Brakes upgrade?

John_Carter

Hello,
I have a Cube Acid that came with Shimano M395 Hydraulic disc brakes.
I'm considering updating it to the M675 SLX brakes + new Ice rotors.

Would this be a noticeable upgrade? My current brakes stop fine but there is very little 'feel' and they almost feel binary - on/off

What do you think?

Thanks,

The Rookie

Shimano brakes don't usually feel on/off, but yes the SLX brakes will feel nicer and offer better adjustment, I wouldn't bother buying new discs though, stick with what you have.

stubs

Might be worth changing the pads first, get some pads for under a tenner off ebay, clean the discs with alchohol before installing, bed them in properly and if it doesnt change anything you havent lost out.

The SLX are superb brakes and you wont go wrong with them but the 395s are reckoned to be a decent entry level brake so without trying them back to back there might not be a massive difference.

John_Carter

Ok,
Thanks for the feedback.

Sometimes when descending hill sections - when brakes to slow down, I feel like the bike is loosing traction but maybe I should upgrade the tires first... (Schwalbe Smart Sam)

The Rookie

Losing traction is a tyre issue surely?

Smart Sam are good tyres, just not for proper offroad on an MTB!

njee20

Tyre problem, not a brake problem. The Sam is a good fast rolling tyre, but not something I'd use in the wet.

poah

John_Carter wrote:

Would this be a noticeable upgrade? My current brakes stop fine but there is very little 'feel' and they almost feel binary - on/off

this is typical of shimano brakes particularly the non-servo wave units with resin pads. SLX should be an upgrade in power, feel and weight.

the Schwalbe Smart Sam tyre is suited more to hardpack/tarmac so you may find you loose traction on anything remotely loose or muddy. If you don't ride in these conditions then an upgrade might be worth while. What are the conditions that you normally ride in.

John_Carter

I usually ride on fire roads and trails, so often muddy - but not too muddy...
and as this is the UK its usually wet...

Any ideas are welcome I'm looking for a more premium tire that's geared towards these conditions but could also be an all rounder...

whitey161

I like my Nobby Nic's.
Hans dampf are the shiz.

And cant get much better than a high roller / minion combo.

njee20

It's very personal. I think Nobby Nics are really overrated. For winter something like a Bontrager Mud X, Spesh Storm etc would be my choice.

John_Carter

I think I'll go for the Minion/High roller combo - can you tell me which tyre for which wheel and what versions width to get? it's all very confusing...

Car tires are simpler, ;-)
thanks!

Chunkers1980

Width max is whatever is slightly smaller than the gaps in frame and fork.

Wide tyres on narrow rims roll more.

John_Carter

Chunkers1980 wrote:

Width max is whatever is slightly smaller than the gaps in frame and fork.

Wide tyres on narrow rims roll more.

Well, According to Cube my acid can support 2.25 - but they are German... ;-) Would it be able to fit 2.3?

Is the Maxxis Dominion ( front)/ High roller 2 (rear) a good setup for an XC bike?

Thanks!

John_Carter

Lastly,
Should I bother upgrading the brakes if teh tires are the real issue? (£140 including a goingle new 180mm icetec rotor)

thanks!

Kowalski675

John_Carter wrote:

Sometimes when descending hill sections - when brakes to slow down, I feel like the bike is loosing traction but maybe I should upgrade the tires first... (Schwalbe Smart Sam)

If your brakes aren't locked then that's a tyre issue. While the wheels are still turning you're using dynamic friction between tyre and ground. If you lose grip that's down to the tyre. It's more likely to happen when on the brakes because the tyre only has a finite amount of grip, and braking uses some of that (as does cornering forces), but that doesn't mean it's the brakes at fault. If you've lost grip because the wheel's locked up (and you've swapped dynamic friction for static friction - i.e. a slide) then your brakes are obviously at least powerful enough and the issue is one of feel (or modulation as MTBers prefer to call it) - either the brakes lack feel, in which case it might be worth investing in brakes with more feel (better modulation), or your braking technique needs more finesse. From that one line description I'd be spending money on new boots before new anchors.

swod1

Won't a minion/high roller tyre combination be too heavy for a hard tail xc type setup ?

Bontrager xr4 team issue are another decent tyre but if its muddy you be best with a maxxis beaver or mud x tyre for them conditions.

John_Carter

swod1 wrote:

Won't a minion/high roller tyre combination be too heavy for a hard tail xc type setup ?

Bontrager xr4 team issue are another decent tyre but if its muddy you be best with a maxxis beaver or mud x tyre for them conditions.

I think weight wise the difference between the Maxxis and the Smart same is around 200g and let's face it, the heaviest thing on this bike is the rider... ;-)

Regarding mud I'm not talking rivers of mud just a bit of wet gravel occasionally - so I'm leaning towards the XC/all rounder end of the scale.

John_Carter

Hello,
Just one last question,
I ordered the new brakes with a 180mm rotor - will my fork be able to support it and woudl I need a special mount adapter?

This is my fork: http://www.sram.com/rockshox/products/xc-32-tk-29
It says it supports up to 210mm rotors, but do I need the special adapter?

Thanks!

stubs

This pic is from Superstar you will need the type 7. Post Mount to Post Mount 180mm,

John_Carter

Super,
Thanks!