Hi-po v-brakes: SD-7 vs. XT and is it even worthwhile?

alomac

My commuter currently has an Shimano M422 (Acera/Alivio) v-brake on the front and a OEM Promax unit on the back. After a little over two-years the Promax is starting to get tired, so I'm thinking of taking the opportunity to upgrade both brakes to something like Avid Single Digit 7s or Shimano XTs. My questions are:

Is this really worthwhile compared to simply getting another M422 for the back? and

If yes, which of the two would you go for? There's a fair bit of info on this to be Googled, but most seems to date from back when XT had the parallel-push mechanism.

I use this bike for all-weather commuting (which doesn't include ice or snow as I'm in Melbourne, Australia) and for gravel paths etc. (which can also be in the wet). I'm a reasonably heavy unit (200lb) as, I guess, is the bike (it's not exactly high-end) and I also generally have a pannier on board.

Thanks for your thoughts.

ride_whenever

The avids are much easier to live with in my experience, they have better hardware on the arms.

However the real difference is in the levers where avid rule the roost.

CarlosDSanchez

Have used avid single digit 7s and they were way better than the stock levers and brakes fitted to my specialized sirus. You can adjust the modulation very easily and are simple to set up. Decent quality fittings on the pivots as well.

nicklouse

most of the difference comes in the brake arms. the levers just get lighter until you get to the very best ones where i feel Avid beat Shimano. but i still rate the shimano parallel pushVs with levers of your choice.

Initialised

I got XTR V brake arms when my OEMs seized up, amazing stopping power when they are dialled in right. A little squeaky in the wet but brilliant performance from parallel push compared to conventional Vs.

alomac

I'm on drop bars, so I'm pretty much married to my Tektro RL520 levers. (I imagine these fall into the 'good but not great' category).

It seems to me from your answers that either the SD-7s or a parallel-push set of callipers (so, XTR) are the ones to go for. I'm still not sure if it would make enough difference over the current M422s to be worthwhile though.

supersonic

Just get the best pads you can, this is what makes the real difference. I don't think the calipers make much of a difference at all: levers can do (as some like Speed Dial have adjustable leverage).

I'd get some fresh cables, and add some Kool Stop Eagle/Supra:

http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Mode ... tedKingdom