203mm rotors for XC good or a bad thing

PB Forum :: All Mountain, Enduro & Cross-Country
203mm rotors for XC good or a bad thing
Author Message
flag ewro
Posted: Jun 21, 2008 at 16:19 Quote
I ride 185mm, and I ride very aggressive XC/AM trails. I ride a very light 5.5/5.5 build, the weight of the extra size doesn't matter when I'm 27lb
flag icet3
Posted: Jun 21, 2008 at 20:17 Quote
i run a 8 and a 7 for am/xc and like it a lot
flag freelancer-1090
Posted: Jun 22, 2008 at 4:52 Quote
whoever puts 5s on their xc is asking to die. 8 inch rotors? i mean yeah they sound great - they look even better, but unless you seriously need them, stick with 6s. if i got a bike that already had 8 inches on it, id probably leave them there, but i certainly wouldnt spend any money on it - its really not worth it, cos unless you wiegh as much as a truck, 6 inches will stop you fine.
flag chilli7
Posted: Jun 23, 2008 at 8:59 Quote
a good thing i weigh 204 lbs!!!!
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flag X10SIV
Posted: Jan 8, 2013 at 22:02 Quote
203 mm rotors are good. they dont heat up as much so you dont get break boil or rotor warp as much. More stopping power. If your worried about the weight shave your pubes before the ride and the weight difference is made up. I have a norco Sasquatch with carbon strokers and 8 inch rotors and ive hucked it down camp fortunes world cup trail and never had break fade. My buddy i was riding with was running 6 and he lost his a couple times. As for having them for cross country there is no harm having the extra power. Its all in the way you use them. I found it was allot easier on my hands when all i needed as a pinky finger to operate my breaks at full power. more hands on the bars equals to less hand fatigue.
flag tylerthegiant
Posted: Jan 9, 2013 at 0:02 Quote
If you ride avid bbs 203 and organic pads, are a sick match it made those brakes so awesome. For a race bike it all comes down to grams with a weight weenie!. Just go 203 up front. That's what a lot of people do. I do it cause your front has the most braking power, so it builds up heat. Bigger rotor a little bit cooler. They are easyer to bend. But Anyways do what you want not what people want you to do.
flag ferday
Posted: Jan 9, 2013 at 10:56 Quote
i'm so happy i moved to 203/185 on my XC bike, the hand fatigue is so much better on long rides, the modulation is better and on long descents the power is great. the weight is only an issue if you are a competitive racer LOL

i always used 160's on XC rides but now i've seen the light and i've moved up rotor sizes on all my bikes
flag macross87
Posted: Jan 9, 2013 at 11:36 Quote
Since we revived an old thread, here's my two cents.

I run 185s on my bike and love them. My riding style is more XC but occasionally hit heavy AM trails when I ride them. Weight wasn't an issue as the Storm SL rotor weighed 124g. Modulation and control is better than the 160s I had before.
flag johnpierro13
O+
Posted: Jan 9, 2013 at 19:46 Quote
im running 8" front and rear with saint/zee brakes on my Norco fluid 2 and its soo confidence inspiring but u guys r talking about ripping out if u have QR. I have a RS recon 351 with a QR should I worry about it "ripping" my axle out???
flag ferday
Posted: Jan 9, 2013 at 19:57 Quote
johnpierro13 wrote:
im running 8" front and rear with saint/zee brakes on my Norco fluid 2 and its soo confidence inspiring but u guys r talking about ripping out if u have QR. I have a RS recon 351 with a QR should I worry about it "ripping" my axle out???

According to the RS website it's ok
flag johnpierro13
O+
Posted: Jan 10, 2013 at 4:39 Quote
ferday wrote:
johnpierro13 wrote:
im running 8" front and rear with saint/zee brakes on my Norco fluid 2 and its soo confidence inspiring but u guys r talking about ripping out if u have QR. I have a RS recon 351 with a QR should I worry about it "ripping" my axle out???

According to the RS website it's ok
Thanks that's a lot more reassuring ahaha
flag neex
Posted: Jan 11, 2013 at 22:11 Quote
ferday wrote:
johnpierro13 wrote:
im running 8" front and rear with saint/zee brakes on my Norco fluid 2 and its soo confidence inspiring but u guys r talking about ripping out if u have QR. I have a RS recon 351 with a QR should I worry about it "ripping" my axle out???

According to the RS website it's ok

I ran 8" with a Fox RLC on some pretty hard descents in CO. Although a few thought I was looking at the hospital in the future, nothing happened and that was with a QR. It wasn't my finest decision and I feel much better with 20MM TA and 8' but I think it would be pretty tough to break the axle or dropout unless hucking and hard. Fox is dead set against it however....

A.
flag tylerthegiant
Posted: Jan 12, 2013 at 10:44 Quote
Wasmachineman-NL wrote:
If you're still overheating brakes, you'll need this: Unsecure image, only https images allowed: http://images.ridemonkey.com/index.php?size=full&src=http%3A%2F%2Ft3.gstatic.com%2Fimages%3Fq%3Dtbn%3AANd9GcR2xJRhMXy_4nMhOVESaNASCZGPPPCMK4gAnbKkmPUNvMQk13p6%26amp%3Bt%3D1
what is this awesome thing
flag DC1988
Posted: Jan 12, 2013 at 11:46 Quote
It annoys me when I see people saying you don't need 203mm rotors. It depends on a lot of factors like how you ride, where you ride and what brakes you have.

If you're running Formula R0 brakes then you might be able to get away with 160mm rotors but if you have Hayes Nines then for equivalent power you'd probably need 203mm rotors, the question is whether you're willing to sacrifice braking power for weight loss.
flag juggmeister
Posted: Jan 12, 2013 at 13:54 Quote
I don't think a brake can be too powerful as long as there is modulation. You soon get used to modulating the power and it never hurts to have plenty in reserve. That said, a 160mm rotor with a decent calliper/lever combo will stop as fast as most XC riders will need to so I wouldn't be looking to upgrade. If they're fitted as stock then no problem.

 


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