[Jm_]

Are you saying your shimano's pump up to have no free play? That's not the normal shimano wandering bite point issue. It sounds like you just have bad runout on your rotors and are getting bad knock back.

Um...no, and I don't think you understand the wandering bite point if you are saying this.

One again, the wandering bite point is where the bite point moves OUT, to the point where the brakes engage with virtually no lever travel. That's where your "hard" bite point is and you can't pull it further. It happens on steeps where you are on the brakes most of the time, they are heating up, you have to let go momentarily to change your grip, let the wheel go a little, let the brakes cool down, direction change, whatever, and when you re-engage, the bite point has now moved further out. Do it a bunch and you can get them moving out just like I describe. In cold weather, it'll do it everywhere, without having to be on the steeps or on the brakes so much, to the point where it just moves so far out the brakes are on/off switches with no lever travel.

The lever is always firm during this, not soggy. It's not going to the bar or anything like that. All of those issues can be traced to air in the lines/bleed/leak, etc.

 

[Leafy]

Um...no, and I don't think you understand the wandering bite point if you are saying this.

One again, the wandering bite point is where the bite point moves OUT, to the point where the brakes engage with virtually no lever travel. That's where your "hard" bite point is and you can't pull it further. It happens on steeps where you are on the brakes most of the time, they are heating up, you have to let go momentarily to change your grip, let the wheel go a little, let the brakes cool down, direction change, whatever, and when you re-engage, the bite point has now moved further out. Do it a bunch and you can get them moving out just like I describe. In cold weather, it'll do it everywhere, without having to be on the steeps or on the brakes so much, to the point where it just moves so far out the brakes are on/off switches with no lever travel.

The lever is always firm during this, not soggy. It's not going to the bar or anything like that. All of those issues can be traced to air in the lines/bleed/leak, etc.

Yeah thats not THE shimano wandering bite point issue. You're describing bad knock back. THE shimano bite point issue is from them ingesting air through the caliper seals and wouldnt even be something people complained about if they didnt sometimes ship from the factory that way or if shimano just sold rebuild kits for the calipers. Properly setup shimanos have the bite point at the near zero throw point you're complaining about every time you pull the lever.

 

[canadmos]

Do you ride this bike in the cold? If you do, you shirley don't want shimano brakes that become on/off switches with no lever travel? I believe everything above RSC is supposed to be decent. They seem to have changed "naming" conventions recently, but it's well known the lower level brakes are pretty crap and the higher ones are decent. But apart from that, there are other good brakes that work in the cold...I would not recommend shimano for this. While I tend to not recommend shimano for the other inherent issues, I realize that not everyone encounters those issues due to how they ride and brake...but this is a little more overall if you are going to use them in the winter/cold. Get a good DOT brake, they will work the same as in the summer...you won't think about em.

Yes ridden in the cold. Not really concerned with being on off, as I only need 2 piston brakes. I had Shimano brakes on my last bike and they worked okay - but the calipers leaked or something, which was annoying.

Cold = 0c to -10c

I don't want to spend much $$ for the brakes, which is the "problem".

Also was looking at the cheaper Shimano brakes that don't have the servo wave levers, so they'd be less bitey.

 

[Jozz]

Yes ridden in the cold. Not really concerned with being on off, as I only need 2 piston brakes. I had Shimano brakes on my last bike and they worked okay - but the calipers leaked or something, which was annoying.

Cold = 0c to -10c

I don't want to spend much $$ for the brakes, which is the "problem".

Also was looking at the cheaper Shimano brakes that don't have the servo wave levers, so they'd be less bitey.

I had the Level brakes. They were dangerous.
I switched to an old pair of regular Guide R and they work ok. Powerful enough. But switching from the summer with Dominions, it takes a while to get used to the diminished power and lever feel. I wish I had money for another set of Dominions

 

[canadmos]

I had the Level brakes. They were dangerous.
I switched to an old pair of regular Guide R and they work ok. Powerful enough. But switching from the summer with Dominions, it takes a while to get used to the diminished power and lever feel. I wish I had money for another set of Dominions

I keep looking for deals on a set of two piston dominions. That'd be ideal...

 

[Leafy]

I keep looking for deals on a set of two piston dominions. That'd be ideal...

There’s the cura2 also for the nice and “powerful” 2 piston options.

 

[dump]

All this wandering bite point talk… I come from the days of cantilevers and whatever my shimanos have been doing for the last 6 years has never affected my ride in any way at all. Maybe I’m just clueless, but any variability has been really mild at most. The only thing I get is a bit of pad scraping in the rear after a long descent.

 

[pizza diavola]

I keep looking for deals on a set of two piston dominions. That'd be ideal...

A2's are half price (US$125 a side) on the Hayes website at the moment.

Dominion A2 Brake

Description Expanding on our award-winning Dominion A4, Dominion A2, targets Cross Country and Trail riders. Dominion A2 features a two-piston caliper.

hayesbicycle.com

Edit: ugh, plus shipping to Canada and the only option is UPS standard, so we get extorted with brokerage fees

 

[canadmos]

A2's are half price (US$125 a side) on the Hayes website at the moment.

Dominion A2 Brake

Description Expanding on our award-winning Dominion A4, Dominion A2, targets Cross Country and Trail riders. Dominion A2 features a two-piston caliper.

hayesbicycle.com

Edit: ugh, plus shipping to Canada and the only option is UPS standard, so we get extorted with brokerage fees

Damn that's a good deal. But yeah the gamble of duty and taxes from ups....

 

[Jozz]

A2's are half price (US$125 a side) on the Hayes website at the moment.

Dominion A2 Brake

Description Expanding on our award-winning Dominion A4, Dominion A2, targets Cross Country and Trail riders. Dominion A2 features a two-piston caliper.

hayesbicycle.com

Edit: ugh, plus shipping to Canada and the only option is UPS standard, so we get extorted with brokerage fees

That. And exchange rate is going up since le Drump got elected.

 

[Leafy]

Bro just buy the Hercules one so you can actually buy affordable replacement hepa filters for it.

 

[Gary]

Don't think AliXpress is really the ideal place to be buying any bulky item which may need returned.

 

[rideit]

Agree. Deleted. Pre-coffee thoughts.
it didn’t belong here anyway, as it’s an enduro shop-vac, and not a DH shop-vac.

 

[Jm_]

All this wandering bite point talk… I come from the days of cantilevers and whatever my shimanos have been doing for the last 6 years has never affected my ride in any way at all. Maybe I’m just clueless, but any variability has been really mild at most. The only thing I get is a bit of pad scraping in the rear after a long descent.

Ultimate "disc" brake

 

[Jm_]

Yes ridden in the cold. Not really concerned with being on off, as I only need 2 piston brakes. I had Shimano brakes on my last bike and they worked okay - but the calipers leaked or something, which was annoying.

Cold = 0c to -10c

I don't want to spend much $$ for the brakes, which is the "problem".

Also was looking at the cheaper Shimano brakes that don't have the servo wave levers, so they'd be less bitey.

There are pretty slammin sales on high end sram brakes on Ebay. We just picked up a set of Level Ultimate-rainbow for a friends bike we are rebuilding because they've done so much for the bike community. Have dedicated some parts and wrenching for this project.

 

[Toshi]

All this wandering bite point talk… I come from the days of cantilevers and whatever my shimanos have been doing for the last 6 years has never affected my ride in any way at all. Maybe I’m just clueless, but any variability has been really mild at most. The only thing I get is a bit of pad scraping in the rear after a long descent.

I, too, like my Shimanos. 4 pots on my prior trail bike, and part of my reasoning for pulling the trigger on my new trail bike were similar XT 4 pots (even though the rest of it is SRAM).

I did not care for the Code RSCs on my downhill bike, no sir. just didn't feel how I wanted them to feel.

 

[canadmos]

$150 set of SLX brakes are on the way, assuming the post office strike ends at some point.

This bike cost a whopping $600, so as much as I'd love to get some pimp brakes for it, I just can't justify it. Unless some A2's go on sale north of the border of course (could be swapped to a sweet hardtail..).

 

[Subversion_Garage]

No issues with Shimano, however to be fair, I have been running Magura calipers (with Shimano levers) for the last couple of years.

 

[jonKranked]

https://www.pinkbike.com/news/counterfeit-components-are-on-the-rise.html

 

[captainspauldin]

Anyone buy Shimano brakes off there? Need something new for the fat bike, as the SRAM Levels I have are absolute garbage.

I bought the cheapo shimano MT200 for daughter's bike. haha dunno if that helps you. They arrived and work.

 

[Sandwich]

https://www.pinkbike.com/news/counterfeit-components-are-on-the-rise.html

whoa, you bought a handmade german gucci part from aliexpress and it's fake? that's super weird. Next thing you'll tell me the gucci INGRID stuff is fake too

Although I question their destruction of the knockoff stem. The "real" one doesn't get treated the same as the fake, and honestly it held up better than I would have suspected

 

[jonKranked]

The "real" one doesn't get treated the same as the fake

your assumption is based on what, exactly?

 

[Lelandjt]

I bough these Lewis LV2 brakes for my farm bike* that are practically a copy of Picallos. I got them because the lever body shape and hose exit will play nicely with my handlebar bag.

*I'll make a post when it's done.

 

[Gary]

Although I question their destruction of the knockoff stem. The "real" one doesn't get treated the same as the fake, and honestly it held up better than I would have suspected

I can't even be bothered to watch the video. But I'd be mightily surprised if most AliXpress stems didn't outperform anything Renthal makes in both strength and durability.

 

[Gary]

I got them because the lever body shape and hose exit will play nicely with my handlebar bag.

You do realise can safely wear a fanny pack again now Woo's gone?

 

[Leafy]

They still Lewis on aliexpress now? They used to not even though they’re a Chinese brand.

 

[Sandwich]

your assumption is based on what, exactly?

The video: https://www.instagram.com/reel/C2dEy0TMGA3/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading

In it, he grabs the fake and stretches it with channel locks until it snaps. The video doesn't show what they did to the intend stem, only that it's slightly bent. What happens if he stretches it in the same manner? To the same extent? Will it bend or will it snap? Why is he bending a stem with channel locks? Wouldn't a genuine product also snap if you were to bend it with channel locks because aluminum has a limited fatigue life depending on the alloy?

I am all for protecting IP and I think it's stupid to buy a knockoff "fancy boy" product from aliexpress. If you want an intend stem, it's probably because it's made by bike nerds in germany and not because it's light or strong- if you wanted that, you'd get a syntace 2014 cold-forged stem that only comes in flat black . I think it's fair to complain about counterfeits on AE, and to point out how they are different (some of them are really fucking good fakes) but I that video screams:

 

[jonKranked]

The video: https://www.instagram.com/reel/C2dEy0TMGA3/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading

In it, he grabs the fake and stretches it with channel locks until it snaps. The video doesn't show what they did to the intend stem, only that it's slightly bent. What happens if he stretches it in the same manner? To the same extent? Will it bend or will it snap? Why is he bending a stem with channel locks? Wouldn't a genuine product also snap if you were to bend it with channel locks because aluminum has a limited fatigue life depending on the alloy?

I am all for protecting IP and I think it's stupid to buy a knockoff "fancy boy" product from aliexpress. If you want an intend stem, it's probably because it's made by bike nerds in germany and not because it's light or strong- if you wanted that, you'd get a syntace 2014 cold-forged stem that only comes in flat black . I think it's fair to complain about counterfeits on AE, and to point out how they are different (some of them are really fucking good fakes) but I that video screams:

are you really that dense that you think they faked it?

 

[Sandwich]

are you really that dense that you think they faked it?

A) yes I am extremely dense. Have you met me? 2) I didn't say they faked it

 

[jonKranked]

A) yes I am extremely dense. Have you met me? 2) I didn't say they faked it

the implications were clear.

 

[Sandwich]

the implications were clear.

 

[toodles]

the implications were clear.

Sounds to me like he was implying they went ham on the Ali one and were more gentle on the genuine. Which is almost certainly the case to be honest. Can't be biting the hand that feeds....

 

[Sandwich]

Sounds to me like he was implying they went ham on the Ali one and were more gentle on the genuine. Which is almost certainly the case to be honest. Can't be biting the hand that feeds....

That's exactly it. You don't want to show that your product will break even under extremely stressful conditions that would break almost any product. It's suspect to me that they didn't show exactly the same test under exactly the same conditions, but I'm a scientist by trade and this is what I do. They really didn't need to show any testing of the ali stem at all to understand it's a knockoff and has potential flaws, but all aluminum has a fatigue life and I'd wager that if they kept wailing on that intend stem, it would also crack and snap, potentially even at exactly the same point.

 

[SylentK]

Has anyone tried to return something they got from Ali?

Amazon returns are quite easy.

Ebay, not sure.

LBS, usually easy.

 

[Leafy]

Aliexpress can go either way. Either it’s full refund without hassle and you keep stuff, or they try and get you to spend more than the value of the item mailing it back.

 

[jonKranked]

Sounds to me like he was implying they went ham on the Ali one and were more gentle on the genuine. Which is almost certainly the case to be honest. Can't be biting the hand that feeds....

Aka faking it.

 

[Gary]

Has anyone tried to return something they got from Ali?

Yes.
Many times.
years back it was almost impossible to get a refund from AliXpress if the seller made it awkward enough. But for the past couple of years they've issued the refund as soon as you drop the (free post) return item off to be sent back.

[edit]Just seen Leafy's reply. Yeah that's how it was for years here too. Not any more. You now simply have to describe the issue and attach pics. then you get sent a free return label to print out. Drop the labelled item off at the post office. and your refund is issued almost instantly.
Maybe that's just how it is in the UK though

 

[Sandwich]

Has anyone tried to return something they got from Ali?

Amazon returns are quite easy.

Ebay, not sure.

LBS, usually easy.

For AliE in the US, I’ve had no issues with quality issues. I bought a stem that was welded crooked and it was refunded as soon as I raised the issue.

Haven’t tried with sizing issues though- I bought some soft shell pants that are a solid smedium- not sure I could have returned them, guess I probably should have looked.

 

[CarolinaCrawler]

$150 set of SLX brakes are on the way, assuming the post office strike ends at some point.

This bike cost a whopping $600, so as much as I'd love to get some pimp brakes for it, I just can't justify it. Unless some A2's go on sale north of the border of course (could be swapped to a sweet hardtail..).

I've picked up 3 sets of M7120 brakes and 2 sets of M8120 brakes from Ali with no problems. They all came without ANY packaging, instructions or accessories. But they've all been genuine and work fine. I've been riding one of the XT sets 3 times a week for more than 6 month without issues.

I trust them so much I put the on my kids bikes and had no issues.

 

[captainspauldin]

I bough these Lewis LV2 brakes for my farm bike* that are practically a copy of Picallos. I got them because the lever body shape and hose exit will play nicely with my handlebar bag.
*I'll make a post when it's done.

I have LH4s and they've been great so far. Only annoying/issue is one of the pad contact adjusters is super hard to turn. It's nice not having to buy olive/barb to shorten lines.