What Hydro Barkes?

D4N

I'm going to be looking at bikes next Monday when i'm back from Visiting the In Law's.
Gonna be looking at differnet 17" frames with the hope of one of them fitting well?

On the bikes i'm looking at they have different brakes and stuff.

What are your opinions on each of these:-
Avid Juicy 3
Tektro Auriga Comp
Shimano M485
or Hayes Stroker Ryde

Sorry for all these questions/
Thanks
Dan

Northwind

I can only speak for the Tektros, they're completely bling- free but they work very well. A wee bit of a pain to bleed, though nothing major. I was expecting them to be a bit shoddy given the bikes they usually appear on, but they're surprisingly decent.

supersonic

The new Deore M575 looks excellent and was reviewed in the latest WMB.

Atz

I'm a big fan of the juicy 3s. Always reliable (for me), always stop me at the right time.

george.b

avids look good. if you could spend the extra money, the juicy fives are great!!

supersonic

SRAM Black Box stuff is good. Apparently the brakes stop 'right on time'...

D4N

Thanks for the reply's guys.
To be honest i'm prob not going to upgrade the bike once i've got it.
Some of the bikes i'm looking at come with these parts as standard.
I was just trying to guage which was better.
Thanks
Dan

Anonymous

supersonic wrote:

SRAM Black Box stuff is good. Apparently the brakes stop 'right on time'...

im not having that sonic, you get a 5, maybe 6 for effort at best.

back on topic, i like 3s but havent tried the rest, i used to like good old plain deores (m535 i think) but with a bigger front disk and sintered pads instead of the sandard organic ones.

Yukon Lad

i've got M485's on and they seem to be alright but out of the lot that you've got there i would look at the hayes and the avid, i like my brakes but they are budget ones and i've never tried anything different but the hayes and the avid definitley get better reviews than the shimano

Team515

Ive got the hayes stroker ryde, and they are great

jayson

I always used Hope brakes and never had any complaints at all with them but ive spoke to a couple guys at work lately who both have Juicy 5's and they cant speak highly enough of them especially if u have a 180/180 - 180/160mm combo fitted.

Stoo61

Thought I would just ask in this thread....

Anyone tried Avid Elixir?

bluechair84

Just wanted to add another thumbs up for the Tektros. Have nice modulation and on full power they will bring you to a fast stop. Power is good for most XC rides. Build is a bit rough though and after a few crashes the rivets had come out and the lever had bust out of the rose joint. Nothing too major, but of the four/five different hyros I've used these have started to fall apart the fastest and now live with some bodge repairs. Haven't tried the others you have mentioned but i'd expect them to be better made from those bigger brands.

MarvintheAndroid

Your first comment was the right one in my view, choose the bike that fits and suits you best. All the brakes mentioned above will do a good job, so don't let this one issue colour your judgement too much. Getting the right frame and fork is far more important.

You may find one bike that stands out from the others (aaaahh - love at first sight) and you may also get a reduction on one brand as opposed to another - bargain !

If this is your first bike, dont forget to leave enough cash for helmet and gloves.

Marv

mattwhi1

I had Juicy 5's and nothing but trouble since I bled them, they eventually gave up completely after 6 months of having them, I have now just got the Hayes Stroker Trail's and WOW! they are great!

I have also Tried Juicy 3's and Hayes 9 DH and again Hayes I think were the better at stopping before hitting tree's!!!

BlackSpur

bluechair84 wrote:

Just wanted to add another thumbs up for the Tektros. Have nice modulation and on full power they will bring you to a fast stop. Power is good for most XC rides. Build is a bit rough though and after a few crashes the rivets had come out and the lever had bust out of the rose joint. Nothing too major, but of the four/five different hyros I've used these have started to fall apart the fastest and now live with some bodge repairs. Haven't tried the others you have mentioned but i'd expect them to be better made from those bigger brands.

Yep, damn good brakes. If I needed to buy new ones now, however, I would go for Hayes Stroker Trails from Merlin - very well reviewed and Merlin has them so damn cheap!

balchy88

i have quad sting qhd-1 on my bike and they are great, good modulation, brilliant stopping power, self adjusting, and very cheap