[Closed] New brakes for DH bike

nip over to Merlin cycles and have a shufty of what brakes they have on special offer...
http://www.merlincycles.com/bike-shop/mtb-parts/brakes/disc-brakes/

I have Avid Elixir five's fitted to my Trek session 10... they do the job nicely for me... mind you I don't go that fast.... 😕

I'm not sure about Avids after my experience with them. Great when they work but if not then they become a pain in the arse. Unless they've sorted out their sticky pistons! Saying that I have had the brakes for a few years now and they came on a 2nd hand bike..

£150 max for a pair or each end?

XT from Rose??

[url= http://www.rosebikes.co.uk/article/shimano-deore-xt-disc-brake-br-m785---servo-wave---515729/aid:515731 ]Much cheapness...[/url]

Old SLX with 203mm rotors?

Reliable, very powerful and the levers are not too chunky.

I'd agree with the juicy being a bit of a pain now and then but my Elixir 7's are great. They have the tool-less reach adjustment too which is handy.

As a rule I've always found Avids easy to bleed, are you using the threaded syringes?

£150 max for a pair or each end?

Pair, any more than that I think is getting a bit stupid.

I've had a go on a bike with SLX and I found the bite point was too far in for me. This combined with me running my levers quite close would make it feel a bit weird I think. Think I would have to get some XTs if I was going Shimano..

XT's have bags off power & mine have Ben awsome. Rose + XT 2012 brakes = bargin

Shimano seem like good value but I don't like that there's a lack of spares should stuff go wrong.

that is because they don't go wrong.... (IME).

you can adjust the bite point with brakes; you need to take the wheel out and squeeze the lever to bring the pads closer together. takes a bit of pissing about, but can be done. i've done this on my SLX brakes when the pads wear down.

Think I would have to get some XTs if I was going Shimano..

Is that for the bite point adjust? If so, forget it, it does bugger all (I run XT on my DH bike).

you can adjust the bite point with brakes; you need to take the wheel out and squeeze the lever to bring the pads closer together. takes a bit of pissing about, but can be done. i've done this on my SLX brakes when the pads wear down.

You can also do it with a syringe attached to the caliper. More fluid in = less throw (I'd forgotten this could be done actually, need to have a play with my own ones)

Really? In that case I guess SLX would be fine then, aren't they pretty much the same as XTs apart from that?

With a bigger budget, I'd say hope v2 hands down but at the price point you've quotes you'll end up with something from shimano bought from a shop in Germany and you'll be very pleased with them.

Elixer 9's. Shop around and you could probably get a pair for 200 quid.

Formula - The One's

Awesome brakes, got them direct from formula for not too much, complete with rotors and adapters.

Shimano spares don't exist cos it's as cheap to get a new caliper/lever/hose for them as it is a small part from any of the others, bar Hope.
And try bleeding them with a pair of worn pads in place to bring the bite point closer. It's worked a treat with my Formula's.

Usually I fanboi Formula... but while The One FR is a good brake it's a bit clunky, a balls to bleed, and the lever is a bit of an odd shape, feels like it's halfway between one and two fingers.

Whereas the latest The One is the best brake I've ever used, by miles, but the fitting hardware feels a little delicate- I'd have my doubts about trusting them on the dh bike. Popular race option but for everyday dh-bike stuff I'd kinda expect them to break and annoy me some day. Easy to fix but there goes your uplift day.

Old Oros have a pretty nasty lever, the later ones got a redesigned one which is backwards compatible but probably too expensive to swap.

So yeah, Shimano. Parts availability is a downer but offset by the value, and you'll be buying new so fully warrantied. I wouldn't look at anything else personally.

Do you guys reckon the SLX are powerful enough for DH with 203mm rotors? I tend to brake late and hard now rather than drag so not sure about the "xc/trail" label they seem to have - from what I've read they have loads of modulation rather than just being able to get instant power.

Look for some ebay hope V2's

Not convinced by the SLX lever robustness and PITA you have to throw away the whole lever or caliper if you brake something (if your doing DH you will)

Failing that some Tech M4's

Love my saints, but if buying new I would go XT.

I've got XTs on my Spicy with 203 front and 180mm rear rotors and there's definitely no shortage of power at all. They're stupidly powerful, all for a decent weight. I chuck my bike down a fair few DH tracks and the brakes are perfect. You'll lose grip before you run out of power.

My old Hope V2’s were stupidly powerful and were great for last second braking (and I sold them on here recently for less than your budget so I’d certainly keep an eye out for 2nd hand Hopes). No matter how long the descent, or how hot they got they got, the power was always there. A few months ago I replaced them with Formula The Ones in a bid to save some weight, and the Formulas are proving to be almost as good but in a much lighter package. The only other brake that has impressed me recently was a new set of XTR trails. Amazing power but they felt very on/off…..maybe they would have felt a bit more progressive once the pads had worn in a bit.

Always worth a look in the [url= http://www.bike-discount.de/shop/k976/brakes.html ]bike-discount.de sale[/url], usually some very cheap odds and ends, don't forget you can buy two front or two rear and just alter the hoses as long as the level is flip-able (not sure if thats even a word).

There's a set of elixir 9's with rotors for under £200 on there at the mo.

I have XT on one bike (not sure which yr) they have free throw adjustment as well as the bite point adjusters the SLX have (on my other bike).

HTH

Hope V2s, Tech M4s, or some older M6s

have you considered shimano zee?

If you like the good points of juicys then go for the elixirs, I got elixir 5's from merlin for 130 ish a pair. I see them as juicy's but with the failings sorted out.

I have them on my dh bike (203 discs) and my am bike (160's f+r). I am a heavy bloke and a bit of chicken so do a lot of braking. My elixirs needed bleeding (only the front) for the first time in a year in the alps last week. Thats after 2 trips to malaga, a week in the alps last year, numerous UK uplift days at FOD/TRiscombe/cwmcarn/ukbikepark and a few push up days at gawton & swinley. Bleed was only neccesary after the third pad change.

I cant recommend them enough. Simple, works, powerful.

200mm saints front and back for me.........enough power to stop a runaway truck carrying a old elephant (or me on a 456 looning out of control down any downhill) 😀

In the tradition of just recommending what you've got, my Formula The Ones are ridiculously good. Ludicrously powerful, and I weigh 16st. I even went down to 185/160 rotors as the power was excessive with 203/185. You might be able to find a second hand pair for not much over your budget.

I have a couple of mates with XTs who aren't overly impressed and I've heard they can cook quite badly on longer descents in the alps etc. On the other hand lots of people rave about them.

I personally wouldn't touch Elixers again - I've had two sets and both were terrible. Formula R1's on the other hand are THE best brakes i've ever used. Not cheap but I ran mine for a year on different bikes, including an XC race bike, a DH bike and my Yeti ASR-7. Quite a few Alps trips and they never needed new pads or a bleed. The poxy Elixers needed a bleed pretty much every time I rode the thing...

The Shimano Zee look interesting (saints but a bit heavier and cheaper?) but if the bikerader rrp is anything to go by they'll be too expensive for me.

Avid Codes or Elixir's. Both are a step up in power/control from the Juicy's.