The slow upgrade process continues. Brakes.

gonefirefightin · Apr 17, 2009

I can honestly say the best brakes I have ever used and still used are plain jain simple shimano lx and xt hydros, they work just fine for downhill and they have great modulation for techy XC. they are cheap, use mineral oil, and you can pressurize the system depending on you taste for lever feel.

you can find these sitting in any bike shop with dust on them for 200 a pair.

stinkyboy · Apr 17, 2009

I ran Hayes Nines on my Stinky for a couple years and never had a problem. They just work.

moff_quigley · Apr 17, 2009

I'd take LX's or XT's over those three options you listed as well. 'Course I think Hopes are teh best but they are spendy.

Leppah · Apr 17, 2009

Man, too bad you didn' need them a month ago. I just gave a complete set of Hayes HFX 9's to my mechanic buddy. The only thing they needed was rotors. They were even bled. They were just my extra set that i never planned on using.
if you're not in a hurry, i'll be upgrading my xc brakes to some kind of Juicy selection. I'm going to have another complete set of Hayes HFX 9's to get rid of.

Leppah · Apr 17, 2009

hmmm. Interesting. I have some of the Avid mechanicals. I know those grab so good. But i think it's because i can adjust them however i want to. That's the only thing i don't like about them is you have to adjust them here and there if you do a lot of riding. I like how hydros self adjust a bit. They just don't seem to grab as hard unless you have some really good ones like the CODES.

stringcheese · Apr 17, 2009

My hayes nines feel way better than my roommate's avid juicys, at least when it comes to power and lever feel.

jimmydean · Apr 17, 2009

I got a swinging deal on some Hayes Strokers with 8" rotors. I love the lever and they work awesome. I have always run Hayes, though.

SkaredShtles · Apr 17, 2009

I have Hayes hydros '01 vintage and have never had any trouble. I've never bled them. I actually need to bleed one side, but they still work.

HAB · Apr 17, 2009

Run like hell from the El Caminos. Those things BLOW. I'd vote anything Shimano. Even the Deores are good brakes. Alternately, people seem to be impressed with their strokers. I think they don't have enough lever throw personally, but that's just me bitching. Totally a personal preference thing. Same applies for the Formula K18s. Awesome brakes, just wish they had more lever throw. Probably me being a pedantic fvck.

syadasti · Apr 17, 2009

I would pick Shimano or Avid - parts availability, price, and performance are great. Magura and Formula are good but parts are harder to find. Magura has the 5 year leak proof warranty on their brakes. Avoid the HFX9 - its a ****ty budget brake.

Bushwhacker · Apr 17, 2009

jimmydean said:
I got a swinging deal on some Hayes Strokers with 8" rotors. I love the lever and they work awesome. I have always run Hayes, though.

+1...Got a set of Stroker Trails last year. 7" front 6" rear, been super happy coming off of a combo of Nines/Mags for several years. The Caminos had mixed reviews from what I hear, I'm glad I waited for Hayes second generation of that style master cylinder. Been running them for around a year now with no issues at all.

loco-gringo · Apr 17, 2009

I like Juicys.

AngryMetalsmith · Apr 17, 2009

loco-gringo said:
I like Juicys.

We all do, but this thread is about brakes.

Other than Avids, I had some success with one of those low end Shimano brakes GFF was talking about. It was dirt cheap, $20 without a rotor.

downhilldemon · Apr 17, 2009

I just bought a Jamis that came with the Hayes Stroker Rydes. An 8 in the front and a 7 in the rear. I already have a set of Hopes so I'm looking to sell them. Make me a reasonable offer and they're yours. There brand new.

loco-gringo · Apr 17, 2009

AngryMetalsmith said:
We all do, but this thread is about brakes.

Other than Avids, I had some success with one of those low end Shimano brakes GFF was talking about. It was dirt cheap, $20 without a rotor.

Yeah - I have some 555s or something like that on a bike that have always worked well. The original Deore hydraulics is what they are, I think. I'd have to look.

Rip · Apr 18, 2009

I've had a ton of luck with my Juicy Seven's, though I do plan on making the switch over to Elixr CR's soon.

Wumpus · Apr 18, 2009

I've had good luck with my Magura Louise. The only issue is that you have to adjust the pads using shims...not sure how the post mounts work.

Bicyclist · Apr 18, 2009

Avid Juicy's have always worked well for me, along with Shimano. I would never buy a Hayes brake because I have had remarkably bad luck with them. I would also not buy any other more obscure brake due to parts availability in "average" shops.

Brian HCM#1 · Apr 18, 2009

Buy Hope!!!!!!!!!!

Sorry it's been a while since I've said it

stinkyboy · Apr 18, 2009

golgiaparatus said:
I'm trying to stay on a budget so I probably wont be going with anything super fancy.

TreeSaw · Apr 19, 2009

stringcheese said:
My hayes nines feel way better than my roommate's avid juicys, at least when it comes to power and lever feel.

loco-gringo said:
I like Juicys.

Bicyclist said:
Avid Juicy's have always worked well for me, along with Shimano. I would never buy a Hayes brake because I have had remarkably bad luck with them. I would also not buy any other more obscure brake due to parts availability in "average" shops.

I really love my Juicy 7s much more than any of my Hayes brakesets. I find them to have great stopping power, a better feel to the lever and much more adjustability (I have small hands and the reach is perfect!) I have been looking for an inexpensive set of brakes to replace the broken HFX 9s on my singlespeed too, but haven't had any luck yet.

pinkshirtphotos · Apr 19, 2009

I have been using my hope mono mini brakes since 2006 and still love them. I really don't care for the feel of any other brake system. I have use avid juicy, magura gustav, hayes 9, and shimano saints and really didnt care for any. The shimanos felt pretty good, had potential. The hayes stroker brakes didn't feel good to me for the demo bikes I rode them on.

JRogers · Apr 19, 2009

TreeSaw said:
I really love my Juicy 7s much more than any of my Hayes brakesets. I find them to have great stopping power, a better feel to the lever and much more adjustability (I have small hands and the reach is perfect!) I have been looking for an inexpensive set of brakes to replace the broken HFX 9s on my singlespeed too, but haven't had any luck yet.

Same here. I have 2 sets of Juicy 7s- one on a Prophet, the other on a DH bike. Before that I used Hayes Mags and HFX-9s (and one set of old Hopes). I never felt that the Hayes were as bad as some people said. I never had any real problems that were due to anything besides my own stupidity or normal wear. Get the HFXs or Mags if you are on a budget and you find a cheap set. Stay away from El Caminos; I've heard nothing but bad.

That said, the Avids are just better than HFX-9s. I've had no problems, the levers feel considerably better (both in the pull and shape), the modulation is better. The adjustable contact point is nice; like TreeSaw, I have small hands and like to run my brakes far inboard of the grip, engaging close to the bar- hard to do without both reach and contact adjustments.

Responses are good to Magura, but I never cared much for the feel of them. They're nice, though. But for the money, I'd see if you can find some Juicy 7s or 5s. Last set I got new on Ebay pretty cheap.

The slow upgrade process continues. Brakes.

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