New brakes time.... Real world reviews please

Sorry I can't help! I only use a pair of second hand Level T that I paid £50 for. Modulation is brilliant, they lock up either wheels at will with one finger and they don't fade even at bike parks.

I don't understand how that can be as they're supposed to be entry level but I couldn't think of a reason to spend more. I saw Alpkit selling them for £60 recently new too on their eBay shop.

Got cura 4's on my scout.

Simple brakes with just enough adjustment,  but really good brake feel.

I am a formula fan though,  I have t1's and r1's on other bikes

Cura 4's here. Excellent support and spares from Elro and the brakes are miles better than the Hope T3 E4 they replaced.

Dominion A4's were a bargain from CRC/Wiggle a while back, but I'd not pay full RRP.

Lovely feel, limited supply of parts and, as it turns out, brake pads for aggro riding.

Don't know about the others.

Swore Id never use Formula brakes after some awful rental bikes, but love my Cura 4s. Have the 2 pots on the trail bike, wpuld recommend also.

Code RSC on my whyte. They’re fine, unless that is you should dare to heat soak them on a big alpine descent. In which case they’re despicable crap, running out of power and then fading horrifically. Run away!

Dominions look awesome.

Dominions. I'm 3 years into running them, now on all three bikes as anything else is just a bit pants. Not had issues with spare parts. (olives, pads, nuts, hoses etc), bleeding v easy when you need to shorten hoses or whatever. but really, fit and forget.

Hayes sintered or Galfer green pads FTW.

Hey, if they're good enough for Rachel Atherton and Andreas Kolb, good enough for me.

TBF, I have not tried formulas, but they do sound nice too.

No brakes are worth standard retail price, but I would out Hayes value above top end brakes from other suppliers at silly prices (hope, SRAM, Shimano etc)

I'm running Cura 4s and initially hated them and wondered why they were raved about, as they lacked bite, power and stopping force - swapped the stock pads out first for some Trickstuff power pads & what a difference this made! Plenty of bite now with more than enough stopping power. Now running Galfer Greens and these are also brilliant as well as being able to get hold of them!

I've Code RSC brakes and really like them. Got them in 2019...they aren't absolutely perfect as I've still far too much lever throw and I can't adjust it out, but otherwise I find they work very well with predictable stopping power - and there is a lot of that.
Would happily buy them again.

I have Code RSCs on my enduro bike and my DH bike. On the DH bike they’ve been on long steep runs for several years on holiday and have never missed a beat. Even for DH stuff, I’ve never felt the need for anything with more power. So that brings me to the enduro bike which I use for local stuff….they barely get tickled, yet have great modulation and all the power I need.

Hope that helps

Have had my set of Codes for almost 3 years and have been more than happy with them. If it sways you, they are still available for £99 a set on CRC (OEM, buy 2 rears - they are swappable).

@DickBarton have you tried bleeding with the contact point adjuster in the middle or towards the opposite end of the adjustment than stipulated by the SRAM docs - you can then use the adjuster to make them quite on / off.

That's it then.... For £200 Chainreaction can have my money.

@frogstomp.... Do they come with lever attached?

Paul @ Elro is a great guy, and he's doing a great job with Formula. The Cura 4's feel superb in use too.

That said, I still couldn't bring myself to buy a pair... I've owned and worked on far too many terrible Formula brakes in the past (terrible in terms of reliability, fine when they're working) and the abundance of cheap Code RSC's (like those linked to on CRC above) and the fact I have all the kit I need to bleed/service/repair Codes already and the ubiquity of spares for them and sadly, I couldn't look past them. I've also felt a few Cura 4's on peoples bikes now that are a couple of years old, and lots of slop has crept into the levers.

If there was a genuine performance advantage  with the Cura 4's I'd have been happy to swallow the cost and/or inconvenience over Codes, but a set of Codes with decent pads (I'm using CL Brakes VRX) and decent rotors (SRAM HS2 rotors genuinely do work better than centreline) has enough power for most and the modulation is as good as any other brake if not better...

For reference... I've owned Trickstuff Maxima's. Amazing as they were, well setup Code RSC's are more than good enough to be honest.

@frogstomp…. Do they come with lever attached?

Sorry, I don't know - you would need to detach to trim the hoses to length anyway? They don't come with the bar clamps apparently - @weeksy bought some recently.

Mine came fully built, bled and ready to go.

As said, no clamps (until i moaned and they paid for new ones from Amazon), disconnect, fit new olive/barb, re-connect...Job done. The boy loves them... but we do like Codes generally in this house.

Cheers for the replies folks...... Codes it is then. 😁

I do like the look of the Dominions  A4 but here that it’s PITA to get hold of spares

There is no current UK distributor (used to be Hotlines which carried a limited range), but many people on here have had olives etc. shipped from Hayes' own centre in Germany. Last I heard from them they're working on improving the situation.

@frogstomp - yeah, I tend to bleed with the bite adjuster all the way the opposite to what SRAM say.i don't understand why you'd want to adjust the pad further away from the rotor and create even more lever throw especially as the pads wear. My calipers may just need a full strip, clean and lube but the brakes feel as I want them when first bled but over several weeks use, the lever throw increases (as the pads wear but the pads last me a year)...they don't go spongy, just more throw. They work brilliantly though at stopping me.

I see you opted for codes but in my experience of brakes, the most confident I've felt and best experience in braking has come from Maguras.

Ive owned GuideRE, shimano xt something and ridden with codes a few times. Once I moved to Magura mt5 I never wanted anything else.

I bought front and rear mt5 for £150 which I think is good value. I did kinda want to try the cheap dominion a4 mind because they look awesome.

I’m running Dominions on the MTB and Cura4s on the eMTB. They are easily the 2 best brake sets I’ve run, compared to Saint, Code, XT, Deore 4 pot, Level and E4s

Not had any trouble getting pads, olives and fluid for the Dominions yet.

Slightly prefer the Curas but the Dominions are pretty much as good, bleed easier and have the grub screws for aligning the calliper so not sure which I’d buy again over the other

TLDR: Cura and Dominion are both amazing, can’t go wrong with either

Code RSC on my whyte. They’re fine, unless that is you should dare to heat soak them on a big alpine descent. In which case they’re despicable crap, running out of power and then fading horrifically. Run away!

I picked up Code RSC's ahead of a week in Morzine and the PDS, they didnt skip a beat once, now paired with 220mm rotors front and rear and its a dream!

Now have them fitted on my winter hardtail as the shimanos kept annoying me...

Slightly prefer the Curas but the Dominions are pretty much as good, bleed easier and have the grub screws for aligning the calliper so not sure which I’d buy again over the other

@chrishc777 Happy with my A4s, but curious what you prefer about the Curas. I was very close choosing between the two.

Very subjective and my Curas are also 2 years newer than my A4s so not exactly the most valid opinion but I prefer the slight squidge in the Cura lever at bite point to the smoother A4 lever

Aaaaand NO recommendations for Shimano yet.

It's a real shame. When working well I prefer the feel of Shimano to anything else I've tried....but they are unreliable and can't be rebuilt.
It's a shame.

I'm on code RSCs now for my main bikes. Reliable.

Code RSC for 4 years and they’ve been pretty flawless including a 4 week session in the Alps.

Just got the thicker HS2 rotors and they feel even better.

Aaaaand NO recommendations for Shimano yet.

It’s a real shame. When working well I prefer the feel of Shimano to anything else I’ve tried….but they are unreliable and can’t be rebuilt.

SLX and above sort of can but using a combination of Shimano parts supplied by breakers and an aftermarket lever piston seal (the bit that causes most of the problems apart from the callipers) part from ebay.

The bastards have even hobbled M615 Deore levers so you can't easily take them apart. The metal cam part has no hole in to release the lever axle pin, which is also peened over at both ends. SLX M675 and above have a different part with a hole in it and the axel pin isn't peened at both ends and can be removed. Dirty ****ing bastards!

el_boufadorFull Member
Aaaaand NO recommendations for Shimano yet.

Aside from the inconsistency due to the wandering bite point, there's the lack of modulation (too much initial bite, then bugger all power thereafter as you pull the lever harder) and the undersized master cylinder fluid reservoir to contend with... As the Pirelli marketing ad used to state back in the 90's, "power is nothing without control"... Simply put, Shimano need to go back to the drawing board, their brakes don't cut it compared to the competition under hard use any more.

No thanks!