Disc Brake Issues

[davetapson]

Nah, I have a set of Elixir 5's. Not bled once, not faded once, not failed once. I like the way the levers are set up, and i like their feel.

Me too. Had them since 2006, untouched except for pad changes.

 

Have wondered about replacing the brakefluid / bleeding but not bothered because they are not spongy, so why bother.

 

Although it does cross my mind that you are supposed to change car brake fluid every two years, mainly due to the hygroscopic (?) properties of brake fluid (it sucks in moisture from the atmosphere). Avids are closed systems I tell myself, therefore don't need fluid changes...

[Swift01]

@Roach Are they Brand New? Have you posted them on the classifieds with pics?

[New world disorder]

they are used but have been in storage for the last 2 years!

havnt advertised them yet!they are damn lite!

[Sawdust]

I'm on my 3rd bike with XT brakes. Still have the XT brakes from 4.5 years ago and they work perfectly. Had the brake fluid replaced some 2 years ago, no issues at all. Use them on a bi-weekly basis.

 

My wifes ex bike had Juicy-7's on. Never liked them and always noisy. My mechanic also hated them. PITA to fit the brake pads too. She's also on XT's now.

 

I might be biased but the only thing from the SRAM stable I believe in are their Rockshox. The rest, no thank you!

[Swift01]

@Roach Cool will rather save up and get a set of new Loiuse Bats with new Storm SL rotors.

[Johan Bornman]

You cannot say that a system that needs to be pumped 4 times before desired pressure / force is attained has the same "power" as a system that needs only one pull to get to the same pressure / force. The end result will be the same, but the actual work done in order to get to that force will differ greatly.

I can say it and I do say it. I will demonstrate it to you.

Brakes don't deliver power, they deliver force. The force will be the same, irrespective of air (provided that it is "pre-pumped").

 

 

 

Therefore, quite simply, a system with air in it will have less power than a system without air in it. much like a 6 cyl motor running on 4 cylinders, or a car with a blown gasket, power will be diminished.

Your analogy is flawed. To modify it I'll say it is the same as a 6-cyclinder engine that takes a few seconds to activate two of its cylinders. Once it has stopped misfiring and runs on all 6, the power is the same.

 

The blown gasket analogy doesn't fit.

[procheeze]

I have a bike with XT on and my new bike which has Avid Elixir CR SL. I do all my own bike maintenance. My experience is:

1. Avid breaking performance is better but not materially

2. Avid are much much easier to adjust, both at the lever level and the calipers

3. The Avid’s floating calipers make adjusting away rotor drag a 1 min job. One can spend 30min getting this right on the XT units

4. Avid’s pad contact adjuster is the best!

5. Avid organic pads seem to wear much quicker than the XT resin pads. Avid’s metal pads are crap

6. XT is an absolute breeze to bleed – you don’t even need a bleeding kit. Avid is a nightmare (this may be why bike shops give back bikes with half serviced Avid breaks)

7. XT tends to leak fluid if the bike is inverted or lays on its side for a while. Avid doesn’t.

8. I have found the XT pistons stick more often than the Avid. This is something that needs to be cleaned regularly which most bike shops don’t bother with.

[The Drongo]

I have a bike with XT on and my new bike which has Avid Elixir CR SL. I do all my own bike maintenance. My experience is:

1. Avid breaking performance is better but not materially

2. Avid are much much easier to adjust, both at the lever level and the calipers

3. The Avid’s floating calipers make adjusting away rotor drag a 1 min job. One can spend 30min getting this right on the XT units

4. Avid’s pad contact adjuster is the best!

5. Avid organic pads seem to wear much quicker than the XT resin pads. Avid’s metal pads are crap

6. XT is an absolute breeze to bleed – you don’t even need a bleeding kit. Avid is a nightmare (this may be why bike shops give back bikes with half serviced Avid breaks)

7. XT tends to leak fluid if the bike is inverted or lays on its side for a while. Avid doesn’t.

8. I have found the XT pistons stick more often than the Avid. This is something that needs to be cleaned regularly which most bike shops don’t bother with.

 

Then you are doing everything wrong fella.....plain and simple.

[rob_mtb]

I have a bike with XT on and my new bike which has Avid Elixir CR SL. I do all my own bike maintenance. My experience is:

1. Avid breaking performance is better but not materially

2. Avid are much much easier to adjust, both at the lever level and the calipers

3. The Avid’s floating calipers make adjusting away rotor drag a 1 min job. One can spend 30min getting this right on the XT units

4. Avid’s pad contact adjuster is the best!

5. Avid organic pads seem to wear much quicker than the XT resin pads. Avid’s metal pads are crap

6. XT is an absolute breeze to bleed – you don’t even need a bleeding kit. Avid is a nightmare (this may be why bike shops give back bikes with half serviced Avid breaks)

7. XT tends to leak fluid if the bike is inverted or lays on its side for a while. Avid doesn’t.

8. I have found the XT pistons stick more often than the Avid. This is something that needs to be cleaned regularly which most bike shops don’t bother with.

6. I've never had a problem bleeding Avids. RTM and follow the steps. Hardly a nightmare.

7. Neither should leak fluid ever. You might need to rebuild yours if this is the case.

 

In general, I'd never ever let a bike shop touch my brakes. I like to know exactly how they have been set up, with what fluid etc. Last thing you need are brakes fading on you halfway down a hill. It's really not rocket science either. I once saw one of the supposed good LBS in Cape town 'try' to bleed some Avids without the bleed kit. The jimmied hose shot off and sprayed fluid in the 'techs' face. hahaha. He even had the wrong fluid, and it was stored in an old coke bottle. Needless to say after seeing that I swore I'd never ever put my trust in a shop again. This is the same shop who tried to sell me a road bike BB for my AM rig. Guy said "naaaa, it's fine bru". LOL

[Tumbleweed]

JB, i get that you can pump the brake lever to get up to the same power level that a non-aerated system would have as a result of just a simgle pull of the lever. And that was the point I was putting across to counter your view on air in the system and the resultant power. Fact is, stroke for stroke a system with air pockets in it is going to have less power than a system without air pockets in it, when comparing a single stroke. You cannot say that a system that needs to be pumped 4 times before desired pressure / force is attained has the same "power" as a system that needs only one pull to get to the same pressure / force. The end result will be the same, but the actual work done in order to get to that force will differ greatly.

 

 

The way I understand how a hydraulic brake works is that a force/pressure is applied at one side (lever) of the system which uses the power of the liquid to impart force/pressure at the other end of the system (the calliper). What you're saying is that if it's not a properly bled brake, braking power is diminished? Make sense to me.

[Swift01]

Solve the problem with all your brakes.... Go back to V-Brakes

[Tumbleweed]

Solve the problem with all your brakes.... Go back to V-Brakes

 

Hahahahaha!

 

Or we could introduce hydraulic rim brakes into the equation!

 

I run XTR V-brakes on one of my SS and they are great stoppers. Got old LX Servo Waves on another that do the job.