Anyone running the new Codes? How are they holding up?
Feedback on new Codes?
- Thread starter djjohnr
- Start date
They came on my Sentinel and I loved them at first, but they started having issues holding a good bleed after just a few months of riding. This has been my experience with quite a few SRAM brakes, which is a bummer as they feel great when they are new and well-bled. I will say that the power-to-modulation balance was pretty ideal from my perspective, I'm on TRP Quadiems now which have proven to be the most dependable brakes I've ever owned, but I do occasionally wish they had a little bit more power, especially when my hands are gassed at the end of a day of shuttling.
Same. My experience is that Codes are great when new, and then later only if they have a pretty fresh bleed and pads that are less than half worn. Otherwise they have weird pump and heat management issues. So, good if you're ok with high maintenance and the expense of frequent pad changes.
I have about 2k miles on mine, and they are on stock bleed. No issues with bleed or sponginess, but they certainly like to rub, compared to Shimanos.
Power is good/fine and less fade than single piston XTs.
I prefer mineral oil, and have been looking for a reason to switch brakes, but haven’t needed to,
Power is good/fine and less fade than single piston XTs.
I prefer mineral oil, and have been looking for a reason to switch brakes, but haven’t needed to,
Looks like I'll stick with Maguras. Was hoping to be able to run something on the DH bike that most resort shops would have bleed kits to work on.
What size rotors on your running on the Quadiems? Looks like they can use Shimano bleed kits which would meet the needs of my use case.
I'm running a 203mm front rotor, 180mm rear. To clarify, I'm TOTALLY happy riding them in the Whistler bike park, but its the slow, uber-steep renegade trails up in Bellingham, around the Whistler valley, etc. that start to test their limits. They never feel inconsistent (no varying bite point, not even once, in the two seasons I've had them), just make my hands a little more tired when I'm death gripping on the steepest of steep. At the same time, they easily have the most solid and confident feel at the lever that I've experienced.
The TRP bleed fitting is actually a little larger than Shimano (I think), I bought the TRP bleed funnel and their ~$15 simple bleed kit. Does the trick.
The TRP bleed fitting is actually a little larger than Shimano (I think), I bought the TRP bleed funnel and their ~$15 simple bleed kit. Does the trick.
Love them and they've changed my perception of Sram brakes. The RSCs came on my Capra and as usual I replaced them with XTR immediately. However, I squeezed them a few times first and was really impressed with the short throw and firm feel. Over the next year I built and serviced a lot of Santa Cruzs and other bikes that came with them and they've always been easy to adjust and bleed. Most importantly I haven't had many come in needing a bleed and never a rebleed.
So, I put the cheaper non RSCs on my girlfriend's ultra-light dirtbike and they've been perfect for a month of hheavy use. Maybe they don't have quite as short a throw as the RSCs can be adjusted to.
R or RSC's?
Code RSC's should be better than the cheaper R's that get specced on some builds. Better lever and I think the caliper is supposed to be different/better too.
Huh, all I noticed is the addition of bite point adjustment. This does seem to give the ability to run a tighter feel than the Rs can accomplish.
RSC
Reach adjustment
Swinglink - I think helps with rotor clearance by altering the leverage in the lever in the initial part of the throw
Contact point adjust - how much throw before biting the rotor
Then I think the caliper has a slightly different configuration to aid cooling - alu shielding or something.
I was looking at the Code's to replace my old RO's and wife's Saints.
Reach adjustment
Swinglink - I think helps with rotor clearance by altering the leverage in the lever in the initial part of the throw
Contact point adjust - how much throw before biting the rotor
Then I think the caliper has a slightly different configuration to aid cooling - alu shielding or something.
I was looking at the Code's to replace my old RO's and wife's Saints.
Just bought a bike with Code RSC brakes and have three rides using them and I can confirm that they stop me really quickly.
I'm helping.
I'm helping.
Also 100% reliable.
I know this thread is old but the biggest difference to me is that the R has a plastic bushing at the level pivot and the RSC has a bearing. The bearings in mine feel great after almost a year of use where as the bushings wear quickly and cause lever slop.
I've had a set of RSC's since October. They've been reliable, and the factory bleed was solid enough that I haven't needed to bleed them since I got them. Having said that, I've bled plenty of sets of Codes, and they're super easy. I don't love Dot fluid, but SRAM's bleed kit is pretty rad, I like being able to degas the fluid, and they're generally pretty quick, easy, and clean to bleed.
The lever pull is smoother, but has more resistance than the Shimanos, TRP, and Magura's I've tried in the past, if that makes sense. The lever ergonomics get a solid "that's fine I guess" from me. Better than Magura, worse than TRP and Shimano (although that's a personal thing obviously). The bite point adjuster actually works quite well and is easy to manage.
The only downsides so far is that they're quite noisy if they get even slightly wet, which I guess if fine if you want to make sure that you don't surprise anybody within a 6-7 mile radius, but it is bothersome to need hearing protection while riding my bike.
The other downside is that with 203mm rotors on a 29er with 2.5" EXO+ 3c MaxxTerra Minion DHF/DHR combo, they feel like they have roughly the same power as a rim brake on a wet carbon rim. I'm exaggerating slightly, but it's very apparent that they're not all that strong. Or, as the media likes to spin it "what they lack in power, they make up in modulation." Maybe it's because the last time I really put some brakes to the test, it was Saints with 203 rotors on a 26" wheel, but there is a very noticeable amount of extra power I need to apply with my hand in order stop, and I find on average my braking distance is longer and I have to get on the brakes way sooner, which kind of blows.
I ordered some Trickstuff pads though, which are said to improve the power considerably. I'll update once those arrive and I've had a chance to get a few rides in. If that doesn't work, I'll probably bite the bullet and buy some trickstuff brakes, or spend more time trying to bleed my wife's cura 4's, and if I can get a good bleed out of those, order another set for myself. If I can do it once, I can do it again.
I'd give them a B rating. They're sitting somewhere between "okay" and "decent" right now, but they're pretty far from "great."
The lever pull is smoother, but has more resistance than the Shimanos, TRP, and Magura's I've tried in the past, if that makes sense. The lever ergonomics get a solid "that's fine I guess" from me. Better than Magura, worse than TRP and Shimano (although that's a personal thing obviously). The bite point adjuster actually works quite well and is easy to manage.
The only downsides so far is that they're quite noisy if they get even slightly wet, which I guess if fine if you want to make sure that you don't surprise anybody within a 6-7 mile radius, but it is bothersome to need hearing protection while riding my bike.
The other downside is that with 203mm rotors on a 29er with 2.5" EXO+ 3c MaxxTerra Minion DHF/DHR combo, they feel like they have roughly the same power as a rim brake on a wet carbon rim. I'm exaggerating slightly, but it's very apparent that they're not all that strong. Or, as the media likes to spin it "what they lack in power, they make up in modulation." Maybe it's because the last time I really put some brakes to the test, it was Saints with 203 rotors on a 26" wheel, but there is a very noticeable amount of extra power I need to apply with my hand in order stop, and I find on average my braking distance is longer and I have to get on the brakes way sooner, which kind of blows.
I ordered some Trickstuff pads though, which are said to improve the power considerably. I'll update once those arrive and I've had a chance to get a few rides in. If that doesn't work, I'll probably bite the bullet and buy some trickstuff brakes, or spend more time trying to bleed my wife's cura 4's, and if I can get a good bleed out of those, order another set for myself. If I can do it once, I can do it again.
I'd give them a B rating. They're sitting somewhere between "okay" and "decent" right now, but they're pretty far from "great."