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Noisy Avid Elixir Brakes


AlsDad

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I have the same problem on my brand new Anthem X1. Ive changed to organic pads and the noise/vibration persisted. Time to change them to Shimano.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Live with it .Mine was adjusted once and it was gone for months .they worked well enough for the Magalies monster marathon,so they do what they have to .My other bike,s XT,s are better in all aspects

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I have bern riding my Anthem 29 er since feb 2011. The only thing I hate about the bike is the noisy brakes. Dont get me wrong, they stop the bike but irritate me with their noise when not in use. The noise starts at random and goes away in the same fashion. I have tried cleaning them and new pads with differing compounds all to no avail. No one has a definitive answer. Only a trial and error approach. I have reached the end of my patience. Replacing the Avid Elixir cr on my bike with Shimano XT with Ice tech rotors. Cost approx 3k for the set but worth it for my sanity. I will shortly have a set of Avids for sale in classifieds.

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I have bern riding my Anthem 29 er since feb 2011. The only thing I hate about the bike is the noisy brakes. Dont get me wrong, they stop the bike but irritate me with their noise when not in use. The noise starts at random and goes away in the same fashion. I have tried cleaning them and new pads with differing compounds all to no avail. No one has a definitive answer. Only a trial and error approach. I have reached the end of my patience. Replacing the Avid Elixir cr on my bike with Shimano XT with Ice tech rotors. Cost approx 3k for the set but worth it for my sanity. I will shortly have a set of Avids for sale in classifieds.

 

Dude, rather try and change the rotors first. The "old" avid rotors have a history of warbling more than a thanksgiving turkey. AVID brakes are fantastic. You just have to treat them properly... I've got Elixir 5's on my DH bike, and they don't give an ounce of trouble...

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WooHoo!

 

Finally fixed my problem! See I posted on this thread ages ago and it's been revived!

 

Changed pads, Rotors, sanded, did setup....did everything to no avail!!!! My Elixir R's continued to have a mind of their own and drive me f@..ing barmy!

 

Finally found a solution one week before Sani2C. Couldn't take it anymore!

 

Now have a dead quiet sharp as razors and what a pleasure to use set of XT's!!!!

 

Mate did the same, so I have two sets of Elixir R's going cheap if anyone's interested.....

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The very bottom line. Elixer brakes dont work well with the G3 / G2 rotor.

my bike has been back and forth to the Agents.

there were more people riding my bike than i was.

eventually i got gatvol, fetched the bike, said thank you very much

walked in at the next bike shop, bought 2 other brand rotors, and it instantly solved the problem.

so yes, you can do this and that and rub it with copper stuff.....it still wont work.

The combination of the Elixer caliper,rotor and pad.DOESN'T WORK....

using the same 3 things over and over cannot produce a different result

 

There ya go. Rotors, as the primary contact surface, have an AMAZING amount of influence on how a brake set works. The wrong design (improper cooling / abnormal warping / slightly "off" compound etc) all have a part to play. Sometimes it's even the pattern on the disc itself that causes the problem.

 

Solution? Rather than buying a non-avid brakeset, try switching out the (admittedly, even by Avid) crap rotors for different ones. Even the Alligator Windcutter / Pizza rotors work well.

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WooHoo!

 

Finally fixed my problem! See I posted on this thread ages ago and it's been revived!

 

Changed pads, Rotors, sanded, did setup....did everything to no avail!!!! My Elixir R's continued to have a mind of their own and drive me f@..ing barmy!

 

Finally found a solution one week before Sani2C. Couldn't take it anymore!

 

Now have a dead quiet sharp as razors and what a pleasure to use set of XT's!!!!

 

Mate did the same, so I have two sets of Elixir R's going cheap if anyone's interested.....

 

Maybe the person bleeding them just couldn't take the time to do the job properly? They are a beeyatch to bleed, in only that they take so long because they despise any amount of air in the system. Think of them as the Ducati of the brake world. You know they're good, but they need love, attention and proper care to keep them working when something goes wrong.

 

Saying that, mine haven't been giving me an ounce of trouble at all. And I'm still running the original rotors/pads/hoses

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Maybe the person bleeding them just couldn't take the time to do the job properly? They are a beeyatch to bleed, in only that they take so long because they despise any amount of air in the system. Think of them as the Ducati of the brake world. You know they're good, but they need love, attention and proper care to keep them working when something goes wrong.

 

Saying that, mine haven't been giving me an ounce of trouble at all. And I'm still running the original rotors/pads/hoses

 

Just listen to Mayhem dude's.....

 

I've for the first time invested in a set of XX brakes... why you may ask? ... because they are SUPER sexy looking, and they play so nice with shifters and reverb controls when you use the Matchmaker clamps....

 

Yes.. i LOVE XT/XTR brakes and Ice-Tech rotors are amazing... but I wanted to try the full XX experience...

 

1. They are super "shyte" to bleed... you have to bleed, first 3/4 syringe from caliper up to lever, then you have to suck air out of caliper, then you have to suck air out of lever, and then you have to do it all over again knocking hoses, taping, praying, wishing, repeating, etc etc. etc... Dot fluid is also crap compared to mineral oil... however, once you get them right, they WORK.

2. The avid rotors are crap, I had the most expensive floating XX rotors and they were bent out of the box, and so soft that even with hours of play I could only get one rotor straight, the back rotor was just replaced with a cheapie avid normal rotor and it now seems fine...

 

Now, the brakes brake... they really do... I'm still toying with the idea to stick some Ice-Tech rotors on, - any comments on that? reasons why not?

Edited by TheV
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Just listen to Mayhem dude's.....

 

 

 

Now, the brakes brake... they really do... I'm still toying with the idea to stick some Ice-Tech rotors on, - any comments on that? reasons why not?

 

No reason why not dude. Superior venting / heat dissipation, and they look like something from the Transformers series...

 

I reckon those rotors and the XX will work together fantazmagorically...

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  • 2 weeks later...

Gonna change mine to ice-tech's too soon following mayhem's advice.

 

If my calipers explode then it's his fault...

 

My xx front caliper sounds like the dot fluid is boiling under heavy breaking... weird sound, but it still STOPS.....

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