Juicy 3's are they just not very good ?

weeksy59

Been out 4-5 times now on my Super4 and the Juicys just aren't doing it for me to be honest.

They're consistent, but consistently average IMO.

So, are they actually not great ?

I have to admit i didn't follow a bedding in procedure as i should have.

I was debating buying a set of Elixir 5's in white (to match bike) and making up the difference in cost.

The bike is off to Evans in 10 days for it's first service, i've asked them to have a look at the brakes just in case they need a decent bleeding etc. But currently can't say the Juicys are inspiring me.

bomberesque

you say they're average; what are you comparing them to?

if you haven't bedded them in then you can't really judge anyway. Take the time to do this properly, it's well worth it. If the levers feel spongy then they need bled, otherwise on a new bike they *should* be OK even though a pro bled can improve matters.

I don't have a problem with J3s, they're not very adjustable is all. Mrs B has 3s on her FS bike and I have 7s on my HT, both perform competently and although I have used better I'd say their performance is in line with their market placement. Elivirs are supposed to be a big step up though.

If you decide to keep the 3s then I'd ask an LBS (not sure I'd trust Evans, depends on the engineer) to give them a good bleed. factory bleeding isn;t always all that and it may improve them. But bed them in first, it costs nothing and you really don't have a basis for judgement until you've done it.

The Northern Monkey

got it in one.... Hated my juicy 3's with a passion.

nicklouse

they are as good as any other brake out there when set up and bedded in.

yes all brakes can be a bit problematic at times if you dont follow the recommended directions.

fletch8928

Slap bigger rotors on, After you have made sure they have been bled properly.

I can say that I am happy with Hayes Stroker Trail brakes and they come in white too. just another option to look at.

Steve_F

I don't like mine much either but still haven't changed them after a year!

Added a bigger rotor before 8 days in France but still had to get used to little/no brakes every day once they got hot. Think I took them in twice to get bled when there too as they boiled up that often.

Next planned upgrade for me is to get away from them.

starseven

Other than the forums telling me how bad they are I have no problems with em.

Pull the leaver , bike slows down. Works every time.

.blitz

^^ what he said.

Northwind

I don't like 'em much, not a fan of the bleeding method and they always seem a bit wooden. Comparing them with the other popular entry level hydros, Tektro Auriga Comps, I'd have the Tektros every time. But still, there's nothing really wrong with the Avids, they're just not great.

mrfmilo

I don't know why people always moan about them...?

Mine have been fine, enough power (185mm) , since setting them up I haven't had to adjust them, pad change is easy etc.

joshtp

i would do anything to replace my 3's, hate them with a vengance, they are hard to maintain, feel poor, look poor, and have very low power even compered to my old tektro's...

Daz555

Alll I can say is that if other brakes are better - how so? It must just be feel that improves with higher end parts (not sure how though cos mine feel fine) because in terms of stopping power my 3s are absolutely bang on.

mrfmilo

joshtp/mbukman wrote:

i would do anything to replace my 3's, hate them with a vengance, they are hard to maintain, feel poor, look poor, and have very low power even compered to my old tektro's...

Mine are exactly the opposite

mrfmilo

Daz555 wrote:

Alll I can say is that if other brakes are better - how so? It must just be feel that improves with higher end parts (not sure how though cos mine feel fine) because in terms of stopping power my 3s are absolutely bang on.

+1

ride_whenever

I loathe the juicy's on our bikes. They're just horrible. Too much lever travel, even with a pro bleed, and not enough power on 180mm rotors.

The elixirs on the other hand are a dream, ooodles of power, great modulation once bedded in (bit wooden to start with, braking akin to hitting a brick wall) can actually set them up to feel how i want them too, plus the power is almost too much on 160mm rotors.

Hope mono minis are okay, not as much power, but great feel. Very easy to bleed though.

joshtp

anyone want to swap a set of ltd edition white 3's for a set of hope m4's?

tdougan

sorry to sounds like a right doofus, do you just need to brake hard a few times to get bed them in?

tdougan

im a doofus!

nicklouse

ride_whenever
sounds like poor set up.

Broonster

I've never had an issue with my Juicy 3's. Bear in mind they are bottom spec Juicys and, for the price you pay for them, what are you expecting?! :roll:

CraigXXL

I put Juicy 3's on my recent build up. The factory bleed was disgraceful but after doing the job myself and setting them up they are just as good any other in that budget price range. They are more fiddley to set up, change pads and bleeding Avids is a pain. This is compared to my Hope M4's but then they are less than half the price of the Hopes too.

It took me a long time to bleed the Juicy 3's but following the SRAM video guide you do eventually get all the air out of the system. If you're having problems with them get a bleed kit and do it yourself, take your time tapping the caliper and lever to make sure you get all the air out. You'll be surprised at how much air comes out and those people who've taken them to a LBS I'd be amazed if they spent enough time bleeding them.

weeksy59

i've got no worries bleeding brakes, although will need a MTB specific bleedkit as i'm used to doing motorbike brakes and calipers only.

Certainly something worth looking into lads, cheers

richg1979

ive had them on a couple of bikes in the past. not great but not terrible, just a basic entry level hyd disc brake that works.

if you want top brakes you have to pay the price as with most things.

The Northern Monkey

I think the thing with juicy 3's is that they come with entry level bikes (actually, some quite high price FS bikes come with juicy 3's to reduce costs!)

When a rider upgrades, thats when they realise how crap the 3's were!
Thats what heppened with me anywyas..... had 3's, tried better brakes, realised how bad the 3's were.

Tim.s

I had 3's on a jump bike a while back, as above not terrible but definatly a budget option. Found them quite reliable, levers are a bit flimsy.

Northwind

Broonster wrote:

I've never had an issue with my Juicy 3's. Bear in mind they are bottom spec Juicys and, for the price you pay for them, what are you expecting?! :roll:

Something that works as well as a Tektro Auriga would be nice. Apart from being sods to bleed, that is, but at least they don't need any special tools, I hate that. They are surprisingly excellent brakes though, I run XT on one bike and Auriga Pro on the other and though the XT's are better, it's disappointingly close, and I can swap from one to the other without ever thinking "This is ace" or "This is cheap and nasty".

Oh, and also, tri-align. Is it just me, or does this cleverly add an extra dimension in which to align your calipers wrongly, without providing any benefit whatsoever?

weeksy59

Might get them off the bike and the Elixirs on there then.

Although i better hop whoever buys them doesn't read this thread LOL.

Atz

My old 3s are on my wife's bike (I run 5s and 7s on my bikes). Rode hers recently to make sure my spannering was actually competant for a change and was quite happy with how they work. Sure, you need to make sure they're set up correctly but if you buy a bike and don't get the tools out to make sure that the angles of the levers, reach etc aren't suited to you, you're being lazy.

Been using the Juicy 3s for 3+ years and, for a more budget-aware choice, I'd pick them every time.

joshtp

Northwind wrote:

Broonster wrote:

I've never had an issue with my Juicy 3's. Bear in mind they are bottom spec Juicys and, for the price you pay for them, what are you expecting?! :roll:

Something that works as well as a Tektro Auriga would be nice. Apart from being sods to bleed, that is, but at least they don't need any special tools, I hate that. They are surprisingly excellent brakes though, I run XT on one bike and Auriga Pro on the other and though the XT's are better, it's disappointingly close, and I can swap from one to the other without ever thinking "This is ace" or "This is cheap and nasty".

Oh, and also, tri-align. Is it just me, or does this cleverly add an extra dimension in which to align your calipers wrongly, without providing any benefit whatsoever?

too true, too true, my old "hack" spare bike has tektro auriga comps, and even the back one which is so spongey its stupid has more power than my 3's (ok, exagerartion, but you get the idea) and the front one, which is perfedtly bled, is just sooo, soooo much better than my 3's.

welshkev

i've never had any problems with my juicy 3's but i've never had anything else to compare them to. maybe if i tried something higher specced i might think they were poo, but right now they stop me when i need to

weeksy59

welshkev wrote:

i've never had any problems with my juicy 3's but i've never had anything else to compare them to. maybe if i tried something higher specced i might think they were poo, but right now they stop me when i need to

Maybe that was part of my issue, i used my mates XT's and mine felt worse after lol