Upgrade from Formula K24 or tweak ?

twonks

As title really. On my SC Superlight I have Oro K24 180mm front and rear. (They are 2008/9 model I believe, from the Formula site and bought a couple of years ago)

When they work well, they are good. Lightweight, powerful and don't give much hassle.

However, if it gets slightly warm ambient conditions (ie summer) they bind and rub annoyingly no matter what I do.
They have been bled, aligned and cleaned / serviced often yet I can't get rid of the damn tight clearance issues in anything other than mild weather.

For the money it would cost to move to say XT brakes I don't mind dropping the K24s if it will give me problem free braking.

What are peoples views on both the problem (as in is there something I am missing like a rotor change to sort them out), and potentially replacing the brakes.

I am still seeking the powerful stop you on a sixpence feel of my original Hope C2 closed brakes, and whilst I like the Formulas modulation etc when they are good, even then they lack the ultimate bite that the C2s had.

Chunkers1980

Depends how flush you're feeling. Considering they will be ok for at least the next 5 months I'd not worry about it.

And even when it does warm up, when you say binding what do you mean? A bit of rub and when you spin the wheel or comes to an abrupt stop?

70\ʹspenguin

From the things ive read, Formula seem to keep their pads closer to the disc than some. My K18s rub at times but its just a slight annoying rub rather than a stopping dead one. My solution was to just sand down the pad a little. I also swapped from Superstar to Exotic as id been told superstar come up a little thicker (dunno if this is true) and that helped.

My k18 with Kevlar pads fitted on a 180mm front disc can throw me over the bar if i two finger brake (i am only 12 stone though). Yours should be plenty powerful enough surely?

twonks

Chunkers1980 wrote:

Depends how flush you're feeling. Considering they will be ok for at least the next 5 months I'd not worry about it.

And even when it does warm up, when you say binding what do you mean? A bit of rub and when you spin the wheel or comes to an abrupt stop?

Well flush isn't really the word, but I will have the disposable income to a degree after Christmas as the family tend to give me funds instead of presents (at 41 it is a challenge to buy me gifts )

The rubbing is more of an annoyance tbh, although the back one does rub enough to stop the wheel quite quickly if spun by hand in the air. The front more catches and binds a few times per revolution. Sometimes a squirt of water sorts it out for a few minutes but then it comes back.

It isn't the fact that it is preventing me riding, but I don't want to ride a bike that sounds like an unloved teenagers hack. It's simply annoying and winds me up ! So yes I would happily pay for new ones if I thought the performance was going to be better and less annoying.

70\'sPenguin wrote:

From the things ive read, Formula seem to keep their pads closer to the disc than some. My K18s rub at times but its just a slight annoying rub rather than a stopping dead one. My solution was to just sand down the pad a little. I also swapped from Superstar to Exotic as id been told superstar come up a little thicker (dunno if this is true) and that helped.

My k18 with Kevlar pads fitted on a 180mm front disc can throw me over the bar if i two finger brake (i am only 12 stone though). Yours should be plenty powerful enough surely?

I'm nearly 17 stone so the brakes work a fair bit harder. Could have warped the disks I spose, but they look true to the naked eye.

Northwind

They're good brakes, have they had new seals and pistons in the calipers? Should sort your issue and is cheaper than new brakes. You need to spend quite a lot to get anything significantly better tbh, even though it's an ancient design.

twonks

Good point Northwind !
No they are just as left the production line probably 5 years ago, so maybe are over due a rebuild to that level.
The pistons and seals are £36 for both from CRC so it has to be worth a shot like you say.

If anybody is reading this that has rode both sets, would something like the XT 785 brakeset be deemed a better set of brakes ?

miss notax

I have K24 Oro's on all my bikes - to be fair I have never tried XT brakes, but I have never been unhappy with my brakes to prompt me to look elsewhere! I am a very light rider and I am certainly NOT EVER blisteringly fast ( ) but, for me, the Oro's have done me proud on everything from xc racing to the Megavalanche :shock:

So my vote would be to sort out the brakes you have already got

Northwind

twonks wrote:

If anybody is reading this that has rode both sets, would something like the XT 785 brakeset be deemed a better set of brakes ?

Could be. I'd say they're competitive, the XTs have a more immediate feel and are possibly slightly more more powerful, the Oros have that more gradual feel. I prefer the Formulas tbh but a lot of people like the instant uptake of the new Shimanos.

But it's more about feel than performance, they're different enough for that.

MDobs

I have no idea if the Formula RXs are better than the old k24s but you can get a set for £80 off bikediscount.de at the moment.