Going From Sram Level To Shimano Brakes

[love2fly]

Im considering swapping my Sram Level brakes for Shimano.

1. Which would be a fair comparison/upgrade without breaking the bank?

2. Would I need an adaptor for my Eagle GX shifter?

 

Thanks in advance....

[Headshot]

Deore brakes are reportedly very good value. Anything from there on up will be light years ahead of the Levels. 

I suspect you will need a handlebar clamp for your shifter - most bike shops have these lying around and may even give you one. There may be some expensive options to allow SRAM and Shimano to be mounted together. Google is your friend.

[porqui]

20 minutes ago, love2fly said:

Im considering swapping my Sram Level brakes for Shimano.

 

 

Why ???

[MarcW]

Don't do it, In my opinion having had both Level Ultimate and 2 sets of Shimano XTR9100.

I would take the Level brakes hands down. They require far less maintenance and modulation is much better. I found XTR / Shimano brakes have a floating bite point where you are never quite sure how much lever pull will make the brake bite, among many other issues. 

[love2fly]

21 minutes ago, Headshot said:

Deore brakes are reportedly very good value. Anything from there on up will be light years ahead of the Levels. 

I suspect you will need a handlebar clamp for your shifter - most bike shops have these lying around and may even give you one. There may be some expensive options to allow SRAM and Shimano to be mounted together. Google is your friend.

Ok thanks, thats in line with what I was thinking.

[TheoG]

8 minutes ago, MarcW said:

Don't do it, In my opinion having had both Level Ultimate and 2 sets of Shimano XTR9100.

I would take the Level brakes hands down. They require far less maintenance and modulation is much better. I found XTR / Shimano brakes have a floating bite point where you are never quite sure how much lever pull will make the brake bite, among many other issues. 

I cant agree.  I have old XT's (the shiny silver ones) on both my bikes, they are 200% consistent and reliable.

Edited May 13, 2022 by TheoG

[love2fly]

9 minutes ago, MarcW said:

Don't do it, In my opinion having had both Level Ultimate and 2 sets of Shimano XTR9100.

I would take the Level brakes hands down. They require far less maintenance and modulation is much better. I found XTR / Shimano brakes have a floating bite point where you are never quite sure how much lever pull will make the brake bite, among many other issues. 

In response to MarcW and porqui above: I'm so unimpressed with Levels... Im on my 3rd set after having 2 sets replaced under warranty. I just find them spongy and the lever gets ever-closer to the bars despite adjusting reach. On my first MTB - A scott 26"er I had Shimano brakes (weren't even XT etc just "blank") and they were stunning. One finger and not a lot of pressure needed.

Ive had my brakes bled and re-bled and even from new they are at best mediocre.

[MarcW]

6 minutes ago, TheoG said:

I cant agree.  I have old XT's (the shiny silver ones) on both my bikes, they are 200% consistent and reliable.

XT is a quite different ball game to XTR, XTR in my experience are not great, I've heard SLX and XT are much better.

[droo]

Which Levels?

 

[TheoG]

3 minutes ago, MarcW said:

XT is a quite different ball game to XTR, XTR in my experience are not great, I've heard SLX and XT are much better.

You probably correct, I have zero experience on XTR brakes.  XTR is supposed to be better/lighter than XT especially at a much higher cost.

[love2fly]

13 minutes ago, droo said:

Which Levels?

 

They're Level Ultimate (think TL or TLM), I'm not near my bike to double check. Latest set were replaced by CS less than a year ago.

Edited May 13, 2022 by love2fly

[Shane S]

Once you change to Shimano you will never look back !

[M L]

21 minutes ago, MarcW said:

XT is a quite different ball game to XTR, XTR in my experience are not great, I've heard SLX and XT are much better.

I’ve had Deore, SLX, XT and currently on XTR (previous model). I can’t find a noticable difference in how they perform over the longer term - the feel might be different but all of them make me stop equally well. They just last. 
 

[Jakkals.]

I cannot for the life of me get use to the feel of shimano brakes...I happily ride my old avid xx brakes, even elixer 7s for me were better than slx at the time.

[Dexter-morgan]

Just stay away from the entry level Shimanos Like M410, ZERO modulation, my previous bike had SLX M7000 with the "servo" function 10 times better, a soon as the budget allows it, I will be upgrading my brakes., either Magura MT6 or SLX(at least)

[love2fly]

1 minute ago, Dexter-morgan said:

Just stay away from the entry level Shimanos Like M410, ZERO modulation, my previous bike had SLX M7000 with the "servo" function 10 times better, a soon as the budget allows it, I will be upgrading my brakes., either Magura MT6 or SLX(at least)

I'm leaning towards something like XT or similar. Are Hope and Magura any good?