Which Disk Brakes?!

lazyarsehole
lazyarsehole Posts: 1,693
edited March 2011 in MTB buying advice
I am looking at some new brakes for my hardtail but I am a little unsure of which to go for as there are a number of good deals on good brakes at the minute.

I am currently looking at:

Shimano XT m775
Avid Elixir CR Mag
Hope Tech X2
Formula RX

Which are the better brakes or are there any others that would be a more worthier purchase? All of these I can currently get for similar prices with adaptors and rotors, looking at around £250-£300 max on a pair.

Comments

  • Andy B
    Andy B Posts: 8,115
    preferred choice in order from your selection:

    1 Formula RX
    2 Hope Tech X2
    3 XT M775
    4 Avid
    2385861000_d125abe796_m.jpg
  • Andy B wrote:
    preferred choice in order from your selection:

    1 Formula RX
    2 XT M775
    3 Hope Tech X2
    4 Avid

    I agree :wink:
  • Andy B wrote:
    preferred choice in order from your selection:

    1 Formula RX
    2 XT M775
    3 Hope Tech X2
    4 Avid

    I agree :wink:
    defo that order. I'd love some XTR trail brakes but they cost a fortune.
  • njee20
    njee20 Posts: 9,613
    defo that order. I'd love some XTR trail brakes but they cost a fortune.

    I've got some XTR Race brakes and they're awesome - lovely lever feel, plenty of power and feel, the trail's are only about £160 per end, I'd definitely go for those.

    Conversely last year I had Avid XXs and they were utter toss!
  • Formula RX with rotors and adaptors would be just shy of £300
    (add an extra £18 for white - tempting)

    Hope Tech X2 with rotors and adaptors would be £280
    (add an extra £20 for floating rotors front and rear and £18 for braided hoses)

    It's looking like either of the two, both would cost me around £320 as I will likely go with floating rotors and braided hoses on the hopes. So which is it to be?!



    I would love to say the XTR Trail brakes are in the mix as well BUT at £160 per brake without disks or mounts/adaptors they are over my budget unfortunatly...
  • formula every time, face melting amounts of power.
  • cavegiant
    cavegiant Posts: 1,546
    +1 on the Formulas as well.
    Hopes are more bling, but formula perform better.
    Why would I care about 150g of bike weight, I just ate 400g of cookies while reading this?
  • Northwind
    Northwind Posts: 14,675
    Stock answer, Formula Oro K24s are still cheap from the Formula factory store, they're the old model but still stand up in this company no bother, and cost half your budget. None of your list is worth spending the extra for.

    The RX is the Oro replacement but it's been getting a bit of a mixed reception. Set I had a play with felt fine though, a wee bit "squeezy" but that might have just been setup.
    Uncompromising extremist
  • I did notice that full sets are going for £160 but I thought they would be outdated and hard to get hold of replacement parts seeing as they have been replaced by the RX...
  • Northwind
    Northwind Posts: 14,675
    Wouldn't think so, they were an OEM brake on lots of bikes so there's millions out there. Formula still carry parts for older models.

    (if parts availablilty is a concern, remove the XTs from your list ;) )
    Uncompromising extremist
  • Northwind wrote:
    Wouldn't think so, they were an OEM brake on lots of bikes so there's millions out there. Formula still carry parts for older models.

    (if parts availablilty is a concern, remove the XTs from your list ;) )

    :?:
  • Northwind
    Northwind Posts: 14,675
    Parts availability is crap for Shimano... Try ordering piston seals. On the other side they're reliable in the first place but I had to buy a whole new caliper rather than a £2 seal for mine, annnoying.
    Uncompromising extremist
  • Dirtydog11
    Dirtydog11 Posts: 1,621
    Some good deals on Formula brakes here

    http://purebike.fr/en/brakes-and-access ... f10d68dfd8

    going for the green and white RX R1s myself.
  • jayson
    jayson Posts: 4,606
    Put some XT brakes on my old bike and even with huge 203mm rotors they dint have as much stoppin power as i was expectin especially considering the big rotors.

    Maybe im just the exception but i dont think i'd buy them again. I can hear a set of Saints callin my name but £400 is alot of money........ :shock:
  • Northwind
    Northwind Posts: 14,675
    XTs should give you pretty good power... They're not the strongest but even with 180 on the front they did me fine at fort william.
    Uncompromising extremist
  • lawman
    lawman Posts: 6,868
    hope's anyday of the week, or formula if you can push the boat out, the latest avids have a shocking reliabilty record, shimano are equally bad in my experience, the only sets of brakes ive never seen problems with are hopes, in my riding group we have about 10 pairs for damn good reason, although i have to say formula run them close for performance imo, but i do love my hopes, especially my new ones :D
  • lazyarsehole
    lazyarsehole Posts: 1,693
    Decision has been made and product has been purchased.

    Gone for the formula RX's in the end as they seem to be a popular vote and have read many good reviews. Also the white and red with black works very well with my bike. Oh, and I got the pair for £152 including 48hr delivery ... SWEET!
  • getonyourbike
    getonyourbike Posts: 2,648
    Decision has been made and product has been purchased.

    Gone for the formula RX's in the end as they seem to be a popular vote and have read many good reviews. Also the white and red with black works very well with my bike. Oh, and I got the pair for £152 including 48hr delivery ... SWEET!
    £152 for a pair!!! thats mad, nice one :D Where from?
  • lazyarsehole
    lazyarsehole Posts: 1,693
    £152 IS slightly bonkers, and that's with rotors and adaptors too... 2010 model but they have hardly changed for 2011... May look at getting the reach adjust dial and fcs (feel control system) to get these properly sorted!!!
  • most good bike shops will say fit hope tech 2 or better or shimano xt or better they both just work and dont eat pads away
    anthem x with many upgrades