares, it's very common.
I've got 4 pot front, 2 pot rear (hopes) as a) i couldn't find two sets of 4 pots in the right colour and b) a right and a left, and c) i was building it up to race on.
Works fine, stops fine, doesn't overheat, i'm not a brake dragger. And i have other 4 pots and 2 pots from hope, so i have pads in both patterns anyway.
There's no downside to either set up.
(i have similar bikes with 2 pot fr and rr and a ht with 4 pot fr and rr, so yeah. Whatever.)
There's no downsides to it, well, other than the downsides that apply to all 4 pots. But equally you definitely don't need it, unless you're an incredible brake dragger or weigh a ton.
I think I'm going two pot on the rear, if I can lock it up that's enough for me. Interesting views on here as always.
obvs you can grab whatever brake you like, but the front brake is significantly more effective at slowing you down, so long as you chose a reasonable section of trail to scrub some speed
chuck the rear in the bin.
Good answers. I'd a pair of new V4's I was intending to put on the Ebike with the new tech 4 levers, but I also had a pair of new V2's Hope sent me free gratis I was hoping to find a place for.
So was considering a V4 front on the Ebike and the bargain mega, and putting the V2's on the rears, but just want sure that was a thing these days.
I know the Ebike is much heavier, but the tech 4 levers are much better and that should even things out. Hooray, problem resolved 🙂
but then couldn’t explain why I get through 4 sets or rear pads to every set on the front. I might not ‘need’ the bigger rotor but the bike is better than it was on a 180mm rotor, especially on steep off piste trails. I’d 100% say four pot both ends tho
I'll explain it by saying you drag the rear brake when you shouldn't..... On-off braking. Don't drag. It causes the pads to glaze, wears the rotor and is just generally shit technique.
Was riding the last month with a mate in the alps (Morzine, Les Arcs, Pila, La Thuile, Val d'Isere) who runs Cura 2-pot brakes. Really impressed with them. Solid bite point and really powerful.
Run XT 4-pots, but am seriously tempted to swap them for Formulas based on what I've seen.
The bigger brake on the front comes from motorbikes, makes sense due to weight on the front during braking. However, mtbs don’t have engine braking so use the back brake a lot more, so I don’t see any benefits for a smaller brake on the rear
Get four-pot brakes both ends and tune the required power with rotor size.
I was surprised/reassured to find out how much pro riders drag their rear brake on steep stuff - although their idea of steep is very different to mine…
Like for like a 4 pot has more power and more modulation but can be more demanding of setup and maintenance. I wouldn’t run different calipers front and rear if it means they need different pads.
The bigger brake on the front comes from motorbikes, makes sense due to weight on the front during braking. However, mtbs don’t have engine braking so use the back brake a lot more, so I don’t see any benefits for a smaller brake on the rear
Try stopping on a steep downhill front brake only and rear brake only. Front brake is far better at stopping you. I hardly use my rear brake and certainly wear out front pads quicker
The advantages to a smaller rear brake are there - keeps the brake in its efficient working zone more. But its tiny and I would always prefer to have the same pads front and rear for maintenance reasons.
I run mt trail maguras on my arc, they are 4 pot front 2 rear, with different pads, it works fine, great brakes, for XC, i like them, but I definately prefer the hopes on bigger mtb's as dont have that on/off feel so many brakesets have.
i always felt 180 on rear was enough, but recently going to a 200mm makes such a difference to riding steep tech. no silly brake howl and more control. 4 pots for ease, same pads then fit multiple bikes incl. gravel RX4+
can never have too much brake,
The bigger brake on the front comes from motorbikes, makes sense due to weight on the front during braking.
It comes from physics.
Pretty much anything with wheels and brakes front and rear needs bigger brakes on the front.
I read an article that suggested that it's only Pro DHer's and absolute beginners that brake properly; i.e. Late and Hard , All the rest of us are doing it wrong.
For me it's easier to have 200mm all round and the same callipers because of parts and maintenance. I tend to have to change my pads about the same time, which is probably just bad technique.
I don’t see any benefits for a smaller brake on the rear
You're less likely to lock the rear wheel, you're less likely to bend the rotor, they are a bit lighter, they give frame designers a bit more space to work with. The main benefit is that there is a trade-off between power and modulation so you'll get better modulation at low speed with a smaller rotor on the back. If you're racing DH at World Cup level, you'll want the biggest brakes you can fit, but if you're just pottering around, the better modulation of a smaller rotor is a benefit.
The bigger brake on the front comes from motorbikes, makes sense due to weight on the front during braking.
When you're braking hard, especially on a steep descent, your back wheel will be skipping off the ground. The back brake isn't doing anything except making the bike harder to control, the front brake is doing all of the work.
As TJ recommended, try riding down a steep descent using only the front brake, then only the back brake. Using only the back brake will just lock up your rear wheel and you'll skid and crash but you can ride down very steep stuff with only a front brake.
Pretty much anything with wheels and brakes front and rear needs bigger brakes on the front.
A few DHers, for feel/balance reasons, are using 200mm front 220mm rear
Like i said, *pretty much* anything.
“It comes from physics.”
The physics of a DH bike requires you to use the rear brake to control your speed on the steep stuff because the front tyre needs to focus on directing the bike without washing out. Yes, the front brake dominates on harder braking but the rear brake is used much more on the steeps. There are articles including telemetry that confirm this.
You don’t need to be riding Champery to experience this - anything where the steepness makes you uncomfortable to let the bike roll will cause rear brake dragging.
The bigger rotor at the back theory only applies to a tiny proportion of riders, and it's just an opinion. The idea that most people need a stonking great rear rotor so they can drag their back brake all the way down the Alps is just silly.
I'm definitely guilty of having bad technique and very rarely race but...
Alpin
I’ll explain it by saying you drag the rear brake when you shouldn’t….. On-off braking. Don’t drag. It causes the pads to glaze, wears the rotor and is just generally shit technique.
Greg Minnaar
“Really? I drag my brakes quite a bit. I grew up racing motocross and it might work well there but I find I can’t find flow when braking late and hard on my mountain bike. That might work for some racers but it doesn’t work for me.”
I'm with Minnaar 100% on this one, that's not what op asked about tho so we'll just agree to disagree on that one