[Tenacious Doug]

I have had the chance to buy a set of 160mm Saint brakes set up with some wavy "Braking" rotors for mega cheap and I am very tempted for my Chameleon. At present I am running the 4 pot shimano XT's which I have always loved and never had any problems with but I am really tempted by these Saints......perhaps it's just shiny new parts syndrome, although I do think the Saints will be a bit lighter and cleaner looking. Also the XT's were bought when the brakes first came onto the market so although they still work great I was wondering about selling them on before they get too elderly.

Has anyone ridden on both of these brakes? I have never had any time on any of the 2 pot Shimano offerings and although I know loads of guys who have run them, none have also had time on the old 4 pot ones. Is there going to be any real performance difference between the two, am I just being silly selling something which I have no problems with?!?!

 

[OGRipper]

Well it's a funny thing, I have a similar dilemma in that I've been riding 4-pot xt's on my vpfree for a while and am thinking about switching too. I have a set of new xtr calipers and 160 rotors with regular xt levers (I dumped the xtr dual control) on my xc bike and they feel so great, the best word is tight. I mean they are so responsive it's silly. If the saint's are anything like the xtr's (and I'm not sure but I think the calipers are similar if not the same) you can expect a slight improvement in feel that I attribute to the stiffness inherent in the new one piece caliper.

If you love your xt 4-pots, then yeah you've got shiny part syndrome, but as far as I'm concerned that's a perfectly good reason to try something different. It could end up being a pain in the ass but you'll have satisfied a goofy parts curiosity and that's part of the fun... :dancing:

 

[Tarpon]

I had the old 4-piston XT's for about a year before moving the the new monobloc XT/Saint system. I would never go back, a big part of that though is that the old XT's used the stainless braided hose which made for very mushy brakes. The newer, cutable, hoses are much better. The newer calipers are very stiff and responsive (good modulation). I don't think you would regret the upgrade. Also, they are similar to the XTR's but stiffer since they have more material (and maybe bigger pistons but I'm not sure on that one).

 

[dexterq20]

In my experience, the new Saint brakes are a bit grabbier than the old XT 4-pots. The Saint brakes certainly look cooler though.

 

[OGRipper]

Tarpon, you can get cutable lines for xt 4-pots, they pretty much all use the same 90 degree fitting at the caliper, so you just need to get lines that match your levers...or do like some and get goodridge lines, so they're braided AND cutable...funny I thought the old stainless lines didn't flex at all...but good thoughts on the calipers...

 

[ViciousDHer]

Ive got xt's on four bikes. :heart: oem braided is ok, black plastic is better, with goodridge lines I'll keep 'em until I can't get pads anymore

 

[Incubus]

I have saint calipers, saint levers and goodridge lines...

Sorry I haven't even mounted them up yet as I'm waiting for a fork. I can tell you that the build quality is up there (of the calipers anyway, the levers are nothing special).

 

[Tarpon]

Tarpon, you can get cutable lines for xt 4-pots, they pretty much all use the same 90 degree fitting at the caliper, so you just need to get lines that match your levers...or do like some and get goodridge lines, so they're braided AND cutable...funny I thought the old stainless lines didn't flex at all...but good thoughts on the calipers...

I know the cuttable hoses are available for the older calipers. I may have stayed with the old XT's if I had been able to compare the hoses before buying them.

 

[konastab01]

go for the saints they are one of the best brakes out there

 

[KleinMp99]

I loved the xt 4 pots I had on my demo 9 last year, and I plan on getting some for my sx trail also. For some reason I sold them with the demo

 

[Shiver]

Why'd you sell your Demo 9!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!??????????? :mumble: :mumble: :mumble:

Why Why Why?!??!?

I consider that when you get a bike worth that much money... you keep it until the end of time cuz your worked your ass off to earn it!

Well that's my point of the view....

 

[stiksandstones]

xt four piston with a silver pad is the best brakes you can own on a mountain bike-hands down. XT brakes four piston with stock pad is top of the line. I would use old XT calipers with XT lever and black line before I used any other shimano brake. Not saying the saints, xtr's etc suck-they dont, but they should have never left the old XT's they are mint-mechanically, techincally, feeling wise, etc....

 

[Curb Hucker]

xt four piston with a silver pad is the best brakes you can own on a mountain bike-hands down. XT brakes four piston with stock pad is top of the line. I would use old XT calipers with XT lever and black line before I used any other shimano brake. Not saying the saints, xtr's etc suck-they dont, but they should have never left the old XT's they are mint-mechanically, techincally, feeling wise, etc....

just go buy your XBOX

 

[stiksandstones]

just go buy your XBOX

I am over it...sold out all over town...broke out the PS2 from the dust, played for 30 minutes...I just don't enjoy video games anymore-sure sign of getting old. So I went moto-ing instead!

Fun while it lasted.

 

[Transcend]

I coulda told you you were getting old.

 

[Monkeybidnezz]

I don't have a ton of time on the Saints, so I can't give a great comparison between them but I owned the 4 pots for over a year and had great memories of them. I've been running Hayes for about a year now, but still kind of miss the old 4 pots...just seemed to be great all around brakes. I'm tempted to go back to the old xts, just worried about finding parts soon.

 

[vitox]

i had that 160mm braking rotor on one of my bikes and i didnt really like it that much, its a bit heavier and heats up faster than stock hayes, oh and if im not mistaken, its a bit wider too.

the 203mm ones are all good though.

 

[stiksandstones]

I don't have a ton of time on the Saints, so I can't give a great comparison between them but I owned the 4 pots for over a year and had great memories of them. I've been running Hayes for about a year now, but still kind of miss the old 4 pots...just seemed to be great all around brakes. I'm tempted to go back to the old xts, just worried about finding parts soon.

Pads will be available for years (all those 3rd party companies make nice pads, ebc, etc) Brake Hose is universal between all the models...Dont worry about the "getting parts" aspect, by the time you cant get parts for them, you will be into some other sport.

 

[OGRipper]

Somewhat off-topic, but is there any word on a shimano saint-level regular (non-dual control) hydro lever? Everyone I know with saint calipers uses xt or deore levers but I've been hearing rumors of a new shimano lever...anyone care to further the e-spec?

Personally I would love some shimano hydro levers with a thumbscrew for reach adjust, maybe some kind of leverage or pad adjust like avid or el camino...?

 

[stiksandstones]

There is a new lever-forgot the name, its been well reported-its like halo or something like that-wont have a knob reach adjust though.

I was begging them for years to make a brake that not only had reach adjustment, but had stroke adjustment too (ala hope and coda) but I will take good performance over perfect feel anyday.

 

[Incubus]

Somewhat off-topic, but is there any word on a shimano saint-level regular (non-dual control) hydro lever? Everyone I know with saint calipers uses xt or deore levers but I've been hearing rumors of a new shimano lever...anyone care to further the e-spec...

No reason to e-spec on the non-dual control saint levers. I have them. They're OE. Black levers and a firm feeling spring. Having never used the XT levers, I can't tell you if the difference is anything beyond color.

 

[Dogboy]

No reason to e-spec on the non-dual control saint levers. I have them. They're OE. Black levers and a firm feeling spring. Having never used the XT levers, I can't tell you if the difference is anything beyond color.

My Shimano rep mentioned that the Saint levers have a firmer return spring than the XT levers.

 

[leprechaun]

Ok so i have both the old 4 pots and the new ones and i think the new ones are better.
More power,firmer feel but still more modulation squish than Hayes.
Lighter too.
Stick- don't get me wrong-i loved my old ones too but have you tried the new ones? I can see if you are comparing them to XTR's since they are smaller/weaker.

 

[leprechaun]

Also Stick mentioned the Silver pads,Which were never available to the public.
They were powerful but not as soft as the EBC reds so they wore i little better.. If you like them or want more power check out the Galfer pads,they rock!They are very similar to the silvers.They don't like to call em organic since there is a stigma attached with that word but they are really powerful and wear quite well.They are a mix of Kevlar/carbon composite with ceramic and semi metallic fibers.They don't chunk and they pass heat through them so the rotor doesn't overheat like typical organic pads like the Shimanos and Black Hayes pads that come on HFX 9"s
The new XT's come with both types of pads in the box!(shimano organic and metallic) And adapters so consider that when pricing them.
Krispy

 

[Shiver]

Somewhat off-topic, but is there any word on a shimano saint-level regular (non-dual control) hydro lever? Everyone I know with saint calipers uses xt or deore levers but I've been hearing rumors of a new shimano lever...anyone care to further the e-spec?

Personally I would love some shimano hydro levers with a thumbscrew for reach adjust, maybe some kind of leverage or pad adjust like avid or el camino...?

Yes there is a hydro lever and a combo lever...
Personally, I haven't tested them but they say that they're less squishy and more responsive...

Good luck with your saint's they great brakes, and they the best looking to (Hopes also!!) Gothic rotor!! black!!