My Formula Oro Bianco 2008 Review

capoz77

I thought the world of my Juicy 7's, although setting up was no where near as easy as claimed - and then there was the constant rubbing on the back brake, no matter how much I tweaked it as soon as I sat on the bike and started riding the back would make sounds of *ding* *scuff* and *sharpening of a knife*

I was happy though compared to my Hayes HFX 9's these were the best brakes i'd ridden.




Then i started reading more and more about the Formula Oro's and the more I read the harder I found it not to buy a set Claims of Avid beating performance, genuine fettle free setup and modulation only the Italians can build.


It had to be the K24's for my mix of Aggresive XC and techincal downhill. I wanted some Sintered pads from the offset and liked the idea of 1 finger levers. Upgrading the K24's to this spec meant buying the Biancos was a no brainer, this all comes as standard, along with the Italian hand polished finish :thumbsup:







Heckler post ride, furnished with trail gunk, Biancos adorning the handlebar...






The build quality and finish has to be seen to be believed, they are an item of beauty. Well engineered, shiny, solid and precise.





Fantastic small touches like the screw holding in the brake pads...





The attention to detail...





The white logos...





Anti corrosive nickel bolts...





The 1 finger levers - the way the hose runs off horizontally is very tidy and reduces clutter - having another finger on the bars gives more steering control on the "babies head" sized rock gardens - the small rubber ball sticking up offers lever adjustability...





I chose the 180mm rotors front and back. Great mud clearing shape, and a perforated wind cooling design. I'd cooked 160's many a time and my Avid 200's could be a bit too grabby. The 180's are perfect, even more modulation and the control is pinpoint. On technical descents I can scrub off speed and hold the bike with a new accuracy.





The most awkward part of setup was deciding how to layout my handlebar controls. Since I opted for the windowed Sram shifters the levers wouldn't fit as I had hoped. There is a mixmaster adapter available but I experimented and swapped the orientation of the grip/brake/shifter to grip/shifter/brake. The poploc squeezed just on the end.

Burnishing took about 30 stops. Until you've ridden Formula its hard to imagine just how good a brake can be. There are no Avid style shaped washers to "aid" and "ease" the setup process just a simple clean connection to the International Standard adapter with a bolt snugging it up - and it works. No lining up calipers - no rubbing - just a simple spin of the wheel - apply brakes - and snug up bolt. :thumbsup:

I'm finding myself riding faster and stopping later, these come highly reccomended.






I award them 5 / 5



Capoz

Dazzza

They are fantastic brakes indeed, i ditched my hope m4's as for me they were shocking.

I had to plump for the oro puro's as the bianco was all sold out, and im not surprised they work incredibly well, if you think yours are bling wait till you see the puro, i love the carbon brake levers. 8)

scale20

Good review and lovely looking stoppers!!

Ive just today got my EX9 back, changed my juicy 7's for hopes front and rear, braided hoses and floating discs, had to go with the blue anodized centre on the discs, not ridden it yet!

I couldnt wait to get rid of my juicy 7's, to begin with they were a treat, then it all went downhill. No matter how much adjusting and tweaking I did I couldnt get rid of that disc chinging sound, front and rear.

Cant wait to get out now, but I dont wanna get them dirty!

streako

I have K24's, 160mm front and rear on my xc bike.

Good brakes, although they can take some bedding in after fitting new pads. I found they rubbed for 3 or 4 rides until they settled.

capoz77

BUMP!

anymore Oro devotees over the last few years?

capoz77

BUMP!

anymore Oro devotees over the last few years?

Neily03

I've been running a set of K24s for a couple of years and love them.

The only issue is the little plastic bushes in the lever wear causing the lever to rattle and they aren't cheap to replace.... :?

Chunkers1980

Yeah - same happened to the Juicy Range too.

Avid seem to have beefed up the pivot of Elixirs to stop this happening so easily.

The pivot is not quite the same as the Juicy's as it's not all round, there's more bushing around where the wear happens so will take a lot longer to become floppy.

Like you say - pricey and annoying to fit new ones.

Thewaylander

I got some Oro's as standard on my Dune R good stopppeers very reliable. but most important to me, highly constant

milfredo

You need to try some Formula R1's... now that's a fine break!

Chunkers1980

milfredo wrote:

You need to try some Formula R1's... now that's a fine break!

Of the Kit Kat variety or the one that stops you?

Northwind

They're silly cheap from the Formula factory store just now too, £150 or thereabout for the full retail kit, both ends, rotors, mounts and all the trimmings. I've got 2 sets and I love 'em to bits, they are ace. Only criticism is that it's really bloody awkward to fit the levers!