What brakes to buy?

[the nerd]

I agree with all the above regarding shimano... Great Brakes. 

 

However.. 

 

I hate throw away items of any kind, everything should be built to be serviceable hence I have Hopes on all my bikes, shimano drives me mad that you cant fix them if something goes wrong, replace lever, replace the caliper etc! Madness. 

[Kalahari Vegmot]

I agree with all the above regarding shimano... Great Brakes. 

 

However.. 

 

I hate throw away items of any kind, everything should be built to be serviceable hence I have Hopes on all my bikes, shimano drives me mad that you cant fix them if something goes wrong, replace lever, replace the caliper etc! Madness.

 

That's interesting, if Hope makes really decent brakes, and pads are readily available, I would also rather buy them for serviceability.

 

It's a wonderful thing to be able to repair and service your own parts instead of replacing

[King_Crispy]

Shimano 615.

Cheap as chips so if/when they give you nonsense, buy another pair

[Rigardt@Scott]

I am very happy with my Shimano XT, IMO much better than the Shimano SLX I had before.

 

But dunno why no one had mentioned it, Sram Guide R - they are absolutely amazing. I rode a very heavy e-bike with them on and it stopped on a dime, even better than the Shimano XTs I have in my bike.

[the nerd]

That's interesting, if Hope makes really decent brakes, and pads are readily available, I would also rather buy them for serviceability.

 

It's a wonderful thing to be able to repair and service your own parts instead of replacing

 

Almost every single part is available from them. 

 

Pads are generally available. 

[Edge540]

I am very happy with my Shimano XT, IMO much better than the Shimano SLX I had before.

 

But dunno why no one had mentioned it, Sram Guide R - they are absolutely amazing. I rode a very heavy e-bike with them on and it stopped on a dime, even better than the Shimano XTs I have in my bike.

+1 Love my guide RSC's. Stop on a tikkie

[TomvdP]

Previous generation xt and SLX levers were mechanically identical, the only difference was the plastic cover. The SLX even had the free stroke adjust of the xt, they just used a proprietary screw instead of a Phillips - but if you modified a screwdriver to fit the screw it worked exactly as it would on xt (not doing much, which is normal for Shimano free stroke adjust). Unless you are doing long DH runs(where the marginally better cooling offered by finned pads and ceramic pistons MIGHT be noticable) most people won't be able to tell the difference between well bled deore/SLX/xt brakes which is what makes the 'low end' models such great value. I don't know if this is the case with M7000 & M8000 brakes but it wouldn't surprise me.

 

Early M8000 xt brakes apparently (mentioned in just about every review of them) had a problem with a wandering bite point - although this has 'apparently' been fixed. That said, I have early M8000 brakes that have worked perfectly.

[Edge540]

True but have you seen what they cost in comparison to shimano SLX/XT

Yup you're right they weren't cheap but hopefully they'll last a lifetime

[alleyne]

Shimano Deore/SLX/XT, which ever one your pocket can handle. You won't be disappointed with any of those. 

[Zorro5614]

Running XT M8000 brakes with RT76 160mm and 180mm rotors.  Working well without any problems

[L.T.G]

What Mountain Bike magazine The 10 Big Brake Test - June 2016

Can't go wrong with Deores!!

[Patchelicious]

Fixie, no moving part = reliable!

[Kalahari Vegmot]

Fixie, no moving part = reliable!

Heck, why not just get a road bike in that case, way easier to maintain, brake pads are cheap, don't have to be bled, no fork maintenance etc...?

[MrJacques]

Tektro 

 

I like Shimano and that they use mineral oil, but I prefer the Avid brakes in terms of modulation.

 

As for the Avid brakes squealing, I had older generation Shimano XT brakes that made more noise than a pair of Avid Juicy 3s that I currently use.

[Mats]

A bit more than a year ago I replaced my maguras with the avid guides.

They are awesome! This was by far the best money I have spend on any upgrade.

[arendoog]

Shimano XTR work the best ,but cannot be fixed and cost plenty .Shimano XT and Deore both stop my 100kg frame and feel the same .Sram guides or Shimano Deore with 180mm rotors will be my next set