Brakes?

Discuss light weight issues concerning mountain bikes & parts.

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seismic
Posts: 198
Joined: Sun Feb 03, 2008 4:40 pm
Location: Tokyo

by seismic

Hi Guys,

I am currently running Magura MT8, but I have to admit that it is not a nice brake. It is noisy, and (as from what I am being told) due to the material used to make the calliper, at bit of expansion is possible for the brake fluid, hence it is difficult to get a firm and consistent brake. The soft feeling in combination with inconsistent braking has now gotten the better of me. I am looking for something else. If we consider 200% WW, which alternatives do then exist in the market which can actually brake and perform in competition? The R1 is light, but has it own issues. Otherwise, things are getting heavy. I do recon that many MTBs will accept a bit of extra weight in order to get a good brake, but do we really not have a strong and consistent (but light weight) brake soon writing 2014?

The intended purpose is to build a competition worthy XC racer which I hopefully can push down in weight as far as possible.

Thank you for input.

Brgds
seismic

sstefanov
Posts: 93
Joined: Fri Jul 25, 2008 7:18 pm
Location: Sofia, Bulgaria

by sstefanov

I have been happy with my Formula R1, 2009 model. I have been running them since May 2009. Lightweight, powerful, modulation is good. If you take care of them (bleed them once a year with high quality DOT fluid and clean but do not lube the pistons when you change pads), you should not be disappointed.

Stefan

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mattr
Posts: 4671
Joined: Fri May 25, 2007 6:43 pm
Location: The Grim North.

by mattr

Hope X2? Fairly light, good modulation (very good), rebuildable, spares easy to come by.
XTR? (Or XT if on a budget?)
Whenever i've bought brakes in the last 5 or so years it's been either shimano, or hope (if the bank balance says yes).
They just work, and work, and work.

seismic
Posts: 198
Joined: Sun Feb 03, 2008 4:40 pm
Location: Tokyo

by seismic

mattr wrote:Hope X2? Fairly light, good modulation (very good), rebuildable, spares easy to come by.
XTR? (Or XT if on a budget?)
Whenever i've bought brakes in the last 5 or so years it's been either shimano, or hope (if the bank balance says yes).
They just work, and work, and work.


Hope and Shimano work indeed. You are right. But they are heavy. I am ok with shelling out some $$$ if I can find the right solution….not easy though :noidea:

adama696b
Posts: 8
Joined: Sun Sep 15, 2013 10:03 pm

by adama696b

XTR985 have ultimate performance/reliability/build quality and a reasonable weight.

If XTR987 is as great as 985 with 80g less per pair, maybe thats what your are looking after.

unfortunately I have yet to find and serious review from XTR987.

Cheers

Colin

by Colin

The XTR M987's aren't out yet, should be available in early 2014, so don't expect many reviews for a while!
Also, I'd hardly call the Hopes heavy, only mildly heavier than the R1's.
Image

robgall13
Posts: 24
Joined: Mon Apr 29, 2013 2:53 am

by robgall13

Hope X2 race is probably your best bet. XTR M985 are a bit heavy, but have ultimate performance. If M987 maintain performance then they will be the premier option for all mountain bikers, WW included. Ashima PCB are pretty cheap and are very light but apparently have a 'squishy' feel. Have you considered Avid? While they have a bad rep, SRAM brakes have really improved with the 2013 models and are very competitive on the weight side.

This should give you an indication of power vs weight...
http://www.bikeradar.com/mtb/gear/artic ... kes-24345/

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dwaharvey
Posts: 470
Joined: Thu Oct 26, 2006 8:54 pm
Location: USA

by dwaharvey

The hopes are light and beautifully made, but I found them a bit lacking in power (considering 160mm rotors on a 26" bike).

I have MT8s on my bike and like them now after using a modified bleeding procedure. Out of the box I found them spongy with too much lever travel. As part of the bleeding procedure I ground the transportation device/spacer down by 0.75mm, and as the last step before buttoning up the caliper (lever already buttoned up) I push fluid into the caliper from the bleed syringe. The combination of the above reduced lever throw and improved feel greatly, and I don't have any issue with pad rubbing. I think it's worth at least giving these things a try before you ditch an expensive set of brakes.

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dwaharvey
Posts: 470
Joined: Thu Oct 26, 2006 8:54 pm
Location: USA

by dwaharvey

Funny my experience of the hopes considering the bikeradar article seems to show them having as good power as any other. :noidea:

Something seems fishy with that article though, at least in terms of weights: it has the Magura MT6 being lighter than MT8 which is obviously wrong. Also seems odd that the MT4&6 would have the same power as each other, but the MT8 10% less. As far as I know the callipers are the same between MT8 and MT6.

mattr
Posts: 4671
Joined: Fri May 25, 2007 6:43 pm
Location: The Grim North.

by mattr

Yeah, I find the hopes to lack initial bite. Can be confused with insufficient power. Though I can lock either wheel with one finger.

The benefit of the "lack of bite" is that I have enough feel through the lever that I can brake on very slippy or loose surfaces (roots rocks etc) with out locking the wheel. Couldn't do that with the xts I had before

Colin

by Colin

I seem to remember reading that Hope modified the pivot point on the X2's to give it more power in 2012 (?), so I guess how powerful they were depends on if you used the Race X2's or the Race evo X2's.

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dwaharvey
Posts: 470
Joined: Thu Oct 26, 2006 8:54 pm
Location: USA

by dwaharvey

Good info Colin: I have a set of 2009 brakes, the Race X2. Guess that explains it!

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devinci
Posts: 2904
Joined: Sat Jan 03, 2009 9:43 pm
Location: Canada

by devinci

The new XTR 987 are available in some countries yet, a WW member posted pictures of his, he is from Asia

ridonkulus
Posts: 22
Joined: Fri Nov 22, 2013 5:12 pm

by ridonkulus

I would go XTR, best brake I ever used and worth the extra weight they have.

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miceden
Posts: 243
Joined: Mon Mar 09, 2009 5:38 pm
Location: Hampshire, UK

by miceden

The Race X2's are powerful enough if you are a light rider... but they struggled to stop me at 180lbs.

They aren't to everyones tastes but personally I like Marta SL's... however the XTR brakes are excellent, wont go wrong with them.

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