Avid Debuts New Four Piston, Less Expensive Brakes

Apr 16, 2013 at 0:37
by SRAM  
Avid is proud to introduce the new Elixir 9 Trail and Elixir 7 Trail hydraulic disc brakes. Together with X0 Trail, they form the Avid Trail Family, the key to more power and control with less weight and zero fuss. Each Avid Trail brake features monster all-mountain power courtesy of a new 4-piston, dual-diameter caliper design. And with weights dipping below 350 grams, each of these three models gives up nothing when it’s time to climb. With riders seeking do-it-all machines that can float up steep climbs, devour rough descents and go further and faster than ever before, trail bikes are becoming more and more capable. Braking performance is part of the progression. The Avid Trail Series is too.

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bigquotesWe launched this new family of Avid brakes with the X0 Trail model last year. The ideas and technology behind that brake were extremely well received, and we're excited to be expanding that type of performance into two more Trail models, the Elixir 9 and Elixir 7. - James Alberts, Avid product manager


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Avid's Elixir 9 and 7 Brakes Explained

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Filmed and edited by MIndspark Cinema






First Ride - Elixir 9 Trail Brakes

We spent two days riding Avid's new Elixir 9 Trail brakes in Sedona, Arizona, and came away from impressed with their performance. This isn't a surprise to us, though, given that we have many months of solid riding on their more expensive X0 Trail stoppers. The three major performance talking points - outright power, initial bite, and modulation - seemed to equal that of their pricier brother, which is saying a lot given that the Elixir 9 Trails go for $169 USD compared to the X0's $234 USD buy in. The 9s carry the same adjustment features as well, with both contact point and reach being tuneable, although tweaking the reach on the 9s does require the use of a tool. We have always been big fans of proper sealed bearing lever pivots, a setup that yields next to no annoying lever flop in the long run, and the Elixir 9 Trails make use of a more run of the mill pin and bushing layout (The X0s employ bearings). That said, it does take quite a bit of use before one wears out their lever bushings.

If we needed to purchase a new set of brakes and had to decide between the $234 X0s and the $169 Elixir 9s, what would be choose? Given that the 9s go for $65 USD less per end than the X0s, the mere 10 gram weight penalty for each brake, and the matching performance, we'd likely end up with a pair of Elixir 9 brakes on our bike, if not the even more affordable 7s.

www.sram.com/avid

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Member since Apr 1, 2011
178 articles

163 Comments
  • 105 5
 Dear God people, $169 for a 4-piston brake that you might need to eventually bleed, or use a tool to adjust your reach (which you should do before you hit the trail anyway...) SRAM is doing what we all Bitch for, trickle down tech with a better price. Some of us are grateful.
  • 15 1
 i have no need for on the spot adjustments. you have tools in your back anyways, atleast i hope you do. im very happy with this 169 price. only thing i wish was different is the coating. i like the shiny (small mind). thank you sram.
  • 10 5
 I have never completely understood the Avid hate. Maybe it was just the old Elixir line that had a lot of problems but my Avid Code Rs performed great, never required a bleed, and were a damn reasonable price for a 4 piston brake. I honestly regret switching to Shimano.
  • 48 8
 ^^^ that sir is because you dont work in a bike shop and have to deal with avids failing 65% of the 100% of the time. The dot fluid is corrosive leading to either swollen seals or seal failure.....leading to endless amounts of bleeding for the end user.
  • 15 0
 ^^^ that sir makes a lot of sense. I don't work in a shop at all. So I will openly admit that I have minimal experience beyond my own. But I will say...mine were some bitchin' brakes.
  • 3 0
 My worst brake bleed experience ever was with an elixir. Sounds like you work at a bike shop. Anyone else having the seal around shimano pistons constantly breaking brand new from shimano. This is probably my 4th time this year.
- something happened at SRAM/ avid past the juicy series...
  • 13 3
 When you can get a set of Shimano xts or slx for a similar or cheaper price which are known to have less problems, why would you get a set of these which will likely have to be bled out of the box? I don't think people are hating on avid as much as questioning what the benefits of purchasing their brakes are.
  • 4 0
 SRAM has been having the same problem with those seals too btw. You guys need a different supplier of o rings in china
  • 6 2
 I agree. All friends who own or have owned Avid brakes (including me) have or have had problems with them. Not so much regarding failures, but because they are impossible to keep air tight. They fade over time and need a bleeding every now and then. In the end bleeding won't even help anymore. I've ordered a Canyon Grand Canyon 8.9 with Elixir 5's and I'll see where they end. If they fail over time, I'll get them replaced under warranty, sell them and buy a pair of Shimanos Smile
  • 3 2
 It's because having to bleed your brakes twice or three times in 6 months because you go to Manuel and there happens to be nothing there and your on your ass is not a fun experience. I have never had a problem with my xts over the past year. None of the warble noise that eventually appears on avids. No need to bleed them because air works its way into the system. Better power cooling and durability. With roughly the same price as the exlir 9's (within 20$) which is in my opinion worth it. The xo trails are amazing though but for a medium level brake in my mind there's no question the xt is a better product for the price.
  • 5 0
 Never realised the point of on the fly adjustment for most things let alone pad contact.

As for avid reliability issues I ran a set of avid juicy 7's for close to 5 years without any issues at all, and currently on a set of elixr r again with no issues (touch wood).

These new brakes they look great.
  • 14 17
 BUY DEORE OR SLX!!!!!!
  • 12 12
 SRAM Makes the worst brakes on the market! I work in a bike shop and have to deal with warranting their brakes all the time, Brand new ones too. It's usually a 10% chance they work for more then a month. 90% of them come back to me with countless problems! Shimano for LIFE! haven't had a fraction of the issues with any of my Shimano's and they keep my customers happy. By the way the Rep's for Sram try and give us prototype brakes for free to convince us they're great but, they still suck ASS! The only reason they're on 75% of bikes is because the are cheaper than Shimano's.
  • 10 1
 Meh I'm sticking with Hope. Stupidly easy to bleed. Powerful. Can be made to your colour scheme.
  • 7 4
 thank you livewire199 I am in the same boat as you, I work at a shop as well and have the same exact problems with sram products. Any shop employee on here that says differently is lying!
  • 3 1
 That is so true ávida brakes just cant keep being nice brakes
  • 2 2
 Quad Piston means nothing especially when total piston area surface doesn't even come close to the same piston surface area of some other brands' standard dual-piston..lol.

I'm trying to be fair, but Sram has never been good at making unique/notable performing brakes. Yes they are fairly simple brake action, have a good bite usually/solid until fading kicks in, etc. I always believe that each brand has their strongpoints. Sram is good at shifting, some forks, etc, just not brakes.
  • 7 1
 mineral oil... that is all.
  • 1 1
 ^ Pentosin LHM Plus is where it's at! I'm just gonna say if you're on a hydraulic mineral oil system and using Shimano's crap fluid..you're missing out big time.
  • 1 0
 btw did you know that this brake is lightweight? lol
  • 2 0
 glad to know im not alone with not liking avid brakes. i've had juicy 3's before and never had a problem and then came an elixir R on my stock 2009 demo, there was a time that i had to bleed them twice in a month and the bleed process for avid brakes are very cumbersome. switched to shimano, problem fixed.
  • 8 1
 Funny how many of you can't figure out how to bleed a brake properly... I've ridden or owned just about every Avid made and have never had an issue with a set once they've been properly bled. Shimano's are cool too... they work well enough but I'm not a fan of having zero modulation so I just stick to Avid and do a proper bleed once a year.
  • 1 2
 I got avid elixir 5 a few years back, they're great, was under $300 for the set
  • 3 1
 hope brakes all day, i've owned avids and will never buy them again for the main reason that i can bleed my hope brakes with nothing more than dot fluid and a rag.. shimanos high end brakes are the b*ll*cks too
  • 7 1
 I work in a bikes shop too and hate Avid brakes. Nothing but trouble. I can't believe SRAM won't or can't get their engineers to redesign them to eliminate all the issues. Our standard response to customers who have continual problems with Avid is to remove them, throw them in the bin and fit Shimano!
  • 2 4
 unless avid moves away from dot fluid, their problems will never go away
  • 4 0
 Hope use Dot Fluid, never had any problems with my Hopes, neither have any of my customers.
  • 1 2
 Funny thing happened just half an hour ago. My stepbrother takes his Strive ES for a ride into town and guess what? The Elixir 5 in the back gets stuck against the rotor. Oh joy.
  • 1 0
 I had shimano saints on my DH bike and a buddy had them on his AM bike. Both of us had problems. mine would lock up and not release and his would not use all 4 pistons. I called shimano and was told you can not rebuild them.( out of warranty). my friend had his sent to shimano 3 times and are still not right. I switched to XO trails and still working on getting a good brake feel on them. I talked With the owner of a LBS and he told me his failure rate for either brand is about the same. HE said they just don't see as many shimano brakes as they do avid. He also said he thinks that is they saw more Shimano brakes we might hear about more similar problems. The sad part I still need brakes for my Demo…...
  • 61 8
 Dear SRAM,
after dealing with Avid's entire lineup at our shop, and seeing my riding buddy not riding his bike because his FIFTH pair of warranty brakes (XO Trail) from sram are LEAKING AT THE PISTONS, I will recommend shimano or or even tektro hydros over avid every time. GET IT FIXED!
Sincerely,
Wrench Monkey
  • 17 9
 I'd rather buy hope thanks.
  • 3 1
 hope shimano or formula they wprk te best ive gone through 4 brakes this last year on my dj 3 of which were avid , a juicy 7,and elixer 5 and a elixer cr please dont be stupid and make new brakes
  • 13 2
 +1......and satan said let there be avids
  • 3 3
 AMEN
  • 5 0
 I had the same problem with my 2011 codes, costed me two pairs of pads - one day after bleeding (I ve tried hard for leaks with the lever pulled to handle bars hardly and for long periods) it worked perfectly, day after that the caliper could not stop the wheel because dot fluid leaked on pads again...

I switched to saints - bleeding with minimum tools and easy as **** and it can stop a truck
  • 1 0
 yea codes are also the biggest pad eater evan with metallics or organics
  • 5 0
 And i love the grabby feeling combined with the small lever on Shimano's plus they are putting in some big research into preventing the brakes from heating up and fading. Shimano FTW
  • 34 5
 Sounds good, now fix the quality control issues, make 10 out of 10 the same brake, and I'm in. Until they figure out how make a consistent run, ill stay in the shimano camp.
  • 8 8
 I think this argument is really getting old... The reliability was horrible from 11/10 and down but our shop and my last two bikes haven't had any issues with the newer ones.
  • 2 0
 Nope, but they are still causing that stupid turkey gobble. I had some 9s on my bike and swap them out and guess what....noooo more gobble in the rear. I was under the impression that SRAM is getting rid of that stupid washer setup? I do like the price point though.
  • 3 1
 You probably needed to sand the pads and clean the rotors, and the washers help with alignment a lot if you set up your brakes correctly.
  • 4 2
 They should have had four pistons to begin with because the two pistons ones are completely underpowered. They should have changed the name because up till this year they have been the most unreliable, inconsistent brakes I've ever seen. I heard they have had some complete runs of brakes that were essentially defective in the past but they just warrantied everything instead of doing a recall. The new ones do seem to be more reliable, though still underpowered. SwissStop pads help though.
  • 3 3
 I like the washer setup. Also if brakes aren't properly set in, they can cause turkey gobble. Read the manual.
  • 3 0
 +juan
  • 5 1
 I wonder if I "properly set in" my stock 2012 Elixir 7s it would have reversed the poor factory bleed job, the insane amount of fade, and the all around "junk" feel of the brakes. I doubt it. Avid = crap.
  • 4 0
 As college students, my group of friends and I all used to ride Sram brakes because of the price point. We have a running joke about how many brakes will be down each time we ride as a group and this usually ends up being between a third and a quarter of all avoids. Some of us, myself included, finally tired of riding with hardly working or nonworking brakes and switched to shimano brakes. No issues for any of us since we made the switch
  • 3 3
 Again, past tense.
  • 1 0
 I brought it to the LBS and they tried twice to remedied the problem, but gave up and kindly gave me a huge discount on another brand's brakes. SRAM makes great stuff, but their brakes are usually a coin toss.
  • 1 0
 My 3 weeks old front code r died! My frend has 7 years old code and they work perfect.. with avid you just need to have some luck. My rear brake will probably work perfect for many years.
  • 2 1
 but they are still causing that stupid turkey gobble. that not the brake it's your frame.
  • 7 0
 I personally like brake squeal... it makes you ride faster because it's embarrassing if you're braking all the time with that squeal, although on ridiculously steep technical tracks it can be very annoying
  • 21 5
 Funny hating. Most brakes dont brake well because of usererror: Misalinged calipers, greasy/dirty pads and discs, wrong torque, overadjusting the reach, faulty aligned frames and (sic) paint on the fork sockets. Also fearbrakers will wear brakes in cars, trucks and bikes prematurely even to the point of where they fail. Brake less = ride faster.

Also many mechanics that complain about Avidbrakes just dont know how to set them up - once you know - beautifully easy. Ziptie brake pipe to frame so all the tension on the tube is gone. Screw one side fairly thight, use a feeler gage to set pad and disc perpendicular. Do the other pad exactly the same, screw tight. Check with gage, you`re set. After run in check if everything has seated.

A properly aligned Avid 1,2,3,4,5,xx.. is a correct design and works well and long: Cast body, cast plunger, decent sealing, okfittings. Just like in a racecar. Everything expands the same because materials are very similiar.

All brakes fade - if they dont and you don`t feel it - some designdecisions haven been made to unengineer this warning message. Dangerous. Some glitzy brakes do that - not good.

I run Avid 1, 3 and 5 and have Avidhydraulics for 6 years. Sofar I never had any problems apart from slight and manageable brakefade and a bit of discscream when they dry up. Stock-Pads are the wearpoint. Disks are always fine. That is how it should be.
  • 6 1
 I love this guy. He saves me a lot of typing. 7 years of Avid brakes, all models. ZERO problems and counting. Same with shimano. Maybe we just know how to set up customers' bikes properly?
  • 2 2
 there is another + to shimano: you can buy separate parts like caliper pistons and main pistons not like shimano where you can buy the complete assembly ie caliper or lever
  • 17 0
 Will it bleed?
  • 17 0
 If it does, we can kill it.
  • 8 2
 The real question is: will it blend?
  • 11 2
 I do not know what everybody means about Avid brakes are shite. I have had nothing but Avid with no issues. Not that I chose them, but it was the fact they have come on whatever bike I have bought. When you talk about power, I think as long as the wheels lock up that is enough for me. The only time they have lost "some" brake loss was on Psychosis. Affordable, reliable (from my experience) and easy mainteneance. Good job SRAM.
  • 11 2
 If you've worked in a shop the only brakes that have problems are avids...whether it is leaks or noise or needing to bleed every month. 95%of hydraulic brake problems that come through the door are avid...sadly some of those brakes with problems are on bikes that are fresh out of the box never having been ridden that supposedly come RTR out of the box. Granted some come working fine, its just the severe inconsistency of quality...seems you've just been lucky. Also when a company has pages and pages of literature on tips and tricks for bleeding maybe its just time to rethink the design rather than screwing your customers
  • 3 0
 I see your point if what you say is true about bleeding and warranty. I do think alot of people do hop on the hating on whatever other people hate band wagon. Not saying you do. Just saying my case, I must be very lucky after having Juicy 3 set (new on a Devinci), 7's and now Elixer R's for over 3 years now with no bleeding issues or leaking. Agian very lucky I guess.
  • 14 3
 Need to address the way there brakes are bled. It's the main reason I run Shimano and ditched Avid brakes.
  • 6 14
flag krsh (Apr 16, 2013 at 8:47) (Below Threshold)
 Because its too hard to follow 3 extra steps? The only thing that is annoying in the bleeding procedure is that you have to get air out from new dot fluid, something you don't have to worry about with mineral oil. If it's too complicated for you just get your bike to a LBS and get them to bleed it for you.
  • 7 3
 Geeze dude, going off on everyone offending "your" brakes? Telling me to read the manual and telling him to go to the LBS because you think he's lazy or Incompetence. Staying loyal to a brand is only going to make you look like an fool.
  • 6 2
 And flaming on brand because they do thing differently than Shimano makes you look like what? I'm not saying avid is "my" brand, but i'm defending some of its features that I like. As i said in the above comment, I do not like the fuss with DOT fluid so I'm not saying they are the best.
I do not know why people don't like a wide market with many different implementations of braking systems because that is what it looks like with all this flaming againt a company which made affordable high tech brakes (this also applies to other things, not just the brakes).
  • 5 1
 I'm with krsh on this one, I've been running elixer cr's for a few years and they were shocking when I got them. But I stuck with it and I got better at bleeding them, now any avid I bleed leaves the shop with no issues at all. Its all in the bleed and I know they should be easier like shimano or techtro but Shit happens. A perfect running set of avids is bliss with tons on modulation, fade resistance and outrite power.
  • 2 0
 Fo sho, my Codes, Elixir CR's and Elixir 5 set (Factory Bleed) have been great. My shop kills it and has told me the same thats echoed here. You have to get good at bleeding them to make them perfect. Shimano makes great brakes but personally i don't like the short levers or the on/off feel. I'll shop to another brand when my stop working as well. Maybe i'm luckily. have to admit though my buddy had soooo man problems with his Saint V2 brakes while in Whistler. Lever to grip after each run.. Then shop then lever to grip then then shop then lever to grip. Terrible luck. That was the only time he had ass handfuls of problems though.
  • 1 0
 Sorry for the typos, watching tv and typing = not pay attention.
  • 1 0
 Maybe someone can give me advice with my new elixir 9s. Problem is too much grab and its difficult to ease them on (like my XTs do wonderfully). I have bled and bed them in properly. I thought maybe too much fluid but that would make the levers stiff and they are not. I've lost confidence in my ability to not skid and now ride warily. Thinking of putting XTs on if I can't sort it out.
  • 1 0
 Wow, not many people have that kind of problem Big Grin
You could buy smaller rotors which will save a bit of weight too, but might be more susceptible to overheating due to smaller mass. If you are using organic pads you might want to change them to sintered for less initial bite. Other than that I can't think of anything else.
  • 1 0
 Thx krsh. I'm using sintered. My other bike with the XTs has small rotors but it is a much lighter trail bike. I'll give it a go.
  • 8 0
 Never had a problem , guaranteed at least 60% of the problem is rider related and as for people that are so called " bike shop mechanics " more than half the people I've dealt with are incapable of doing quality work on a bike let alone bleeding a set of brakes
Half these guys can't even set a derailleur cable , most are not mechanically inclined and should not be working in a shop to begin with
  • 7 2
 I like a lot of what SRAM does and I run a lot of their stuff (Hamerschmidt, XO derailuers, Revalation, Pike, Vivid Air etc...) but I had to stop using their brakes. I have gone through CR's, XO's, XX's, and X9's from 2010 through 2012. When they work they work great but the reliability is not there for me. After numerous warranties and replacements I gave up. I hated the feeling of heading out for a ride and not knowing what kind of braking I was going to get that day. I am willing to give them another shot but I am leery that they have only tweaked the current design rather than doing a wholesale rebuild and reengineering the problem out. Until I see some on trail, proven results and that they have made leaps and bounds in their quality control I think I will continue to stay away.
  • 7 2
 SRAM really needs to overhaul its brakes. Compared to what Shimano put out this year and what Formula has been doing for years, they're far behind; no matter the price. They're down in the pits with Magura (who used to own the high end market).
  • 5 0
 How exactly is 350 grams and 355 grams for front brakes without mount adapters "dipping below 350 grams" ? The X0 dips below it yes, but not the two brakes being actually reviewed here. For that matter, I don't know any way to run a front brake in the back given the short hose and the usual need for a mounting adapter... you're gonna be having a much heavier brake. Perhaps they should have given a front/rear set weight and then made some analogy about the overall weight dipping below some other actual real number, that they've dipped below.
  • 4 0
 I can't believe it says "no fuss" in this article. 8 pairs of avids over the years and all 8 needed bleeding every couple of weeks. Its so fun bleeding your brake while everyone else is out riding. I just sent an xo set back on warranty and they actually sent me an elixir 9 as the replacement. We will give you a lower value product because our most expensive product still has issues and its totally ok to put that loss on the customer. Sram/Avid I hope you get your act together, maybe more investment in testing your products and less in marketing them. Its certainly not my style to be negative or rant but hopefully someone from SRAM actually reads this stuff.
  • 1 0
 Moolay is on the rampage!!! In all seriousness though, one does need to pray to various deities when bleeding Avid brakes in the hope that things go well.
  • 1 0
 Seems to be one of the most mysterious bicycle products I've seen, looking at all the complaints on here its obvious something is wrong. Most warrantied bicycle product ever: Avid Elixer brakes.
  • 5 1
 I actually really like their bleeding process. Once you know what you are doing you can do a complete bleed in under five minutes and the results are very consistent. Sure you might have an issue if the brake itself has an issue, or if you are dealing with really old fluid (or worse, old syringes with kinks from the house clamps) but on the whole I prefer bleeding avid brakes.
  • 3 0
 Amen.
  • 1 0
 Aaameeen.
  • 1 2
 Having a brake that is easy to bleed does not make it a good brake. Having a brake that does not need to be bled, regardless of how much it sucks to bleed the brake, is preferable.
  • 1 0
 I would have to argue that having a brake that is easy to bleed, or has a good system in place is a sign of a well thought out product. Your comment about having one that functions and does not need to be bled (no matter how much it sucks to bleed) seems pretty dumb. All brakes will need bleeding at some point in their life, and when they do, I am personally happy to find that the engineers realized this and provided a means to do it with consistent results.
  • 4 1
 Avid has ripped me off whith the purchase the codes, they leak like crazy, woulnt even pay $169 for thier products. After paying close to $300 per.(almost 600 total), they should just donate me some!
Save time, money, stress and go saint, hope
They are much much better, way more reliable. The only up side for avid is the looks, but not performance.... if your looking for looks not reliability avid is for you.
I will not purchase another avid product any time soon.
  • 8 1
 I just replaced X7's with XT brakes, they are worlds apart.
  • 3 0
 had 2010 codes and lasted about 6 months, issues w/fade and lever pulling to the bars. avid replaced them w/brand new model year codes in december and still issues w/fade, only riding am. never had a problem w/my 5 year old 2 piston juicy 5 brakes. switched to shimano. anyone need some syringes?
  • 3 0
 i've been running code R's on all my bikes for a couple years now. they're a great economical 4 piston brake with plenty of stopping power and modulation. Avid, quit being so redundant.
  • 2 0
 I wouldn't normally moan like this, BUT...I have used a number of shimano and avid brakes over the years, and I'm afraid to say that not once have I had an avid brake that outperformed my worst performing shimano brake. I think the avids feel flimsy, inconsistent, poorly fabricated and unreliable. I have had issues with shimano as well, and they are are by no means perfect, but I won't be running a set of Avid brakes in the future, sorry Sram!
  • 2 0
 never understood the avid hate, my juicy 7's are going into their 7th year and survived longer than my SC heckler frame did. they stop great and other than your typical pad change and bleeding every so often, I have had 0 issues with mine.
  • 1 0
 Slmuller - The Juicy was a great brake, really well built. It's the new elixir body design that has given me nothing but headaches.
  • 2 0
 @Slmuller - I don't get it either man, I've had my Code R for 2 solid years, and they probably have around 300 hours of aggressive riding time on them, and still work great. I bleed them every year, and oddly enough, unlike everyone seems to bitch about, its quite easy. Though I do like the idea of mineral oil instead of corrosive DOT fluid, the Code R was a more affordable and similar option to the Saint. Too many people start their arguements with "My buddy says" which means "I have no idea WTF I'm talking about".
  • 2 0
 At the end of the day, tis a riders preference what brakes they use, but from my personal experience, Hope are the way to go. I've had Avid's before, lets just say they were taken off the bike and replaced with Hopes again within 3 weeks. Just could not get on with them, the rear seals leaked liked anything to the point the pistons actually seized in the caliper.

On every bike since I have had a set of the venerable Hope Mono M4's, and they suit just fine ^^
  • 2 0
 I own a bike shop and have been spannering for 30 plus years and have found out a lot over the years, what reliable and whats not. I see it all and on all types of bike, mention anything from the SRAM family and your talking short life, plastic parts and over priced spares. AVID brakes are so bad, the more you spend the worse they get, more fragile and all hype and bling but function may be high to start but short lived. I see them almost everyday with similar issues. this is not my experiences of one product on one bike, this is day to day in a busy workshop. All makes have their issues but this lots are just bad. as for XO mechs and bb's well don't get me started....
  • 2 0
 After having 2 sets of code brakes completely fail after only one season on each of them and having to constantly have them bled I decided to give up on avid and invest in a set of Hope v4's. The only reason people stick with avid is because they will upgrade your brakes if you send in a defective set..no questions asked.
  • 4 0
 Ya the bleeding process is a pain but once you figure the truck to bleeding them they feel great.
  • 2 0
 On the bright side, I really, REALLY learned what patience means the first time I bled Avid brakes.
  • 1 0
 I appreciate the fact that the people at Sram are trying to give the customers a brake system with power and affordability, however just like konadan said until they can make a consistent line of quality functioning brakes I will not be putting them on my bike or trying to sell them to my customers. The amount of work they require and with how often they need to be warrantied does not make the low cost worth it.
  • 1 0
 I always had SRAM. Had some issues with my stock setup on my '11 Demo. Switched to Shimano brakes and the bike never handled better. Didn't know how much better Shimano was, until trying them. Same with shifters and derailuer.
  • 1 0
 I have owned several sets if avid brakes. Elixir 5, elixir cr, code and code r's. I loved all of them and never had any issues. My current codes have been golden for me. But it does suck to hear that so many people are having major issues with avid because if its fine right they are amazing brakes. And for m next bike if the brakes need an upgrade I will definatly look into these brakes.
  • 1 0
 I used to be biased towards SRAM because I am more partial to their shifters and ders. At the time I was running hayes brakes and a Marz fork. But ever since I upgraded my bikes, one running full SRAM/Rockshox/Avid and one running Shimano/Fox, I've gotta say, I'm on the Shimano band wagon now. Only thing I don't like are their shifters
  • 1 0
 I have many bikes for many years, all with various brakes and I never had any issues with any of them. Shimano, SRAM, others. The one thing the all have in common is they all receive proper care and maintenance. Even if you have a low end system as long as you look after it it will last for years... it's very simple... clean and service the brakes and they will last Smile Some of my friends have experienced some problems with their brakes but upon further investigation it turned out they all had a common denominator... lack of and/or poor maintenance LMAO!
  • 1 0
 My Anthem came with a set of Elixir 5 when I bought it a couple of years ago... I'm tired of changing pads (every two or three months) and bleeding, (a couple or three times every year) and had to replace a set of hsx rotors, because of fade and because they get bended oftenly making this horrible noise and leaking your performance. Looking forward to buy Shimano's XT brakes, all of my buddies run SLX and XT and haven't got any issues.
  • 2 0
 I have had some issues with avid brakes in the past, but they have never, ever hesitated to make things right and usually upgrade me......for this I will always continue to run avid
  • 4 1
 Shimano's new brakes aren't the pinpoint of reliability, either guys. You see tons of Avids because they are on 75% of bikes. Rookies.
  • 1 0
 Well, SRAM ruined the BBB line when they took over Avid. Juicys are great, haven't really tried new Avid since. When Hayes collapsed and before Shimano entered, Juicys were the best. I wouldn't be surprised if it takes some time for avid brakes to recover from the SRAM takeover.
  • 3 0
 the old Hope Tech Evo's. Cheaper and better. who cares about a couple of grams..
  • 5 1
 Sorry, but Hope or Saint!
  • 2 2
 SRAM Makes the worst brakes on the market! I work in a bike shop and have to deal with warranting their brakes all the time, Brand new ones too. It's usually a 10% chance they work for more then a month. 90% of them come back to me with countless problems! Shimano for LIFE! haven't had a fraction of the issues with any of my Shimano's and they keep my customers happy. By the way the Rep's for Sram try and give us prototype brakes for free to convince us they're great but, they still suck ASS! The only reason they're on 75% of bikes is because the are cheaper than Shimano's.
  • 1 1
 i have had the galvanised avid codes for over 3 years now and had absolutely no issues with them what so ever. i bought a new bike and it came with the elixir crsl brakes the front one worked for about a weeks riding, the internals of the lever had bust. utter crap. needles to say they were removed when they were returned for warranty and never fitter back on the bike. codes are the most reliable brakes i have ever had
  • 1 0
 I've had juicy 3s for 4 years. Not a problem. Going Hope next. Those fuckin limeys can build a good product sometimes. Can't believe the horrible reviews on the new avids line. Shit.
  • 2 0
 Any details on the brake pads? How much do they cost to replace? I'm assuming they're a new design that's larger than the typical avid brake pads.
  • 1 0
 A review that doesn't even mention the competition is a pointless review. Brakes are one of those things where you can say Brake A is clearly better than Brake B and so on. How do these stack up against Shimano's?
  • 2 0
 Was an Avid user for years. It was only when I took a gamble with Saint that I realised I was getting fucked up the arse. Never again Avid
  • 1 1
 Sorry, but a caliper made from two pieces and bolted together just doesnt do justice. Ive seen these things start to flex causing failure. Ill stick to my Hope, Shimano etc. made from one piece.
  • 3 0
 On the Shimano side, only XTRs and Saints are one piece mono-block. Everything else is two piece. Not sure about ZEE though.
  • 3 0
 I'm calling bullshit. the majority of brakes are two pieces bolted together.
  • 2 0
 All Formula brakes use a one-piece caliper.
  • 4 1
 or just buy xt brakes and be happier
  • 3 0
 No thanks i will stick with my ZEE
  • 1 0
 I bet they still warble and have performance issues. Haven't met an avid brake yet that didn't have problems. Even the most recent XOs
  • 2 0
 i wouldnt go back to avid after all the trouble iv had with them in the past. gone hope now and not looking back
  • 1 0
 Lol, the latest generation shimanos leave them for dead. Avid, and all of sram for that mattet, can go die. Cheap ass piece of shit products.
  • 2 0
 I'm surprised the XO (non-trail) brakes are rated for such light duty. I thought they were no worse than the Elixir series.
  • 3 0
 The only Avid brake I'll ever touch is the BB7.
  • 1 0
 On the brake model chart the Codes don't go all the way to the right.... I guess that means that if you're riding that insanely fast downhill you won't be needing brakes!!!
  • 1 0
 Hope brakes all the way,never had a failure or needed to try another brand!
  • 6 3
 Shimano is still boss
  • 2 0
 'zero fuss' in the second sentence. right.....
  • 2 0
 wonder how those calipers would work with my cr's
  • 1 0
 dont use avid brakes much, but those look pretty sick!
  • 1 0
 Look
  • 1 3
 I've been testing the new XO trail 4 piston brakes and haven't had a single problem! I had the new XT and XTR and the Avid out performed both of them. More power but modulates. Carbon lever feels great!!
  • 1 3
 thats comparing donuts to apples.. compare xo trail to saint then call us back. cheers!
  • 7 1
 nope... you would need to compare Codes to Saints. XTR to XO Trails is a fair comparison. Ask Gwinn how his Saints did at his last WC.
  • 3 0
 It won him 5 from what I remember.
  • 1 0
 4 pot to 4 pot.. is that too hard to understand? haha and yea i'm pretty sure Minnaar and Gwinn are pretty happy with theirs..
  • 4 1
 4 pot to 4 pot? That's like comparing a Hyundai to Porsche because they have 4 tires. Try again.
  • 1 1
 Hyundai genesis to Porsche panamera? Wow pinkbike kids...
  • 1 1
 Btw comparing an xc brake to an agro am/dh brake makes alot of sense!! You are so smart!
  • 1 1
 @makripper

actually XTR is fine with for "agro am/dh" riding. I know a lot of people who do it. Top of the line power from Avid is Code, Top of the line for power from Shimano is Saint. That's why that would be a fair comparison. XO Trails are not as powerful, hence why XTR would be a better comparison. Is that too hard to comprehend?
and I'm actually older than yourself so nice try with the "pinkbike kids" comment.
  • 1 1
 you can use elixer 1's if you want. that's not the point. I know plenty of people who use trail xo for dh and they are specced on alot of DH bikes. when was last time you saw XTR specced from factory on a DH bike?
  • 1 1
 A proper DH bike would be spec'd with Codes or Saints as they are the most powerful from each company. If a bike can be spec'd with XO Trails why not XTR? What DH bikes are spec'd with XO Trails out of curiousity?
  • 3 3
 2013 and tool needed for reach? C'mon Sram...
  • 11 1
 Calm down about needing a tool, adjusting reach is something you do once and and it's done forever.
  • 12 1
 I'd actually take a tool over a knob. Cleaner and lighter.
  • 3 0
 I concure
  • 3 0
 The knob on the hayes strokers was nice, but otherwise yeah
  • 1 0
 The integrated dial on the Formula brakes is pretty slick.
  • 1 0
 My XT knobbly dials are sick too. I still believe that these days it should be a tool free adjustment. Also reach is not what you set and forget I beg to reckon...
  • 1 0
 Well, you can beg to reckon if you like. Why do you constantly need to change your reach adjustment, I personally have never changed mine since i first set up my brakes.
  • 1 1
 ...so we agree to disagree. Once again we will get involved in the conversation in regards to personal preference. No winner to anyone. I believe the reach should be tool free. And if you don't than it is great too.
  • 1 0
 "Trick "
  • 1 0
 Will it blend?
  • 2 0
 I hope so. Did you bring a blender?
  • 1 2
 UGH. And I just bought new brakes. Elixirs.
  • 1 0
 I just replaced my Elixirs with Hayes. 3 bleeds in 3 months? That's crazy. Running Hayes on my XC bike for 3 years, no problems. All of this would be so much easier if Avid brakes were heavy.
  • 1 0
 I have Stroker Trails on my Corsair Marque. They came off my Teocali Elite that I had. Never have had to bleed em! And I like them, but for DH I prefer the elixers because in those 'ho snap' moments, they are more progressive with bite after a proper bleed. And after the bleed, they work great!
  • 1 0
 mongoose85 - Those are the brakes I am now riding on my AM rig. Never had to bleed mine either [XC rig]. And I agree that elixirs work great after a bleed. I just need to figure out how to bleed them while negotiating a steep descent so that I have descent braking power at some point in the descent.
  • 1 0
 hahaha! Thats what your foot is for! Wink
  • 2 3
 shimano brakes failed and almost killed cedric gracia. and gwin.
  • 4 0
 A couple of isolated incidents with Team riders who have their brakes changed over to another set quite often and they're sometimes running prototypes. Team riders are used to test products all the time. Is it product failure or or a mistake made by their mechanic? We'll probably never know.
Avid brakes fail so often it's not funny. Around the world Avid brakes are failing every day!
  • 4 0
 Probably at least one an hour, on average.
  • 1 0
 Lol, probably verry true. Mine leak all over my rotor. Smell of burning dot 5.1 is great way to end the day! Thank you avid.
  • 1 4
 for the price, you should be able to stop on a buck, not a dime.







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