Best Upgrade Brakes for Kids?

[Dirt Tracker]

I'm looking about the best value brakes that aren't going to break the bank for my sons ride. I upgraded the mechanical ones on this RipRock Plus bike about a year ago with a old set of Formula C1's that I had in the shed. Recently the rear one's lever / cylinder died out and the guys at the Bike Park managed to resurrected it for about a month but now it's just flapping and gone to Jesus. 

I've been looking for another set of C1's but good ones are like hens teeth which is a shame as the lever is a great size for small hands and you could get them pretty reasonably. 

So any ideas what is a good replacement? Anyone seen any specials? What have you upgraded with? 

Or even if you have something in the spare bin that might wrk then give me a shout! 

Cheers guys. 

Edited August 19, 2024 by Dirt Tracker

[RobynE 🚵‍♀️]

Mine uses Juicy Elixir which don’t stop me on her bike but stop her on a (safe) dime and she loves them! @RobertWhitehead set them up for little hands. Work like a bomb. 

[BaGearA]

https://bikehub.co.za/classifieds/item/mountain-bike-brakes/741295/hope-xcr

 

Will last forever 

 

Lever pull is light 

 

Spares guaranteed for 20 years after launch

 

Otherwise somthing cheap in the classifieds, new isn't going to be under 1000 and you should be able to find something good 2nd hand for that  

[Jimmy 2.0]

good old shimano deore or XT (they are always the bench marks on tests)

will do the job, easy to service yourself, every bike shop will have stock of brake pads levers can be easily adjustable.

 

[Jensie]

JUST for info
I wanted to replace my Magura Mt2 with Shimano m200. entry level stuff. To replace ONLY the rear brake housing LBS quote R800(only Part). A complete set of Shimano's is R1350. So this is in the pipeline to do..

[Jewbacca]

Without being funny, the 'best' disc brakes for a kids bike are these 'cable to hydro' calipers with kid pull small levers.

Once can move them up to bigger bikes and down to smaller bikes almost for free and they have more than enough stopping power.

I use them on my adventure bike as they are maintenance free and it's easier to fix cables and inners than anything hydraulic out in the wild. 

These are the expensive ones (really adjustable and amazing)

https://www.amazon.com/Juin-Tech-Hydraulic-Lightweight-Cyclocross/dp/B084FCK1WX/ref=sr_1_8?dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.B5dBScSJuAZxZ-xiiflSITuaskjVzPzH7BvlxAOxkZPJBA_OULMddr5HlhNHKd55WtA1oyZA08L6xOGYgfm3m6iJOhw-Vh4KwlNegEvJwdsfey69_CWTNTEfBRO9md9Cj69xQzPIhi-fzxkycl1BtO2V_2RtoIeVKp8cv6UBRv2sgpnCiL06vem4zTk4ILOdUDayIwVyhTsDnyUt5BxI5eihg-eOtYqyyLZ0VobSPgxoxHNa7G-6dmXjvGi7ZD5uLSmHOHn2ZxahshS1uanjkmCyot_AGiNsTrMlbDSILPc.edjEHR6VhSFuvcK_GunOPthWxskyFOSLsZpT1a6NikY&dib_tag=se&keywords=wire%2Bactuated%2Bhydraulic%2Bbrakes&qid=1724135266&sr=8-8&th=1

These are some cheaper ones (less adjustable, still will stop a kid on a dime)

https://www.amazon.com/BUCKLOS-Hydraulic-Calipers-Aluminum-Universal/dp/B095YF1ZJT/ref=sr_1_2?dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.B5dBScSJuAZxZ-xiiflSITuaskjVzPzH7BvlxAOxkZPJBA_OULMddr5HlhNHKd55WtA1oyZA08L6xOGYgfm3m6iJOhw-Vh4KwlNegEvJwdsfey69_CWTNTEfBRO9md9Cj69xQzPIhi-fzxkycl1BtO2V_2RtoIeVKp8cv6UBRv2sgpnCiL06vem4zTk4ILOdUDayIwVyhTsDnyUt5BxI5eihg-eOtYqyyLZ0VobSPgxoxHNa7G-6dmXjvGi7ZD5uLSmHOHn2ZxahshS1uanjkmCyot_AGiNsTrMlbDSILPc.edjEHR6VhSFuvcK_GunOPthWxskyFOSLsZpT1a6NikY&dib_tag=se&keywords=wire+actuated+hydraulic+brakes&qid=1724135266&sr=8-2

They really are good. As a complete bike snob it took me a while to accept that these things work really really well and make changing bikes etc so much easier

And then I used the brakes... and I'm a believer..... (in song)

[Kuys]

Shimano all the way. You can normally get them for cheap. used them for my kids. But you can actually use pretty much any hydr disc brake. Just set the lewer as close as possible to the bar. 

[Dirt Tracker]

Thanks for the info. Looking for something around the R1000 or less mark else I'll give him my G2s and take the money to get some Cura 4's for myself.  😄 G2's seems waste on a 24" bike tho! 

I'd ideally like some of the SLX M675 from a couple of versions ago. They had nice small levers, were good brakes but as always, when looking for them there aren't any decent priced ones. 

I saw these but know nothing about them... 

https://bike-addict.co.za/products/tektro-promax-solve-st-dsk-925-brake-set

Also these:

https://www.olympiccycles.co.za/product/brake-shim-disc-set-1700m/?gad_source=1&gbraid=0AAAAACZU8TiD7L8odUQB5A0FIi_zuQDqe&gclid=CjwKCAjw_ZC2BhAQEiwAXSgClpthx_zVbuRRtuDUS2uXk8c3TkdE4JLNpNkP9CPxijD1wfGrwyJcKRoCxpoQAvD_BwE

 

 

[ChrisF]

@Dirt Tracker where are you ?  Cape Town ?

[Dirt Tracker]

3 minutes ago, ChrisF said:

@Dirt Tracker where are you ?  Cape Town ?

That's the one, Tokai way. 👍

[ChrisF]

6 minutes ago, Dirt Tracker said:

That's the one, Tokai way. 👍

 

Sent you a DM