Palaeodom Posted February 25, 2011 Posted February 25, 2011 Hi, Looking for some advice on a brake upgrade. I'm running SLX at the moment, which do the job but haven't amazed me with their performance also they don't do to well in wet conditions. Which brakes do you oaks recommend for XC riding. I'm looking for middle to upper range, with a bit of a weight saving. There are loads out there and i've been looking at Juicy 5's or 7's, or perhaps the Hope - something or other. Ideas????
Weight Weenie Posted February 25, 2011 Posted February 25, 2011 Formula RX ! Bit cheaper and heavier than the R1, but still way above other mid/upper range brakes like XT, Avid Elixr etc in my opinion.There was a set on the hub for about R1800 a few days back
Palaeodom Posted February 25, 2011 Author Posted February 25, 2011 is it easy to get pads and things for them?
Weight Weenie Posted February 25, 2011 Posted February 25, 2011 Well locally not in retail as they are only now being specced as OEM parts on GT, Cube, La Pierre, etc. But it should start to filter through.Rush sports online shop does have pads and CRC carrys lots of formula stuff. For the R1 you can get parts to rebuild the whole thing on crc for example.
LazyTrailRider Posted February 25, 2011 Posted February 25, 2011 Palaeodom, before you rush off and buy new stuff, know this: SLX doesn't do too badly in power comparison tests. Read here: http://www.bikeradar.com/gear/article/how-we-test-hydraulic-disc-brakes-24345 What has a much larger impact on performance is rotors. What rotors are you currently running? Firstly, ones with little surface area (lightweight ones, in other words) are terrible at stopping you, no matter how cool they look. I switched from Alligator windcutters to XTs recently, and I reckon it's given me at least 20% more power. Secondly, size matters. Switching to a 180mm on the front will stop you significantly faster.
The Drongo Posted February 26, 2011 Posted February 26, 2011 Palaeodom Nothing wrong with those.Make sure they are bled properly. Make sure your rotors have some meat to them and are not those silly things that look like doilies. Run Scintered Metal pads. If you really WANT to upgrade, because you WANT to, then Shimano XTR or Formula if you can afford. Rush Sports are Formula agents, and are on the ball.
Mojoman Posted February 26, 2011 Posted February 26, 2011 Palaeodom, before you rush off and buy new stuff, know this: SLX doesn't do too badly in power comparison tests. Read here: http://www.bikeradar.com/gear/article/how-we-test-hydraulic-disc-brakes-24345 What has a much larger impact on performance is rotors. What rotors are you currently running? Firstly, ones with little surface area (lightweight ones, in other words) are terrible at stopping you, no matter how cool they look. I switched from Alligator windcutters to XTs recently, and I reckon it's given me at least 20% more power. Secondly, size matters. Switching to a 180mm on the front will stop you significantly faster.Did you go to 180 with the XT rotors? Using the same pads?
Palaeodom Posted February 26, 2011 Author Posted February 26, 2011 I'll try the rotor upgrade to the XT first and then see how that helps. The replacement pads I have are XTR BR-M965 Metal ones...it doesn't say sintered on them but its the only metal option, the others are resin. Is this correct? I've heard you can also get composite rotors that cool down quicker, made of ceramic something or other...anyone got any experience of these? Are they worth the extra mola?
Palaeodom Posted February 26, 2011 Author Posted February 26, 2011 Extremely happy with my Avid Elixer CR. What size rotors are you running?
Aggies Posted February 26, 2011 Posted February 26, 2011 What size rotors are you running? It is a 29er and I am running 185 front and 160 rear, but I would say 160 is ample.
LazyTrailRider Posted February 26, 2011 Posted February 26, 2011 Metal pads are for nasty, muddy, gritty wet European conditions. They have no place in SA. They're noisy, feel crap, and offer less power. Go for resin. I've run both and won't use metal unless I'm planning on doing a stage race in crazy muddy conditions where my whole drivetrain would get stuffed up. Oh wait... I wouldn't do that anyway! Also read this: https://community.bikehub.co.za/topic/98306-noisy-disc-brake/page__p__1331127__hl__rotor__fromsearch__1#entry1331127
kosmonooit Posted February 27, 2011 Posted February 27, 2011 Hope have a whole range and they are all good. I have had mono minis on my pavement warrior for 8+ years, never let me down, and have serviced them myself. Got Tech M4 on my 'race' bike, they are the ones with 2 pistons in each calliper, perform well in long downhills (like Sabie). Not the lightest but they are well made, and all the parts in the cabling are reusable. Still using the pads they came with, but you get Organic and Sintered options. For lightweight XC you might look at the Mono Trail:http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Images/Models/150/17389.jpg or Tech X2:http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Images/Models/150/31588.jpg Race X2 are lighter and more expensive since more Ti is used:http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Images/Models/150/46549.jpg
Baroudeur Posted February 27, 2011 Posted February 27, 2011 I'm a Hope fan. I have run mono mini's in the past and now use Tech X2s. 183 front 160 rear. Great feel, great stopping power....but not the cheapest. And the floating rotors look great! Have to say that ther is not much wrong with SLX though.
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