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New Saint 820 stoppers sure are sexy

DirtMcGirk

<b>WAY</b> Dumber than N8 (to the power of ten alm
Feb 21, 2008
6,379
1
Oz
Just got the new 820's from Brown Santa.

They're pretty!

I didn't drink the whole bottle of koolaid in getting the rotors. But they sure look the part.

I'll have to see how they stop this weekend.
 

rav400

Monkey
Aug 31, 2009
177
6
The Right Coast
With all the issues my formulas have given me and the exceptional preformance of the new XTs on my trail bike, the M820s maybe in my future over the winter.
 

norbar

KESSLER PROBLEM. Just cause
Jun 7, 2007
11,346
1,587
Warsaw :/
Not that saints are bad hubs and the 810s can be bought for very cheap. I use them in my spare wheel
 

Sandwich

Pig my fish!
Staff member
May 23, 2002
21,031
5,921
borcester rhymes
Pretty satisfied with my newer XT hubs, though they do need regular maintenance and are much more "art" then clubfisted mechanic-approved. I wouldn't hesitate to grab a saint 810 hub.

Let us know how the saints work out. I loved my 810s, they were amazingly powerful, modulated well, and were pretty darned reliable with a good bleed. I currently run XTs on my trail bike and am very happy with them too.
 

frango

Turbo Monkey
Jun 13, 2007
1,454
5
If, by any chance, I manage to go to Sanremo this autumn, with my new setup (2013 Glory frame with current parts) and, if somehow, XTs doesn't provide enough power on long runs, I will put new Saint caliper on front wheel. Zee is just a bit cheaper and comes with resin pads.
 

mtg

Green with Envy
Sep 21, 2009
1,862
1,604
Denver, CO
Question: how do you guys feel about the power level of the new Saint & Zee brakes?

I recently just made the switch to Shimano brakes on my DH bike, and went with the new SLX, as my experience on a trail bike demo felt like they had almost too much power for a trail bike, imo. On the DH bike, the SLX brakes work really well with plenty of power for me.

As far as 6 bolt rotors, even if the Saint version isn't available yet, you can still get the full size range of Ice Tech rotors for 6 bolt mounting. I have the RT86 rotors, and they seem to do just fine with heat dissipation in my initial riding.
 

Dogboy

Turbo Monkey
Apr 12, 2004
3,208
581
Durham, NC
I just picked up a set of the 820 brakes. I went with the centerlock ice-tech rotors, but not the super-duper Saint versions. Looking forward to setting them up this weekend. :thumb:
 

HardtailHack

used an iron once
Jan 20, 2009
6,630
5,444
Do you good people know which Shimano calipers use split pins as pad locators? I know the SLX has a split pin to hold the pads in place but I was wondering if the dearer brakes had a proper screw in locator.
 

mtg

Green with Envy
Sep 21, 2009
1,862
1,604
Denver, CO
Fwiw, the SLX calipers appear to be able to accept the bolt, so if one can be obtained as a replacement part, I think the cotter pins can be replaced.
 

DirtMcGirk

<b>WAY</b> Dumber than N8 (to the power of ten alm
Feb 21, 2008
6,379
1
Oz
Does anyone know where I get replacement pads for these when I wear them out?
 

Uncle Cliffy

Turbo Monkey
Jan 28, 2008
4,490
42
Southern Oregon
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Freeridin'

Monkey
Oct 23, 2006
316
2
Colorado
I've been on them for a month now and I'm very impressed.

I was previously on XT levers paired to m810 calipers and prior to that a full m810 set up. After half a season or so my m810 lever/ master cylinders would start to leak making it impossible for a nice firm bleed to last. The XT lever set up was great with no real issues.

The m820 brakes are the best I've felt. Most notable to me is the "solid" lever feel. Power and fade was never an issue with my past Saint set ups, I can't really distinguish much of a difference. Modulation is similar to the past Saints with maybe a little bit of improvement.

I also much prefer the new bleed port on the new levers. They can bleed from the bottom up without making a huge mess. I use the avid syringes.

However, they are incredibly expensive! I'd like a comparison to the new Zee brakes.

Also have a few sets for sale...they're going quick.
http://www.pinkbike.com/buysell/1144148/

Does anyone know where I get replacement pads for these when I wear them out?
The 810 pads are interchangeable. Same design minus the fins.
 
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dropmachine

Turbo Monkey
Sep 7, 2001
2,922
10
Your face.
Shimano can suck it. $600 bucks for brakes with no rotors or adaptors is ridiculous. Hope is cheaper, and hand made. Only justification for pricing like this is that muppets will buy them.
 

dropmachine

Turbo Monkey
Sep 7, 2001
2,922
10
Your face.
a) Not the point. The point is that the new Saints are undoubtedly stamped out by the hundreds from the SHimano machine, while Hopes are hand made (more or less), with a likely higher manufacturing cost. So

b) Unless you're a knuckle dragging ape with no idea how to brake and skid the whole way down the hill, Hopes work just fine.
 

Sandwich

Pig my fish!
Staff member
May 23, 2002
21,031
5,921
borcester rhymes
a) Not the point. The point is that the new Saints are undoubtedly stamped out by the hundreds from the SHimano machine, while Hopes are hand made (more or less), with a likely higher manufacturing cost. So

b) Unless you're a knuckle dragging ape with no idea how to brake and skid the whole way down the hill, Hopes work just fine.
A) Foes has a frame that costs $1000 less two years later than an Evil Refund, and are hand welded in the US from US machined parts. Quality doesn't necessitate price in the modern era, performance or perceived performance does. Very few people buy goods to last, but that's besides the point because hopes are terrible.

B) Ah, a great argument. My Hayes mags work surprisingly well for 12 year old brakes that are based on a 14 year old design. By your logic, hayes mags are great brakes and who cares about MOAR pistons/ergonomics/brake fade/all out power? I'd switch to uber expensive shimanos in a heartbeat if I could afford them and wanted to.

I agree that they're expensive, but I paid $275 each for 810s when they first came out. Without adapters nor rotors. $25 a year for an improved lever design and radiator pads? Hells yiss.
 

Jeremy R

<b>x</b>
Nov 15, 2001
9,698
1,053
behind you with a snap pop
One of my favorite stories from years ago was when I was sharing a 45 minute shuttle ride with some dude I just met. He saw that I had a beat ass old pair of Hayes on my bike, and he was running Hopes. So, for the whole ride up, he talked about how much better the Hopes were than the Hayes, and how that the hopes had never let him down. Blah blah blah, of how he had endless issues with Hayes.

Halfway down that run, his front brake went completely out and he lawndarted his fat ass right into a tree.
Luckily, he was more butthurt than actually hurt.
 

norbar

KESSLER PROBLEM. Just cause
Jun 7, 2007
11,346
1,587
Warsaw :/
Shimano can suck it. $600 bucks for brakes with no rotors or adaptors is ridiculous. Hope is cheaper, and hand made. Only justification for pricing like this is that muppets will buy them.
This argument again. If it works better I will pay more for it instead of some masturbatory hand made label from hope. Handmade brakes don't make you faster, nor do they make you enojoy life more. v2's feel nice but are brick heavy and are the only hopes that work good. Not to mention I can still remember when they were the brake equivalent of Lotus.
 

DirtMcGirk

<b>WAY</b> Dumber than N8 (to the power of ten alm
Feb 21, 2008
6,379
1
Oz
I had a set of hopes years ago. They locked up on me one time, that was the end of that love affair.
 

NoUseForAName

Monkey
Mar 26, 2008
481
0
Shimano can suck it. $600 bucks for brakes with no rotors or adaptors is ridiculous. Hope is cheaper, and hand made. Only justification for pricing like this is that muppets will buy them.
I don't understand how you don't get the difference between Hope and Shimano brakes? Have you seen the work that goes into the Servo Wave lever? Have you seen the ****ing ceramic pistons?

Hope are neolithic caveman **** compared to the new gen Shimano.
 

Udi

RM Chief Ornithologist
Mar 14, 2005
4,915
1,200
The point is that the new Saints are undoubtedly stamped out by the hundreds from the Shimano machine
A nice cheap machine at that, I'm going to buy one and start stamping out my own M820s tomorrow.

Who's in?
 

Jm_

sled dog's bollocks
Jan 14, 2002
18,853
9,557
AK
Shimano can suck it. $600 bucks for brakes with no rotors or adaptors is ridiculous. Hope is cheaper, and hand made. Only justification for pricing like this is that muppets will buy them.
Hand made? WTF? I use hope brakes and they are definitely not hand made, unless hands can carve aluminum...Don't buy them. Especially don't buy a rear 200mm one. They are looking for people that will buy them. I know at the worst a front and then an XT or something else in the rear would be fine for me, and I could probably get away with a lot of other front brakes, but these are for those that will pay. I have no problem with that.
 

dropmachine

Turbo Monkey
Sep 7, 2001
2,922
10
Your face.
FFS can any of you read at all? Never said hopes were better or blah blah. Simply said that I can almost guarantee the costs of production for a Hope brake are higher (lower volume, more hands on, less sophisticated automation than Shimano) then a Shimano brake, yet the shimanos retail for more. I would have hoped that by now forum jockeys at least had SOME reading comprehension and could figure that out.

And I also get that these are premium items, and not for all riders. But its gotta suck pretty damn hard being a mid level racer/ rider, beleiving the marketing thats bombing you telling you that you NEED this stuff and knowing that decent stuff is getting crazy high in pricing. Even the Zee stuff is kinda high for an "affordable" group.


Also, don't even get me started on the "tech" thats in Saint. The previous version had a free stroke adjuster that pretty much did nothing, and the new tech really isn't that big a jump from the old brakes.
 
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HardtailHack

used an iron once
Jan 20, 2009
6,630
5,444
Yeah, the CNC is programmed by hand, I've got two sets of Hope brakes, they stop in the dry and are stupidly easy to bleed but as far as I'm concerned most other brakes out there perform better.

Pretty sure the Saint caliper is forged then machined, to do that in Japan isn't going to be any cheaper than just CNC'ing a caliper in the UK. I really like that Hope try and keep everything in house but I won't buy another set of brakes from them, all their other stuff looks good though.

EDIT, thanks for the posts on the Zee brakes, so they come with a split pin but they are still threaded in the body so you can run a bolt. I tried a set of SLX brakes with the split pin and the amount of front/rear pad movement was nuts.
 
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