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I have two bikes. One FS and one HT.
I have experience of three Shimano brakes, all on 180F, 160R discs:
- XT M775. Very nice lever modulation feel, enough power.
- SLX M675. Pretty on/off, loads of power.
- M505 (cheap OEM). Soggy lever, scary lack of power, apparent why the others cost more!
At the minute the SLX and M505s are in use and the XTs have been retired.
The SLX are clearly very powerful but I find I am a bit skiddy with them. Clearly a better rider would not have this issue but I do. The M505 are just rubbish. I only bought them as a stop-gap so planning to upgrade to something else.
So what would people suggest for something with SLX power but old XT modulation?
I am thinking Zee for four pot credentials as I like the reliability of Shimano and the fact that all my bleed kit would be commmon between brakes. I might consider another brand but they would need to be near Shimano on price and have a good reliability reputation.
I've just put a Saint four pot caliper on my SLX front lever to try. It has a lot more modulation and almost feels less powerful as a result - but isn't. I like it but it's a heavy caliper.
I'm sure Zee would be the ideal.
Zees are awesome.
I also find SLX and XT vary in modulation. Especially once you wear the stock pads out.
I had XT's (M785) which were never 100%. I now have Zee's and I much prefer them. They just so strong.
I sold some XTR M965 (loads of modulation) to be replaced with SLX. The SLX had bundles more power, which with my inertia was more desirable than being able to feather the brakes to the nth 🙂
Now SLX is my brake of choice. I vary the rotors if I want more control - 200m F/ 180mm R on my FS, 160mm F&R on the rigid HT.
XT (M785) are spot on for power and pretty good for modulation, have been reliable.
Have Hope Tech 3 E4s on other bike and they are (IMO) in a different league, but no where near price wise.
Are you sure the M505's aren't just full of air? I run cheapo Shimano brakes across all my bikes and whilst I'm sure the XTs have their benefits the only time the brakes have been as you describe has been after an unsuccessful attempt to swap the levers around without having to bleed them.
Depends on too many variables IMO. I've had experience of Shimano brakes that were exactly like light switches. and some that you had to have a death grip and a count of 5 before anything remotely interesting like slowing down happened.
Cheapo ones may well be full of air. They have been sitting unused for best part of a year, possibly upside down. I will try to bleed as a immediate step but the truth is I want a different feel on the FS so the SLX will be moved on to the HT (and the cheapos put in the spares box).
Zees are reasonably priced and general opinion seems to rate them well in modulation terms. The XTs look so similar in design to the SLX it seems hard to believe they would be much different.
Rotor sizes and pads are good points. What pad should I try for better modulation/feel? I tend to be a bit haphazard with what pads I use (stock Shimano ones still in them at the minute).
my bike runs a Zee at the front and an SLX at the rear
i agree that the SLX has a very on/off feel in use but the Zee's are a world apart in how they feel, the power is awesome and so is the amount of modulation. no on/off grabbiness...just stacks of usable power.
my friend has XT's on his and even though they have good modulation, they still feel very on/off like the SLX's compared to the Zee's
the only issues with the Zee's is the extra weight and that the lever reach cannot be adjusted without using an allen key, whereas on the SLX there is the adjuster knob on the lever...but i dont mind the lack of the adjuster as once its set up, there's no need to re-adjust it again and it also means one less thing to snap off in a crash
for the price, the performance of the Zee's is fantastic and getting them is a bit of a no brainer, and when i can be bothered, i will be getting a matching rear for my bike
I have a 615 deore and SLX on one bike, both feel kinda the same, firm and enough power. Have XT's on the good bike, much more lever throw, more modulation but just as much power, just different.
Different feel from my Hope monomini's, which had bags of modulation, but not quite as much power as the shimanos. then there were my Avids, with their initially wooden feel, but lots of stoppability. Nice lever shape too.
Not used them but the new XT M8000 have improved modulation due to a revised cam, apparently this was done in response to criticism that they were a bit too grabby.
Run 775s and have tried 785s and I know what you mean.