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Afternoon all.
Any one had any problems with the new Sram guide brakes? I've got a set of the R's and they have done exactly the same thing as Avids used to. i.e go all spongy after a long decent.
Anyone else experienced this?
Thanks
Nope, not really, mine have been good and all reports are pretty similar. Have you given them a bleed? Could just be a crap bleed from the factory.
Sounds like you have air in the system. Need bleeding
Had what I thought was a crap bleed on the rear on my full sus.
Turns out that the lever reach adjust knob was shaking itself out, to the point that my lever would bite much closer to the lever by the bottom of a long descent than it did at the top!
Seem to have cured it by spraying a load of GT85 in there to clear out any moisture and crap, then dropped a few drops of a light threadlock onto the threads to stop it from unwinding again.
Turns out that the lever reach adjust knob was shaking itself out
Of any brake I've used, those bloody reach adjust knobs feel like they came out of SRAM's spares box when the proper ones were lost in transit.
Good set of brakes, mind. I was gonna sell mine as soon as I got them, but rode them first and was dead impressed. For me, they're better than my Hope E4s or Shimanos. Which I'm genuinely surprised about, as I wanted to hate them.
Still have the Avid squeely thing going on though.
Exactly what mboy said
Mine don't squeak AT ALL. Rotor / pad combo seems to determine this. Centerline rotor and SRAM sintered pads appears to be a super quiet combination.
Mine are non squeaky too.
Having suffered the joys of owning Juicy and Elixyr brakes I was sceptical about the Guides but I have become a convert.
I run RS as does my wife. Not as powerful feeling in the car park as the Shimano they replaced but fantastic on the trail. Loads of modulation and quiet too.
I dud suffer with wandering reach adjust dial on one of my brakes too. As with the other poster, a dab of thread lock fixed it.
Have bled both sets and they were much easier to get a good bleed than the old Avids.
I have noticed though that once pads wear to around halfway the lever travel increased significantly, need to pop wheel out and push Pistons out with lever. Other than that, no problems.
Thanks for the feedback guys.
I've bleed mine already as they were spongy from the outset, think I've just got a crap set. It seems that the brakes don't seems to be able to deal with the reduction in pad thickness once they get past about half wear. Maybe they have got a duff seal in the master cylinder. Just a bit odd that it has happened to both.
I have to run the levers dialed all the way out other wise the levers touch the bar. I could bleed them again, but to be honest a new set of brakes less than 4 months old should not need it. I'm sending them back under warrantee, and will hopefully get a fully functioning set back!
FWIW bleeding Guides _really_ needs good syringes. The Avid proper job ones (that cost about £30!) are the way forward as you need to get a really good suck on the lever to get the air out otherwise you'll never get a good bleed in my experience.
Of any brake I've used, those bloody reach adjust knobs feel like they came out of SRAM's spares box when the proper ones were lost in transit.
My thoughts entirely! Annoying thing is I'm a fit and forget kinda guy when it comes to brakes, I don't need constant adjustment, I'd do away with the adjusters (well replace them for an Allen headed adjuster like on Deore's) happily. Touch wood though, I've solved the problem for now. Was a bit scary at BPW when it first happened!
Good set of brakes, mind. I was gonna sell mine as soon as I got them, but rode them first and was dead impressed. For me, they're better than my Hope E4s or Shimanos. Which I'm genuinely surprised about, as I wanted to hate them.
When I got my T-129 they had a chance to prove their worth, knowing that I'd be keeping the bike for only a few months, I wasn't going to change the spec at all. They impressed me so much that when it came to build my Evil, I specced the Guide RS's out of choice. Long time Shimano user here, I miss the outright power slightly, but the significantly better modulation has made me a smoother rider. Possibly gonna go 200/180 soon replacing 180/160 to compensate mind.
Thanks for the feedback guys.
I've bleed mine already as they were spongy from the outset, think I've just got a crap set. It seems that the brakes don't seems to be able to deal with the reduction in pad thickness once they get past about half wear. Maybe they have got a duff seal in the master cylinder. Just a bit odd that it has happened to both.
Does sound like you've got a duff pair. Pads in my brakes are currently 8/10ths of the way to the bin, and levers still feel as good as when new. Totally different to Elixirs where once a pad was more than 3 rides old the levers started travelling further and further to the bars...