The Official Brake Review Thread

El Rey said:
I just bought my first bike with disc brakes (avid elixir CR's) and after 1 easy ride around the fully loop the rear disc seems to be a little warped.Is this normal? and will they wear the pads enough to stop the rub? Or do I need to buy a new disc. or will the shop warranty the disc?
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It would be odd for one easy ride to warp a rotor.

Double check your wheel and make sure it is seated completely in the drop out. Make sure that the rotor itself was mounted on a flat, clean surface. Re-torque the mounting bolts and re-adjust your caliper. If you still get a cyclic, intermittent rub, identify the exact place that it is happening and with minimal pressure you can usually straighten the rotor.

It's important to remember that the brake is not really creating any significant drag, but if you are like me the sound will drive you nuts. Good luck.
 
Having a lot of hate for my Elixir 3's right now......are Shimano XT's still the hydraulic brake of choice these days??
 
It would seem from a couple of previous (recent) threads the XTs and XTRs have been getting pushed hard as the preferred choice.. I run Elixirs as well. What specific issues are you experiencing? I'm curious..
 
McG715 said:
It would seem from a couple of previous (recent) threads the XTs and XTRs have been getting pushed hard as the preferred choice.. I run Elixirs as well. What specific issues are you experiencing? I'm curious..
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The first time The Path changed the pads. There was a lot of tweaking, letting fluid out (because apparently the seals suck and then the fluid absorbs moisture). They got them working. Last night I tried to change the pads myself. I'm switching to metallic because I don't want to be messing with these things all the time. I have some experience in things of mechanical nature, so I'm not a complete retard when it comes to wrenching though obvioulsy I'm no expert. I followed the directions to a "T". My front lever now is acting like there is little to no fluid in the line (air in the line perhaps). I can pull the lever down to the bar, and only then do I get some braking action (not total stopping). The back is rubbing 100% of the time, which is good because I need it considering my front is barely working....LOL!

Should I even want to bleed these POS's, I now have to worry about hazardous brake fluid and DOT crap (can you tell I'm frustrated). I don't want to have to be running to the shop everytime my brake pads need changing. Those gals and guys have better things to do than deal with me ;)
 
I hear you.. luckily I haven't had the issues others have had with them like you're getting, although my complaint is I always have to adjust the calipers after just about every hard ride.. which gets tiresome. I have Elixir 5s, and just changed my pads a couple wks ago. The front definitely sounds to me like it needs to be bled, but yes the if I was having the same issues, or begin to experience them, I prob will jump to XTs myself as they seem to be very hassle free and low maint.. I agree having to go the shop all the time is a major pain..
Aviatrix said:
The first time The Path changed the pads. There was a lot of tweaking, letting fluid out (because apparently the seals suck and then the fluid absorbs moisture). They got them working. Last night I tried to change the pads myself. I'm switching to metallic because I don't want to be messing with these things all the time. I have some experience in things of mechanical nature, so I'm not a complete retard when it comes to wrenching though obvioulsy I'm no expert. I followed the directions to a "T". My front lever now is acting like there is little to no fluid in the line (air in the line perhaps). I can pull the lever down to the bar, and only then do I get some braking action (not total stopping). The back is rubbing 100% of the time, which is good because I need it considering my front is barely working....LOL!

Should I even want to bleed these POS's, I now have to worry about hazardous brake fluid and DOT crap (can you tell I'm frustrated). I don't want to have to be running to the shop everytime my brake pads need changing. Those gals and guys have better things to do than deal with me ;)
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You probably know this, but as a bandaid fix, if you apply the lightest amt of pressure possible to that front lever, very slowly repeatedly, it will bring the pressure back.. I've had to do that mid ride when in need of a bleed..
 
Thanks for your input. I have pumped the brakes, but not lightly like you recommend. I'll try that today at lunch when I ride with no brakes ;p
 
Do it as light as possible.. super light.. it was a little trick I didn't know about until a buddy showed me.. it worked.. it's a temp fix but it did in fact work for me and I rode a couple of times that week before dropping bike off at Path for a bleed (I don't deal with doing bleeds myself) :)
Aviatrix said:
Thanks for your input. I have pumped the brakes, but not lightly like you recommend. I'll try that today at lunch when I ride with no brakes ;p
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For the rear brake with the 100% rub, sounds like the pistons might not have been pushed back all the way.
The last time I changed the brake pads on my Elixirs, I had the same problem with the rear brakes. Once I got the new pads in and got the wheel mounted, I too had the 100% rub. After some time trying to figure out what was wrong, I put the old brake pads back it and with a large flat head screwdriver, I pushed the pistons apart, makeing sure that the pistons were fully pushed back, this did the trick for me.

Another option I read and tried (with some limited success) was sliding a business card between the roter and the brake pads and slowly pumping the brakes.

Good luck.
 
Avid HS1 Heat Shedding Rotors:

I was looking to get a pair of these rotors and was wondering if anyone has any experience with them. Thanks in advance.
 
Running Shimano M785 XT brakes w/ a RT85 180mm IceTech Rotor in the front and Shimano M785 XT brakes w/ a RT86 160mm IceTech Rotor in the rear of my Giant XTC Composite. Love them, always a solid and predictable performance.

 
I've heard some people not liking the XT's..."too grabby" is what some say. I love mine. I haven't had them very long, but they're stopping me perfectly, and predictably.
 
I also like Shimanos the best. I currently have them on 2 of my bikes (XT 785s and XTR 985s). I can see where people may think they are grabby though. Definitely not as smooth feeling at the lever as my Formula Ones, and more powerful. I remember coming back to the XTRs after being on a bike with subpar brakes for awhile and I really had to get used to the power. Once you get used to it though, definitely my brakes of choice. I like the Formulas too, but find they are a bit finicky to deal with (constantly readjusting pistons, etc.).
 
FSTMFR said:
Running Shimano M785 XT brakes w/ a RT85 180mm IceTech Rotor in the front and Shimano M785 XT brakes w/ a RT86 160mm IceTech Rotor in the rear of my Giant XTC Composite. Love them, always a solid and predictable performance.

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Is that a dented fork? The rider must be so fast the air passing by just beats on the fork legs.
 
Looking to upgrade my brakes, need reccomendations

Hi,

I own a 2013 Giant Trance X 29er and absolutely love this bike for the type of riding that I do. I'm looking to upgrade my front & rear brakes sometime this summer and i'm looking to spend around the $300 - $350 range. I currently have the elixer 3's and they are holding up fine but fine but we all know of the quirky issues with them. Any recommendations? Remember i'm looking to replace both front and rear.

Thanks in advance,

Bryan
 
shimano SLX, unless you're really picky about having free stroke adjustment. It'll save you some money over the XTs, they are the same besides that.
 

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