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Brakes - Shimano Saint vs. Formula The One

kazlx

Patches O'Houlihan
Aug 7, 2006
6,985
1,957
Tustin, CA
I had Hope Mono 6s on a previous bike and hated them. After popping for the Saints on my new ride, I think these will be my brakes to have unless something drastically changes. I think the Ones are nice brakes, but not being able to get parts for them makes me a little weary. I guess if you are the type to roll with back up everything parts, then it doesn't really matter. If I was in Whistler for a week, I would probably buy a whole new brake if it came down to it keep the bike up and running....

You packin the Nicolai for Wizzler?
 

mandown

Poopdeck Repost
Jun 1, 2004
20,128
7,679
Transylvania 90210
No Joke (pardon the pun) - I did a heli drop ride on Rainbow Mountain a few years back as part of the Summer Gravity Camp. The heli pilots ran a giant wrap around all the bikes and lifted off with them. On touch-down, one rider found his brakes had been mangled by the process. Out of nowhere, another guy whips out a fully bled extra brake assembly he brought "just in case." It was magical.
 

bizutch

Delicate CUSTOM flower
Dec 11, 2001
15,928
24
Over your shoulder whispering
best brake I ever had the chance to use was a set of some random set of Hopes on Jeff Baucom's bike from I9 a few years back. They had that perfect feel at the lever as if you could control the braking perfectly. Had never felt anything like it and haven't since. Not even on another set of Hopes.
 

mandown

Poopdeck Repost
Jun 1, 2004
20,128
7,679
Transylvania 90210
the eagle has landed. i grabbed a hold of the levers, and they feel good. there is a bit of sponge in them, but not too much. i'm packing them up tonight, so i won't even get to mount them until later tomorrow.

w00t!
 

bushrider

Monkey
Jul 4, 2006
146
0
NYC
The Saints are much more powerful than the ones.
I've tried both on friends bikes.
I run Gustavs with shimano levers (the most powerful brake setup possible, I have not tried the Hope Moto V2s).

The Ones are lighter than the saints but the saints are much more powerful and IMHO have a nicer feel. Saints are much better value for money. Spares are easier to find for shimano. In a pinch you can use any shimano lever with the saint caliper.

I personally would not consider a brake that uses DOT when mineral oil brakes work just as well (bad for the environment, needs more frequent bleeding, eats paint).
 

gav_dub100

Chimp
Aug 26, 2009
27
0
Dublin
I've 2 sets of formula's, the ones and megas and both are savage brakes! Couldnt fault there performance, bleeding cant be a bit of a pain in the bollox at times though! I havent used saints but have heard good things about there power! MBUK did a dyno test on a shedload of brakes there a while back the Formula Ones came in second in terms of power to the Saints. If it was me, I'd go with the Ones as they have whopper power with less of a weight penalty!


 

captainspauldin

intrigued by a pole
May 14, 2007
1,263
177
Jersey Shore
Might seem a bit sacrilegious but I just switched to New Saints from "Code 7s" (Juicy7 levers to code calipers) with 1 oganic brake pad and 1 metallic brake pad in each caliper, and I found that they feel very similar. Both have good modulation and have the similar kind of feel at the end of the stroke.. That being said I used the same avid rotors with both the Code 7s and the Saints and it was only 1 day of riding. I do really like the lever reach adjustment, really appreciate it after having to deal with adjusting the Juicy7s the past couple years. I think I need to re-bleed the rear brake, I'll prob just do the fronts as well and get so more seat time to really get a feel for them.. Just my 2 cents so far..
 

Sandwich

Pig my fish!
Staff member
May 23, 2002
21,031
5,921
borcester rhymes
I never thought the saints were excessively powerful. In fact, they seemed less powerful than my gustavs which I ran for a while...however:

they are more comfortable than the maggies
They are lighter than the maggies
they have less proprietary parts
they are cheaper
they are infinitely more comfortable
they have more adjustments to make them more comfortable per individual
and they rub less on the rotors.