What Brakes...?

poah

97th choice wrote:

POAH wrote:

my son's avid elixir 3's are fine

My 1's are fine at the moment, R's were fine for a while then became a nightmare. Neither are near as good as even the Shimano M395. I'd even favour tektro over avid.

But if they work for your son great, the point is that if they didn't already come with a complete bike, you'd be nuts to buy them over shimano.

didn't come on the bike, where cheaper than shimano, his hands are too small for shimano levers, they work and most importantly they are white to match his forks and wheels

poah

YeehaaMcgee wrote:

Fair enough. How do they compare to all those then, in your opinion?

better modulation than the shimanos but have tended to squeak sometimes, the metal lever has stood up to his reckless abuse (he is only 8) and they still work. bleeding is simple.

I would not buy them as I don't like the lever but for Lewis's small hands they are perfect.

The one thing I have noticed is the amount of brake dust you get with them is substantial compared to the other brakes in our collection.

YeehaaMcgee

Ha, I get that, I still have an useless rear brake, but it's luminous greeeeeen!

I don't see how Avid levers are any better for small hands though, the lever on my XTs is the most compact brake I've ever used.


edit:
Hang on, metal lever? Not many brakes don't have metal levers.
And, why is ease of bleeding an important thing? Brakes practically never need to be bled.

Feel is subjective, admittedly, but it's rare to find someone like you who prefers Avid's lever feel.

poah

avid levers are longer and flatter than the shimano ones so easier for Lewis to pull them when his hands are at the end of the bars. He prefers them and that's the important bit

I prefer my hopes though

YeehaaMcgee

POAH wrote:

easier for Lewis to pull them when his hands are at the end of the bars.

Hmm, yeah, I see that now. The single-finger Shimano lever doesn't reach across the grip like a two-finger lever does.

Anyway, that's besides the point, even though "feel" is a subjective thing, you're actually mental for preferring Hope

poah

YeehaaMcgee wrote:

POAH wrote:

easier for Lewis to pull them when his hands are at the end of the bars.

Hmm, yeah, I see that now. The single-finger Shimano lever doesn't reach across the grip like a two-finger lever does.

Anyway, that's besides the point, even though "feel" is a subjective thing, you're actually mental for preferring Hope

its all about the bling - do hope floating rotors fit the newer shimano calipers?

lawman

Shimano do floating rotors too you know and unlike hopes they actually make a difference! Afaik hope floaters do fit in shimano calipers. I used to run hope brakes, mono minis and tech X2's and neither were a patch on the xt's!!

YeehaaMcgee

Hope floating rotors don't fit ANYTHING. They cause problems with various hub/fork/calliper combination, safe bet is to just ignore them.
They're about as blingy as a chav wearing a burberry hoody.

The Rookie

While driving a Citroen 'chavso' with a stolen bike in the back.....

slowslowslow

Thank you everyone, I seem to have prompted some discussion.
XT it is. £76 each on Evans. Then maybe new rotors.....

ej2320

Good choice

for rotors, look on superstar components, they do all sizes and most importantly colours

180mm rotors should be good for the trails you said you ride

personally I dont see 203mm rotors as overkill, the weight difference is almost negligible unless you race xc on a carbon super bike. I'd go 203mm up front and 180mm rear just for that extra power combined with shimanos

cooldad

You'll also lose modulation with big rotors.
Total overkill for most trail riding unless you are an elephant.

As a matter of interest why do you think Shimano brakes need more power?

slowslowslow

I have 170/160 rotors now. Was just going to leave them on for now. If I get new ones I'd probably have 180 front and back. Never brought rotors so no idea what to look for. The shimano ice tech look nice but any advice willingly accepted...

ej2320

I don't think overheating would be an issue on trails so you may not need ice tech

Like I said, I'd just get superstars and get a cool colour

Size, Cooldad is right but personally I don't think you can overkill or at least not on the same scale as suspension overkill

I'd say if you did upgrade 180mm would be fine

slowslowslow

are superstar any good? the alpine rotors are good price, and come in gold to match my hubs, but cannot find reviews. a new thread me thinks...:)

slowslowslow

Mods, feel free to delete.

The Rookie

Why, doesn't work like that!

I'm with CD, too large a disc looses you modulation and can make riding the bike 'less nice', nothing to do with weight, all to do with not locking a front wheel by accidnet and faceplanting this beautiful island of ours!

cooldad

slowslowslow wrote:

Mods, feel free to delete.

The mods only delete if you break the rules, like valuation threads or personal insults.
So if I call The Rookie a moron, they could delete the thread or smite me with the mighty banstick.
Unless, of course, it is the truth.

YeehaaMcgee

cooldad wrote:

if I call The Rookie a moron, of course, it is the truth.

cooldad

I only speak the truth.

The Rookie

Oy.......and I was agreeing with you as well!

cooldad

The Rookie wrote:

Oy.......and I was agreeing with you as well!

Which proves my point, only an idiot would agree with me.

pesky_jones

cooldad wrote:

The Rookie wrote:

Oy.......and I was agreeing with you as well!

Which proves my point, only an idiot would agree with me.

Agreed