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Saint Brakes

DH SB RIDER

Monkey
Aug 31, 2005
179
0
Santa Barbara
Hey what do you guys think of saint brakes? I live in Santa Barbara so its pretty steep and rocky. Let me know what you think, thanks. Would i be getting more power out of saints then lets say, hays mags/champaines(what i have right now.)
 

Tootrikky

Monkey
Jul 31, 2003
772
0
Mount Vernon
I have used hayes for the last 3 yrs and switched to Saints this year.
Things I noticed
-Definite Better Modulation
-Slightly Better Power
-Way easier to bleed
-Mineral Oil doesn't ruin paint but Shimano specific is hard to find
-Lever Pivot doesn't get sloppy like Hayes do
-Reach Adjust does not work it's way in like Hayes
-Levers are not split clamp like Hayes which sucks maintenance & adj wise
-Broke one lever so far (I run them moto style so they move in crash)
-Broke 3 hayes levers over 3 years
-Look Cooler
 

Transcend

My Nuts Are Flat
Apr 18, 2002
18,040
3
Towing the party line.
Tootrikky said:
I have used hayes for the last 3 yrs and switched to Saints this year.
Things I noticed
-Definite Better Modulation
-Slightly Better Power
-Way easier to bleed
-Mineral Oil doesn't ruin paint but Shimano specific is hard to find
-Lever Pivot doesn't get sloppy like Hayes do
-Reach Adjust does not work it's way in like Hayes
-Levers are not split clamp like Hayes which sucks maintenance & adj wise
I basically agree with everything mentioned, except what i have removed.

I have ridden hayes mags since they day they were released (i still have ORIGINAL champagnes lying around).

I loved my hayes to death until i got a set of saints..i will never go back.
 

PatBranch

Turbo Monkey
Sep 24, 2004
10,451
9
wine country
For christmas, my friend might get the saint kit for his scott high octane. DH SB RIDER, getting saint brakes means you will have to replace your CK hubs w/ Saints.
 

Castle

Turbo Monkey
Jun 10, 2002
1,446
0
VA
mtnbrider said:
For christmas, my friend might get the saint kit for his scott high octane. DH SB RIDER, getting saint brakes means you will have to replace your CK hubs w/ Saints.
nope just run 6 bolt shimano rotors
 

OGRipper

back alley ripper
Feb 3, 2004
10,647
1,116
NORCAL is the hizzle
mtnbrider said:
For christmas, my friend might get the saint kit for his scott high octane. DH SB RIDER, getting saint brakes means you will have to replace your CK hubs w/ Saints.
No it does not, you can use regular 6-bolt rotors from shimano, hayes, etc.
 

Tootrikky

Monkey
Jul 31, 2003
772
0
Mount Vernon
mtnbrider said:
For christmas, my friend might get the saint kit for his scott high octane. DH SB RIDER, getting saint brakes means you will have to replace your CK hubs w/ Saints.
What?


You can order them either way. I ordered 6 Bolt and got centerlocks and 6 bolt 8" rotors in the box.
 

Castle

Turbo Monkey
Jun 10, 2002
1,446
0
VA
any folks who've tried the saint also tried the avid juicies?

the Saint sound nice.

I'm not real satisfied with the juicies.
 

OGRipper

back alley ripper
Feb 3, 2004
10,647
1,116
NORCAL is the hizzle
wood-dog said:
I don't mean to step on your post but I wanted to know if Saint brakes work with XT levers
Yes, just make sure you have the right lines for your levers, the banjo at the caliper should be the same. If you already have XT's you should only need the calipers but I am pretty sure they sell them packaged with rotors. Stupid shimano... :mumble:
 

1soulrider

Monkey
Apr 16, 2002
436
10
nor cal
wood-dog said:
I don't mean to step on your post but I wanted to know if Saint brakes work with XT levers
All the shimano levers and calipers are interchangable, you just need the the proper fittings for the hoses.

I also have to say the Saint/XT brakes are the best I've used, and I've tried most of whats avalible.
 

OGRipper

back alley ripper
Feb 3, 2004
10,647
1,116
NORCAL is the hizzle
Tootrikky said:
Yes-All Shimano Hyd Levers and Calipers are interchangable

There were different lever connections for a while there, not sure if that is still the case. The old rule was to make sure the lines fit the levers, but all of lines should fit all calipers.
 

Spunger

Git yer dumb questions here
Feb 19, 2003
2,257
0
805
Just keep in mind replacement parts unless you're going to carry all your own parts. Shimano/Avid/Hayes are all easy to get a hold of. Our local shops might carry more Hayes stuff because most of the bikes sold in the shops have hayes (some have shimano) but for the most part it's hayes. Avid's are starting to fill out there too so there's many choices.

I've had hayes for 3 years now. No problems what so ever. I'd be willing to try another type of brakes but I dunno. Once you have 2 bikes with Hayes it makes sense to stay with them and not spend $$$ to switch all over to another kind of brake. Plus you gotta get different adapters, rotors and such as it becomes a PITA.

But.......if I had one bike and wanted new brakes I'd go with Hope/Avid Juicy's. I dunno what it is but they feel nice. Just from a lever pull I like the feel.
 

AN6 Freerider

Monkey
Feb 18, 2005
209
0
socal
i ahve been running saints for a long time now at least 2 years and let me say they are killer they rock. hands down. just like everyone said uptop . i will never use a different brake. and just like mentioned also if you run saint hubs they are centerlock rotors specifically for the saints hubs. but i have 2 wheelsets of alexrims supra d pro with saint hubs and 203mm center lock rotors and a wheelset of aclass Kapruns with 6 bolt 203mm rotors. both work fine. just make sure you rotor size is the same as the caliper...

SAINT everything just rocks in my opinion. i ahve ben ridin SAINT cranks and brakes and hubs and rear deraliuer for 2 years now still have prototype stickers on most of my **** so..
 

Slacker

Monkey
Jul 24, 2002
228
0
Los Angeles
Transcend said:
I have ridden hayes mags since they day they were released (i still have ORIGINAL champagnes lying around).

I loved my hayes to death until i got a set of saints..i will never go back.
Wow, I thought you'd never switch to anything other than a diff Hayes model, just from what I've read here in RM.
So, have you put the Saint thru the paces and down some long runs.... no problems with mineral oil or anything?

Stock lines?

Which rotors are you running with them?
 

Transcend

My Nuts Are Flat
Apr 18, 2002
18,040
3
Towing the party line.
mtnbrider said:
For christmas, my friend might get the saint kit for his scott high octane. DH SB RIDER, getting saint brakes means you will have to replace your CK hubs w/ Saints.
Um no, completely wrong. 100% wrong.

I am using the same regular old hadley hubs I was using with hayes.
 

Transcend

My Nuts Are Flat
Apr 18, 2002
18,040
3
Towing the party line.
Slacker said:
Wow, I thought you'd never switch to anything other than a diff Hayes model, just from what I've read here in RM.
So, have you put the Saint thru the paces and down some long runs.... no problems with mineral oil or anything?

Stock lines?

Which rotors are you running with them?
Ya man, trust me, I thought the exact same thing. I absolutely loved my hayes, no question. A good friend of mine hooked me up with a full set of saints to try as he hated seeing me on my beat up old hayes (which still worked great). I was more then impressed, to say the least.

I am running stock lines (I have goodridge lines, haven't tried them yet tho), hayes rotors (I have 6 bolt shimano rotors, keeping them as spares) and will never go back to hayes on my DH bike probably.
 

bomberboy11

Monkey
Jul 15, 2005
665
0
At a computer...duh
In response to the question comparing the Avid Juicies:

If you want power, go with the Saints, they are ridiculously powerful, and most people locally who ride them actually wind up putting in the weaker pads.

If you want modulation, stick with the Juicies (what I'm riding now). They take a lot of energy to lock up (compared to the Saints) so if you think that you aren't getting much power out of them you just have to squeeze a little harder and just remember you probably wont lock your wheel up. They just seem to have a much longer modulation range.
 

Transcend

My Nuts Are Flat
Apr 18, 2002
18,040
3
Towing the party line.
bomberboy11 said:
In response to the question comparing the Avid Juicies:

If you want power, go with the Saints, they are ridiculously powerful, and most people locally who ride them actually wind up putting in the weaker pads.

If you want modulation, stick with the Juicies (what I'm riding now). They take a lot of energy to lock up (compared to the Saints) so if you think that you aren't getting much power out of them you just have to squeeze a little harder and just remember you probably wont lock your wheel up. They just seem to have a much longer modulation range.
Best tip I got from an ex shimano skunkworks member, was to run one sintered and one organic pad. Then you really do get the best of both worlds.

Not being able to lock your brakes up is a bad idea.
 

Incubus

Monkey
Oct 17, 2001
562
0
Boston, MA
I got rid of my Juicys for Saints. I had an early set of Juicys and the maint was impossible. I'm running goodridge lines on mine. The Saints are everything you need in a brake. Clean, simple, effective. The mineral oil being more environmentally friendly than the SRAM/Avid offering is a bonus.
 

DH SB RIDER

Monkey
Aug 31, 2005
179
0
Santa Barbara
People have been telling me that the hopes are a pain to get parts for. I have also spoken to people who have said that you should be a mechanic if your going to own hopes, because there so hard to work on. Is that true and are the mono 6 ti as powerfull as the saints?
 

ohio

The Fresno Kid
Nov 26, 2001
6,649
23
SF, CA
Transcend said:
(i still have ORIGINAL champagnes lying around).
Total tangent, but I am still running my first pair of discs - some champagne hayes. They are still absolutely flawless, and are the only brakeset I've ever owned (of MANY) that has NEVER once given me any problems or malfunctions... they've never even really needed bleeding. I've only bled them when I switched bikes and had to change hoses.

They may lack a little modulation, and the lever doesn't fit like my hopes, but I'll never get rid of them. WAY too reliable.
 

snoopz666

Monkey
Dec 24, 2004
248
0
now residing in kamloops
DH SB RIDER said:
People have been telling me that the hopes are a pain to get parts for. I have also spoken to people who have said that you should be a mechanic if your going to own hopes, because there so hard to work on. Is that true and are the mono 6 ti as powerfull as the saints?
true but at the same time i think theres one mech here that actually knows anything about hope, the rest havent even seen one. for bleeding read the instructions, anything else, find a compentent mech and get him to do it.
 

Spunger

Git yer dumb questions here
Feb 19, 2003
2,257
0
805
DH SB RIDER said:
Thanks. A lot of you are talking about those goodridge lines, do they make a big difference, and how much do they cost?
They make a good amount of difference as far as line swelling and expansion goes. If the Hydro line can't expand then you'll have a firmer feeling lever. I changed to GRC levers on my Hayes and it helped some as I didn't feel a problem with the lines BUT the goodrich stuff would be next on my list of things to do.

It's just like on a car, the pedal feel gets better when you go to a steel braided line rather than a rubber line. It's just less places for things to expand and cause funny lever feel.
 

black noise

Turbo Monkey
Dec 31, 2004
1,032
0
Santa Cruz
ohio said:
Total tangent, but I am still running my first pair of discs - some champagne hayes. They are still absolutely flawless, and are the only brakeset I've ever owned (of MANY) that has NEVER once given me any problems or malfunctions... they've never even really needed bleeding. I've only bled them when I switched bikes and had to change hoses.

They may lack a little modulation, and the lever doesn't fit like my hopes, but I'll never get rid of them. WAY too reliable.
Same with me. My original Hayes Nines from almost 2 years of hard riding ago are still going strong. A few new pads, but original everything else.
 

DH SB RIDER

Monkey
Aug 31, 2005
179
0
Santa Barbara
Really, Zac have you tryed hopes apart from ridng punkassseans around the Velo Pro parking lot? wow the PSATS are 4 hours dude. Maby were better off doing P.E.?
 

Transcend

My Nuts Are Flat
Apr 18, 2002
18,040
3
Towing the party line.
ohio said:
Total tangent, but I am still running my first pair of discs - some champagne hayes. They are still absolutely flawless, and are the only brakeset I've ever owned (of MANY) that has NEVER once given me any problems or malfunctions... they've never even really needed bleeding. I've only bled them when I switched bikes and had to change hoses.

They may lack a little modulation, and the lever doesn't fit like my hopes, but I'll never get rid of them. WAY too reliable.
Same thing here, i had originals on one of my bikes..all I did was change the lines for goodridge. Most dependable damn parts I have had on any bike..that includes just about every part that makes up a bike.
 

Brian HCM#1

MMMMMMMMM BEER!!!!!!!!!!
Sep 7, 2001
32,119
378
Bay Area, California
Don't listen to anyone else................

Buy Hopes!!!!


They ARE easy to work on, if you're in SB, you can have new parts shipped directly to you from Hope in 1 day, that makes it quick for you to get any necessary parts. And for me they have been extremely reliable.