Best brakes for 29er marathon races

Discuss light weight issues concerning mountain bikes & parts.

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Ced
Posts: 44
Joined: Mon Dec 05, 2011 4:27 pm
Location: Antwerp, Belgium

by Ced

Hi,


I do consider racing the Grand Raid in Swiss, wich contains 5060 pos alti meters, so every gram might count………. But, regarding the alti meters, I will need proper brakes, since I will use them hard over that day.
At this moment, I do have the 2012 Shimano XTR BR-M985, race – 160mm floating discs.

Would you guys recommend me some other brakes, weight wise and braking power ?

Anyone with tire recommendations for this event ?


Thanks in advance,
Ced

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Kastrup
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by Kastrup

Your brakes will do just fine. Experiment with some different pad compounds and see what you prefer.
"Stay cool and try to survive" A. Klier to the other members of the Garmin classics squad the night before P-R.

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DanW
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by DanW

Yep, wouldn't be looking to move away from XTR. Not that heavy and function superbly especially given the elevation changes you expect.

mattr
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by mattr

Depending on the descending, length/gradient etc. i *might* go up a size on the front disc.

Doesn't even have to be a permanent fit, i've experimented with running 160/140, 160/160 and 180/160 and it's only 10 minutes to swap both ends and tweak. (Given that you have the same disc and adaptor type of course)

Ced
Posts: 44
Joined: Mon Dec 05, 2011 4:27 pm
Location: Antwerp, Belgium

by Ced

Hi, tx for the idea's !

@ Mattr, that might be an idea to consider ....... !

novaterra
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by novaterra

Make sure you go for a 180 front!, i did the grand raid cristalp 3 times, and there are some long downhill parts with the brakes full on.
160 will be too small i guess. Or your body weight is 50kg's, than a 160 will do

Ced
Posts: 44
Joined: Mon Dec 05, 2011 4:27 pm
Location: Antwerp, Belgium

by Ced

:o))))

nope, 70kg ......... on 1m82

any recommendations on tyre choice for Grand Raid ?

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Rappid
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by Rappid

I have done Grand Raid and Salzkammergut 200km this year with R1 (swissstop organic pads) 160/140mm rotor, Pythons 2.0".
I felt good on downhills, but, next time I will take something wider, like Maxxis Ikon 2.2 for stability :)

bm0p700f
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by bm0p700f

I have tried 160mm on the front for XC racing in the flats of East anglia and got brake fade with Hope mono mini's and disc with alu carrier. Now granted brake tech has moved on but I would not want to run 160mm rotors on the front for serious fast descents that are long. 180mm rotors are must and would be fine with your setup.

jooo
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Joined: Wed Feb 02, 2011 3:48 am

by jooo

Ced wrote:At this moment, I do have the 2012 Shimano XTR BR-M985, race – 160mm floating discs.

What is the actual disc that you are using? This can make a big difference. For example, a 160mm Ice Tech disc will probably provide better performance than most Swiss cheese'd 180mm rotors. If you're not already using something like the Shimano disc, keeping your already good brakes and swapping to a different disc of the same size (with a pad change to suit I guess) seems to be an easy and cheap way of getting better performance. It's easy to switch back to a light disc for flat rides too, especially if someone has more than one set of wheels.

Ced
Posts: 44
Joined: Mon Dec 05, 2011 4:27 pm
Location: Antwerp, Belgium

by Ced

Hi,


Worth to try, but the GR I will defenitly need the 180mm disc.
I was in that area this summer with my 2x 160mm Ice tech rotors on green Swiss top pads.........

Especially the big amount of descending on 1 day without the opportunity to swap brake pads ;o(


Tx for tips and idea's

bm0p700f
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by bm0p700f

It is not just the Ice tech rotors but the centre lock mount that improves heat dissapation.

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