Best all time disc brake?

I have Juicy 7's on almost every bike in the garage. I've used them for about two years and never had a problem with the four sets in my garage. It's mostly dry here so I can't comment on wet performance, but I use them on XC to freeride condtition 160, 180 and 200 mm versions.

I have heard that shortening cables is a bear because the stupid banjo connection is extremely sensitive to torque.

I've used Magura Louise, Shimanno XT hydraulic and Hayes HFX 9's. Out of all of them, I prefer the Hayes. Better stopping power, modulation, lever feel, ease of locking them up (or not). Just in my opinion, a better brake.

The GF got Avid Jucy's on her new bike, (have yet to be ridden), so we have no idea on how they compare.

Shimano only has one "M" and one "N".

I've had good luck with Juicys, HFX Mags and Deores. I didn't care for Magura Louises much, but other people really like them.

avid juicy's. great blend of power and modulation, reliable, and very easy to work on. i was able to give my brakes a flawless bleed the first time i ever bled them. avid brakes are the only ones i plan to buy in the future.

muddy beast said:

...PLEASE no biased opinions here...

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Choosing any one brake has to be a biased opinion.

I have Magura's ,Avids and Hopes if I had To start again I would have only Hopes on my bikes they are with out a doubt the top preforming brakes in all conditions about the only brake I would never buy again are Hayes every pair I've tried are absolute crap when compared to any thing else at their point of the market.

love the juicys cant wait to try the codes...

I got a Clarks Clim8 on the front of mine,amazing brake,easy as good if not better then a m4.

Formula!!!!!!!!!

I have a little of everthing.On my xc bike I have hope mono minis.The mtx hardtail I have hopem4s.On my 29er I have avid juicy 5 on the ss I have hays mags and on the dj bike I have avid bbdb.

As far as mechanical brakes go the avids are the only way to go.

I have had the hays mags since 2001 and they have floated around on many of my bikes and have been a very strong and reliable brake.
I have only owned the avids for 2 seasons now but I have had zero trouble with them.I have also owned a few other brakes (hayes comp,magura,formula) but I would have to say my all around favorite would have to be hopes.Great looks,feel,power, modulation.They are alot esier to rebuild than the hayes and the parts are cheeper,a bit more modulation than the rest and the levers just feel better than the rest to me.

This being said, I still use the rest and have no problem with them.The brakes I have had a problem with are no longer on my bikes.

Buy Hopes

Aparrently the new Aligator DH brakes must be good since they have eight pistons front and back! Lol....can you say overkill?

The original 4-piston XT's are pretty awesome, and mineral oil is the way to go.

That said, I just got a set of Juicy Ultimates that are the bee's knees so far. I still need a few long fast runs like Downieville to say for sure how they compare to the 7's for fade resistance, but after a few laps in Santa Cruz last weekend I'm impressed.

I am really liking the Formula ORO brakes. My shop has had a few bikes with them come through here and I run them on my DHR. They are awesome. The lever feels great and the modulation and power are top notch.

I also have really liked my Hopes in the past, and Avid Juicys feel pretty nice. I am done with Hayes for a while becuase the Caminos were the biggest disapointment in a brake that I have ever run. I hated those things.

Shimano
1.Ease of use, set up
2.Mineral Oil
3.Available anywhere
4.Consistent quality and value
5.Stylish
6.Powerful, light, modulation is balanced well with power.
7.Constantly evolving
8.Look good
9.Easy to fix, maintain

Avids work well also

Hopes are the prettiest.

Formula is back but where do you get pads from?

Formula for my money.

I've been fiddling with disc brakes for about 10 years now...

Easiest to bleed: Hope C2 (bleed like car brakes; stupid-easy)

Best modulation: Hope Enduros

Easiest set-up: Avid cable (BB?)

Most powerful: Magura Gustav

Most reliable: Hayes

Easiest to find parts for: Hayes

Deciding which is best is like asking which bike is best... too many variables. For me, reliability is key so I run Hayes... they are powerful enough for my needs and they've been rock-reliable for the past 6 years I've had them.

I ran Hopes for a few years until I finally got sick of working on them. Well, that and having my Enduros fail catastrophically at Plattekill during a race run sending me OTB into a tree. Vowed never to run "Hope-I-stops" again. Got home, ordered a set of Hayes, and have never looked back.

I've also heard a few opposite stories about Hope vs. Hayes... YMMV.

A big part of DH riding is having faith in both yourself and your equipment. Once I began to question the brakes, they were gone. I've never had reason to question the Hayes.

I've heard very good things about the Juicys, but I've past the point of swapping parts for no real reason.

Hope 6ti on my Turner Dhr, used alot of different setups. Love the open system of the Hopes, just like Motorcycles have been doing for years. know alot of complaints about set up..they seem the easiest for me.

it's a tie between juicy 7's and magura louise FR's, i'll go with the maguras

shimano saints work well too i must admit, though i avoid shimano because i have a terrible knack for breaking their derraileurs. i've broken 6 shimano derraileurs that i've owned, and only 1 SRAM.

Love my HFX-9's...

I have friends that have fun Magura, Hope, Avid Juicy 7's, Juicy Carbons, Hayes 9's, Hayes Mags, Hayes Carbons, Saint, LX, and XT.

I've ridden them all, but I love my HFX-9's.

P.S. http://www.gatorbrake.com

giantrider89 said:

Aparrently the new Aligator DH brakes must be good since they have eight pistons front and back! Lol....can you say overkill?

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Yeah... as I recall, the 8" setup with an 8-piston caliper weighs 600 grams.

That's double an Avid Code setup, and still like 80% heavier than a Hayes 9 setup.

i like the juicy 7s...

I like the Dia-Tech Anchors
Very simple design, great stopping power, easy set up, easy blead, self adjusting, and good price at $285 a Pair.

Now that being said, pretty much any quality disk system can be made to perform to World Cup levels with some work and a few good parts.
Braided stainless lines will make a more positive feal since they don't expand under pressure, Good pads will also help this as they tend to grab and hold the rotor better with out losing modulation, I like the Galfer green compound for this, red compound in the wet. Good wavy rotors will dissipitate the heat better and so they will not fade nearly as fast.
For the cable brakes we've done all the same set up, except the lines of course. We run stainless cables with the good braided housing and keep them fully housed.

muddy beast said:

Mine would be the LX hydros.

I havent tried many brakes but from the short demo I had with LX hydros I hell in love with there grab feel and quick braking.

they were the 6" version, on a wet paved road. I use HFX-9 for everything from XC to Downhill on my bighit, but am looking for a replacement by next week for a race.

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What race do you have next week?

I rode the Hays 9 and el cominos. the 9s were speced on my bike and were good for about 3 races till they took a ****. the el cominos compleatly suck. i won them in the second snowshoe race and broke both levers the day after the race. the pull felt like crap to. the best and most durable are either the saints or the gustavs. im sporting the saints now and theve taken some hard hits but hold up well. definitly worth a try.