Slow down. Take a brake. What to choose?

[SuperDooperSnooper]

Without starting this thread sounding like an offshore oil rig worker trying to sell his cousin's bike, I'll get right to the point:

I need to decide what set of brakes to get for my MTB next.

 

Background:

 

I am built for going more downhill than up - around 100kg.

My bike is a 150mm/130mm travel black mongrel weighing more than 14kg.

I like the more technical stuff and not averse to my bike's tyres leaving contact with Mother Earth on occasion.

 

I currently run Shimano XT M8000's on a 203mm front and 180mm rear rotor which give me reasonable stopping power but lacks modulation and brute force when it is really needed, and I feel holding me back a little in terms of confidence to push the boundaries a bit more.

 

The shortlist at the moment contains:

TRP Quadiem's 

Hope Tech3 E4's

Formula Cura's

and possibly TRP slate

 

I'm not a big fan of SRAM brakes due to previous bad experiences therefore I won't consider these as an option for now.

 

At the end of the day I'll need to way up performance, reliability, ease of getting spares, backup and repairs but also value for money, as there is a significant difference in price between some of the options on my list. I am not asking any of you to choose for me, but would appreciate if anybody with proper experience with any of the listed brake sets above to impart some of it to educate my eventual leap.

 

Greatly appreciated!

[Captain Fastbastard Mayhem]

If I were in the market for a new set, I'd get the quadiem but swap the standard pads for the sintered. Reportedly a major difference in stopping power, and they're the cheapest of the lot. They look *** cool too.

 

2nd would be HOPE. If money were no object and I HAD the budget for hopes, tho, I'd get them in a heartbeat. I love my m4's.

[BaGearA]

Hopes for relaibility and lever feel and modulation

 

Cura's for outwright stopping powa 

 

 

Edit * ( and dis gon be a long one )

 

Hopes you'll be able to get spares for years to come , they have fantastic feel and reliablility and are robust. However they do not live up to the hype in terms of power 

 

i  rode the original cura once ( the two piston one , quad piston has just landed at rush ) and was blown away by the power , modulation is good but not as good as hope , I would gladly put them on my bike.

 

Trp are getting great reviews but I have always been weary of mineral oil brakes ( don't ask me why ) 

 

Sram has made some screwups with the guides which gave them a bad name , and don't get me wrong they do make some crap horse**** brakes but if you can get the RSC version they are very very solid and that Code seems to be A beast ( still doubt i could match the cura )

 

 

Hope is expensive , formula is a little cheaper but also pricey 

 

Sram and trp will be the cheapest I think 

 

Hope brakes are brakes for life so do take that into account ( seriously they'll last forever )

[DieselnDust]

SRAM Code

 

Forget the last past. They’re full stop

[Grease_Monkey]

Can't comment on many of those options except that I went from XTM8000s to Formula Curas. I love them, good price, excellent stopping power, excellent levels of modulation. Pads last long, and in more than a years worth of use I have not had to ever bleed them - feels as good as the day I installed them.

 

Description of my bike, weight, and riding style is the same as yours

[DieselnDust]

Can't comment on many of those options except that I went from XTM8000s to Formula Curas. I love them, good price, excellent stopping power, excellent levels of modulation. Pads last long, and in more than a years worth of use I have not had to ever bleed them - feels as good as the day I installed them.

Description of my bike, weight, and riding style is the same as yours

 

And they’re very well priced

[porqui]

So many questions/requirements.

 

Go and have a cup of coffee with droo at Stoke.

 

Worth your while - don't forget to talk about brakes too.

[SuperDooperSnooper]

Thanks for the replies so far.

 

I have settled down my penchant to purchase in the past few years and don't tend to feel the need to change every season to the latest and greatest. That said, when a component doesn't perform or simply doesn't feel right, I'll go for other options. That means that if I find one that is perfect for me, I will probably stick with it until it dies of natural causes, even if it is one of the cheaper or less popular ones. 

 

I have no misconceptions about Hope brakes' good reputation and are very eager to have a set, but will the perceived potential difference in durability and quality offset a price tag double that of its closest rival?

[Captain Fastbastard Mayhem]

Thanks for the replies so far.

 

I have settled down my penchant to purchase in the past few years and don't tend to feel the need to change every season to the latest and greatest. That said, when a component doesn't perform or simply doesn't feel right, I'll go for other options. That means that if I find one that is perfect for me, I will probably stick with it until it dies of natural causes, even if it is one of the cheaper or less popular ones.

 

I have no misconceptions about Hope brakes' good reputation and are very eager to have a set, but will the perceived potential difference in durability and quality offset a price tag double that of its closest rival?

Hopes are just.... Yeah. So well made. So good to the touch. So... Perfect.

[BaGearA]

Thanks for the replies so far.

 

I have settled down my penchant to purchase in the past few years and don't tend to feel the need to change every season to the latest and greatest. That said, when a component doesn't perform or simply doesn't feel right, I'll go for other options. That means that if I find one that is perfect for me, I will probably stick with it until it dies of natural causes, even if it is one of the cheaper or less popular ones. 

 

I have no misconceptions about Hope brakes' good reputation and are very eager to have a set, but will the perceived potential difference in durability and quality offset a price tag double that of its closest rival?

AFAIK sram , shimano , formula and Trp all make their calipers ( some levers aswell) out of composites 

 

HOpe for instance make it out of one solid billet of alloy which is then precision machined , same as the lever 

 

Hope is just .....people with hope brakes would understand 

[SuperDooperSnooper]

So many questions/requirements.

 

Go and have a cup of coffee with droo at Stoke.

 

Worth your while - don't forget to talk about brakes too.

 

It was actually that same bugger who started it all...

 

He has given me good excellent advice already so far, but I want to bolster my eventual decision with more evidence.

[SuperDooperSnooper]

Or more relevant, I want enough real world evidence as an excuse when my better half finds out how much I've spent if I buy the Hopes  !

[BaGearA]

Or more relevant, I want enough real world evidence as an excuse when my better half finds out how much I've spent if I buy the Hopes  !

tell her they'll last longer than your car 

[DieselnDust]

AFAIK sram , shimano , formula and Trp all make their calipers ( some levers aswell) out of composites 

 

HOpe for instance make it out of one solid billet of alloy which is then precision machined , same as the lever 

 

Hope is just .....people with hope brakes would understand 

 

I don't know of any composite calipers in any high performance application. Shimano and SRAM are made by TRP and these calipers are forged and machined.

Composite doesn't dissipate heat as well as aluminium. Only the levers of some are composite.

[Me rida my bicycle]

Brakes are just there to slow you down let go and hold on you will be much faster to the end or hospital but faster is faster. Hahaha

[Patensie]

Really happy with my hope tech x2s. I weigh only 70kgs an there is plenty of extra power.