Good brakes in 2022

canadmos · Oct 24, 2022

From the crowd here, you have 3 pretty well-defined set of brakes that are liked.

Trickstuff
TRP
Hayes Dominion

There was some love for recent Formula Cura 4, but I think some didn't like how temperamental they were with disk rub? Not as much mention as those others.

Carraig042 · Oct 24, 2022

I like my Hope tech3 E4's quite a bit, but they are no means on/off like you seem to want. Their new tech 4 sound like they have a bit more bite off the top. All the Hope brakes I have had are very reliable and require minimal maintenance.

If I were to try anything different, I would look further into Magura or Trp's nicer stuff.

Nick · Oct 24, 2022

norbar said:
TRP - I know nothing

norbar said:
I've seen some reviews claiming TRP's lack power

As a decades-long Shimano user, finally cracking after a few years of bite point scares, I've converted both bikes over to the DHR-Evo and love them. Unless you have tiny fingers and/or like your levers super close to the bar, they're great. Tons of power, great feel, super easy to setup and to date virtually zero maintenance. I think they could be the best bang for your buck these days.

I owned Cura 2 and 4 pistons. I preferred the 2 pistons.

I'd still love to try Trickstuff Dirtmeisters one day.
I'd also like to ride the new Dominions, as those get near perfect reviews from about everyone.

two-one · Oct 24, 2022

I went the shigura road... bought some Magura MT5's from a german webshop for 150 euros, some Shimano BL-m7100 levers, shimano olive and magura pin. bled them with shimano mineral oil. Have been working fantastic for me with magura 203mm storm-hc rotors, although they tend to 'whistle' a bit because of the hole pattern.
The bite point feel is typical shimano, although the free stroke is larger than normal 2-pots shimanos. The increased leverage ratio simply needs to move more oil around.

I went this route mostly for the low-cost / high-power ratio. I saw a lot of German park-rats were running this combo for the same reason. I also really wanted a bigger caliper for heat dissipation, and really like the monoblock design, it's gorgeous.

Never liked those plastic magura levers. Sold the mt5 levers to people that broke them and couldnt repair them, for more $ than the shimano levers actually cost.
The magura pads wear pretty fast, but because of the magnetic pistons, you can wear them down all the way to the backplate without hearing mangled pad spreaders in your rotor.

Fool · Oct 24, 2022

norbar said:
Magura - I hear weird lever and people use shimano lever? What's the end feeling?

I want to know more about this. I am pleased with my Magura MTs except the levers are made of bendium, just put a nice j-curve in my month-old replacement lever.

Nick · Oct 24, 2022

norbar said:
Well nothing because I don't trust the reviews of the TRP's I've seen.

TRP's catching far away from the bars are good. I have long fingers so not a problem for me. I prefer the lever to bite far away from the bar. Catching to close causes fatigue unless you have short fingers.

How long have you had yours? They use pads shared with other brakes or they have their own? Easy to buy?

about 15 months. I think they can use the typical Saint / EBC 4-piston pads, but I've only used the TRP pads so far.
HERE is my original post talking about the lever setup /throw.

jonKranked · Oct 24, 2022

norbar said:
As for Hayes? I remember there was a highes brake everyone recommended in the mid 2010s but it had reliability problems after a while so Im a bit wary.

their current gen stuff is rock solid. only consistent gripe about the A4's i've heard is weight. i put a set on my DH bike this year and have been very pleased with them.

Redwood Mulch Chucker · Oct 24, 2022

TRP DHR-Evos w/ 220 rotors, good power without any drama.

I swapped them on for some Saints on the DH bike this year.
20+ days of riding (mostly lift, some shuttle) this summer and it was wet almost every day. No issues at all, no noise, not even a hiccup. Burned through one set of rear pads. Same pads as Shimano 4 pot, I ran MTX red after the stock ones died.

They do have a similar feel to Saints, but more power (rotor?) and never a lever wander or anything like that. Set and forget.

Even did a *gasp* DH race!

SylentK · Oct 24, 2022

I still say Shimano. My fav is 4 pot XTR. 200mm rotors.

I do have XT on my other bike (happens to be an ebike) it's 4 pot too. 200mm rotors. Works great.

Just keep up on the lever bleeds with the cup. All is good.

I have learned to not use expensive rotors, once they glaze up it's just easier to toss on a new set. The pads are usually fine.

Andeh · Oct 24, 2022

I have been really, really impressed with the Hayes Dominion A4, so much so that I already bought a second set for the next bike that I probably won't even get for another 3 months. Everyone I've let try them has loved the light feel. The contact point hasn't moved on me at all through a lot of use, unlike the Code RSCs where I was re-adjusting it so that left/right felt balanced every couple weeks.

As a former Magura MT7 user, I would no longer recommend them for anyone who isn't a pro athlete with an on-call mechanic, or just doesn't care about constant pad rub. Every set I've owned or used on friend's bikes (~6+ sets total) constantly gets pad rub. They also tend to develop sticky pistons more often than any other brake I've used, and they don't offer replacement pistons. Their solution is to replace the whole caliper. They also have a lot more seal drag (force required to move lever before they engage the rotor) than Dominions or Codes.

Sandwich · Oct 24, 2022

Happy on my mt5s and mt5 trail sport fabio coolguy edition. Consistent lever throw and great power with race level pads. Mediocre power otherwise. I agree with the pad rub- it's super hard to get these to run cleanly, but it's livable. Certainly on a DH bike and pretty reasonably on a trail bike.

Good 'merican brakes seem to be Hayes or TRP. I think Hope is relegated to fancy bois and trickstuff for trustfund bros. I have two sets of maguras and like them OK, but I'm not a hardcore park rat either.

Cerberus75 · Oct 24, 2022

I've been on the Hayes Dominion for a year. No issues. The lever feel is effortless. YOU just bring the lever closer to the bars, never really squeezing the brakes to slow/stop, I've ridden Trickstuff and they're nicer but not much nicer for the price.

boostindoubles · Oct 24, 2022

My fatty friends that also go fast are running TRP these days. Another chunky friend of mine went the Shigura route and they feel amazing. I may go Shigura myself.

mykel · Oct 24, 2022

Currently running 3 different 4 pot brakes.

Old Avid XO trail that don't really matter for this discussion - Decent feel, decent power, bit soft bite, absolute bastard to bleed. Needed to be bled a couple times a year. 203/180 On my sons 140mm 26r trail bike.

Hope T3V4 - Great feel, better power than the XO Trail, not as much as the Dominions, Occasionally need to be bled in the spring. Seem to have a problem with sticky pistons as at least one needs to be freed up every spring. On my 275/26 DH bike 203/180 upgraded to 2.3mm 223/203 but not ridden. Faded them out at Thunder, so gonna try more rotor.

Hayes Dominion A4 - Great feel,(Hope may be a little better?) awesome power, more bite than the Hopes, really light feel. Overall easily the best of the bunch. So far has been set and forget. Several years on the same bleed. 135mm 29r trailbike 203/180. Had no problem slowing my brake dragging, fat hack ass down while park riding in Quebec. Would bang again.

StiHacka · Oct 24, 2022

Hope E4s and V4s are allright with the green pads. Never a problem with those, unlike the Shimano lottery.

Loki87 · Oct 24, 2022

Been on MT7 for about 6 years. No issues at all. No squealing, no pad rub, no inconsistencies.
One thing i found is that the aftermarket levers make a big difference in how the brake feels.
Blew up the membrane cause i´m dumb and didn´t focus during a quick and dirty parking lot pad replacement on a slightly overfilled brake.
Went with some SLX levers and so far, after a season, i couldn´t be happier. Great ergos, rock hard bitepoint, super short lever throw. At first i thought modulation might be terrible, but it´s actually really good on trail. Wheel lockupbarely takes any effort.

jstuhlman · Oct 24, 2022

still happy with curas (4 up front, 2 in the back); if i was getting something else it would be dominions or trps.

buckoW · Oct 24, 2022

Hayes Dominion A4.

toodles · Oct 24, 2022

StiHacka said:
Hope E4s and V4s are allright with the green pads. Never a problem with those, unlike the Shimano lottery.

The green Galfer Pros are my fav pads for both of those brakes. I haven't tried the new Hope green pads though - I thought they were Galfer Pros but apparently they're not.

norbar said:
I'd probably go for V4 over E4 even if that's for an Enduro bike.

There's no point buying E4s unless you're mega pedantic about lever firmness at the expense of power. The V4s weigh like 9g more and are much better brakes. I have E4s on my trail bike and V4s on my NP Mega and am about to upgrade the Mega to Dominions, put the V4s on the trail bike and move the E4s to my DJ or sell them.

Of all the brakes I've tried in the past couple years - Shiguras work great but lack modulation a little bit and are expensive to build. Magura levers are a joke. TRP apparently work if you change the pads but the stock ones aren't spectacular. Trickstuffs and Dominion A4s are brilliant. Hope (T3 levers) are consistent but a bit behind in power - haven't tried the T4 properly.

SylentK · Oct 24, 2022

buckoW said:
Hayes Dominion A4.

The Swiss/Euro backing American? Now I've seen everything!

buckoW · Oct 24, 2022

SylentK said:
The Swiss/Euro backing American? Now I've seen everything!

You mean Ben from Tucson?

toodles · Oct 24, 2022

buckoW said:
Hayes Dominion A4.

@buckoW you use the Hayes bleed kit or a generic one?

djjohnr · Oct 24, 2022

Been running multiple sets Magura MT5s for the past few years, and currently have them on my enduro and DH bikes. Tried Hayes A4s on my trail bike this summer. Also ran current gen XTs for a brief amount of time. The Hayes have a strong initial bite point more similar to Shimanos, while the Maguras have better modulation. Power on both is excellent, however I ran into brake fade once on the Hayes while I never have on the Maguras in the past 5+ years.

jezso · Oct 25, 2022

Glad this topic came up. I'm also looking to upgrade and have XTR and Dominions on my radar. I really like the Shimano lever feel, my wife's bike has the SLX, and it's really nice, my only gripe with it so far are the resin pads, as they are not adequate for the alpine terrain that is around me. My main ride has the codes, which are not too bad, but the lever has considerable resistence vs. the SLX, and somehow it feels weak now. Might be I'm misled by my perceptions, but the braking feel of my Guide RE's on the other bike feel also like the codes, which kind of confirms my theory. The only thing that speak agains the Dominion is the DOT fluid, as with shimano I could standardize all the bikes in the family on one brake fluid material. I just might toss a coin...

buckoW · Oct 25, 2022

toodles said:
@buckoW you use the Hayes bleed kit or a generic one?

Formula and sram bleed kits

buckoW · Oct 25, 2022

norbar said:
I think it's the first time you are not on the formula bandwagon.

Tbh I'm surprised how many people recomend the dominions.

I had Hope, TRP and Formula but settled on Hayes. They aren’t perfect but they are very good.

Electric_City · Oct 25, 2022

norbar said:
Tbh I'm surprised how many people recomend the dominions.

#MeToo

Electric_City · Oct 25, 2022

My 2 cents.

I can't commit to shimano brakes cause I know people who literally carry a bleed kit in their car or backpack. And to me, that's absurd to put my safety on the line like that. Cause I don't have to and neither do they.

I like my Hope Tech3 V4's.

I'm not sure why Hope makes the E4's. They're just a bit smaller, but noticeably weaker.

With the V4's, something like that you might not like is that the lever is generally closer to the bar and there is a "decent" amount of lever throw. Otoh, the lever throw I believe is what their brakes don't drag. Ie. I've pushed out the old pads and put in brand new ones and the pads don't touch. I have to pump the lever to get the pads in far enough to contact. This is opposite of sram stuff where I'd spread the old pads, put the new ones in and have to force the disc between the pads. With that said, with the Hopes, the rotors don't drag.

I'm not light and I've yet to say "I wish I had more brake". 200mm f/r on the DH bike and 200/180mm on the enduro and HT.

They're lever is firm, where I've always felt the sram lever was flexy. When you apply the brake, it's there. Unlike sram felt to me. The one time that the brakes didn't work cause the lever came into the bar was because the pads were wore down to the metal. FUCK THAT. I headed to the truck and put in the new pads and no issues from there.

The pros are that there's no wandering bite point. They're reliable. Adjustable bite point and reach on all of their brakes unlike sram and shimano. No bleed kit required. DOT 4 or 5.1 fluid. 8mm wrench, a T10 and a hose/bottle is all you need. And as insignificant as it may seem, a V4 is a V4. There's no difference in model year like Shimano.

The cons are the lever is closer to the bar, expensive compared to Shimano, and parts aren't as abundant as Shimano and sram. But I've never needed anything besides brake pads.

Jm_ · Oct 25, 2022

Electric_City said:
My 2 cents.

I can't commit to shimano brakes cause I know people who literally carry a bleed kit in their car or backpack. And to me, that's absurd to put my safety on the line like that. Cause I don't have to and neither do they.

I like my Hope Tech3 V4's.

I'm not sure why Hope makes the E4's. They're just a bit smaller, but noticeably weaker.

With the V4's, something like that you might not like is that the lever is generally closer to the bar and there is a "decent" amount of lever throw. Otoh, the lever throw I believe is what their brakes don't drag. Ie. I've pushed out the old pads and put in brand new ones and the pads don't touch. I have to pump the lever to get the pads in far enough to contact. This is opposite of sram stuff where I'd spread the old pads, put the new ones in and have to force the disc between the pads. With that said, with the Hopes, the rotors don't drag.

I'm not light and I've yet to say "I wish I had more brake". 200mm f/r on the DH bike and 200/180mm on the enduro and HT.

They're lever is firm, where I've always felt the sram lever was flexy. When you apply the brake, it's there. Unlike sram felt to me. The one time that the brakes didn't work cause the lever came into the bar was because the pads were wore down to the metal. FUCK THAT. I headed to the truck and put in the new pads and no issues from there.

The pros are that there's no wandering bite point. They're reliable. Adjustable bite point and reach on all of their brakes unlike sram and shimano. No bleed kit required. DOT 4 or 5.1 fluid. 8mm wrench, a T10 and a hose/bottle is all you need. And as insignificant as it may seem, a V4 is a V4. There's no difference in model year like Shimano.

The cons are the lever is closer to the bar, expensive compared to Shimano, and parts aren't as abundant as Shimano and sram. But I've never needed anything besides brake pads.

You using a 2.3 rotor in the T4V4s? I have to say the lever really feels pretty much exactly the same as the T3, a bit more leverage due to the geometry, but throw and feel are like a carbon copy. All I got is 2 other sets of T3 and some shimano to compare against.

chuffer · Oct 25, 2022

I run shiguras with MT7 calipers and some version of XT levers.

I run Shiguras bc the Magura levers both broke in a single season and I had some Shimano levers laying around…

When they work, I like them. As someone else said, in the shop they feel like modulation will suck -instant firm lever, but on the trail they have great modulation.

For me the big downside for Magura calipers is the sticky pistons. I have to loosen up a few pistons every couple of months.The pistons get so out of balance that the rotor will rub
on the housing! Granted there is slop on the trails here 10 months per year, but I never had this problem with Hayes, Shimano or my ancient set of Juicys.

It sounds like Dominions and Hopes are good options.

I just can’t get past my anti Tektro feelings to consider TRPs. Back in the day that outfit made some real garbage…

Electric_City · Oct 25, 2022

Jm_ said:
You using a 2.3 rotor in the T4V4s? I have to say the lever really feels pretty much exactly the same as the T3, a bit more leverage due to the geometry, but throw and feel are like a carbon copy. All I got is 2 other sets of T3 and some shimano to compare against.

Mine are the T3V4. As for the rotor thickness, whatever their standard thickness is.

Do you feel an increase in power when comparing the T3 to the T4 lever?

Are there different thickness discs that hope sells? Advantages/disadvantages?

A heads up to anyone who googled this or is unfamiliar with the Hope lineup of brakes. E4 (enduro) and V4 (DH) are the calipers. Tech 3 refers to the levers. Tech 4 are the new levers. Mine are all Tech3 V4's, Fwiw.

jonKranked · Oct 25, 2022

buckoW said:
You mean Ben from Tucson?

do you still have the eurotrash haircut?

:busted:

Bikael Molton · Oct 25, 2022

Dominion A4s

Good brakes in 2022

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