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The brakes on my bike are past their best. A set of really old Deore that (despite what you do) don’t work very well. I was saving for a set of Formula Cura after reading lots of great feedback and reviews about them. At this rate they’ll be antiques or discontinued by the time I have the funds.
Therefore can anyone recommend a set of cheap brakes that have decent modulation? Newer Deore maybe or the Magura Trail Sport. Like the idea of the Maguras, but I’m worried about the plastic body combined with my amazing crashing skills. I’d definitely consider used too.
SRAM Guide RS can be had cheap second hand. More modulation than the Shimano (2 pots) that I had.
I've just taken some Shimano MT500 with 180/160 rotors off a new bike. Yours for £50 if you're near Sheffield. Or £60 PayPal and posted.
I can even throw in the SLX 11 speed ispec 2 shifter for and extra £10 if you like.
Magura Trail sports are great.
When you say cheap, how much are you looking at? Sram Guide RE are looking good value at £79.99 an end from tweaks cycles:
Uses the Sram Guide R lever but with a previous generation Code brake caliper. Will have a fairly nice lever feel bit loads of power. My guide r’s have plenty with 200/180 discs but I’d like some RE’s or Codes in an ideal world.
Deore 4 pots - have just fitted them on my Mega and they're pretty good. Cheap too, if you buy from Germany.
JP
Another vote for the Trail Sports. You will need to shorten them unless you have a XXXL tandem, but there are enough supplies in the box to do this twice. Bleeding is easy once you’ve watched the official video. The composite body seems to shrug off crashes. The alloy single finger lever is excellent. You really need to pay attention when doing up the lever clamps - the standard composite clamps allow the screws to sink in if you overtighten (I understand that overtightening the lever bleed port leaves you needing a replacement screw also) but power and modulation are spot on. I’m still feeling evangelical about these more than six months on so that’s a win in my book.
SRAM Guide R are problematic though. Had mine a year and half and they need a couple of repairs doing to them (front brake tends to "stick" in hot weather, and the rear break's lever reach controls have broken so its permenantly at it's outer most reach).
Wondering weather to buy a set of Hope breaks as I've heard they're reliable and apparently the above two problems each require £40 repairs.
I’ve had 3 sets of Guides - 1x Guide rs with the original caliper and 2x sets of R’s with the bleeding edge caliper. No problems with any of them.
I think the swelling piston is limited to the first run of them they did before they identified the issue and changed the piston material. Can’t you get that fixed under warranty?
BB7 or TRP Spyke. Used both, no issues.
Thanks for the feedback everyone. Onzadog, really appreciate the offer. I think I’m going to save a bit and go for the Magura though.
Clarks M3 can be had for £50 for a set including rotors - use Deore pads and I've found they haul me up quick enough for Lakes and Dales riding
I’ve seen Trail Sports as low as £135 a set. Assuming you plan to fit the individual piston pads for the MT7 when the stock front pads are worn, it’s worth knowing that the Aztec pins intended for Shimano fit well and are probably the cheapest option that isn’t a split pin.
I can’t believe how powerful the clarks m3 actually are. They were on the sons bike befor it got nicked.
What are the Clarks and newer Deore like for modulation? The shagged Deores on mine were very on/off with little in between. I’m relatively light at 12st so it’s not ultimate stopping power I’m after, more the ability to control speed well. Hope that makes sense?
M3's are definitely not on-off - I like the feel much better that the 4 pot Guides on the wife's bike. They're very similar to the 2 pot Deores
Just fitted a pair of cheap 2-pot Deore to my cargo bike and am quite impressed. Dirt cheap too.
I think I have a set of these TRP G-Spec Slates sat in the shed since I won them
https://singletrackmag.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/review-trp-g-spec-slate-brakes/
You can have them for what they cost me if they suit (I will have to check that is what they are, I could be wrong)
Magura MT2's £70 a pair including rotors
I’ve got some Deore M6000 callipers for sale for £20 for the pair. If you could find some cheap levers you’d have an inexpensive setup.
JP