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Might be getting new brakes, help me out...

K

kail

Monkey
Mar 14, 2002
134
0
Montana
Hey guys --

The 2012 bike I bought last spring came with Avid Elixir 7s. Without getting into a whole lot of detail, I'm not that excited about them. The front brake started having issues after about the first month of riding. As it heated up, the reach would go out further and further, causing me to have to readjust the throw. Then, the front pads wore out VERY fast. I finally replaced the pads and did a second bleed and they seemed to work okay -- for about 6 rides. I'm not keen on bleeding my brakes every 6 rides. Furthermore, I tried a friend's Shimano Zee-equipped bike the other day and was blown away by how they felt. Literally twice as much stopping power as my Elixirs even when they were new.

I need to have that kind of braking power. Weak brakes are slowing me down (not in a good way, lol). A local shop recommended the Elixir Trail or Code as a replacement -- but I'm a little leery of Avid now. Those Shimanos seemed SOOOO nice. I've also seen XTs pretty cheap online, which I've heard are even better than the Zees.

One more issue -- my shifters are actually bolted to my Elixir brakes (matchmaker system). If I go with another brand of brakes, does SRAM make a standalone clamp for use with their shifters?
 
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Nick

Nick

My name is Nick
Sep 21, 2001
24,037
14,650
where the trails are
I use XT785 brakes on both my trail bike and DH bike. They're awesome in every way.

If you have SRAM shifters and intend on keeping them, you can get standalone clamps. Shimano makes a similar combo clamp for use with their shifters/brakes as well.
 
Carraig042

Carraig042

me 1st
Apr 5, 2011
732
353
East Tennessee
If you liked those brakes then grab a pair.

Otherwise, I like my hope brakes the most out of any I have used to date. Their m4 may be what kind of power you are looking for. They are low maintenance, have lots of useful adjustment, and just work.

-Brett
 
drkenan

drkenan

anti-dentite
Oct 1, 2006
3,441
1
west asheville
I bought a pair of Code R's off Chainlove awhile back and have had pretty much the same experience. I definitely had less than 10 days on them and had to pay for a bleed on the rear (mainly because I suck at bleeding). Even immediately after having them professionally bled, I went to Whistler for 10 days and still had a ton of problems.

I really WANT to like Avid in general, but the disappointment is hard to handle. Just my .02.
 
Jm_

Jm_

sled dog's bollocks
Jan 14, 2002
18,980
9,639
AK
kail said:
A local shop recommended the Elixir Trail or Code as a replacement
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Haha, recommendation fail.

Avid pads have always worn very fast for me, the brakes are inconsistent and not only did I have some of those problems, I overheard the guys with the rental DH fleet last weekend discussing similar ones as well. I had codes, they were pretty bad. I eventually got them working with power for something like the last season I owned the bike, but it was just not worth it. Have a newer bike now that came stock with elixirs.

Do yourself a favor and get some other brakes. It's hard to go wrong with the shimanos.
 
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0110-M-P

0110-M-P

Monkey
Jun 1, 2009
244
2
Atlanta, GA
I replaced a set of Elixir's with a pair of the Saint M820's from Jenson when they first announced this sale last month. I am since convinced that I no longer want the Avid's on my trail bike and will be replace my Elixir 5's with XT's this winter.
 
blindboxx2334

blindboxx2334

Turbo Monkey
Mar 19, 2013
1,340
101
Wets Coast
kail said:
One more issue -- my shifters are actually bolted to my Elixir brakes (matchmaker system). If I go with another brand of brakes, does SRAM make a standalone clamp for use with their shifters?
Click to expand...
The only other brake that works with the match maker are hayes brakes.. ive got the stoker ace, i just managed to bleed both yesterday, the rear needs a re-bleed, but so far im fairly impressed.. just squeezed the lever a few times to feel the power... ive still got to 'break' in the pads though, so im not putting all my eggs in one basket yet.. other than that, avid makes stand alone shifter clamps, which you can get.

im with everyone else though. get shimanos. if these fail on me, thats where im going... too many good brakes out there to keep buying sh!tty avids.. ive also got a code on my dj, eventually i want to replace that with something else too.
 
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boylagz

boylagz

Monkey
Jul 12, 2011
558
61
SF bay area
Ive had no problems with Avid and/or Shimano. Bleeding-wise I prefer Shimano. Easy, esp. with the newer brakes, using the funnel.

That said, get the best deal you can grab. If you havent tried the new short lever Shimanos, its worth a try. Ive currently got Saint lever-XT caliper combo brakes. Ive found XT levers not that durable. The silver top cap can crumple even in smaller/regular, slow speed crashes.
 
maxyedor

maxyedor

<b>TOOL PRO</b>
Oct 20, 2005
5,496
3,141
In the bathroom, fighting a battle
Zees are reasonably cheap, and you thought they kicked ass, sounds simple to me.

Shimano's brakes are really, really impressive. Still running my 7 year old Maguras, but when I'm out of spare pads, the big S is getting some of my money.
 
kazlx

kazlx

Patches O'Houlihan
Aug 7, 2006
6,985
1,957
Tustin, CA
boylagz said:
Ive had no problems with Avid and/or Shimano. Bleeding-wise I prefer Shimano. Easy, esp. with the newer brakes, using the funnel.

That said, get the best deal you can grab. If you havent tried the new short lever Shimanos, its worth a try. Ive currently got Saint lever-XT caliper combo brakes. Ive found XT levers not that durable. The silver top cap can crumple even in smaller/regular, slow speed crashes.
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I don't really have an issue with my Codes, they stop ok, but the XTs on my trail bike just feel so much better.
 
boylagz

boylagz

Monkey
Jul 12, 2011
558
61
SF bay area
kazlx said:
I don't really have an issue with my Codes, they stop ok, but the XTs on my trail bike just feel so much better.
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Word. Ive had Code Rs on my SX Trail and it was good. Never had bleed issues, or inconsistent feel. Switched to XTs for my V10 from stock Elixir 7s or something. Man those Elixirs are weak. Never getting those on a dh bike for sure.
 
Kanye West

Kanye West

220# bag of hacktastic
Aug 31, 2006
3,741
473
Running some new SLX brakes on my Enduro and they're great.

The Hope V4 Stealths on my Banshee Legend are about the baddest brakes ever. Stupid power and awesome feel. Pretty much nothing on them that could be improved upon.
 
blindboxx2334

blindboxx2334

Turbo Monkey
Mar 19, 2013
1,340
101
Wets Coast
boylagz said:
Word. Ive had Code Rs on my SX Trail and it was good. Never had bleed issues, or inconsistent feel. Switched to XTs for my V10 from stock Elixir 7s or something. Man those Elixirs are weak. Never getting those on a dh bike for sure.
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+1 it would be a death trap. buddy has a set of elixir 5s, and another buddy has xt brakes, both are on a dj.. no doubt about it, xts blow the elixirs outta the water.
 
T

Tomasz

Monkey
Jul 18, 2012
339
0
Whistla
I've got a few sets of brakes that I swap between; M810s, Formula R0, and Avid X0 Trail.

First up, don't hold those junk Elixirs against the rest of the Elixir/Avid line. The high end brakes from SRAM are really good.

The Saints are great brakes, same for XTs.

The X0 Trails (and by extension Codes) are also great brakes. Maybe they need a bit more love than the Shimano stuff, but they're not maint intensive by any means. Unless you're a big guy, the X0 Trails should be plenty strong.

The Formula R0s are pretty amazing, performance wise, but not worth the price imo. If they cost the same as the X0s and Saints ($180/side), I'd more heartily recommend them, but I rarely see the R0s in that price range.
 
K

kail

Monkey
Mar 14, 2002
134
0
Montana
Thanks everyone who posted! I'm pretty much settled on getting some Shimano XTs. As someone else stated, I really WANT to like Avid because their products have treated me well in the past. But as I collect stories on their new stuff, I'm really hearing a lot of complaints. I haven't heard too many people complaining about their modern Shimanos though, lol.

One more question -- what is the difference between the Shimano XT M785B and the XT BR-M785? (Other than a $10 price difference).
 
Mo(n)arch

Mo(n)arch

Turbo Monkey
Dec 27, 2010
4,441
1,422
Italy/south Tyrol
I'm on x0 Trails.
Riding steep things with them. Absolutely pleased. Riding weight is 90kg, so I am on the bigger spectrum. More power than my old Saints.
Riding them since March and I have yet to find out any weakness.:thumb:
 
Nick

Nick

My name is Nick
Sep 21, 2001
24,037
14,650
where the trails are
the B is a new ispec clamp design, as compared to the old integrated clamps. relevant if you were to change to Shimano shifters and want an integrated clamp, not relevant if you keep your SRAM.

good choice on the brakes.
 
kazlx

kazlx

Patches O'Houlihan
Aug 7, 2006
6,985
1,957
Tustin, CA
Just saw in Price Points FB page they are going to be selling gift certain at 20% off, that you can use yourself...

Looks like Monday?
 
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MinorThreat

MinorThreat

Turbo Monkey
Nov 15, 2005
1,630
41
Nine Mile Falls, WA
gemini2k said:
Anyone ever run those new hayes stokers? Are they any good? Or total garbage?
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New Strokers? You mean Primes? Been running mine all season; they are as powerful, if not more so than my 4-pot Stroker Aces and the poppet-cam adjustment allows me to dial the reach in for my somewhat-short fingers and still get full power in the shorter stroke.
 
boylagz

boylagz

Monkey
Jul 12, 2011
558
61
SF bay area
kail said:
Thanks everyone who posted! I'm pretty much settled on getting some Shimano XTs. As someone else stated, I really WANT to like Avid because their products have treated me well in the past. But as I collect stories on their new stuff, I'm really hearing a lot of complaints. I haven't heard too many people complaining about their modern Shimanos though, lol.
Click to expand...
You'll be really pleased. Enjoy the new stoppers :D
 
blindboxx2334

blindboxx2334

Turbo Monkey
Mar 19, 2013
1,340
101
Wets Coast
gemini2k said:
Anyone ever run those new hayes stokers? Are they any good? Or total garbage?
Click to expand...
i have them on my dh bike. although im waiting on the der to finish it. rear brake also needs a re-bleed. but the front feels real good so far. not trying to put all my eggs in 1 basket, cause i havent ridden it yet, nor have i even broke in the pads.. but so far, they feel like they have enough power to stop, and some sort of modulation.. its just super hard to say how much, when your sitting on the bike rolling a couple feet, then grabbing some brake.

i did manage to score them for 80 a side new on price point. so i said what the hell, ill be a guinea pig for once.. but so far im impressed. if they check out good, i will buy another one for the DJ to replace my rear code

edit:
talking about stroker aces here, not just the strokers

i was also sort of concerned that they dont have some sort of 'contact point adjustment' or 'free stroke adjustment', like my code does, as i really like a brake with not a lot of throw in it.. and thats all my code wants to give me, even after a fresh bleed :mad:. but so far the front feels really good, and not too 'sloppy' for me
 
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K

kail

Monkey
Mar 14, 2002
134
0
Montana
I just wanted to give you guys an update (since I may have bashed Avid a little much). Avid replaced not only my defective front brake (Elixir 7), they replaced my perfectly good rear brake as well -- free of charge. Not only that, they replaced them with Trail 7s, WITH new rotors as well.

I had a chance to ride Teton Pass over the weekend and the Trail 7s are like night-and-day better compared to my Elixir 7s. WAAAAAAAAY more power. If they maintain that feel I'd have to say I'm pretty stoked about them. Though Avid might have some problems with some of its brakes -- they definitely take care of their customers and then some.
 
wydopen

wydopen

Turbo Monkey
Jan 16, 2005
1,229
60
805
So I was going to ask a similar question..figured I should just ask it here...

Im riding a Giant Reign XO which still has the stock Elixir 3s...I really havent had any problems with reliability..have only needed one bleed in 600miles of singletrack punishment over the last 8months...

I cant really complain about the power either..Running a 203mm rotor up front and I just got one for the rear as well.. What i CAN complain about is the terrible noise/vibration I cant get rid of...

have swapped pads and rotors and after a while it comes back..the rear is worse than the front..

was thinking of swapping them out..would the xo trails solve my problems? was never a fan of shimano brakes back in the day..I know they are well liked now a days but for some reason the xo and xo trails appeal to me..but if im going to just get a stronger brake thats equally as noisy I will pass..

also what is the difference performance wise with the xo and xo trails??..thanks..just getting back into riding again..when I quit you were styling if you had the purple hayes or maybe a set of magura gustovs! haha my last dh bike has some avid juicys but I always perfered the hayes mags
 
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Sandwich

Sandwich

Pig my fish!
Staff member
May 23, 2002
21,067
5,976
borcester rhymes
That's because avids and elixirs in particular are terrible. Beg your LBS to help you out, and maybe you'll get the same warranty treatment that kail did. SRAM can't build stuff right the first time, so they just replace it. Happened with my 2010 boxxer (and many others like it).

If they won't replace it or your shop won't help you, buy a pair of SLX brakes for $70 each and stop complaining about avid brakes forever.
 
Sandwich

Sandwich

Pig my fish!
Staff member
May 23, 2002
21,067
5,976
borcester rhymes
wydopen said:
Hows the modulation?? Ive heard they are kinda on/off..
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I have XTs with radiator/metal pads FC03s, I think.

They are awesome. I rode them on my DH bike for this year (they had plenty of power for my 200lb weight) and now I ride them on my XC bike. It's tough to say how they modulate, but I'm very content with them and I can apply power as needed for low or high speed...

blueskycycling has SLXs for like $70 for front, non-radiator, resin pads, and $90 for a rear. Supposedly the radiator doesn't do much, but I love these brakes, and would rate them just behind Saint 810 in terms of power and fade resistance, but these are more reliable.
 
manhattanprjkt83

manhattanprjkt83

Rusty Trombone
Jul 10, 2003
9,646
1,216
Nilbog
I didnt read through the thread fully but I can't say enough for the value of ZEE's they just flat out work. Have about 25 days on mine this year and very impressed. No point in buying saints or anything avid (avids just suck at this point IMO)...
 
gemini2k

gemini2k

Turbo Monkey
Jul 31, 2005
3,526
117
San Francisco
I just picked up those new Zee's. I have Hope's on my DH bike, and Code's on my backup DH bike. And I'll tell you something, they are ALL good brakes. They all feel good. So far they are all reliable (although the zee's are brand new so can't comment on those). They are all easy to bleed. I think fighting over brakes these days is pretty pointless.
 
William42

William42

fork ways
Jul 31, 2007
3,918
653
Sandwich said:
If they won't replace it or your shop won't help you, buy a pair of SLX brakes for $70 each and stop complaining about avid brakes forever.
Click to expand...
Sounds like you're still complaining about avid.

gemini2k said:
I just picked up those new Zee's. I have Hope's on my DH bike, and Code's on my backup DH bike. And I'll tell you something, they are ALL good brakes. They all feel good. So far they are all reliable (although the zee's are brand new so can't comment on those). They are all easy to bleed. I think fighting over brakes these days is pretty pointless.
Click to expand...
What he said. Modern disc brakes are rad from most companies. buy a bike with the lowest end, there are still some duds out there, but any mid priced to upper end priced brake out there is pretty ****ing dialed and rad these days.
 
gemini2k

gemini2k

Turbo Monkey
Jul 31, 2005
3,526
117
San Francisco
I really wish moto brakes were up to the quality of MTB brakes. They might be as reliable, but most of them feel like poop even when bled perfectly.
 
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