Hardtail Brake upgrade
Hi all – I suspect a variation of this post may all ready exist and I am sure that there are many posts covering the integration subject – but after lots and lots of searching and speaking to shops etc etc I still find myself a bit unsure of where to go next.
In 2017 I purchased an ORBEA 27.5 Hardtail mountain bike – it was circa £1700 and to me at least came with plenty of nice kit – mostly SLX/XTR Fox float 32 etc etc. think it may have been a H10
I am really happy with the bike – it has lasted well and despite BASIC maintenance – i.e. never serviced the shock – it keeps going – still looks in great nick.
I like the geometry – the way it handles and indeed I am not to keen to go spending beyond what I have to – i.e. a new bike….
The main let down is the brakes and having been through a couple of calipers now due to prematurely leaking seals I have always been on the look out for a good upgrade.
Now – here comes the hard part…. I currently have Shimano M506 levers and M447 calipers. They are I spec B. and i dont think I spec b is current.....
I would really like to just make a straight swap or indeed as painless as possible and my shifters are SLX and I really like them.
Now I know there might be a few ways to skin a cat – but none seem that straight fwd yet. The only potential way ahead is to get these….
https://www.merlincycles.com/shimano-saint-m820-front-and-rear-disc-brakes-set-59048.html
I think there may be much said about “over-braking” the bike and how I don’t need anything this powerful or fancy – and whilts I agree – going in another direction whereby I need adapters or need to change the shifter may turn out just as ££££ or more….
Anywho – if anyone has any solid advice on a way ahead I would really appreciated it
Comments
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Don't restrict yourself on the basis of the shifters. New shifters are relatively inexpensive.
Assuming your shifters are M7000 series based on the age of the bike, you can get band-on shifters. You may be able to get these cheaper by shopping around, you could also look at switching to Deore or XT.
You're then free to use whatever brakes you like. For example, this is a great deal: https://www.merlincycles.com/shimano-slx-m7100-front-and-rear-disc-brake-set-179619.html Or, if you wanted 4 pots, these still work out cheaper than the Saints even with the new shifters: https://www.merlincycles.com/shimano-slx-m7120-front-and-rear-disc-brake-set-179616.html
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Whyamihere - thanks so much for reply - pretty much one of the most cohesive things i've read about not restricting myself and thanks for the links - appreciated...
So - based on what you said - My post is correct - I am stuck cause of I spec B - BUT your solution gets round it and i suspect moving to independent components means more redundancy too...
Your option A - upgraded brakes - 2 pot and coming in at £200 all done with new brakes and shifters...
Your option B - upgraded brakes - 4 pot and coming in at £315 all done with new brakes and shifter...
My Option - upgraded brakes with old shifters - coming in at £350.....
So all solutions will work - but there is cheaper ways to do it..... anything else to consider - over braking the bikes etc etc etc
thanks again
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