MTB brakes

[Jokerman923]

Take them off and buy yourself some real brakes........Magura Mt 6's

[MuddyMike]

Exactly why I chucked mine...same thing happened to me. You only have to the back side of breedts once without brakes to make you decision easier

Avids are great if you want to see if there is life after death.....

[rouxtjie]

Avids are great if you want to see if there is life after death.....

hhahahaha yea...don't knock on death's door and runaway, he hates it.

[MuddyMike]

Oh fek, just realised I own AVIDS........

 

A set of digit 5 v-brakes on my single speed and they are fantastic. About 100x better than any of their disc brakes....

[V12man]

Hey if your brakes are working that is great....they are just maintenance whores and I like fit and forget parts....they are not that. Also I had no issues with them being noisy, if that was their only issue they wouldn't have this reputation. The problem I have with them is that they don't brake....that is kind of a big fail for me, like a wheel that doesn't roll but with the consequence that you will loose a tooth or break a bone. Some of the elixir's also use dot5 fluid which is extremely corrosive so much that they eat your brakes from the inside out...well that is what happened to me anyway. Here is why I regard them as rubbish

 

They require constant bleeding and pampering to ensure performance and when they do decide to work, they don't work as well as my shimano brakes. Noise doesn't feature

 

True - mine do work - even dropped the disc size on my race bike - no need for the bigger disc, and aside from changing pads and checking things have done nothing to them in over a year. Brakes are not something that should be fitted and forgotten - NOT NOT NOT EVER.

 

In any case a simple bleed, clean and setup should only take 10 minutes or less per wheel - and less if you are not trying to actively fix a problem.

 

Dot 5 fluid is not corrosive - it is silicon based, and paintwork friendly - the reason it is used on bike brakes a lot is that it is less affected by moisture than most Dot 3 or 4 fluids (3 is for sure not paintwork friendly, and depending on manufacturer, 4 may or may not be) which are not silicon based. Water in fluid is the enemy of good braking, because it boils easily, and water vapour is compressible - which means you lose braking - sometimes effectively completely.

 

Personally I don't care for Dot 5 fluid in my racecar - the wet boiling point is too low for my liking, and I find it is more compressible that other brake fluids, which drops the brake modulation possible - of which my all time favourite is Castrol SRF - which only needs to be bled every 6 months or more - mostly as a way of refreshing the fluid.

[MuddyMike]

True - mine do work - even dropped the disc size on my race bike - no need for the bigger disc, and aside from changing pads and checking things have done nothing to them in over a year. Brakes are not something that should be fitted and forgotten - NOT NOT NOT EVER.

 

In any case a simple bleed, clean and setup should only take 10 minutes or less per wheel - and less if you are not trying to actively fix a problem.

 

Dot 5 fluid is not corrosive - it is silicon based, and paintwork friendly - the reason it is used on bike brakes a lot is that it is less affected by moisture than most Dot 3 or 4 fluids (3 is for sure not paintwork friendly, and depending on manufacturer, 4 may or may not be) which are not silicon based. Water in fluid is the enemy of good braking, because it boils easily, and water vapour is compressible - which means you lose braking - sometimes effectively completely.

 

Personally I don't care for Dot 5 fluid in my racecar - the wet boiling point is too low for my liking, and I find it is more compressible that other brake fluids, which drops the brake modulation possible - of which my all time favourite is Castrol SRF - which only needs to be bled every 6 months or more - mostly as a way of refreshing the fluid.

Dude, thats far to techy for mountain bikers, we fit and forget and do the regular maintenance, thats it.....

[rouxtjie]

True - mine do work - even dropped the disc size on my race bike - no need for the bigger disc, and aside from changing pads and checking things have done nothing to them in over a year. Brakes are not something that should be fitted and forgotten - NOT NOT NOT EVER.

Buy shimano brakes and buy me a beer sometime, they really are fit and forget

 

In any case a simple bleed, clean and setup should only take 10 minutes or less per wheel - and less if you are not trying to actively fix a problem.See above

 

Dot 5 fluid is not corrosive - it is silicon based, and paintwork friendly - the reason it is used on bike brakes a lot is that it is less affected by moisture than most Dot 3 or 4 fluids (3 is for sure not paintwork friendly, and depending on manufacturer, 4 may or may not be) which are not silicon based. Water in fluid is the enemy of good braking, because it boils easily, and water vapour is compressible - which means you lose braking - sometimes effectively completely.Bleed your brakes and look at the colour of the dot5 you are pulling out in a clear syringe....it will have a black taint to it....that is seals being eaten by the dot5 fluid...agree that it has a higher boiling point(think its 210 or 220 deg C) than shimano mineral oil(think it 180 deg C) but that just gives me more amo ito avid brakes being an engineering disaster...they shouldn't fade, but they do

 

Personally I don't care for Dot 5 fluid in my racecar - the wet boiling point is too low for my liking, and I find it is more compressible that other brake fluids, which drops the brake modulation possible - of which my all time favourite is Castrol SRF - which only needs to be bled every 6 months or more - mostly as a way of refreshing the fluid.Pity shimano doesn't make brakes for cars

[V12man]

AVID is crap. sorry for the language. I had Avids fail going down Breedts on a test bike without warning. I dont need any more reason than that. I have a set of new ispec SLX brakes on my bike. 8000km later incl an Epic and 2 sets of metal pads and 1 full hose bleed is the full extent of maintenance. I rest my case.

 

Wet brake fluid boiling does that - works fine, then suddenly nothing when they get hot - sometimes helped by pumping a bit. When they cool down they feel like they mostly work again.

 

The only other thing that does that is a mechanical or seal failure - that can happen anytime - cold or hot..

 

Put decent fluid in, bleed, problem wont come back until the fluid gets wet - and it is naturally hygroscopic - and will absorb water even from contact to air - let alone a pressure washer forcing a bit past a seal.

[Lone_Ranger]

I also thought my Avids were useles, but my LBS suggested new pads and a bleed, and they're now 100% better. My suggestion would be to try that first as a cheap fix, and if the problem persists replace with Shimano or other.

 

For now my Avids are ok. In all fairness, I haven't tested them on a long descent since getting them back, that's normally where the turkey starts warbling behind me.

[rouxtjie]

Wet brake fluid boiling does that - works fine, then suddenly nothing when they get hot - sometimes helped by pumping a bit. When they cool down they feel like they mostly work again.

 

The only other thing that does that is a mechanical or seal failure - that can happen anytime - cold or hot..

 

Put decent fluid in, bleed, problem wont come back until the fluid gets wet - and it is naturally hygroscopic - and will absorb water even from contact to air - let alone a pressure washer forcing a bit past a seal.

But therein lies the problem...the dot 5 fluid helps this along. Used sram fluid, used their bleed kit....took my merry time in bleeding them perfectly only to have them fade a week later.

 

Life is too short I say

[typhoon]

Exactly why I chucked mine...same thing happened to me. You only have to the back side of breedts once without brakes to make you decision easier

 

Why are you braking down the back of the Nek anyway???

shouldn't take you more than 7 mins to get from top to bottom...

 

Never had an issue with the elixir 3's my bike came with until i bent a rotor, put some cheap after market rotors on, can't think of the name and now they make a noise! *mumble*

[rouxtjie]

Why are you braking down the back of the Nek anyway???

shouldn't take you more than 7 mins to get from top to bottom...

 

Never had an issue with the elixir 3's my bike came with until i bent a rotor, put some cheap after market rotors on, can't think of the name and now they make a noise! *mumble*

hahahah knew someone is going to chirp that....sneaky

[jcza]

I also thought my Avids were useles, but my LBS suggested new pads and a bleed, and they're now 100% better. My suggestion would be to try that first as a cheap fix, and if the problem persists replace with Shimano or other.

 

For now my Avids are ok. In all fairness, I haven't tested them on a long descent since getting them back, that's normally where the turkey starts warbling behind me.

 

If you ride often this will become your monthly routine.

 

Ride, brake fade or no brakes, bleed, ride, replace pads, ride, bleed............repeat.

[V12man]

Buy shimano brakes and buy me a beer sometime, they really are fit and forget

 

Ride your bike more, you will need to maintain them... my race partner's 2013 SHIMANO XTR brakes squeal like a stuck pig..

 

Bleed your brakes and look at the colour of the dot5 you are pulling out in a clear syringe....it will have a black taint to it....that is seals being eaten by the dot5 fluid...agree that it has a higher boiling point(think its 210 or 220 deg C) than shimano mineral oil(think it 180 deg C) but that just gives me more amo ito avid brakes being an engineering disaster...they shouldn't fade, but they do

 

Could be dirt too... washed past the piston seals - unless someone really mis-specced the seals material. - brake dust caught on a piston easily makes it past the seal in normal use, and it contaminates fluid quickly - but dirt is less of an enemy of brakes than water contamination.

 

Pity shimano doesn't make brakes for cars

 

Thank all known deity's that they don't - mineral oil will boil and burn at race brake temps... and car brake temps too.. bye bye brakes.

[V12man]

If you ride often this will become your monthly routine.

 

Ride, brake fade or no brakes, bleed, ride, replace pads, ride, bleed............repeat.

 

Thats because the fluid is contaminated with water - once it is contaminated, you must REPLACE the fluid with fresh - all of it - just bleeding to get the bubbles out does nothing over the medium term - you will have to rebleed as soon as they have been hot.

[rouxtjie]

Cool dude, you have made your mind up enjoy your brakes...

 

Just my last 2c, ER24's number is 084 124...might want to keep this one handy