BETTER brakes

  • Previous Page
Author Message
flag dannyhuber
O+
Posted: Apr 20, 2012 at 6:13 Quote
Right now my current bike came stock with Shimano Elixir R SL's brakes, and i cant stand them. they dont give you any control over the bike at all and i was wondering if anyone has any suggestions on other breaks that people know work really well

Thanks.
flag yeti85
O+
Posted: Apr 20, 2012 at 7:54 Quote
If you don't care about weight and want to stay with Avid, go for some used or old but new Codes. Old Saints are also a good option.
As for new brakes I would strongly recommend last year's XT. Even without the Icetech rotors they are incredible.
And if you got lots of money and want the best there is get some Brakeforceone's from germany. Super light and most powerful brakes I've ever tried.
cheers
flag trailblitz
O+
Posted: Apr 20, 2012 at 8:19 Quote
dannyhuber wrote:
Right now my current bike came stock with Shimano Elixir R SL's brakes, and i cant stand them. they dont give you any control over the bike at all and i was wondering if anyone has any suggestions on other breaks that people know work really well

Thanks.

I like my elixir R's, maybe you have a crappy stock bleed? if you still feel the need to upgrade, I would go Formula, or Hope
flag mikedjumpin
Posted: Apr 20, 2012 at 11:38 Quote
always start with the little things, are they set up properly? are the rotors clean? how are the pads is it possible that they could be contaminated? i always get a kick out of people riding my dads old bike and saying wow " these brakes are insane they work better than my disc brakes". set up is everything
flag DC1988
Posted: Apr 20, 2012 at 11:47 Quote
I recently upgraded to new Shimano xt's, they are ace. For the price you can't go wrong.

I don't use ice tech rotors either and they're plenty powerful enough
flag hartwerks
FL
Posted: Apr 21, 2012 at 6:24 Quote
Like trailblitz said, the factory bleed probably isn't quite right. Get them bled by a good mechanic and I think that you will find a world of difference in the performance. I actually have four different pairs of various Elixir brakes in the garage right now (between my and my wife's bikes), and they all work brilliantly...
flag max14221
Posted: Apr 22, 2012 at 9:06 Quote
do the bleed its worth getting the AVID bleed kit and not the cheep stuff, i have had 2 sets of elixirs one was the R model and the ones i have now are the cr carbons and the have not had any probs with them. if the bleed does not work i would go for a set of new slx
flag siyross
Posted: Apr 29, 2012 at 12:09 Quote
I have a mate who bought some Formula the One brakes and he hates them, they are just too strong.
I use a Shimano XT Lever and cylinder with SLX calipers on 185mm rotors they are great. lots of feeling and loads of grab.
Have you tried beefing up your rotors first before buying new brakes?
flag WonderAnt10
Posted: Apr 30, 2012 at 6:07 Quote
max14221 wrote:
do the bleed its worth getting the AVID bleed kit and not the cheep stuff, i have had 2 sets of elixirs one was the R model and the ones i have now are the cr carbons and the have not had any probs with them. if the bleed does not work i would go for a set of new slx
Just got the SLX's just last week. Sadly I haven't had any trail time with them but from what I've seen, They bite super hard. I love the short and stubby leaver made for one finger braking.
flag nidgeslash9
Posted: Apr 30, 2012 at 6:16 Quote
I've just changed from SLX to elixir XO and the elixirs wind hands down.
flag CMihalcheon
Posted: Apr 30, 2012 at 9:13 Quote
nidgeslash9 wrote:
I've just changed from SLX to elixir XO and the elixirs wind hands down.

I don't think you can compare SLX to XO. XO would be equivalent to XTR. SLX would compare to Elixer 5's, with SLX winning hands down in that comparison, at least for me anyways.
flag vanamees
Posted: May 1, 2012 at 0:51 Quote
Most hydraulic disc brake problems are caused by poor set up , air in system and contaminated pads and rotor.
Fix the problems and they will work fine.
flag crankinstein
Posted: May 1, 2012 at 12:59 Quote
Maybe if you described the actual reason you "can't stand" your brakes, we could help diagnose the real problem.

I believe it's been said at least twice, but start with the small stuff (bleed, pads, rotors) before throwing a bunch of money at a problem thay isn't there.

One word of caution, if you're not 100% confident in your ability to bleed the brakes, get your shop to do it. At least that way of it still doesn't fix the problem you'll have someone to go to about it.

Finally, since everyone is through around their brake preferences:
Started with Hayes HFX Mags, which were good but left me wanting more stopping power at times.
Switched to Saint M800 ("Old Saints") which were amazing on my FS XC bike, but overkill on my carbon HT.
Now riding KCNC X7 Disc Brakes, and let me just say WOW! F&R Lever-Caliper Assemblies weigh just 339g (Pics on Scale in my Weights Album) and they haul me down with one finger with ease. Best bang-for-the-buck brakes I've used.
flag rcfanscyj
Posted: May 2, 2012 at 6:57 Quote
hah，maybe u can try hayes trail brake
flag freddy-b
Posted: May 2, 2012 at 23:18 Quote
I'm gonna be honest, i also had Elixirs CRs and i rly didnt like them, so i decided to beed them and get some new pads... 1 month later they are the same as they were before...
Those brakes are plain @&"!.

Do what i did, get Shimano XT, the new M785 and get the icetech rotors! They are awesome!
  • Previous Page

 


Copyright © 2000 - 2024. Pinkbike.com. All rights reserved.
dv65 0.012222
Mobile Version of Website