brakeset for a freeride?

[Mongooser]

im looking for new brakes in the second hand market,not sure what to go for have bout 800 to spend

wont use avid again,i've gone into way to many trees and other objects

[popcorn_skollie]

Before you bash the brand. What was wrong with your brakes?

[Mongooser]

Before you bash the brand. What was wrong with your brakes?

lose power over time usually 2 months,then have to bleed again

[Odinson]

Perhaps the seals are toast? How old are the brakes?

[CdT85]

Perhaps the seals are toast? How old are the brakes?

 ^^^^^

This...check your brakes seals. if the piston are stuck in the calipers, no amount of bleeding will fix it. Just rebuild your calipers. Got rebuild kits for my elixir 5's from Revolution cycles recently.

Was about R250 a set, plus R150 odd per bleed at my lbs

[popcorn_skollie]

I'm assuming you have a set of elixirs. They're not bad brakes. I've had them all 1,3,7, SL, CR what ever. A full rebuild and bleed and you should be fine after 1 or 2 rides. At least that's what you can pull off for R800. Not sure what you're gonna get used for that budget. I mean you could score a decent set of formulas for about a 1k or so. But chances are that what ever you get at that price might need a build and bleed themselves at some point. So... 

[Mongooser]

brakes seals are fine,no fluid leaks,they are bout 3 years old id guess

they are elixer 5's

[Odinson]

Post pics of the pads.

[Duane_Bosch]

You should be able to get shimano deore's for around R800. I sold a pair for that. Power is ok. Feel is great. They aren't the most fashionable brakes but so what.

 

I'd rather stop my bike with a stick in the spokes than Avid Elixirs.

[Mongooser]

Post pics of the pads.

brand new elixer pads in the back and front

[Mongooser]

You should be able to get shimano deore's for around R800. I sold a pair for that. Power is ok. Feel is great. They aren't the most fashionable brakes but so what.

 

I'd rather stop my bike with a stick in the spokes than Avid Elixirs.

newer avids dont work as great as old ones

[CdT85]

brakes seals are fine,no fluid leaks,they are bout 3 years old id guess

they are elixer 5's

 

Let someone like Droo look at the brakes for you. Owned multiple sets of Elixir 5's. After a rebuild and proper bleed they were all as good as new.

Have the bladders in the levers checked out as well. Your R800 will be better spent on fixing them than buying a R800 brakeset that will need to be serviced as well.

 

I posted a thread not to long ago about my "sick" elixir 5's and was about to chuck them, but  got them sorted in the end. My only mistake was using the wrong bike shop to bleed them originally.

[capediver]

You should be able to get shimano deore's for around R800. I sold a pair for that. Power is ok. Feel is great. They aren't the most fashionable brakes but so what.

 

I'd rather stop my bike with a stick in the spokes than Avid Elixirs.

You may be onto something! Eco-friendly, renewable resource, freely available, great range (oak, pine, khaki bos)......I'd be interested in what sort of modulation you get with that stick of yours? Also what about wear and replacement...do you need to carve new ones or can you just pick up any stick along the trail...How do you mount said stick? Same as your recent adventure at Steilte...just somer so?.....

[JXV]

For R800 your budget is a little shy for newer better brakes.

 

We can't easily tell from your descriptions if the pads or discs are contaminated or if the levers are faulty. Describe exactly what happens in detail....Do they fade as they heat up, do the discs just slip through with no friction, are the levers spongy or switchlike, Do the levers slowly collapse to the bar when you hold the brakes on hard, do the brakes squeal a lot, do they rub/drag when brakes are off .....each of these symptoms has a different cause

 

Contaminated pads and rotors can be cleaned with acetone but remove them off the bike first and DONT burn them....it leaves greasy soot and residue. Acetone is water soluble so after soaking in acetone to remove oils, rinse in water and let them dry. Do the same with discs. Then re-assemble. Be careful with acetone it is ultra dangerous. You can also use isopropyl alcohol as an alternative.

 

When you bleed, remove pads and insert bleed blocks. This way the brakes will be filled with the correct amount of fluid and any spillage will not contaminate your brake pads.

 

To make your brakes more powerful within your budget consider fitting bigger rotors if you can.... 200 on front and 180 rear or 180 front and rear. The money will go on discs and mount adapters. New pads too if you can.

 

Good luck.

 

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[Mongooser]

For R800 your budget is a little shy for newer better brakes.

 

We can't easily tell from your descriptions if the pads or discs are contaminated or if the levers are faulty. Describe exactly what happens in detail....Do they fade as they heat up, do the discs just slip through with no friction, are the levers spongy or switchlike, Do the levers slowly collapse to the bar when you hold the brakes on hard, do the brakes squeal a lot, do they rub/drag when brakes are off .....each of these symptoms has a different cause

 

Contaminated pads and rotors can be cleaned with acetone but remove them off the bike first and DONT burn them....it leaves greasy soot and residue. Acetone is water soluble so after soaking in acetone to remove oils, rinse in water and let them dry. Do the same with discs. Then re-assemble. Be careful with acetone it is ultra dangerous. You can also use isopropyl alcohol as an alternative.

 

When you bleed, remove pads and insert bleed blocks. This way the brakes will be filled with the correct amount of fluid and any spillage will not contaminate your brake pads.

 

To make your brakes more powerful within your budget consider fitting bigger rotors if you can.... 200 on front and 180 rear or 180 front and rear. The money will go on discs and mount adapters. New pads too if you can.

 

Good luck.

 

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i was told somethings wrong with the lever,i pump the brake then it only works for 5 secs,lever can be pulled flat onto the bars with no force on the rotor

[JXV]

i was told somethings wrong with the lever,i pump the brake then it only works for 5 secs,lever can be pulled flat onto the bars with no force on the rotor

Aah ok cool.....but no fluid leaking from the brake lever?

 

There are two seals in the lever. The outer one prevents fluid leaking out where the actuating rod goes in to push on the master piston - in your brakes, this one is still intact.

 

The second seal is the main piston seal. This makes a seal between the piston and master cylinder and contains the pressure generated when you pull on the lever. Your symptoms tell me this seal is faulty or the surface of the master cylinder is damaged (by scoring or corrosion). When you press the lever, fluid is escaping around the seal back to the reservoir and the lever slowly sinks to the handlebar..... When you release the brake lever it can also allow air to get sucked in .....

 

The lucky part about Avid brakes is that you can get a lever rebuild kit that contains new seals. It is within your budget and will fix the problem provided that the cylinder bore is not damaged. Your LBS should be able to fix this for you but if you have the tools and good with your hands it can be done as a DIY job. The manuals are available on SRAM website. You will also need an Avid bleed kit and some DOT4 brake fluid.

 

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