elixir 9 trail or xt m785

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elixir 9 trail or xt m785
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flag jcovil
Posted: Mar 14, 2014 at 19:36 Quote
I have a 2014 devinci troy carbon xp on order and know I'm gonna want to upgrade the brakes from the stock elixir 3's. I've read a lot of good things about the new trails, but still am a little iffy on avids due to past issues with elixir 5s and CR's. The bike is gonna have SRAM drive terrain and a reverb so I like the idea of matchmaker. But I've owned xt and zee and loved them. Should I give the avids a try? (Read modulation is great). Or just not use match matchmaker and go with what I know is good, xts?

Just kinda wantin to try something new. What does pb users think?
flag nidgeslash9
Posted: Mar 14, 2014 at 20:04 Quote
jcovil wrote:
I have a 2014 devinci troy carbon xp on order and know I'm gonna want to upgrade the brakes from the stock elixir 3's. I've read a lot of good things about the new trails, but still am a little iffy on avids due to past issues with elixir 5s and CR's. The bike is gonna have SRAM drive terrain and a reverb so I like the idea of matchmaker. But I've owned xt and zee and loved them. Should I give the avids a try? (Read modulation is great). Or just not use match matchmaker and go with what I know is good, xts?

Just kinda wantin to try something new. What does pb users think?

I used to think it was better to have a complete matching groupset. I love SRAM drivetrains and don't think shimano comes close to matching them. Over the last year or so i have changed brakes on all my bikes to Shimano because i am sick of having to bleed and re-bleed Avid brakes. I've used Juicy, X9 and XO brakes and had similar problems with all. Now i have SLX and XT with no issues. I'd go for the XT's if i were you. Save yourself a lot of hassle.
flag jcovil
Posted: Mar 14, 2014 at 20:12 Quote
Yes I was thinking xt because the were great on butcher, and so are the zees on my ragley. Was just hoping the new gen avids were better but they seem to have the same problems.
flag kwtoxman
Posted: Mar 14, 2014 at 22:04 Quote
I have 2012 Avid elixir 7's, the year of the major upgrade. They have been awesome with no brake issues for me. No bleeding or maintenance needed other than new pads a couple of times over (the rocky mountains can do that quickly, lol),

Coming from a two wheel racing background, I like that they have great power, grab and modulation, wet or dry. I've had some shimano trail brake owners on my bike find them notably more powerful than their brakes. I have found they can get noisy on rocky mountain descents at times (seems hit and miss), annoying, but no ill effect on performance.

Based on my experience the newer Avid's work great, and the bad experiences are older stuff. I can't say which are better, but I say that I find the newest Avids are great and don't have any issues other than some noise at times.
flag jcovil
Posted: Mar 15, 2014 at 7:56 Quote
Well that's good info to hear. I'm still a little torn between the two. I can get the Avids a little cheaper from lbs and their supplier is out of xts. Also the Avids look better in my opinion, but that's not important. Decisions, decisions. Am going to try a friends trail 7s today on a ride, will have my zee's to compare to so maybe that will help. The dependability and life span of the Avids is what I don't know about.
flag Ploutre
Posted: Mar 15, 2014 at 10:36 Quote
I'd go for the Avids, for the whole cockpit integration and because in the end, reliability on the recent Avids is spot on, they look pretty cool, and I LOVE the lever on these.

Had a set of m785 XTs, hated them but I also have a set of m820 saints, and they're pretty good once you get used to the lever shape.
flag jcovil
Posted: Mar 15, 2014 at 21:22 Quote
I rode my buddy's bike with trail 7s today and i have to say the felt pretty good. But still kinda leaning toward xt.

Any more input from anyone?
flag sopro13
O+ FL
Posted: Mar 15, 2014 at 21:49 Quote
Avids IMO look better, feel better, work better, however there have been issues with bleeding. I had 2012 elixer 7s though and litterally have bled them once in 2 years. It's your judgement. I say avid! Smile
flag smb0004
O+ FL
Posted: Mar 16, 2014 at 0:30 Quote
I have had avids in various shapes and sizes for YEARS. Love the feel, power, looks and cockpit integration - spot on. But, and it's a big but, once performance degrades from factory and they need a bleed they turn into an absolute nightmare. For that reason when the opportunity was there to pick up a set of XTs fairly cheaply recently I took it and have not looked back, great brakes and importantly they are easy to keep running sweet.

After a little research I have found these http://problemsolversbike.com/products/mismatch_adapters - not ordered any yet but look promising!
flag PraisedaMTBgods
Posted: Mar 16, 2014 at 9:06 Quote
I have avid trail 9s but i think the XTs are a better brake. My brother has them and they are not only more powerful with a 2 piston design but also much easier to work on. XTs are bombproof avids are not
flag Ploutre
Posted: Mar 16, 2014 at 13:54 Quote
Well the Elixir 7 trail I've tested were more powerfull than all the different XTs I've tested (and quite a couple on friends' bikes and the ones I had). Most had stock Shimano XT sintered finned pads, the Avid had stock Avid sintered pads, and the Avid definitely had more power.

Actually I am even thinking now getting a set of X0 Trails, to go along the X01 and reverb ... (running V4s at the moment Big Grin )
flag Facescab
Posted: Mar 18, 2014 at 7:11 Quote
I have had elixir 7, elixir cr, code r, shimano Zee and I ride my friends XO trail. I had nothing but trouble with the Zees and I hated the lever feel. Loved all the Avids and never had an issue with any. Super fast bleeds as well.
flag jcovil
Posted: Mar 18, 2014 at 9:48 Quote
Thanks for all the info everyone. After talking to the lbs. I am now pretty sure I'm just gonna go all out and get hopes. Always wanted to try them and seems like they are worth the extra coin
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