anybody using Shimano SLX M675 brakes on their DH bike?
- Thread starter dexterq20
- Start date
I threw some Zee's on my trail bike. When I took it on some flow blown DH trails they were definitely lacking. Faded quite a bit even with a 8" front, 7" rear rotor setup. I'm 220 lbs though. The trails were quite steep too.
Not quite the answer you're looking for, but I run Magura Louise FRs on both my trail bike and DH bike, up until recently when a fork swap forced me to switch brakes on the trail bike. Went with XT after riding a set of SLXs for a couple weeks. Compared to the Maguras, which never let me down and never left me wishing I had more stopping power, the SLXs have just a hair less raw power, but take a little less effort to achieve full power. I would have bought SLXs, but the XTs were cheaper, and my inner perfectionist can't live with the cotter pin used on SLX pads when XT have a bolt.
Tried Saint brakes on a friend's bike and they definitely have more power, but in actual use, didn't seem to help me much. Either way, traction was my limiting factor to braking performance.
Take my opinion with a grain of salt, as I'm not a hard core DH rider, and tend to ride the brakes a little more so heat is more of an issue than raw stopping power for me.
Tried Saint brakes on a friend's bike and they definitely have more power, but in actual use, didn't seem to help me much. Either way, traction was my limiting factor to braking performance.
Take my opinion with a grain of salt, as I'm not a hard core DH rider, and tend to ride the brakes a little more so heat is more of an issue than raw stopping power for me.
Yo, I threw some xt 785s or whatever on my dh bike last year and they were plenty powerful. Not quite as good as my saint 810s, but I felt that they were very "direct" feeling and never left me wanting. They faded a bit, again a little more than the 810s, but I'm not a light rider and I'm not easy in the brakes, and it was only in the steepest most east coasty "what are turns lol" trails that I got any whimper out of them. I wouldn't hesitate to recommend them, though if I had the choice, I'd go for a slightly larger two piston brake, just because brakes are one place I don't want to skimp. I'd rather have a 42lb bike with excellent brakes and shocks than a 35lb bike that MIGHT make it to the next corner.
Fwiw, udi and others seem to have tons of problems with these brakes. I rode them for a dh season and then they lived on my trailbike with no issues whatsoever...so I either got a good pair or I don't ride as hard or as much as they do.
Fwiw, udi and others seem to have tons of problems with these brakes. I rode them for a dh season and then they lived on my trailbike with no issues whatsoever...so I either got a good pair or I don't ride as hard or as much as they do.
I ran new SLX's on my 6" bike with 8" rotors, and after 5 or so rides I just put them on my XC hardtail, which is what I felt they were much better suited for. They didn't have the oomph to ride like a DH brake even with the big rotors, and it wasn't hard to get them to fade. Throwing a set of Hope M4's on there in place of them.
If you're a lighter rider I'd say that the current two-piston XT/SLX brakes with big rotors are sufficient for DH. I'm about 160lbs geared up, ride a lot of lift-access, and I ran the 785 XT's w/resin pads and 203mm rotors on my Sunday all last season.
When you're hellblazing down a trail and all of a sudden need to jam on the brakes to hit a tight turn you *may* want something a bit more powerful, but for the vast majority of my lift-access riding I found them adequate.
When you're hellblazing down a trail and all of a sudden need to jam on the brakes to hit a tight turn you *may* want something a bit more powerful, but for the vast majority of my lift-access riding I found them adequate.
Small update: I put these on my XC hardtail with 6" rotors. I did a long XC ride, err...."Enduro" ride with them that involved 2x ~1500' descents. They still didn't cut it after about 20 seconds of sustained riding and jabbing them before corners. The bleed on them is fine, and the pads are still fairly new. They just don't have any power beyond their initial bite as soon as they build up ANY heat. I don't know if it's a fluid integrity issue or a flex issue or a pad issue, but makes me want my old Gen-1 Saints back. I can't believe these brakes are outclassed on a $500 hardtail...
Which rotors and pads are you running?
I can notice a big difference between finned and non, It doesn't take long on a steep descent to get the non finned to start singing and pinging the rotor. The finned with ice tech rotors seems quieter and more resistant to fade.
As for slx or xt for dh use? Not if your over 140lb and have sustained steep descents. My saint 820 brakes have been pretty awesome though.
I've been using SLX brakes with Ice Tech rotors on my DH bikes for two years. If you are not heavy or not hard on brakes, they work great, ime (especially with Ice Tech rotors). The SLX seem to be the most reliable, as they have the least adjustments, but that's based on only a modest sample size.
The XT's are rumored to have 20% moar power, and riding back to back with the lower level brakes, I'd believe it.
The XT's are rumored to have 20% moar power, and riding back to back with the lower level brakes, I'd believe it.
I suspect the caliper is lighter and flexes more now.
Running OEM pads. I think they're finned. Whatever rotors I had on that bike. I think Avid rotors. I was running 8" rotors on my 6"/all-mountain/trail/EndurO/abortion of a bike, and as soon as I grabbed a handful of brake coming into a steep corner I became acutely aware that these were not DH brakes by any stretch of the imagination.
Running OEM pads. I think they're finned. Whatever rotors I had on that bike. I think Avid rotors. I was running 8" rotors on my 6"/all-mountain/trail/EndurO/abortion of a bike, and as soon as I grabbed a handful of brake coming into a steep corner I became acutely aware that these were not DH brakes by any stretch of the imagination.
Sorry to hijack this thread, but have brakes drastically improved over the last 4-5 years? I have an older set of Saints ('07-'08) that I'd like to put back into play, but after paying to bleed them, I could be 1/4 of the way to a new set, so I've been all wishy-washy about it.
Are they the two pot variety? Those are some of the most reliable brakes ever made in my book, the new ones have more power but seem to have a 50/50 chance of being problematic (leaking seals, strange lever behavior).
Those things are so easy to bleed yourself that I'd be surprised if you can't DIY / get a friend to do them for you, it's a 10 minute job if they just need a flush of clean fluid.
You can also buy the new levers (cheap on wiggle - Zee will match in color and bolt straight on) as that's where the power advantage is. They use servo wave - higher mechanical leverage near engagement point. If you want to upgrade that's what I'd do personally, but if you're happy with the power I'd just keep them.
200lbs, super stoked on zee w/ 180s on trail bike and saints w/ 200s on dh bike.
matching brakes to the tires is the key. if you have pinned semi-slicks, big brakes are overkill. if you are running something with legit braking edges, then why not brake later with more control?
matching brakes to the tires is the key. if you have pinned semi-slicks, big brakes are overkill. if you are running something with legit braking edges, then why not brake later with more control?
Kinda related since I run SLX's on my DH bike. Anyone know of any sites blowing out Zee's? I see Blue Sky has fronts on the cheap, no rears though.
its a damn shame theyre not ambidextrous.
You can always mount your handlebars upside down
185 lbs with gear and coming from juicy 5's to Zee's... im so glad i spent the extra doe on them. i always bitched about my brakes so i just sucked it up and went shimano
This will be my third season running a set of SLX on my main trail bike. They've stood up great to plenty of big descending here in BC, including race runs at the Whistler EWS round last year. Top of the World to the Village is 5000 feet of pinned racing and they didn't seem to have any fade.
Running Shimano metalic finned pads and Ice Tech rotors. 203mm front and 180mm rear 6 bolt rotors. I am about 180lbs in riding gear.
Running Shimano metalic finned pads and Ice Tech rotors. 203mm front and 180mm rear 6 bolt rotors. I am about 180lbs in riding gear.
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