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What brakes are good in 2020?

Flo33

Turbo Monkey
Mar 3, 2015
2,135
1,364
Styria
After a quick lap on them on the weekend they're on the top of my upgrade list. Bonkers.
I heard some gossip about a guy getting you hooked on the magic stuff. It's unbelievable how good they are until you have tried em properly isn't it? But remember, brakes are not that important when riding bikes. And they have to match your other stuff otherwise you ain't gonna get the real likes on the gram.

:D
 

toodles

ridiculously corgi proportioned
Aug 24, 2004
5,824
5,201
Australia
I heard some gossip about a guy getting you hooked on the magic stuff. It's unbelievable how good they are until you have tried em properly isn't it? But remember, brakes are not that important when riding bikes. And they have to match your other stuff otherwise you ain't gonna get the real likes on the gram.
Yeah I've got V4s on my bike, and they're not as powerful as Saints (but at least the bite point stays the same). But the Trickstuffs are effortless. First few corners back on my bike and I was overshooting stuff. Ridiculous.
 

Nick

My name is Nick
Sep 21, 2001
24,861
16,396
where the trails are
Yeah I've got V4s on my bike, and they're not as powerful as Saints (but at least the bite point stays the same). But the Trickstuffs are effortless. First few corners back on my bike and I was overshooting stuff. Ridiculous.
Where did you find them in stock???
 

xy9ine

Turbo Monkey
Mar 22, 2004
2,940
353
vancouver eastside
i need brakes. is there a consensus yet? do i have to read through this whole thread?? has shimano resolved the VBP issues for the 2020 production run? i like the value, ergonomics & (perceived, anyways) build quality. not a huge fan of the MT5 lever (shape nor plasticity), and don't want to buck up for the 7's. WTF does this have to be so difficult?
 

kidwoo

Artisanal Tweet Curator
If you're willing to get real obsessive about rotors being straight, I still have no complaints about the 3 sets of cura 2s I've had if we're talking trailbikes. They're probably the most 'shimano-like' that I've used.

They get too hot for real dh riding IMO.
 

englertracing

you owe me a sandwich
Mar 5, 2012
1,657
1,143
La Verne
If you're willing to get real obsessive about rotors being straight, I still have no complaints about the 3 sets of cura 2s I've had if we're talking trailbikes. They're probably the most 'shimano-like' that I've used.

They get too hot for real dh riding IMO.
I actually like my cura 4 quite a bit
But yeah rotor drag
I could imagine the cura 2 probably feeling better and having less drag
 

kidwoo

Artisanal Tweet Curator
It's weird, the 4s feel nothing like the 2s. Very strong but I just can't get them to have that hard, instantaneous bite. They always feel mushy to me.

Not a huge deal, every brake but shimanos feel mushy to me. :D

Getting a good bleed on them is a little more of a pain, but yeah, they're good strong brakes.
 

xy9ine

Turbo Monkey
Mar 22, 2004
2,940
353
vancouver eastside
so the 2 pots are actually a viable aggressive trail / enduro (tm) brake (vs the 4 pot)? never checked out formula previously, but they do look well built, and pricing is decent.
 

kidwoo

Artisanal Tweet Curator
so the 2 pots are actually a viable aggressive trail / enduro (tm) brake (vs the 4 pot)? never checked out formula previously, but they do look well built, and pricing is decent.
I think so.

If you're a bigger guy who rides a lot of ass dragging, brake dragging stuff, especially on a 29er, I could see some of the heat problems arise but other than that yeah.

I rode the 2 pots on my dh bike for 2 years. On really steep stuff they would heat up to the point of temporarily warping the rotor so they'd go tick tick tick for a few seconds. Not a big deal, it just kind of annoyed me.
 

kidwoo

Artisanal Tweet Curator
Well, you are displacing almost twice the oil to move the four pots, just saying. The actual oil volume in the resi might even not be enough for the 4 pots, as several guys have found them lacking fluid when rebleeding them.
Same with saints vs xts but saints still feel punchy.


Didn't they have a batch of leaky calipers at one point? Mine didn't leak but I thought I'd read about some people having that problem.
 

jstuhlman

bagpipe wanker
Dec 3, 2009
17,313
14,123
Cackalacka du Nord
been happy with 2 pot cura in back and 4 up front. good bleed is critical to them having decent bite (i was coming off xt's). rotor tolerances are tight, but just take a bit longer to set up. once set up, mine have been fine. used for riding locally, in pisgah, and a few lift days on my nomad.
 

Wuffles

Monkey
Feb 24, 2016
157
98
Well, you are displacing almost twice the oil to move the four pots, just saying. The actual oil volume in the resi might even not be enough for the 4 pots, as several guys have found them lacking fluid when rebleeding them.
Can confirm, I needed to do a top-off after a bit of use. Fortunately it's pretty simple, just go bed in the pads and rotors, and then without changing anything just add some fluid to the reservoir.

The bonus is *knocks on wood* that despite the miniscule pad-rotor clearance, I have not had any rubbing for several months of decently hard usage using this method.
 

Jm_

sled dog's bollocks
Jan 14, 2002
20,062
10,626
AK
So I went with Hope V4/E4 F/R. I was thinking of doing TRP, but besides being out of stock, I didn't like how I would have to pair their brakes and the lack of being able to change pads without taking the caliper off on the lower ones. Idea is to over-rotor the front V4 eventually with a 223 vented, but 203 for now. Interesting, the V4s come with 3 different brake pads, what appears to be organic, sintered, and "e-bike", whatever the fuck that is. Kind of cool you get 3 pads and the V4 pads are some beefy pads too, way more material and area than shimano.
 

carlos1

Chimp
Nov 14, 2011
55
59
Czech Republic
So I went with Hope V4/E4 F/R. I was thinking of doing TRP, but besides being out of stock, I didn't like how I would have to pair their brakes and the lack of being able to change pads without taking the caliper off on the lower ones. Idea is to over-rotor the front V4 eventually with a 223 vented, but 203 for now. Interesting, the V4s come with 3 different brake pads, what appears to be organic, sintered, and "e-bike", whatever the fuck that is. Kind of cool you get 3 pads and the V4 pads are some beefy pads too, way more material and area than shimano.
Hi, the vented disc are only in 203mm, they dont make bigger vented rotors.
 

Jm_

sled dog's bollocks
Jan 14, 2002
20,062
10,626
AK
Hi, the vented disc are only in 203mm, they dont make bigger vented rotors.
And here I was just thinking they are out of stock. But at least the V4s work with normal rotors too, heck, they'd work fine with "plus" sized rotors too (thicker than standard) like TRP and Magura.
 

HAB

Chelsea from Seattle
Apr 28, 2007
11,589
2,021
Seattle
I haven't
Check 'em out. Lever feel is decidedly Shimano-y, but also dead consistent. Really really light stroke through the free part, but they ramp up hard. Maybe a touch less power than Saints, but in that ballpark. They're really good
 

carlos1

Chimp
Nov 14, 2011
55
59
Czech Republic
And here I was just thinking they are out of stock. But at least the V4s work with normal rotors too, heck, they'd work fine with "plus" sized rotors too (thicker than standard) like TRP and Magura.
Yes, i run them with Intend aero rotors 2,25 mm thick, and they are the best rotors I have ever ridden, but sadly, Kornelius do not make them anymore.
 

Flo33

Turbo Monkey
Mar 3, 2015
2,135
1,364
Styria
Some people were lucky to order some DRTs from r2bike lately when the website showed delivery times of >3 months and the brakes showed up 4 weeks later.
Just sayin...
 

Inclag

Turbo Monkey
Sep 9, 2001
2,775
459
MA
Just pulled the trigger on some MT5 estops from merlin cycles. Price was effectively the same as the regular MT5's and it appears they come with the aluminum vs. cracotecture clamps and the individual piston pads found on the MT7's. Planning on going with the heavy duty 220mm rotors. Will report back my experiences. Hoping for an improvement from the Shimano stuff. When it is working it is great, but the <1 year functional life of their levers and constant air ingestion is a bitch.
 

Bikael Molton

goofy for life
Jun 9, 2003
4,088
1,235
El Lay
I agree.

I haven’t had a wandering bite point, anD one of mine is on the stock bleed after 2 years and like 3000mi.
Mine have been really consistent, but a bit less powerful than my Zees. I’ll gladly make that trade off, but I don’t like the lever shape nearly as much as Shimano‘s.
 

commencaldh

Jeremy Hottinger
Apr 26, 2015
143
37
I've loved my Hope V4s on my enduro rig. 180mm rotors front and year and you get plenty of power. They don't fade either and as long as you bleed them properly the bite point is consistent. Having independent bite point + reach is a plus.
 

TrumbullHucker

trumbullruxer
Aug 29, 2005
2,284
719
shimzbury, ct
Ive had MT5s for some time now on my Fuzz and after doing east coast parks and just coming back from Trestle for a week, I like them alot. Compared to the Zees I had previously for 3 seasons, the power stays even when dragging your brakes on long descents; and the bite is always there and consistent. I am 230 with helmet and all, paired with old sram 203mm rotors ( correct rotor thickness ) and I can still lock up the rear wheel after a run


On a personal level, I can only relate to brakes that immediately go to the bar when things get rough.
Mine finally puffed up once the trail got rough lol. Alittle sketchy sometimes on fast flow trails