I'm confused,V or disc brakes...

[Guest Big H]

I came in late on this discussion. When I upgraded my Tandems wheels to DMC Revolver hubs I went for the disk hub. I also fitted Avid Arch Rival V brakes. Have never adjusted them exceptwhen I change between slikc and knobblies. They work verrrry well on the Sun Mammoth rims, very wide braking surfce and dissipates heat amazingly, they work just like disks.(i think!!!!) 

The time has now come to upgrade. I am going to fit the new Shimano XT derraileurs and shifter pods.

 

I am torn between the following disks:-

Avid Juicy 7's, Avid Coda????? DH brakes or Hope Mono 4's, They will all be with 185 mm rotors. I will be fitting a cro moly front axle to the Revolvers but do not contemplate upgrading to 20mm through axle. This would mean upgrading the Marzocchi as well. Just too much money. Will fit a Mavrick DUC one day.

 

Please help me with comments on the three disk sets above????

[GoLefty!!]

Rim Brakes aka as V-brakes:

 

Light weight

better braking torque than Disc brakes

simple

easy to set up and maintain

Stopping ability limited by tyres

 

 

Disc brakes:

Always heavier

Lots of force from hydraulics

more consistent thn V's in the wet

metals pads outlast rim brake pads in allconditions.

Stopping ability limited by tyres.

 

 

 

If you choose V Brakes then;

Magura HS-33 Hydraulic Rim brakes

Shimano XTR V's are the best , by far.

Avid Single digit and Cane Creek come in behind.

 

If you choose Hydraulic Disc brakes:

Shimano XTR, Magura Martha are th pic of the lot

Avid Juicy is nearly as good but heavier.

Formula Oro have rcieed grea reveus but never used them so can't comment.

A good hydrauic rim brake is a good hydraulic disc brake. Theres some pistons and some oil and a conduit joining them.

 

Funny anough one of the best brakes is also the oneof the cheapest

[stringbean]

 

And she'l still kick 90% of our pro mbtiker's asses..

Not true.She'l kick 100%,men and woman

[The Crappy German]

Mampara it's easy: you go V!

[MintSauce]

I think Avid's are tops....once again it's probably a matter of opinion. I do ride them so it's the only brake I've spent quality time on as well.

 

Here are some facts, some other people's opinions) etc.

 

As for weight , the new Juicy Ultimates are 347grams per wheel, which if i remember correctly is roughly the same or lighter than Marta's, which are supposedly the lightest.

 

Some rich lucky bliksem on MTBR with a Titus HCR ti hardtail(his commuter bike), a Exogrid MotoLite and a titanium Racer X has just built up a new xc hardtail, a Titus Eleven Titanium. He's always run Marta's and decided to try the Ultimates. He says the power and modulation are better than his Martas.

 

And as far as i can remember the general consensus among the press has always been that Avid offer the best performance. The only complaint has always been weight, but that is no longer an issue.

 

I've seen very little negative feedback, from what i can remember, re Hopes, and before i bought my brakes i did quite a bit of research on MTBR.

 

Have a look at the reviews on MTBR.....i don't buy anything before i go there. If anyhing bothers you....ask questions. Remember to take a lot of the negative comments with a pinch of salt.....when people are disappointed with a product they sometimes get over-zealous in their rating of a product.

 

Like i said before, my Avids have been faultless and are simply phenomonal!

 

GoLefty, i understand what you're saying about performance being limited by tire performance. However, a brake with more power means less pressure at the lever to brake as hard, less finger/hand fatigue and better control.

 

With discs i ride with one finger and that one finger uses less force than when it was helped by another finger tugging on a v-brake.

[The Crappy German]

 

http://www.retrocomputing.net/racconti/umor/coniglio/0139lr00.jpg

A Bunnys suicide

[Racer X]

I run both V and discs, Avid ultimate V's (and levers) on my Extralite hardtail and the new Avid Juicy Ultimate discs on my Specialized Epic. Personally i prefer the V's I just find that you can get better lever modulation. Of course when you hit the wet... well I use my discs.

[Grantc]

Cos she's a girl and rides like one!

[GoLefty!!]

 

GoLefty' date=' i understand what you're saying about performance being limited by tire performance. However, a brake with more power means less pressure at the lever to brake as hard, less finger/hand fatigue and better control.

 

With discs i ride with one finger and that one finger uses less force than when it was helped by another finger tugging on a v-brake.

[/quote']

 

more powerful brakes also offer less modulation since the greater power is generated with the same amount of levertravel.

 

There is always a trade off.

 

I'd rather have the modulation than the absolute most powerful brake. Control comes from modulating the braking power to your speed and the surface rather than just grab and holdon.

[TNT1]

 

 

more powerful brakes also offer less modulation since the greater power is generated with the same amount of levertravel.

 

There is always a trade off.

 

I'd rather have the modulation than the absolute most powerful brake. Control comes from modulating the braking power to your speed and the surface rather than just grab and holdon.

 

Ok, from my perspective, as a road rider. First of all, I've never ridden a moontin bike, and prolly never will, so maybe the dynamics are different, but from waht lefty says, it's not too much different to the euro pro style of having "spongy" brakes. You don't want to brake too hard and lock up. Specially not in a bunch of 100 riders doing 50+

 

[MintSauce]

Nah....i don't agree. My discs have better modulation than my V's ever did. Road XT, XTR, Avid SD Ti. Nothing comes close to discs IMO

[GoLefty!!]

Mintsauce is very likely a fellow who likes to lock his brakes hence the obsession with power.

 

as far as modulatin goes, V' brakes are far better in modulation but and not too far away interms of brake torque generated.

 

Sure discs are great but the best disc are far far more expensive than the best V-s

[AndreZA]

Okay, I've read though all the responses, thanks a ton. Now, the next question. How does middle of the range V's compare to middle of the range hydraulic disc ie. single piston?

 

 

[Thug]

 

Are you now asking for another 5 pages of debate

 

What brakes do you have in mind when you say "middle of the range"

 

Juicy 5's ?

 

Single Digit 7's ?

 

XT's ?

 

[AndreZA]

Juice 3 or Hayes solo - Disc

Avid Single digit 5 or LX - V's

[Thug]

Here's MTBR.com's Disc Brake FAQ

 

A good read & maybe it will help the decision.

 

http://www.mtbr.com/techtalks/brakes/brakesfaq.shtml