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Need advice on choosing a good hydraulic brake:

Grizzle

Monkey
Sep 7, 2005
216
0
La Crescenta, CA
OK, so here is the deal. After cruising the MTBR reviews of damn near every brake system listed, i still cannot decide what to go with. My current brakes are hayes HFX9-HD's. I like that they are powerful, and a very simple, reliable design, they never overheat. What i do not like is that the modulation is very lacking. Its pretty much either locked up, on pretty hard, or off.

What i am looking for in a brake system is more modulation control, so i can do a nose manual without eating crap every time i get up a ways. Its just not happening with the hayes. I would go with the hope M6's, or the saint, but i see alot of reviews saying that they get inconsistent performance. I do not want a brake that will crap out on me on a steep downhill when i need it most. If this means staying with the hayes, so be it.

I would just like opinions from people of what they think of their brake systems, pluses and minuses. Im going to be using it for FR/DH. Thanks, Grizzle.
 

Grizzle

Monkey
Sep 7, 2005
216
0
La Crescenta, CA
What im saying is that in reading the MTBR reviews, there are alot of good reviews about M6's and Saint brakes. However, there are also reviews of people saying the brakes crap out on them when they are needed the most. I am just wondering what everyone's experience has been.
 

PatBranch

Turbo Monkey
Sep 24, 2004
10,451
9
wine country
On my bike I have hayes mag brakes. They are the next step up from the hfx 9s. They work well for stoppies and can easily be faethered down stuff like rock cliffs.
 

Biscuit

Turbo Monkey
Feb 12, 2003
1,768
1
Pleasant Hill, CA
There aren't any brakes out there that will just stop working and kill you.

Hope's are probably the best, yet most expensive brakes out there. But they do require a little more maintenance (bleeding more often).

Hayes are the tried and true, almost never fail brakes. And excellent performers.

I've owned both, and now run Avids. They seem to feel very similar to the Hayes, not quite as much power, but they are the easiest things in the world to setup. Can't say much about their reliability yet, but I liked Juicy 7's so much on my dh bike, I got some 5's for my trail bike.
 

Jm_

sled dog's bollocks
Jan 14, 2002
18,850
9,556
AK
Biscuit said:
Hope's are probably the best, yet most expensive brakes out there. But they do require a little more maintenance (bleeding more often).
I've had Hopes (twice now), Maguras, Avids and Hayes. Why on earth would my hopes require "bleeding more often"???
 

syadasti

i heart mac
Apr 15, 2002
12,690
290
VT
Juicy 5s work great for the money - you really don't need all the extra adjustment Juicy 7 and Caminos offer IMHO...
 

dhkid

Turbo Monkey
Mar 10, 2005
3,358
0
Malaysia
Jm_ said:
Why on earth would my hopes require "bleeding more often"???
coz its nearly impossible to get hopes (esp the m4 and m6) bled perfectly...once they are perfect they are great!! well the m4 and minis. id stay away from the m6, its just overkill.
 

Jm_

sled dog's bollocks
Jan 14, 2002
18,850
9,556
AK
dhkid said:
coz its nearly impossible to get hopes (esp the m4 and m6) bled perfectly...once they are perfect they are great!! well the m4 and minis. id stay away from the m6, its just overkill.
Follow the directions and it's easy. They are one of the only brakes I'm aware of where you don't need special syringes and stuff to bleed. Make sure you keep the caliper above the resi, and it works just fine. I helped a buddy set up some shimanos (which actually seem to bleed very similer to hopes) a few weeks ago, and I'd guess most problems come from people trying to make "shortcuts" to the bleeding process. My buddy was trying to make big shortcuts and bleed it in reverse, which turned out to be messy, a pain in the arse, and the lever didn't feel right when done.
 

Sir_Crackien

Turbo Monkey
Feb 7, 2004
2,051
0
alex. va. usa.
how about the biking world most under rated brake of all time

the deore 525 hydro w/8" rotors

trust me these things are awsome for some reason. i have been using mine for just about 4 year now and they have never let me down!
 

snoopz666

Monkey
Dec 24, 2004
248
0
now residing in kamloops
id say hopes, i had the same brake as you, i even got mag internals for it. but it still sucks compared to my hope mono6, best brake ive ever tried. a rear m4 is in my future now too. as for bleeding, when i bought them, the mech there did it, but i really dont think he had ever done one before, he got brake fluid all over the place, but at least he ended up doing a good job. i think as long as you follow the instructions then it shouldnt be any harder then any other brake.
 

bballe336

Turbo Monkey
Mar 3, 2005
1,757
0
MA
just try and ride different brakes. and whatever you like the best is what you should ride. some people like certain brakes and others can't stand them. just figure out what works best for you.
 

Bicyclist

Turbo Monkey
Apr 4, 2004
10,152
2
SB
Sir_Crackien said:
how about the biking world most under rated brake of all time

the deore 525 hydro w/8" rotors

trust me these things are awsome for some reason. i have been using mine for just about 4 year now and they have never let me down!
Yep. Either those or XT's. Shimano brakes have the best modulation IMHO.
 

Biscuit

Turbo Monkey
Feb 12, 2003
1,768
1
Pleasant Hill, CA
Jm_ said:
I've had Hopes (twice now), Maguras, Avids and Hayes. Why on earth would my hopes require "bleeding more often"???
I have no idea why, but I was bleeding mine about every two months. I even sent them back to hope for servicing and had the same problem.
My hayes, I had for about a year before it even remotely felt like it needed a bleed.

Sir_Crackien said:
how about the biking world most under rated brake of all time

the deore 525 hydro w/8" rotors

trust me these things are awsome for some reason. i have been using mine for just about 4 year now and they have never let me down!
I'll second that as the most under rated brake. A friend of mine had these set up and I couldn't believe how powerfull they were (for a super cheap brake).
He claimed they had been really reliable, no-fade, no-drag.

No bling, but definitely worth a look.
 

deweydude

Monkey
Mar 23, 2005
418
1
Washougal Washington
I am running the Hayes Carbons, but they are just a HFX-9 with a carbon lever they have been good to me had no problems at all and they perform well and the stock carbon levers are sweet
 

1soulrider

Monkey
Apr 16, 2002
436
10
nor cal
I run the Saints, they are far and away the best brakes I have ever used. Light, easy to bleed, reliable, with amazing power and modulation. I've tried Hayes, Magura, and Hope none of them can touch the performance of the Saints (or XTs, same caliper different paint job).
I have not had any time on the Avids, but they seem very promising.
 

julian_dh

Monkey
Jan 10, 2005
813
0
Jm_ said:
Follow the directions and it's easy. They are one of the only brakes I'm aware of where you don't need special syringes and stuff to bleed. Make sure you keep the caliper above the resi, and it works just fine. I helped a buddy set up some shimanos (which actually seem to bleed very similer to hopes) a few weeks ago, and I'd guess most problems come from people trying to make "shortcuts" to the bleeding process. My buddy was trying to make big shortcuts and bleed it in reverse, which turned out to be messy, a pain in the arse, and the lever didn't feel right when done.
yea i usually bleed my hopes on the bike instead of raising the caliper up in the air cause im lazy and its much harder that way do u think it will make a big differnecetaking the shortcut or will raising the caliper above the lever give me a way better bleed
 

Jm_

sled dog's bollocks
Jan 14, 2002
18,850
9,556
AK
julian_dh said:
will raising the caliper above the lever give me a way better bleed
Raising the caliper above will always give you a better bleed, because gravity will be working WITH the air bubbles, as long as we are talking about a system (like the hopes) where the fluid goes into the lever and out of the nipple at the caliper.
 

Nick

My name is Nick
Sep 21, 2001
23,926
14,438
where the trails are
I use Shimano 755 4-piston brakes on both my bikes. Never tried a brake that I liked more :love::heart: Awesome feel/modulation and tons of stopping power.

I tried the Juicy's. They're fantastic. I wouldn't drop what I have for them, but when I do need to get a new brake I'd probably put the 5's at the top of the list right now.

I never cared for any of the Hayes I've tried (compared to my XTs) nor the Hope C2 and Minis that I've tried.
 

mcA896

Turbo Monkey
Aug 15, 2003
1,160
0
Cape Cod, MA
I'm not sure how long I've had my hopes now, about a month. They are the Mono M4's. They have only gotten better since I got them. Great power, great modulation, no squealing, even in pouring rain.
 

jackalope

Mental acuity - 1%
Jan 9, 2004
7,596
5,894
in a single wide, cooking meth...
'04 or newer Magura Louise FRs...Best modulation I have ever felt (although Saints & XT's are very good as well) and brutal power...Nice beefy rotors as well, which are very resistant to warping and bending...They can be tricky to set up right, but mine have been absolute tits...So much so, other people at DH races feel them and flat say 'thats how a DH/FR brake should feel'...They've been several magnitudes better than my Hayes Mags (with Goodridge lines)...

Also rode some today in fact on another dudes bike and they feel exactly like mine...I mean exacty...Amazing IMO...