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different DH brakes?

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wingman24

Monkey
Dec 22, 2005
450
0
in a little house at the top of a huge mountain
I need to make a choice on brakes for next year, here are the choices
sell me.

hayes Mag 8
hope m6ti front, m4rear
avid juicy 7
magura gustaf
formula:p (hondaboy is using em, they might be good)

I've always had hayes but something new might be nice.
(i'm buying wholesale so price isn't the determining factor)
 
SXtrailrider

SXtrailrider

Turbo Monkey
Aug 27, 2005
1,189
0
saints if you had them but either formulas or avids would be my chose. Avids i heard have this clicking feel, while formulas come from a good backround in the brake world, so they are bound to be good and are lighter then most compotition. Saints if they were on the list would be my chose. i have riden them and are buying a pair for my self. they are great the keep perfect power and modulation even on the longest runs and are very reliable. they also use mineral oil and have a great lever feel.
 
Transcend

Transcend

My Nuts Are Flat
Apr 18, 2002
18,040
3
Towing the party line.
Adam Novatt said:
saints if you had them but either formulas or avids would be my chose. Avids i heard have this clicking feel, while formulas come from a good backround in the brake world, so they are bound to be good and are lighter then most compotition. Saints if they were on the list would be my chose. i have riden them and are buying a pair for my self. they are great the keep perfect power and modulation even on the longest runs and are very reliable. they also use mineral oil and have a great lever feel.
Click to expand...
Quoted for posterity.
 
lux

lux

Monkey
Mar 25, 2004
609
26
Wilmington, NC
Transcend said:
Adam Novatt said:
saints if you had them but either formulas or avids would be my chose. Avids i heard have this clicking feel, while formulas come from a good backround in the brake world, so they are bound to be good and are lighter then most compotition. Saints if they were on the list would be my chose. i have riden them and are buying a pair for my self. they are great the keep perfect power and modulation even on the longest runs and are very reliable. they also use mineral oil and have a great lever feel.
Click to expand...
Quoted for posterity.
Click to expand...
Transcend, you're killing me!
 
bullcrew

bullcrew

3 Dude Approved
Dec 8, 2004
8,967
2,653
I'm dude playing dude pretending to b another dude
Hayes, maguras, avid's and hope are all good brakes. Each one has it's strength and weakness it all breaks down to an individual feeling and the one that feels the most natural and confident to the person.
I like hope and have run Hayes and others, the feel and modulation is great. I have run these down some big big runs and never had a problem even with my weight of 215lbs without gear and a 6'4" body looming over and off the bike at all times. My hayes got a little hot and weak the Hope's have never caused a knee jerk quick reaction when slamming down on them and causing a crash or fading even on the biggest of runs.
My vote is Hope!
 
DHDror

DHDror

Monkey
Feb 7, 2005
181
-1
Israel
Avids !
Powerful , nice feel , lots of spare parts around.

About the Formula - I have a couple of friends with them,
They are good but it looks like the levers have a weak point and might break at the blade spindle .
If you crash a lot , like myself , then the Hopes have the strongest levers.
 
Thrillkil

Thrillkil

Monkey
May 25, 2005
595
0
Isla Vista, CA
Those formula brakes look intriguing, but I have yet to hear anyone's really concrete experiences with them. Does anyone know specifics about them?
 
T

ThePriceSeliger

Mushhead
Mar 31, 2004
4,860
0
Denver, Colorado
I had Shimano XT's and loved them. I ran them racing and they put up with alot. They have ALOT of modulation if thats what your into. I wouldn't run anything besides Hayes Mags now that I can set them up. Most people either break them or don't set them up correctly and don't like them. If you don't need/want alot of modulation, get the Mags with 8's rotors. They are simple, and if something is to happen to them, they are super common.
 
bikenweed

bikenweed

Turbo Monkey
Oct 21, 2004
2,432
0
Los Osos
Most of my pals in Spain ride the Formulas, and I've taken a couple runs with them. They work all right, but are far more mushy and spongy feeling than Shimanos or Hayes. They will be hard to find parts for in local shops, which will deter anyone who likes to ride their bike rather than wait for new parts in the mail. With my experience on borrowed bikes, I would steer clear of the Formulas. People just think they're good because they're different.
 
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ThePriceSeliger

Mushhead
Mar 31, 2004
4,860
0
Denver, Colorado
That's a big buying point as well when you think about it. Unless you LBS totally kicks ass, you won't be able to buy all those brake parts from them. Hayes is most common, and is really easy to get pads for. I mean, I might have five sets of pads laying around, and I only have two working sets. All the shops in my town all stock Hayes stuff. Probley same with yours.
 
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thaflyinfatman

Turbo Monkey
Jul 20, 2002
1,577
0
Victoria
ThePriceSeliger said:
I think I would take Hayes any day over anything else. Once set up correctly with good hoses, good rotors, good pads, and a good bleed, they are the best brake IMO.
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If by that you mean "aftermarket hoses, aftermarket rotors, aftermarket pads and a good bleed"... then I think it might be an indication that as stock, the brakes aren't that fantastic. Don't get me wrong, Hayes are a good brake (I've owned 5 of em and for the most part they were pretty good), but there is better available now. Avid have the best feeling levers and *can* deliver incredible power (but the stock setup does seem to overheat relatively easily - although that could just be because they need to generate so much power to pull someone my weight up). Shimano have the firmest feel (which I like), the lever shape is second only to Avid, and they also have excellent power (definitely on par with Avid) as well as unsurpassed reliability (IMO) - they just always work. I'm always inclined to steer away from Hopes, they just seem so inconsistent with their power. I've ridden so many sets that felt like **** compared to the number that felt good (make no mistake, on their good days they're mostly on par with anything else), and they rarely seem to have the grab that Avids, Saints and to a lesser extent Hayes offer.
 
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ThePriceSeliger

Mushhead
Mar 31, 2004
4,860
0
Denver, Colorado
thaflyinfatman said:
If by that you mean "aftermarket hoses, aftermarket rotors, aftermarket pads and a good bleed"... then I think it might be an indication that as stock, the brakes aren't that fantastic. Don't get me wrong, Hayes are a good brake (I've owned 5 of em and for the most part they were pretty good), but there is better available now. Avid have the best feeling levers and *can* deliver incredible power (but the stock setup does seem to overheat relatively easily - although that could just be because they need to generate so much power to pull someone my weight up). Shimano have the firmest feel (which I like), the lever shape is second only to Avid, and they also have excellent power (definitely on par with Avid) as well as unsurpassed reliability (IMO) - they just always work. I'm always inclined to steer away from Hopes, they just seem so inconsistent with their power. I've ridden so many sets that felt like **** compared to the number that felt good (make no mistake, on their good days they're mostly on par with anything else), and they rarely seem to have the grab that Avids, Saints and to a lesser extent Hayes offer.
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I know what you mean and I venture away from the stock stuff. I run Kool pads I think. Goodridge lines, Shimano XT rotors(I like them), and I bleed my own, and I will do it 50 times untill I like it, and GRC levers. I know the stock stuff isn't great, but I love the system.
 
MOTODH

MOTODH

Turbo Monkey
Mar 28, 2005
1,167
0
CT
bomberboy11 said:
If you want a ****load of power, go for the Saints. If you want even steady modulation, go for the Juicy's.
Click to expand...

I thought it was the opposite
 
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thaflyinfatman

Turbo Monkey
Jul 20, 2002
1,577
0
Victoria
MOTODH said:
I thought it was the opposite
Click to expand...

:rolleyes:

If you want LOTS of easily controllable power, EITHER of those work fine. Seriously. Both are fantastic brakes in that sense, but IMO the Shimano has the edge in consistency and lever firmness (I haven't managed to get my rear Avid to be very firm at all yet, same with every set I've ridden).
 
The Mad Haderer

The Mad Haderer

Monkey
Feb 10, 2003
594
0
A, A
there arent many out there for others to put in about but the formulas are hands down the best brakes ive ever ridden..thats coming from saints. m4..magura..hayes..and avid..the formula guys actually designed the avids before they were sold to SRAM. They definately arent the cheapest but Ive had a set of 24k's on my dh bike for 3 months and they never even needed to break in. POWERFUL and modulatable out of the box. it was pretty amazing.
 
L

Lars_moelby

Chimp
Jan 10, 2005
42
0
Denmark
I have used juicy 7 for the last season, and i am very very happy with them, i switched to XT rotors to avoid the "pulsing" sensation when you brake hard and long, but other than that it is a very good and reliable brake, but i think the juicy 5 has a mugh higher value, as you never use the ekstra adjustment on the 7 anyway!.
Also, one thing i keep in mind, which is probadly much different in the states is; how easy is it to get spare parts for your brakes??, i was in sweden (Åre Mountain Mayhem) and Hayes and Hope (and a but Shimano) was almost the only brake you could get spares/pads for, luckily i have an ekstra set og XT 4pot brakes, if i had not had them i would have had to buy a complete new brake or wait 2 days till Avid pads came home!
My experience is that you ALWAYS can get parts/pads for Hayes brakes, no matter where your brakes break down!
 
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