Shimano MT520 4-Piston Caliper

Danny1920

After every visit to BPW I've left thinking yeah that was bloody brilliant & I could
definitely do with some more stopping power .Currently have SLX m7000's which are fine
for general trail riding but definately fade on those long desents.So was thinking about either
the Zee's or the Saints but came across these budget 4-piston shimano calipers & was
wondering if anyones had a go.It would seem they'll work fine with the SLX m7000 brake
lever which is good because they're better than the lever thats supplied with the
deore 4-piston(MT501) as a set.If I were to part with my hard earned I'd most probably get
the set for £53 :shock: ( ..the caliper alone is £38 & then the pads,so makes sense to keep levers
as spares.It's a nice change to not have to pay through the nose(I paid £60 for a remote dropper &
companies are asking £60 for a piece of god dam foam ffs )& get a really great product(hopefully)

The Rookie

Fade is caused by heat, changing the calliper to produce more power won’t fix that, bigger discs and/or with improved heat dissipation and finned pads will do that.

You can also improve fade with technique, don’t drag the brakes, get off them, either brake hard or not at all, that allows the disc and pad to cool between uses.

billycool

Having ridden BPW with both SLX and XT brakes, I've never had lack of brakes when I needed them. My arms on the other hand did occasionally fail me.

You do of course need good brakes and I'm sure it's partly down to experience, confidence and `ability`. I'm a really average rider and BPW is a bit more than my usual XC type riding. I do love the flowing blues more than the reds. I am quite good on my brakes and tend to dab them when needed and try to avoid longer braking. You might say that's hard to do and maybe it just takes more practice.

Some finned pads might help and in terms of rotor size, I've always had 180 front and 160 rear, so size isn't everything.

Brakes do get hot and sometimes it's just how you manage them that's the key.

JBA

I have ridden BPW with Deore (M615), SLX (M675) and XT (M785 & M8000) brakes and never suffered from brake fade.
As mentioned above try not to drag your brakes and fit finned pads. Much cheaper and easier than fitting new calipers.

steve_sordy

Fitting bigger diameter discs is an easy upgrade and massively increases your stopping power. Don't forget that you will need adaptors - these are spacers that go underneath the caliper body to move the caliper further out.

Danny1920

Thank for the advice fellas & trust me I'm aware I need to improve my
braking technique.Hopefully that'll come with the more riding I do & the
experience gained from that.Regards the 4-piston calipers …...is it an
upgrade that you can really notice.Can u feel the performance upgrade
going to 4pots from 2pot.More interested if there's more modulation or is
it just the same.I'm off to Whistler @the end of July.Another reason why
I'm considering bigger brakes

billycool

Some will say 4 pot are better and some will say you don't need it.

A lot of it comes done to the type of riding you will do and whether it would benefit you.

For you, I don't know the answer to that unfortunately.

There was a time when 4 pot was the thing to have because it was more than 2 pot and you get the usual hype around these sorts of enhancements.

If you're doing Whistler then 4 pot might help as you should get more braking power - but you still need to learn how to get the most out of it. If you are going to drag/cook your brakes, then it's unlikely to help.

Rotor size (and quality) and decent pads will help as well.

It's a great learning curve!

swod1

Anyone got these?

I’ve read they are just the same zee calliper with a different paint design on them

cobba

swod1 wrote:

I’ve read they are just the same zee calliper with a different paint design on them

The XT BR-M8020 is the same caliper as the Saint/Zee calipers.
The BR-MT520 is a different shaped caliper to the Saint/Zee/XT.
The BR-MT520 uses the same pads as the Saint/Zee/XT.
The BR-MT520 has a straight hose connection, the Saint/Zee/XT use a banjo connection.
The BR-MT520 has ceramic pistons like the Saint/Zee/XT have.

Danny1920

cobba wrote:

swod1 wrote:

I’ve read they are just the same zee calliper with a different paint design on them

The XT BR-M8020 is the same caliper as the Saint/Zee calipers.
The BR-MT520 is a different shaped caliper to the Saint/Zee/XT.
The BR-MT520 uses the same pads as the Saint/Zee/XT.
The BR-MT520 has a straight hose connection, the Saint/Zee/XT use a banjo connection.
The BR-MT520 has ceramic pistons like the Saint/Zee/XT have.

thanks for the info

Danny1920

While having a look @ these 4pots i noticed that the hose connection is straight on as
opposed to the side connection on the SLXm700 Caliper.Now I don't wanna have to
change the hose (internal routing)& prefer the levers on the M700 brakes.Can I just
connect using the current hardware or would I have to change the connectors @the end of the hose(the
bit that screws int the caliper)Cheer's

swod1

Danny1920 wrote:

While having a look @ these 4pots i noticed that the hose connection is straight on as
opposed to the side connection on the SLX m7000 Caliper.Now I don't wanna have to
change the hose (internal routing)& prefer the levers on the M7000 brakes.Can I just
connect using the current hardware or would I have to change the connectors @the end of the hose(the
bit that screws int the caliper)Cheer's

Just check what brake hose and fittings the SLX use before buying. You might get lucky and be able to reuse the current hose and banjo fitting.

Double check the Shimano tech docs website.

Be interesting to know as i might upgrade my XT M785 to 4 piston calipers.

cobba

Both use the SM-BH90 hose but they use different connections at the caliper and lever.

http://productinfo.shimano.com/#/spec/3.2/MTB/Brake%20(Hydraulic%20disc%20brake)

http://productinfo.shimano.com/#/com/3.7?types=mtb&cid=C-460&acid=C-186

BR-MT520.....
SM-BH90-SS: https://www.bike-discount.de/en/buy/shimano-brake-hose-sm-bh90-ss-1700mm-black-51603

BR-M7000/8000.....
SM-BH90-SB: https://www.bike-discount.de/en/buy/shimano-brake-hose-sm-bh90-sb-1700mm-black-51595
SM-BH90-SBM: https://www.bike-discount.de/en/buy/shimano-brake-hose-sm-bh90-sbm-1700mm-85793

This connection on BR-M7000/8000 hose should allow you to attach a BR-MT520 caliper.
https://www.sjscycles.co.uk/brakes/shimano-deore-brm596-connecting-bolt-unit-y8kh98010/
* You would need enough hose length to cut off the existing fitting to attach this.

Part #'s & diagrams.
http://si.shimano.com/#/en/EV/BR-MT520
http://si.shimano.com/#/en/EV/BR-M7000
http://si.shimano.com/#/en/EV/BR-M8000

http://si.shimano.com/#/

The Rookie

Danny1920 wrote:

prefer the levers on the M700 brakes.

You may with the existing 2 pot callipers, you may not with the higher fluid requirement 4 pots, The 4 pot levers have a greater fluid transfer to suite the calipers., while 2 pot levers work you usually have to adjust the reach out a bit and dial out the freestroke to get them to work decently.

Danny1920

cobba wrote:

Both use the SM-BH90 hose but they use different connections at the caliper and lever.

This connection on BR-M7000/8000 hose should allow you to attach a BR-MT520 caliper.
https://www.sjscycles.co.uk/brakes/shimano-deore-brm596-connecting-bolt-unit-y8kh98010/
* You would need enough hose length to cut off the existing fitting to attach this.

The Rookie wrote:

You may with the existing 2 pot callipers, you may not with the higher fluid requirement 4 pots, The 4 pot levers have a greater fluid transfer to suite the calipers., while 2 pot levers work you usually have to adjust the reach out a bit and dial out the freestroke to get them to work decently.

Thanks for that info....Just what I needed to Know.Will give it a try & see how it goes