Please Help! BB7s vs Elixir 3s For XC Use

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Please Help! BB7s vs Elixir 3s For XC Use
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flag stayfortreats
Posted: Nov 9, 2012 at 10:17 Quote
Hello all,

I need help choosing between these two brakes. Both are around the same price on blueskycycling. I've had bb7s (sd7 lever w/ ripcord) before and they're pretty good. Moderate modulate. Definitely beats the juicy 3 I have now and my hygia usagi in terms of raw power.

But honestly I'd rather get hydros, there's just so much more modulation and I prefer the feel.
Both brakes are '11.

Any help or reviews is appreciated. Please keep it between these two brakes though.

http://www.blueskycycling.com/product6479_70_-Avid-Elixir-3-Disc-Brake-w--HS1-Rotor-2011.htm
http://www.blueskycycling.com/product1630_70_-2011-Avid-BB7-Disc-Brake-Combo-Kit.htm

Cheers
flag tylerthegiant
Posted: Nov 9, 2012 at 17:04 Quote
I love bb7s there great but can get tricky not to rub once pads are wearing out. They work great with 203s super strong. Put when it came to dh use I was adjusting them every other run. I know there not dh brakes I was on my dj run what you have. They are great brakes but if you are not doing super hard ridding you could go both ways. I seen some mixed reviews on the elixirs people said they were loud, some people said once they break in there fine. Which one is lighter? At this point it's kinda down to weight it sounds like.
flag stayfortreats
Posted: Nov 9, 2012 at 17:15 Quote
tylerthegiant wrote:
I love bb7s there great but can get tricky not to rub once pads are wearing out. They work great with 203s super strong. Put when it came to dh use I was adjusting them every other run. I know there not dh brakes I was on my dj run what you have. They are great brakes but if you are not doing super hard ridding you could go both ways. I seen some mixed reviews on the elixirs people said they were loud, some people said once they break in there fine. Which one is lighter? At this point it's kinda down to weight it sounds like.
Yeah I've read almost every review I can find... still no clear winner between the two. The bb7s are around 80g lighter though.
flag bigbigbike
Posted: Nov 9, 2012 at 17:24 Quote
Felix316 wrote:
tylerthegiant wrote:
I love bb7s there great but can get tricky not to rub once pads are wearing out. They work great with 203s super strong. Put when it came to dh use I was adjusting them every other run. I know there not dh brakes I was on my dj run what you have. They are great brakes but if you are not doing super hard ridding you could go both ways. I seen some mixed reviews on the elixirs people said they were loud, some people said once they break in there fine. Which one is lighter? At this point it's kinda down to weight it sounds like.
Yeah I've read almost every review I can find... still no clear winner between the two. The bb7s are around 80g lighter though.

Depends on where you are riding and how long you are going to be riding for. The cable brakes i find tend to get stiffer in the colder weather due to the cable and line freezing where Hydro's stay consistent even in the cold.

The elixirs will be a little easier on your hands over longer rides, wont have to use as much pressure to keep them active, and they are pretty good brakes overall.

I have the elixir ones on my STP it took maybe 20 minutes of tinkering to get them centered properly but if you take your time when you set them up they stay pretty well perfect until you need to replace the pads.

There is a really good video where the mechanic from CRC I think builds up a DH Race bike and show some pretty neat tricks on centering brakes properly. and it can be moved over to different styles of bikes. After all brakes are brakes.

Linky to the video
flag tylerthegiant
Posted: Nov 9, 2012 at 17:29 Quote
You can make bb7s perform just as good! Mine were tuchy as heck! Are you building light?
flag stayfortreats
Posted: Nov 9, 2012 at 17:35 Quote
tylerthegiant wrote:
You can make bb7s perform just as good! Mine were tuchy as heck! Are you building light?
Nah both of em are around the same price so I'm just trying to decide between the two. I'm mostly riding xc now though.
flag tylerthegiant
Posted: Nov 9, 2012 at 17:38 Quote
I know but are you going for a light bike?
flag stayfortreats
Posted: Nov 9, 2012 at 17:39 Quote
tylerthegiant wrote:
I know but are you going for a light bike?
Nope, weight doesn't really matter to me.
flag mcmbike
Posted: Nov 9, 2012 at 17:46 Quote
I'd probably go with the BB7s. You're comparing one of the best mechanical brakes out there with one of the worst hydraulic ones. If you want modulation, you can tune the BB7 for that much better than you'd be able with the Elixer. If you want hydraulic brakes I'd suggest saving up a bit more and going with something a little bit more reliable like Shimano SLX or even the Elixer 9s. Unless you're pretty good at bleeding brakes and have the resources to do so, you won't be able to do regular maintenance on the Elixers. They need bled more often than most other brakes.
flag tylerthegiant
Posted: Nov 9, 2012 at 17:50 Quote
Felix316 wrote:
tylerthegiant wrote:
I know but are you going for a light bike?
Nope, weight doesn't really matter to me.
then how are you building a xc bike lol
flag stayfortreats
Posted: Nov 9, 2012 at 17:52 Quote
mcmbike wrote:
I'd probably go with the BB7s. You're comparing one of the best mechanical brakes out there with one of the worst hydraulic ones. If you want modulation, you can tune the BB7 for that much better than you'd be able with the Elixer. If you want hydraulic brakes I'd suggest saving up a bit more and going with something a little bit more reliable like Shimano SLX or even the Elixer 9s. Unless you're pretty good at bleeding brakes and have the resources to do so, you won't be able to do regular maintenance on the Elixers. They need bled more often than most other brakes.
Alright man thanks for the input!
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