Quantcast

XTR trail brakes for DH use

chillindrdude

chillindrdude

Turbo Monkey
Jan 18, 2002
1,852
23
Northern VA, a peckerwood with too many guns
anyone with long term use experience?

i'm currently running a frankenstein setup with XT levers, saint calipers, and goodridge brake lines. no matter how careful i bleed or have a competent shop bleed it, the rear always feels mushy. I've checked the fittings, and everything seems in proper order.

so i'm considering selling it and running the XTR Trail brakes.
 
Nick

Nick

My name is Nick
Sep 21, 2001
24,058
14,697
where the trails are
Is the problem rear an 810 or 820 caliper?

I sold my m810s and now run new XTs w/8" rotors on my DH bike. Inexpensive and tons of stopping power.

So, why XTR Trail vs XT?
 
IH8Rice

IH8Rice

I'm Mr. Negative! I Fail!
Aug 2, 2008
24,524
494
Im over here now
when i talked to a Shimano tech at the now defunct US Open, they advised against Goodridge lines on their brakes for some reason. a friend had a franken setup like yours as well and had a mushy lever
 
Last edited:
boylagz

boylagz

Monkey
Jul 12, 2011
558
61
SF bay area
I have the said XT brakes as well. Bolted to my V10 since last fall. Its been stellar. I have at least 2 friends who run XTRs on their Wilsons. Its defo strong enough.
 
Sandwich

Sandwich

Pig my fish!
Staff member
May 23, 2002
21,072
5,983
borcester rhymes
been using XT brakes for a season and they're awesome. Not as powerful as a saint 810, but extremely fade resistant, great modulation, and problem free. My only complaint is an occasionally vague feeling from the front lever, but I would bet money that it's bleed related, and I just haven't taken the time.

They are, IMO, the best deal going on brakes, and would be easily worth 25% more at retail than they're priced at.
 
mtg

mtg

Green with Envy
Sep 21, 2009
1,862
1,604
Denver, CO
I've been running the same set of SLX brakes with Ice Tech rotors and pads on my DH bike since early last season. They've been trouble free so far, with 2 bleeds in that time frame. I would imagine XTR Trail would be at least as good. Although, one thing I think the SLX brakes have going for them is their simplicity, and lack of places for air to enter the system.

One of my friends tried SLX with regular rotors, and it was super noisy. And, heavier riders (or those that use a lot of brakes) tend to like the higher power of Zee/Saint. But, they're fine for my 175 lbs.
 
mtg

mtg

Green with Envy
Sep 21, 2009
1,862
1,604
Denver, CO
I think it comes down to how much heat goes into them. When they get really hot, they get noisy. If you put less heat in, they'll be quiet. But, the Ice Tech rotors dissipate heat faster and give you more margin. That's what it seems from my experience, anyway.
 
ScarredOne

ScarredOne

Monkey
Sep 18, 2001
185
0
Anyone with the latest XTRs feel like the lever body itself flexes and makes the brake actuation feel a little mushy? I can actually see it flex a bit when I crank on the lever. My late-gen SLX and XT haven't felt like that, and the main structural diff is the amount of machining on the lever body.

Oddly enough, the most solid feeling brakes I've felt are my cheapo $50 current gen SLX.
 
frango

frango

Turbo Monkey
Jun 13, 2007
1,454
5
I've been on XTs with Ice-Tech rotors and original metallic, finned pads for a season. Great brakes. A week in Sanremo and 2 weeks in Morzine, no problems at all.
 
kazlx

kazlx

Patches O'Houlihan
Aug 7, 2006
6,985
1,957
Tustin, CA
I have XTs on my trail bike and have been strongly contemplating replacing the Codes on my DH bike with a set of XTs. They are phenomenal on my trail bike.
 
Jeremy R

Jeremy R

<b>x</b>
Nov 15, 2001
9,698
1,053
behind you with a snap pop
kazlx said:
I have XTs on my trail bike and have been strongly contemplating replacing the Codes on my DH bike with a set of XTs. They are phenomenal on my trail bike.
Click to expand...
I did that the opposite way. I deturded my DH bike by removing the codes with XT trail brakes, and then later on put another set on my trail bike as well.
 
Last edited:
blindboxx2334

blindboxx2334

Turbo Monkey
Mar 19, 2013
1,340
101
Wets Coast
kazlx said:
Not a huge fan of the Codes. Plus, I like having similar parts on my bikes.
Click to expand...
my codes felt like crap when i first got em then slowly got better (im assuming they were breaking in), and now they feel like crap again.. they need a new bleed and pads. defo done with avid brakes for a while, need to venture out and try something new..

my code*
 
Last edited:
4130biker

4130biker

PM me about Tantrum Cycles!
May 24, 2007
3,884
450
I've been running slx w/ "regular" shimano rotors (8") on my dh bike for about a season now. They are quiet and super powerful. I mainly sprung for them as a cheap replacement to OEM elixr brakes, taking a bit of a chance, but I'm very impressed. After hearing some of the saint bleeding issues, I see no reason to switch- I have all the power I need.
 
mtg

mtg

Green with Envy
Sep 21, 2009
1,862
1,604
Denver, CO
Sandwich said:
huh. maybe I'm not as fat and slow as I think. I thought I was pretty fat and slow though.
Click to expand...
You must spread rep around before giving it to Sandwich again.

Seriously, the current gen SLX brake are pretty impressive. I'll be "building up" a new trail bike for myself soon, and it's getting SLX brakes on it, based on my experience from the DH bike.
 
supercow

supercow

Monkey
Feb 18, 2009
969
128
I have XTR trails for my DH bike - as powerful as my Formula the ones were, possibly stronger.
I actually found the XTRs have better modulation than the The ones had.
Can;t recommend them enough

(I weigh 80 kilograms exactly ungeared up)
 
HardtailHack

HardtailHack

used an iron once
Jan 20, 2009
6,744
5,633
mtg said:
I've been running the same set of SLX brakes with Ice Tech rotors and pads on my DH bike since early last season. They've been trouble free so far, with 2 bleeds in that time frame. I would imagine XTR Trail would be at least as good. Although, one thing I think the SLX brakes have going for them is their simplicity, and lack of places for air to enter the system.

One of my friends tried SLX with regular rotors, and it was super noisy. And, heavier riders (or those that use a lot of brakes) tend to like the higher power of Zee/Saint. But, they're fine for my 175 lbs.
Click to expand...
Why would you have to bleed a mineral oil brake twice in such a short time?
 
mtg

mtg

Green with Envy
Sep 21, 2009
1,862
1,604
Denver, CO
HardtailHack said:
Why would you have to bleed a mineral oil brake twice in such a short time?
Click to expand...
They felt soft once, and the other time was "this fluid has been in there quite awhile, time to replace". In my experience, two bleeds in about a year and a half on a DH bike, especially with the usage that mine sees, is really good. YMMV
 
lachy_mtb

lachy_mtb

Monkey
May 25, 2008
124
0
I've run Xt for some time and find on most tracks they are perfectly fine, unless your going to be riding Val Di Sole, morzine or Andorra they XTRs should feel fine.
Id go with the trail model.
The lever feel of xTRs is 100% better as they don't use the power wave.
 
yd35

yd35

Monkey
Oct 28, 2008
741
61
NY
I used to run an XTR trail lever and Saint M810 caliper combo, but I never really fell in love with it. Both my front and rear felt like squeezing one of those stress balls, and while there was power, I never got the stop on a dime, go into a corner super hot power. I tried bleeding them myself, my mechanic friend bled them, and a trustworthy shop bled them, all to no avail. All this surprised me because there were people on this forum and others who raved about the setup. So maybe I had issues with my lever or calipers, or maybe it's just one of those things that bothered me and didn't bother others.

Long story short, I ditched them for a full set of Saint M820's, and I finally have that grinding my brand new 3C Maxxis rear tire into a slick after 1 run power.

Oh, and to the OP, sorry, I've never tried the XTR brakes and have nothing to say about them.
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top Bottom