[slyfink]

why not just buy a set of juicy 7...try it out..if you feel like you dont have enough power then swap the code calipers on?

thats what im doing atm...my code levers crapped out(one side is leaking and one side is bent)..bought a new set of juicy 7 for dirt cheap and still happy

get some ebc brake pads while you are at it and you will feel like you never run out of power[/QUOTE

A couple of reasons. Primarily it's because after owning a set of Codes, and riding my buddy's bike equipped with Elixir's, I've come to the conclusion that my hands aren't shaped to match Avid levers. They're just totally uncomfortable for me no matter how much I adjust the bite point and reach. I know I could get straitline or some other after market lever, but that leads me to reason #2.

Which is that I've had nothing but problems with the Avid brakes I've owned. Whereas any Shimano product I've owned has been set and forget. I have a set of XT brakes on my trail bike from 2005 that have never been bled, and yet they perform better than the Codes on my DH bike, which have to be bled weekly. It's probably something I can fix, but my experience has made me gun-shy of Avid products.

So I'm weighing my options and wanted to see what others experience was.

Thanks for the input everyone, that's helpful.

 

[Sandwich]

why not just buy a set of juicy 7...try it out..if you feel like you dont have enough power then swap the code calipers on?

thats what im doing atm...my code levers crapped out(one side is leaking and one side is bent)..bought a new set of juicy 7 for dirt cheap and still happy

get some ebc brake pads while you are at it and you will feel like you never run out of power

yeah, why buy one set of brakes when you can buy two???

I paid retail for my saints, didn't goof around aside from buying from CRC. It was worth it. I had only one issue, cutting the line and inserting the awful brass barb in a parking lot, followed by a bleed in same said parking lot. No goofy leaks, no british reliability, just performance all summer long. Dig it.

 

[AzN_devil]

why not just buy a set of juicy 7...try it out..if you feel like you dont have enough power then swap the code calipers on?

thats what im doing atm...my code levers crapped out(one side is leaking and one side is bent)..bought a new set of juicy 7 for dirt cheap and still happy

get some ebc brake pads while you are at it and you will feel like you never run out of power[/QUOTE

A couple of reasons. Primarily it's because after owning a set of Codes, and riding my buddy's bike equipped with Elixir's, I've come to the conclusion that my hands aren't shaped to match Avid levers. They're just totally uncomfortable for me no matter how much I adjust the bite point and reach. I know I could get straitline or some other after market lever, but that leads me to reason #2.

Which is that I've had nothing but problems with the Avid brakes I've owned. Whereas any Shimano product I've owned has been set and forget. I have a set of XT brakes on my trail bike from 2005 that have never been bled, and yet they perform better than the Codes on my DH bike, which have to be bled weekly. It's probably something I can fix, but my experience has made me gun-shy of Avid products.

So I'm weighing my options and wanted to see what others experience was.

Thanks for the input everyone, that's helpful.

well...avid levers never felt "great" for me either...but they do the job..but hey..thats just me..i want some stratline levers myself too and prolly will buy them when i bend my levers...

avid quality... the qc is just horrible...any lever that has adjustments is bound to leak eventually...juicy 7 levers last the longest without maintenance though....juciy ultimate levers requires sh!tloads of cleaning or the piston gets stuck..elixir cr levers just "fall apart" if you crash

and bleeding wise...what brake oil were you using? the stock oil sucks horribly..try some silkolene or repsol or motul brake oil...its a lot better
i get ~3 months of performance before i need to bleed my brakes

shimano brakes...i dont like the "feel" of them...and they dont work properly in the cold...the only brake i liked from shimano was the old xt 4 pot...powerrrr

 

[slyfink]

shimano brakes...and they dont work properly in the cold...the only brake i liked from shimano was the old xt 4 pot...powerrrr

hmmm interesting. I was out last night and it was 10F out (-12C). My two pot XTs were same as always.

I think lever shape preference is very personal. I actually like Shimanos, and could never get comfy with Avids.

The fluid I was using in my Codes was Avid's, but I don't think that was the problem. There's a leak somewhere in the system, but no one could ever pinpoint it.

My old DH bike, with the Codes, is going to become my loaner bike to get my friends hooked on DH. The Saints will go on the new bike. I'll probably install the Juicy levers from the new bike onto the Code system of the old bike. There won't be reach adjust, but since it'll be a loaner bike, I'm not too worried.

Thanks for the input folks.