Brakes

kingie3105

Hi,
I'm in the middle of building up a newly acquired Kona Scab, and was looking at which brakes to get?
I have looked around and got a good vibe from Shimano SLX, but i wondered if there were any others which seem as good/better?
I have maybe a £125 budget for the set
Cheers

cooldad

Not really but hunt a bit and you can probably get XT for that.

kingie3105

So the SLX's are the best for the money?

cooldad

If it was my money, yes. Depending on how much I had, either Deore, SLX or XT. All are excellent.

miceden

I'm a Magura fan but you cant really go wrong with Deore, SLX or XT brakes... have a look on CRC as they have a 10% off offer at the moment

kingie3105

Another question then, would they be compatible with Hope SAW Floating disks? I was thinking either a 180 front and a 160 rear?Or a 200 front?

poah

no, they will hit the rivets - just get the ice-tech rotors

kingie3105

Would any after-market rotors work? I only ask because I am a typical teenager and want to "pimp out" and with the Hope SAWs you can get them in Orange, which would match my frame. Or is that stupid because it would sacrifice braking capabilities?

miceden

The only "thing" with floating discs is that sometimes the rivet can catch on the brake caliper... providing they clear the caliper you can use them. Otherwise you can pretty much use whatever rotors you want.

miceden

You can get these in orange - http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Alligator-Win ... 232db7815d

I use the windcutters on all my bikes in various sizes and they work perfectly

kingie3105

What even is a floating disk? Does it mean that the bit that touches the calipers is a separate part of the disk all together? And those Alligator rotors look rather nice. would they have to be mounted a specific way?

eric_draven

i am running XT M785 brakes with hope floating saw discs they will work,but it is a fine line getting them set up right

cooldad

Floating (which are not actually proper floating rotors) are pointless, and create problems.
But if you go for form over function, go for it.

kingie3105

Oh okay.. It may be best to get the rotors that miceden suggested, because they don't have any rivets, and i have no experience setting up disc brakes

kingie3105

Also, what sizes would i need/be compatible with the SLX's? A 180 front and 160 rear? or a 200 front and a 180 rear? or even another combination?

eric_draven

kingie3105 wrote:

Also, what sizes would i need/be compatible with the SLX's? A 180 front and 160 rear? or a 200 front and a 180 rear? or even another combination?

i'm running a 203mm XT up front but i am considering coming down to a 180mm,i weight 14.5st and find the 203mm to powerful at times,unless you are doing massive alpine decents 180/160 should be fine

kingie3105

I weigh a similar amount so I'll take the advice and run 180/160.
Cheers

miceden

kingie3105 wrote:

And those Alligator rotors look rather nice. would they have to be mounted a specific way?

They rotate in a specific direction but that's clearly marked on the rotors, other than that no, just bolt them on using the disc bolts you already have... although I think alligators tend to come with bolts.

Kowalski675

kingie3105 wrote:

What even is a floating disk? Does it mean that the bit that touches the calipers is a separate part of the disk all together?

A floating disc is made of two pieces - the outer (steel) rotor and the central (usually ally) carrier, joined together by a number of bobbins. The small amount of "float" between rotor and carrier allows for the rotor to expand when it gets hot without warping. I can't imagine that anyone other than DH racers or professional freeride lunatics would get discs hot enough for them to be of any real benefit on a bicycle, but you might save a few grammes of unsprung weight. Literally only a few grammes though.

The Rookie

Many Floaters are heavier than plain discs as they are meant to be used where you will use the extra 'capability'.

My A2Z Tepan yaki floaters are however lighter than a similar 160mm as that is what they are designed to be, 89g versus 110g for a Hayes or upto 153g (Heaviest 160 I've measured). They are not as light as the proper lightweight such as Alligator or Ashima though but have more brake surface area (which affects feel to an extent) and heat capacity in the braking surface.

poah

eric draven wrote:

kingie3105 wrote:

Also, what sizes would i need/be compatible with the SLX's? A 180 front and 160 rear? or a 200 front and a 180 rear? or even another combination?

i'm running a 203mm XT up front but i am considering coming down to a 180mm,i weight 14.5st and find the 203mm to powerful at times,unless you are doing massive alpine decents 180/160 should be fine

you're not going fast enough

jayesse

180 front and 160 rear should be plenty. Any size should work though, you just need the correct post adapters to make it all work together and Shimano usually sell everything separately so just make sure you pick the correct parts. Shimano rotors look pretty sexy to me too.

You can't go wrong with SLX brakes. They always work and they're super easy to bleed.

contented

kingie3105 wrote:

Would any after-market rotors work? I only ask because I am a typical teenager and want to "pimp out" and with the Hope SAWs you can get them in Orange, which would match my frame. Or is that stupid because it would sacrifice braking capabilities?

I pimped out my bike for sharing with my teenage nephew - white Formula RX brakes and floating 203mm Superstar Alpine rotors in gold and silver. Looks pimpy and the lad loved it, but now I'm the only one using the bike it's terrible. You feel like a right tit with enough 'look at me' braking power to stop a train when you're a little fat middle aged man popping out for a trip to the newsagents.
I'm going to sell them asap, will pop you a pm if I do, though I have no idea what they go for.

eric_draven

POAH wrote:

eric draven wrote:

kingie3105 wrote:

Also, what sizes would i need/be compatible with the SLX's? A 180 front and 160 rear? or a 200 front and a 180 rear? or even another combination?

i'm running a 203mm XT up front but i am considering coming down to a 180mm,i weight 14.5st and find the 203mm to powerful at times,unless you are doing massive alpine decents 180/160 should be fine

you're not going fast enough

YAWN there's always one
been doing this mountain bike thing for the last 25 years,and never been a slow at desending,big rotors for big desents and heavy wheels,there is a thing of been over braked

poah

eric draven wrote:

POAH wrote:

eric draven wrote:

kingie3105 wrote:

Also, what sizes would i need/be compatible with the SLX's? A 180 front and 160 rear? or a 200 front and a 180 rear? or even another combination?

i'm running a 203mm XT up front but i am considering coming down to a 180mm,i weight 14.5st and find the 203mm to powerful at times,unless you are doing massive alpine decents 180/160 should be fine

you're not going fast enough

YAWN there's always one
been doing this mountain bike thing for the last 25 years,and never been a slow at desending,big rotors for big desents and heavy wheels,there is a thing of been over braked

it was intended as a joke BTW - I've never felt like the 203/160 I've got as been over braked, its never been soo powerful I've went over the bars with an emergency stop.

Kowalski675

The Rookie wrote:

Many Floaters are heavier than plain discs

I said "might".

Kowalski675

Contented wrote:

I pimped out my bike for sharing with my teenage nephew - white Formula RX brakes and floating 203mm Superstar Alpine rotors in gold and silver. Looks pimpy and the lad loved it, but now I'm the only one using the bike it's terrible.

Gold and silver together? It must've looked terrible too.

contented

Kowalski675 wrote:

Contented wrote:

I pimped out my bike for sharing with my teenage nephew - white Formula RX brakes and floating 203mm Superstar Alpine rotors in gold and silver. Looks pimpy and the lad loved it, but now I'm the only one using the bike it's terrible.

Gold and silver together? It must've looked terrible too.

Looks OK actually and they really are great brakes, but they belong on something hurtling along at breakneck speed. It's the equivalent of putting carbon brakes and 20 inch alloys on a Nissan Micra. Mind you, my nephew would probably love that too :roll:

Kowalski675

I don't think you'd get 20s on a Micra without major surgery, lol.