Best brakes sub- £100?

Johnny Napalm
Johnny Napalm Posts: 1,458
edited April 2010 in MTB buying advice
Hi, I need some brakes for a build that has a budget that I don't want to exceed. I already have most of the parts such as forks, pedals, cassette, chainset, stem etc. leftover from other projects etc., but I could do with some brakes.

I actually have some old AJ5 brakes, but they are almost ready for the knackers yard., so I may consider getting some new ones.

Ones that I have looked at are -

Magura Julie - £90.00
Tektro Auriga Comp - £90.00
Shimano Deore Disc Brakes M575 - £96.00
AJ3 - £100.00

As you lot are such a knowledgeable bunch, what recommendations regarding the above list can you suggest? I know that you get what you pay for, and I currently have Stroker Trails and Formula on other bikes, but if I am to buy some new brakes, then I really want to keep it below £100.00 for the set.

Cheers
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Marin
SS Inbred
Mongoose Teocali Super

Comments

  • cavegiant
    cavegiant Posts: 1,546
    Look at the brake tests,

    I think Deore scored quite highly, but not sure which model
    Why would I care about 150g of bike weight, I just ate 400g of cookies while reading this?
  • pastey_boy
    pastey_boy Posts: 2,083
    http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/QUAD-DIME-PRO-RA- ... 3efebeab2b
    cant be beat for the price and they got a good review on bike radar, and that was taking into account that they cost £100 a brake. now you can get a pair inc postage for £100. available in white too
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  • Ginjafro
    Ginjafro Posts: 572
    It is now possible to find Formula Oro K24s at around £100 as you can with the K18s. I use the K24 on both my Cove Hustler and Giant XTC. I think they are superb, powerful, responsive and very reliable. Mind you that is £100 per brake!
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  • joshtp
    joshtp Posts: 3,966
    Th J3's are horrible.
    The new Deore brakes are good, but not the 575's you mentioned, its the M595's you want
    personaly i would look for either the quad dime or, a Magura julie. i like the feel of the magura's and the quads get good reviews
    out of the bunch though i would get the tektro's, dont be put of by the name, they have the best power and feel or pretty much all the brakes iv tried. i realy love them

    im gonna get a set of 09 auriga comps for my bike as soon as pay day comes.
    they are super easy to bleed too, which is nice.
    I like bikes and stuff
  • hoots
    hoots Posts: 134
    I bought some of the latest Deore brakes (M595) for a recent budget build and have been very impresseed - I can see why they got a good write up in one of the recent WMB reviews. I think I paid just under £120 for the pair - but that didn't include rotors

    p.s. much a doddle to bleed compared to other Shimanos
  • andyrm
    andyrm Posts: 550
    Clarks S2 - awesome brakes, well rated in the review on here. Not the lightest but they are really powerful, easy to set up, use Hope pads and come with braided hoses!! I absolutely love mine. :D

    And you can get them for around £80 a pair now if you scout around!!
  • JamesBrckmn
    JamesBrckmn Posts: 1,360
    out of the ones you mentioned, auriga comps, but i'd get deore m595 or elixir 5's
  • peter413
    peter413 Posts: 4,909
    The Shimano Deore M575 is theb est brake there IMHO

    Dad has them on his Caldera and they are plenty powerful enough and have great modulation.

    Replace the stock pads with Superstar Kevlar pads and it makes a massive improvement
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  • GHill
    GHill Posts: 2,402
    I'd get the Magura from your list, but I haven't tried them all so I could be missing a gem.
  • supersonic
    supersonic Posts: 82,708
    Hmmm... I'd say Avid Speed Dial levers, Deore V brakes and Kool Stop Eagle Claw pads...
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  • The Spiderman
    The Spiderman Posts: 5,625
    supersonic wrote:
    Hmmm... I'd say Avid Speed Dial levers, Deore V brakes and Kool Stop Eagle Claw pads...

    Keeping it old school! :lol:
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  • dogboy73
    dogboy73 Posts: 440
    I like the look of the Avid Elixir 5's for my rebuild (in white, £135 a pair from CRC. Out of stock at the momnt though);
    http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Mode ... elID=48330

    Bike Radar review here;
    http://www.bikeradar.com/gear/category/ ... 5-10-37318
  • Torres
    Torres Posts: 1,266
    Have a look on Wolly Hat Shop... I got a set of Stroker Rydes for 90 quid in January; i cannot fault them :D
    What We Achieve In Life, Echoes In Eternity
  • Northwind
    Northwind Posts: 14,675
    Auriga Comps are really surprisingly good. Finish isn't great, they can be a bollocks to bleed and spares are tricky (though to be fair, still better than Shimano!) but the performance is spot on. Very close to the feel of XT and, oh, let's say 4/5ths of the power at a guess. Very nice indeed. Oh and they take Shimano pads so it's nice and easy to find them.

    The new Deore 595 are stonking though, not as good for feel but the power's ace. Some people won't like that, with great power comes great responsibility ;)

    Julies are decent too, maybe a bit wooden but they do the job.
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