So That Is What Hydraulic Brakes Are Like . . .

I picked up my first suspension bike this year, a Salsa Spearfish. It came with Elixir 1s. I'd been running BB7s on my El Mariachi and loved them. Everybody would rave about hydraulic brakes. "They'll blow your mind. Mechanicals suck. Etc."

Well . . . they obviously hadn't ridden Elxirs 1s. Those things are crap. I was missing my BB7s every time I rode the Spearfish. So, when I decided to get a new set of wheels (Easton Havens), I figured it wad a good time to get new brakes. I needed new pads again anyways. I went with Shimano SLX M675s and IceTech rotors. Despite the difficulties of the LBS installing them and having to wait three weeks, I finally got my first ride in on Saturday.

Awesome brakes. Night and day over the Elixir 1s. For awhile there I thought people had lost their mind raving over the godlike abilities of hydraulics.

On a side note, Specialized 2Bliss does the match the bead pattern of UST rims and you can run them without sealant, but the air will leak out overnight. However, they will make it through a ride.

 

Not all hydro brakes are created equal. Most hate Avids and love Shimano. I have XTR on my carbon Rocky Mtn, XT's on the Tribal, SLX on my Niner and love them. I do have Avid Juicy 7's on the Slayer and the only issue besides the squealing when dirty or wet was I had was when one of the front pads fly off during a ride at Noble Canyon cause the clip that held it on did not do it's job. I couldn't find it and had to ride Noble without front brakes. With Shimano, it would not have happened cause the pads are held in by either cotter pin or threaded pin.

 

I've had good experience with my Elixir CR's. Pads held in by threaded pin and C-clip

 

When hydraulic brakes are good, they are very good, when they are bad, they are very annoying. Shimano has it down - as good as it gets. Avid - not so much. I have a set of 2013 Avid XO Trail 4-piston brakes on my DH bike and they are not as strong as the XTR trails on my trail bike - same size rotors. Knock on wood, at least my Avids are quiet and work well - for now. McG hasn't had the same luck.

 

My avid XO Trails are the best brakes I have used, I have found them to be more powerful than XTR but a little less than Saints.

 

+1 for Shimano brakes. Consistent lever feel and power throughout the range from Deore to XTR. Very impressive. And I'd say 10:1 reliability over Avids too.

 

I have Formula ORO K24's and they are the best brake I have owned to date. Even better than the newer RX that I had on my Trek.

 

Yeah the XO Trail did work great for me at all (at least noise wise).. the noise (squealing, squeaking, vibration, you name it) was actually embarrassing and I had to have them removed and swapped them with my Saints. The Saints that were on my Kona, are now on the Knolly, and now the Kona has the godawful sounding brakes. I wish they were quiet because they do have a very nice feel. Not sure how long I will tolerate the noise and vibration though.. I may end up with Saints on both bikes ..

 

You too? I went down a roller with my juicy 7's and both rear pads dropped out. Went to pull the brake lever and no brake. I pumped the lever and got the brake back. Thing is, all that did is pushed the pistons all the way to the rotor and continued to ride. Made a little more noise but hey there avids. At the end of the ride I finally checked it out and found no pads. Went back to the roller , found my 2 pads laying in the dirt. The pistons are now flat where they used to have a nub that the pads seat against with the spring clip keeping them in place. Toast? No, I still use the same juicy 7 only with a customized (Grego) pad/clip/wire system (have pic's if interested). Other than that no problems. No problems with my SLX on the other bike what so ever. Congrats BTP.

 

Avid Elixir 1's are horrible. They came brand new with 2 of my bikes. They overheat, leak, seize up, and had very little modulation. When I complained to the shop, the first thing they asked when I mentioned the symptoms was "are they Avid Elixirs?"

 

Had good luck with Hayes. Great modulation and power. Looking to build a new sled now and listening closely to these comments.

 

I have a low end mountain bike that had mechanicals on it. Decided to install hydraulics while learning how to work on my ride. I bought some low end hayes for $40 for each the front and rear end ($80 total). This also included the rotor. Bottom line, the Hayes were crap. The rear ends squealed like a stuck pig from day one. Neither the front or the rear braked solidly. Bled each a couple of times, thinking the problem was myself. I finally gave up on the Hayes and replaced them with Shimano 445 a couple of weeks ago and love them. Much better feel and good modulation. Plus, no squeal!

 

Mine were awful. One set came with my 2010 Stumpjumper, replaced under warranty in the first year. Kept having problems with the piston not retracting and rubbing. Had to adjust every other ride if not every ride. Bleeding didn't work, nothing stopped it. Lever feel was different every time I pulled it.

Finally got Shimano XT's and learned what real brakes feel like--consistent, never rub or need alignment, hardly ever need to be bled, tons of power and great modulation.

Built up a singlespeed using extra parts and put my Eliixir CR's on it at first...just got rid of those and put XT's on that too after getting a bonus at work.

I love Avid shifters and my X0 rear derailler seems great. I will never go with Avid brakes ever again...period... Too many bad memories for me and people I know and have read about. They've probably gotten better, but I doubt they'll ever match the consistency, reliability and quality of Shimano brakes.

 

I ran Formulas on my bikes for years and I love the feel of them better than the Shimano XT's I run now. But I was just burning threw pads why to fast on the Formulas. The XTs take a little getting used to as they are a little too grapy for slow tech stuff.

 

You're also coming from the undisputed champ of mechanical disc brakes, the BB7. There's a reason they've had the same basic design for over a decade now- they just work well, better than many hydro discs as you've discovered. I have BB7s on my rigid SS with a 180mm front rotor and while my Hope X2's are noticeably more powerful, the BB7s get the job done.

 

Very true. I just upgraded the front on my rigid SS to the 180mm. They are very good brakes and easy to adjust and install.

 

BB7s are the best brakes you can run, period....if stopping, no fade and 2 second adjustment is your goal. If you want some fade on long descents, high cost, constant adjustment and slight drag.... .....hydraulics are the way to go. :bang:

 

You must have had some Crap hydro brakes then. I've never once had an issue with my shimano slx ones or even the 2009 deore that came on my bike.

 

BB7's are great for mechanicals. They were always too "on or off" for me. Similar power to Juicy 3's and 5's that i've run. So far, Formula RX/R1 combo has been good. I just gotta get the bleed right.

With my riding skill, too much power and i'll lock them up. Too little power and i will need to drag the brakes longer than i should. I fear any brake with more power than a BB7, Juicy 5, or Formula RX. Modulation is what i look for.

 

If you took your BB7s on a "mere" 5 minute descent, one that was steep enough and gnarly enough to make you slow down constantly to better pick your lines and not bounce and fly off the side of the trail (one that some people opt to take their DH bike on), you might experience what people consider arm pump, especially if you heat your brakes up enough to fade them and you need to use some serious lever clamping force. With hydros, that kind of feeling of arm pump (and brake fade) comes much much later. With stronger hydros, you might forget what arm pump is or feels like. To me, hydros were created out of necessity/demand. That's how I personally got sold on 'em.