[manhattanprjkt83]

does anyone know if Shimano Saint M810 calipers will work with the XTR levers pictured below?

I am running the old school Saint calipers w/ XTR levers now and looking to keep them but every distributor i check doesn't sell the SAINT M810 separately it's only the kit...

 

[Steve M]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but the XTR levers don't have the servo-wave mechanism, so you'll have less power or an obscenely long lever throw - and I'm pretty sure it'll be the former. Not sure why they do that given that the XT levers do have the servo-wave thing. Personally however, I'd suggest getting the full Saint getup. It's expensive but every single time I ride my bike I'm glad I spent the coin on those things.

 

[klunky]

Those XTR levers work will on the servo wave XT calipers - really well.
Would probably work with the saints and they are lighter and have way less to go wrong.

Go for it I reckon

 

[in the trees]

Very good pricing on the levers online as well.

 

[manhattanprjkt83]

so there is 2 votes for yes and 1 for no, even more confused right now.

I really dont want to get the full saint lever/caliper because I am really trying to keep the weight down on this bike and already have the levers.

But my other question is can you even buy the new SAINT M810 calipers individually? I can't seem to find them.

 

[Nick]

I've combined several lever/caliper by Shimano over the years and they've all worked. I have to believe this will work for you too.

 

[HAB]

I've ridden a pair of Saint 800 levers on 810 calipers, and they worked fine, but weren't as powerful as the full 810 setup. It'll work, but you will loose some power. Your call.

 

[manhattanprjkt83]

I've ridden a pair of Saint 800 levers on 810 calipers, and they worked fine, but weren't as powerful as the full 810 setup. It'll work, but you will loose some power. Your call.

I think you answered my question right there, yes it will work but it isnt the best idea, power for weight...And I agree, right now i have the above levers with 800 SAINT

so everyone seems to be loving the new brakes right?

 

[HAB]

so everyone seems to be loving the new brakes right?

Yup. They're great.

 

[William42]

Another vote for the full saint setup. Either that, or spend a lil extra and get the ones. I have full saint, my buddy has the ones on his m6. We both like ours alot, and you really can't go wrong with either, but if you're going for weight and don't want the extra 50 grams the saints have, then get a set of the ones. I'd recommend the saints because I like them so much, I'd rather deal with a big company with lots of support then a little italian company, but yah. Get the full saint setup, or go with the ones. You'll have way better brakes that aren't dumbed down and "bling"

 

[HAB]

Another vote for the full saint setup. Either that, or spend a lil extra and get the ones. I have full saint, my buddy has the ones on his m6. We both like ours alot, and you really can't go wrong with either, but if you're going for weight and don't want the extra 50 grams the saints have, then get a set of the ones. I'd recommend the saints because I like them so much, I'd rather deal with a big company with lots of support then a little italian company, but yah. Get the full saint setup, or go with the ones. You'll have way better brakes that aren't dumbed down and "bling"

As someone who owns both, I'd recommend that you suck up the weight loss and get the Saints. The Ones are awesome, but way high maintenance. Bleeding them is a little tricky, they eat pads (though Goodridge ones help) and need to be bled often.

 

[Sghost]

You can buy Saint 810's as a set or calipers, hoses, and levers individually.

 

[Natedog]

I have seen some pro teams running the XTR levers with the Saint calipers and they must be working fine. Correct me if I'm wrong but NEedles has been using this setup since mid-season last year.

I do know from prior experience that the XTR levers will work with the newer calipers (XT, SLX etc...the models that are shipping with servowave levers). As far as the "obscenely long lever throw", that is more dependent on how thouroughly you bleed the system.

Hope that helps.

 

[Steve M]

I have seen some pro teams running the XTR levers with the Saint calipers and they must be working fine. Correct me if I'm wrong but NEedles has been using this setup since mid-season last year.

I do know from prior experience that the XTR levers will work with the newer calipers (XT, SLX etc...the models that are shipping with servowave levers). As far as the "obscenely long lever throw", that is more dependent on how thouroughly you bleed the system.

Hope that helps.

Lever throw is determined by how far you have to pull the lever before the clearance between pad and rotor is taken up, it has little to do with the bleed (unless of course you happen to have so much air in your lines that pulling the lever doesn't actually move the pads). That's the whole reasoning behind the servo-wave levers; low leverage ratio at the start of the throw to push more oil with less force, then higher leverage ratio later on to push less oil with more force. It's actually a brilliant idea IMO. At first I expected the levers to gunk up and that servo-wave thing not to work, but I haven't had to touch my levers in the 18 months I've owned em.

Any Shimano lever will "work" with the M810 calipers in that pulling the lever will result in your bike slowing down, it's just a matter of how well. Unlike Avid however, their master cylinders don't all have the same oil displacement characteristic relative to lever throw (hence this whole debate), so changing some levers over will affect how the brake works.

 

[manhattanprjkt83]

As someone who owns both, I'd recommend that you suck up the weight loss and get the Saints. The Ones are awesome, but way high maintenance. Bleeding them is a little tricky, they eat pads (though Goodridge ones help) and need to be bled often.

totally, i was just trying to get away with using what i had already AND save weight...not really that worried about it.

 

[manhattanprjkt83]

where are you guys seeing that you can buy the saint calipers only? all of the distributors our shop uses only sell the complete kits...odd.