What brakes to buy for all mountain bike?

[Pegleg]

Sorry if this repeats a recent thread - didn't find one, but if it's out there just point me to it.

I'm out of the loop on brakes. What would be a solid, capable brake for a 5.5" all mountain bike (Giant Trance X) that's not too expensive? I was thinking the Avid Elixir 5 or 7, but the reviews on emptybeer are pretty crappy and it gave me second thoughts. Any consensus on the brake with the best price-performance ratio for this kind of thing?

(Got Hayes Stroker Rydes on there now - they came with the bike and actually performed pretty well for a couple of years, but now are squealing and vibrating and sticking and generally being unpleasant, and my LBS says that that's just kind of what they do.)

Thanks...

[concretejungle]

Shimano SLX if you don't want to spend a bunch maybe the XT's.

Formula whatever the fuck they're called (I can't keep their naming straight) if you've got a bit more coin.

Admittedly I haven't been keeping up with anything new but that's what I'd do before listening to any of the other mags who will chime in and tell you what you should do.

Give Dave up at Redstone in Lyons a call and see what he can do for you. He's very willing to get close to online prices and is a great guy.

[Ted Striker]

I haven't really been keeping up with the newest of the new either, but shimano is making good brakes these days.

[D(C)]

I love my SLX M666s.

[flatlander#2]

Everyone else is supposedly stopping making brakes now that the Shimano's are that badass. Seriously.

[Pegleg]

Wow, consensus on TGR. Didn't expect that. Guess I'll be checking out the Shimanos, then.

[Chugachjed]

Another vote for Shimano.

[1000-oaks]

Just got two sets of slx's with metal ice pads from ebikestop. Bluesky has them $20 cheaper, but the pads are resin, which might be fine depending on your use.

I like Hopes, but just don't see how the extra cost is worth it, especially when V2's need special rotors.

[supermodel159]

Shimano SLX if you don't want to spend a bunch maybe the XT's.

Formula whatever the fuck they're called (I can't keep their naming straight) if you've got a bit more coin.

Admittedly I haven't been keeping up with anything new but that's what I'd do before listening to any of the other mags who will chime in and tell you what you should do.

Give Dave up at Redstone in Lyons a call and see what he can do for you. He's very willing to get close to online prices and is a great guy.

Formula's have been on Chainlove...watch and you might score.

I have elixirs, they are bad. Even brand new they were bad.

[D(C)]

Just got two sets of slx's with metal ice pads from ebikestop. Bluesky has them $20 cheaper, but the pads are resin, which might be fine depending on your use.

I have the resin pads from BlueSky and they're working great for winter riding on the Shore (wet and steep!). I have them on my Reign with 203 mm rotors F & R (probably overkill but they were cheap).

[turkeyUP]

Every custom build the shop I work at had shimano brakes on them. The xts are awesome but slx have a better price point. Hell even the deores feel really good compared to the new basic avid hydraulics. I know for a fact avid is close to finding the reason for the howl all elixirs seem to have but until then shimano for the win.

[1000-oaks]

Kind of afraid of Formula's, guys either say they're amazing or they're horrible. Seems like a lot of money for a 50/50 gamble. (Heard they have a tiny gap between pads & rotors, so rotors have to be perfectly true. That won't work for me.)

[LaBelle23]

Our trail bikes both have Formula The Ones and it is the first brake we haven't had to bleed or service at all in a season of heavy riding (last yr was the first on them starting in April). Haven't run Shimanos, but had similar experiences as others describe with Avids. Still have elixirs and juicy7s in the quiver, but seem to require a lot more maintenance then the Formulas. My avids would be great for awhile, but then run a stretch where they suck. My codes were in that suck cycle for a chunk of last year (brand new too), but got better and finished the season strong. I would definitely recommend the formulas. Not a single bleed or adjust in a season plus is a record for me.

[LaBelle23]

Kind of afraid of Formula's, guys either say they're amazing or they're horrible. Seems like a lot of money for a 50/50 gamble. (Heard they have a tiny gap between pads & rotors, so rotors have to be perfectly true. That won't work for me.)

I don't think this is the case with all the models or at least with the newer gen models. My rotors are never perfectly true, but have had no problems (2012 the ones).

[hitek79]

Some good deals on Shimano brakes.

http://www.blueskycycling.com/produc...campaign=Email

http://www.blueskycycling.com/produc...campaign=Email

[jm2e]

Do you have to have an Ice Tech rotor with those Ice Tech brakes?

[Esses]

I put SLX on my Reign last summer. Best brakes I've owned. Probably the cheapest, too.

[1000-oaks]

Just put a pair of SLX on a Reign X last night (with old used Hayes rotors, which were cleaned with alcohol & hit with a scotchbrite pad), not even fully bedded yet and they're already enough to endo on flat ground if you really grab the front brake. Servo-wave lever feels weird, but no doubt you get used to it.

[Arty50]

Do you have to have an Ice Tech rotor with those Ice Tech brakes?

Nope. You can use normal rotors.

[shirk]

Latest generation SLX

/end thread

Actually if your question is about anything brake or drivetrain related the answer is SLX.

[MTT]

I will ask the stupid question.

You siad your Hayes brakes were fine for a couple years and now they sqeak and grad.

(Did you try replacing the Pads)?

Never saw the part where you said I replaced the pads / Rotors whatever. And now they still suck.

[Pegleg]

I will ask the stupid question.

You siad your Hayes brakes were fine for a couple years and now they sqeak and grad.

(Did you try replacing the Pads)?

Never saw the part where you said I replaced the pads / Rotors whatever. And now they still suck.

Not a stupid question. Yes, I've replaced the pads and cleaned the hell out of the rotors. Also, part of the problem is with the levers sticking, which obviously has nothing to do with the pads.

Question: Given that the Shimano XT brakes are only $10 more than the SLX, why would you buy SLX? Everywhere I've looked (including my LBS), the XT is exactly $10 more per brakeset. Not sure why one would go with the lower end version if the higher end is a total of $20 more.

[kidwoo]

I've ridden every incarnation of new shimano brakes except for the saints and the xtr trails.

The XTs and the Zees (so I assume the saints) are a little different than the rest, and the 4 piston vs 2 pistons are very different from each other. They're all badass but the XTs really do just grab harder with a punchier feel than all of them. They're the only ones I get on and if I haven't ridden them for a while I end up skidding my wheels the first few grabs.....and yes even the front. They're the shit. The SLX are just as strong but don't have as much of an on/off feel......call it modulation if you want to. Can't go wrong either way but if you're finding them for about the same price, I'd decide more on feel preference. I've got a pair of SLX on my dirtjumper, XTs on my trail bike and my 7" play bike, and Zees on my DH bike. They all rule but there are subtle differences.

[Chugachjed]

I'm no kidwoo but I've got xt's on one bike (rigid 29), and slx on another (SX trail) and I can't tell much if any difference. I've swapped them between the two bikes and they both perform exceptionally. Only reason to go xt is if you're willing to pay $20 extra for shiny plastic IMO.

[jm2e]

I've ridden every incarnation of new shimano brakes....

What do you mean by "new"? Is that just the Ice Tech ones? Or is there some way to differentiate between the new ones that everyone has a boner for and a seldom mentioned previous generation that was teh suck? Seems like their model numbers change every year while the model names stay the same.