Avid BB7 What do you think?

[el_d00der1n0]

I'm on a budget, but I'm starting to worry about going down techy downhills with v-brakes.

Does anyone have an opinion about Avid's BB7s?

PricePoint has them for 50 bucks apiece now.

[Schecky]

Love them. (Use Avid levers though)

[Evil Chocula]

They're money, I'd get 180mm for the front, 160mm for the back.

[ghixon]

The '07 7's had a major issue with noise and warbling on the rotors. If you're going to go BB7, be sure to get an '08 set. At that price, it might be a crap shoot as to which ones you're going to get.

Other than that, they're the best mechanical brake you can get for the money. Tons of stopping power and adjustability without the hydro price.

[guero]

I loved them when I had them. Just make sure your current wheels have disc compatible hubs or else you will be looking at buying new wheels with those brakes (or any disc brake).

[DeeZee]

Originally Posted by el_d00der1n0

I'm on a budget, but I'm starting to worry about going down techy downhills with v-brakes.

Does anyone have an opinion about Avid's BB7s?

PricePoint has them for 50 bucks apiece now.

mechanicals on the market. Do you have disk hubs and frame/ fork mounts?

[el_d00der1n0]

Originally Posted by Schecky

Love them. (Use Avid levers though)

I have the XT shifter/lever pods. Supposedly the BB7s will go with any levers.

The brakes I'm using now are XTs. Would mechanical disks still be better?

[DeeZee]

Originally Posted by ghixon

The '07 7's had a major issue with noise and warbling on the rotors. If you're going to go BB7, be sure to get an '08 set. At that price, it might be a crap shoot as to which ones you're going to get.

Other than that, they're the best mechanical brake you can get for the money. Tons of stopping power and adjustability without the hydro price.

make sure you get the clean sweep rotors and not the wave type.

[el_d00der1n0]

Originally Posted by ghixon

The '07 7's had a major issue with noise and warbling on the rotors. If you're going to go BB7, be sure to get an '08 set. At that price, it might be a crap shoot as to which ones you're going to get.

Other than that, they're the best mechanical brake you can get for the money. Tons of stopping power and adjustability without the hydro price.

PricePoint says they're 2007.

[BrewMaster]

I have them with 6" rotors and they are ok. They haven't let me down even when I get in over my head.

If you do get them, make sure to set them up properly with the stationary pad as close as possible to the rotor. Otherwise you will bend the rotors pretty quickly like me.

For the money they can't be beat, but if you can spare the coin I would go hydro. I am already looking at hydros to replace my BB7s.

[el_d00der1n0]

Originally Posted by guero

I loved them when I had them. Just make sure your current wheels have disc compatible hubs or else you will be looking at buying new wheels with those brakes (or any disc brake).

They're disc compatible. I'm thinking about rebuilding with new rims if I go disc.

[BrewMaster]

Jenson has the 08s for around $65.

[xhuskr]

i love mine....had them fade on me once...but I think my setup was causing them to rub/heat up....no probs since. go for it...atleast for confidence

[b5driver]

Originally Posted by el_d00der1n0

They're disc compatible. I'm thinking about rebuilding with new rims if I go disc.

If you're going to build up new rims and you don't plan on doing it yourself, go see Mike at North of the Border bikes in Sorrento Valley. Top notch work.

[guero]

Originally Posted by el_d00der1n0

They're disc compatible. I'm thinking about rebuilding with new rims if I go disc.

nice, just wasn't sure if you knew that or not.

[schleppp]

I have a set of 07's and they work really well for me...

[cjwally]

I liked them a lot until I went hydro... The modulation and feel with hydro is a lot better. BUT...at that price point WHO CARES!

The biggest issue for me was trying to turn those damn red nobs... I got sick of always having to adjust them. Everytime I took off my front wheel, I would have to readjust the settings.

Soooo...Long story short. Save your time and spend more $ and get a good set of hydro's.

[Winger]

Ok, I'll play devil's advocate...

Do you really need them?

I bought a new bike w/ disc brakes about a year ago. I was quite disappointed because I was expecting a night & day difference between disc & rims. The only real difference I noticed was that my hand was a lot less tired during extended descents.

Then there's the maintenance thing....Brake pads for disc are more expensive and last 1/3 as long. I've warped a disc. It feels like I"m constantly wiping them down & resetting the pads. They squeal like a dying squirrel. Over about the same mileage, I spent maybe $30 on rim brake maintenance, and $130+ on disc brake maintenance.....and the figures don't include any time costs as I'm my own mechanic.

Quite frankly, I'm sick of them and wish I had the option of running rim brakes.

BTW, I'm running Avid Juicy 5's.

I have a buddy who was running BB7's and had to adjust them pretty much every ride. He recently switched them out for some hydraulics and is much happier.

[DeeZee]

If you want cheap go disk in front and leave the rim brake in the rear. Then when you have the $$$ go disk on the rear

[BrewMaster]

Originally Posted by cjwally

The biggest issue for me was trying to turn those damn red nobs... I got sick of always having to adjust them. Everytime I took off my front wheel, I would have to readjust the settings.

That is SOOO true. I absolutely hate the red pad adjustment knobs. They wear my fingers raw and they are hard to get to on the inside pad. Now I just use needle nose pliers on the inside pad to get it where I want.

Also, though the tri-align system should work well in theory, it doesn't seem to work for me. Maybe I'm stupid, but I still need my brakes to work. It is much faster for me to set them up by eye and feel than to try to tri-align them.