Brakes and Forks

Maddog1979

Ok for my Orange 224 build...

What are peoples thoughts on Shimano Saint brakes? and i've got £350-400 for a set of 2nd hand triple clamp forks... i want 40's but finding a decent set for this price is near impossible plus the maintenence puts me off. What are peoples alternative suggestions?

Cheers.

Chris.

supersonic

Powerful brakes, good modulation - weighty, but dispel heat well. Newer XT and XTR with IceTech are evenmore powerful though.

peter413

Are they definitely more powerful Sonic? I've tried some of the new XT's against my Saints and the Saints are more powerful I found. I wouldn't hesitate to recommend the Saints, very good brakes, very powerful and very easy to control. I have them on both my Rocky and Marin.

Forks, I would look for some 35mm Boxxers (don't bother with 32mm since you should be able to afford the 35mm ones with your budget) or some 888's, if you can up your budget a bit I managed to get some brand new RC3 EVO V2's for under £700. Boxxers seem to be the go to choice though and shouldn't be that hard to source spares but they are expensive. Make sure you pull any 2nd hand fork apart straight away to check for any wear, they are not cheap to repair if you find later that they are damaged.

supersonic

They feel more powerful, and dyno test results seem to agree: also Shimanos won figures say so too. But feel can be subjective, and set up (and no contamination) will make a difference.

peter413

That's fair enough, the new short levers feel quite strange compared to the Saint ones so maybe it is just to do with the feel of them, even if they are more powerful the Saints can still easily stop me so they will stop most poeple

Maddog1979

There is a guy not to far from me selling 2010 Boxxer Rc's, only a few uses (hmmm) for £400 .... does this sound about right or too much?

peter413

Far too much, they are under 500 new here.

Maddog1979

Has anyone had any dealings with http://www.acycles.co.uk/ , they are doing 2012 boxxer rc's for £441 delivered..

It's a french based company... i guess i'll run the risk of customs charges if they get stopped?

felix.london

I can beat that

http://www.bike-mailorder.de/shop/MTB/Suspension-Forks/Suspension-forks-2012/Rock-Shox-2012/Rock-Shox-Boxxer-RC-Coil-MotionControl-IS-fork-2012-SPECIAL::30989.html

That's about £400 in old money 8)

cooldad

Maddog1979 wrote:

Has anyone had any dealings with http://www.acycles.co.uk/ , they are doing 2012 boxxer rc's for £441 delivered..

It's a french based company... i guess i'll run the risk of customs charges if they get stopped?

There are no customs duties from EU countries.

Maddog1979

"Attention: The delivery content of this fork just contains the lower crown and the medium spring, which is acutally mounted allready. The steerer is cut down to 240mm, so better check if it fits to your headtube"

Saaaaay Whaaaaaaat?

Steerer is fine but whats the first part.. does it not come with the top crown?

Maddog1979

LOL everytime i set myself up to buy something ... something else comes along...

I was 99% going to get those new 2012 boxxer Rc's for £440 (just waiting on confirmation on what that passage means on their website) but i've been looking at the 888's and i really like the look of them...and there are some 08 RCV's going on another forum for £250

Argh i hate choice... i can never make my mind up.

On brakes.... how do the hope V2 and saints brakes compare?

peter413

Personally I would always go for the brand new forks if I could afford it. Within reason of course. Those 888's are the basic ones and are now 4 years old, I would definitely go for the Boxxers if it was my money. If they were RC3's I would reconsider getting the used forks.

I wouldn't bother with V2's. I know several people who have changed their Tech V2's and M4's for XT's, XTR's or Saints and wouldn't bother with Hope again.

YeehaaMcgee

Maddog1979 wrote:

On brakes.... how do the hope V2 and saints brakes compare?

They don't. The Shimanos are phenomenal. The Hopes are not.

rockmonkeysc

Worth having a look at Rockshox Domain RC dual crown. They are heavy but they are absolutely solid, they will last forever. They are actually nicer than the basic Boxxer race/RC as well, just feel a bit plusher. It's about 440 grammes heavier than a Boxxer which on a DH bike isn't going to slow you down much.
£300 here.
http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Mode ... tedKingdom

supersonic

Same internals as the Boxxer RC, but chromed steel is smoother - I guess that is why they feel plusher.

ricardo_smooth

i'm contemplating changing to XTR's from my saints as I feel the bike might be a bit 'overbraked' due to the DH focus rather then the AM riding I do. Could also save me some weight on the bike without too much of a loss in performance. Failing that I might just fit the newer saint levers and change my shifter covers to the ispec ones to tidy up the handlebars

supersonic

Have you got IceTech rotors?

YeehaaMcgee

Xtr are arguably even more powerful than the Saints, Ricardo.

Maddog1979

I "think" ive settled on looking for a 2nd hand set of 2010+ 888 rc3 evo's (not ti - cant afford) I like the 38mm chunkyness and i've read lots of good reviews on them... looking at a full set of saint brakes on fleabay now..

Maddog1979

Nukeproof stuff.... yay no nay...

Might do my 224 in a peaty bumble bee stylee (oh god did i really just put that)

rockmonkeysc

Nukeproof kit is pretty good quality & reasonable price.
888's are really nice, I have only ever rode the ti version, nicest fork I have ever rode. but I'm sure the standard ones aren't far off the performance.

Maddog1979

Well it might be a while now as ive been dealt a blow.. clutch has gone on car and i've been hit with a £395 bill, arse biscuits..

Maddog1979

Just in case a set of forks comes along, i'm jittery about steerer length. Although the angle is a little off this reads at about 147mm and i'm not sure how much more i need to add and what steerer length i'm going to need.

Any help... ta

YeehaaMcgee

about 190+ to be on the safe side, I'd guess. Remember that with dual crowns you have the top crown, and the stem to mount, so you need to allow a little extra.

steelie600

you might get away with 200mm, but id say its gonna be close 225mm and above would give you some spare to play with

mrmonkfinger

YeehaaMcgee wrote:

about 190+ to be on the safe side, I'd guess. Remember that with dual crowns you have the top crown, and the stem to mount, so you need to allow a little extra.

does that still apply if you use a direct mount stem?

YeehaaMcgee

mrmonkfinger wrote:

YeehaaMcgee wrote:

about 190+ to be on the safe side, I'd guess. Remember that with dual crowns you have the top crown, and the stem to mount, so you need to allow a little extra.

does that still apply if you use a direct mount stem?

Depends on the stem design.

Maddog1979

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Hayes-Stroker-Trail-DH-V8-203mm-Pair-Mountain-MTN-MTB-Bike-Disc-Brake-Set-NEW-/290719735355?pt=UK_sportsleisure_cycling_bikeparts_SR&hash=item43b03f1e3b

Whats peoples thoughts on these? I know the frame is IS mount so that should be fine but if i go for a new 2010 + fork it should be post mount so should it be as easy as finding a IS to post mount?

supersonic

They are already post mount (direct to 160mm - have 203 mm PM to IS adaptors on)

You would need a PM to PM adaptor for 203mm for the front, and nothing for the rear.

I have Stroker Trail on the Zaskar, impressive brake.

bennett_346

Maddog1979 wrote:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Hayes-Stroker-Trail-DH-V8-203mm-Pair-Mountain-MTN-MTB-Bike-Disc-Brake-Set-NEW-/290719735355?pt=UK_sportsleisure_cycling_bikeparts_SR&hash=item43b03f1e3b

Whats peoples thoughts on these? I know the frame is IS mount so that should be fine but if i go for a new 2010 + fork it should be post mount so should it be as easy as finding a IS to post mount?

You can use any brake with any mount of any disc size, you just use the correct adapter, and they're about £4.99 ish.

IS mount frame with post mount caliper needs PM->IS adapter for example.