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I'm looking to change the brakes on my gyro, it came with elixir 5's but they are just terrible first they leaked, then the new unit leaked and they need regularly bleeding. What are a good set of hassle free brakes to replace this rubbish?
SLX.
Fit & forget..
Awesome kit IMHO
Yep SLX or XT, I had elixir 5's and found them to be terrible too. I pondered for ages over Hope, Shimano, and Formula. I really wanted to go for hope but on having a go on my brothers bike with XT I was fully convinced and bought a set.
They are brilliant brakes for the money, it’s a no brainer really.
As I said hope would have been nice but too many mixed reviews and the power of the Shimano brakes is amazing. I have heard of folk saying they are a bit on/off and take a bit of getting used to. Once they were bedded in they just felt sweet as.
Hop fit & forget then a few years time serviceable.
Hope, I've had too many leaking calipers from shimano.
Had SLX M665 since they came out. Still on the original pads (incredibly) not had a single problem with them.
On the shimano blance just serviced the SLX on the missus bike after the front lever went wron. I removed and replaced the entire brake.....
Find shimano to be the least hassle, really headache-free and good performance. Used all levels and only ever had an issue with a sticky piston on an xtr calliper.
Have two sets of elixirs that came Oem on new bikes and they're starting to do my head in a wee bit. Work well but Quite finicky to get set right. The thin Oem pads phenomenon is retarded - need to bleed the brake on first pad change.
If you know what you are doing either Shimano or Hope.
If you dont then you will have problems which ever brake you get.
I have 2 sets Shimano [oldest M555s] and 3 sets of Hope [oldest C2s], biggest problem has been wrong choice of aftermarket pads.
Oh and being a dumb ass who didnt follow the instructions for setting up them properly.
I have the new XT's and they're pretty good...bit of a pain to bleed, but mine had an issue with the freestroke so had to be sent back. Seem to be working well now...I don't find them as sharp as a lot of people make them out to be, but they have loads of power. My only gripes are that the lever is butt ugly ad spares are non- existent.
I'm not a fan of Hope brakes...the original Mini and Mono series made me lose all faith in them and I refuse to take a chance given how expensive they are these days.
Formula seem very popular too, but the spares are eye wateringly expensive. They look lovely too.