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Mtn Bike Disk Brake Help

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ThaLorax
Posts: 21083 - Karma: 8,455
Looking for help purchasing hydrolic disk brakes since I haven't been following new bike technology/products since I bought my bike in 2005. I'm looking to get new disk brakes since the ones I have now (Hayes HFX-9) are pretty fucked up.

I have a Kona Coiler Deeluxe, am 5'2" 110lbs and ride a mix of XC, Downhill, DJing and freeriding. Mostly trail riding though.

What would be a good hyrdolic brake for me that isn't a bank breaker? Not looking to spend more than 350 total.


P.S. I'm in all the mtn bike cults but they're all dead.
Mar 27 2010 11:30PM
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Aenigma
Posts: 11256 - Karma: 424
All I run on my bikes for brakes is Avid, and I haven't had any issues whatsoever. At 110lbs you'd probably be fine with the Elixir, although there are a lot of other good brakes out there right now. Pretty much the only brakes I won't run are Hayes.
Mar 27 2010 11:35PM
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gordie.
Posts: 2014 - Karma: 84
the only reason people won't run hayes nines (because im sure thats what you meant, saying all hayes are terrible is completely wrong) is because they are very high maintenance. i have them on one of my older bikes im currently selling and have to bleed them a bit more often than my avid codes. they still are great brakes, and im willing to bet with a full bleed/housing change/lever change/pad change OP could get good-as-new brakes for less than 100. but, if you want to go the new brake way, id stick to maybe a stroker trail or a juicy 5 or maybe an elixir.

check out mtbr.com for reviews of products, it will make your search much easier
Mar 27 2010 11:40PM
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MACAQUE
Posts: 2811 - Karma: 696
I'd say Shimano XT's. More power and easier to maintain than Elixer's.
Mar 27 2010 11:44PM
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ThaLorax
Posts: 21083 - Karma: 8,455
i've tried everything with the hayes brakes and nothing works. the brake lines leak, as do the calipers and the levers are absolutely fucked from slamming them on rocks so many times so i have to go the new brake route.

i was looking at the stroker trail, XT and the elixer.

how's the power/modulation on them and how much abuse can they put up with?
Mar 28 2010 12:02AM
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ThaLorax
Posts: 21083 - Karma: 8,455
oh, and what's the difference between the different Elixir types?
Mar 28 2010 12:03AM
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charmander
Posts: 10636 - Karma: 370
id recomend the shimano saint brakes, when i raced DH that what i ran, they're burly, and offer pretty good stopping power.
Mar 28 2010 12:07AM
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UNREAL
Posts: 3989 - Karma: 23
saints are way too grabby and are so pricy

just get elixer r's, they hold a bleed better than the cr and are cheaper. i ran codes last year and prefer elixers
Mar 28 2010 12:23AM
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UNREAL
Posts: 3989 - Karma: 23
forgot to adress this, the only difference from the elixer r and cr is the carbon in the cr. thats it.
Mar 28 2010 12:25AM
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charmander
Posts: 10636 - Karma: 370
they are expensive...

i never had grabbiness issues, it might just be riding style though, the way i rode, my brakes were pretty much all or nothing, not a lot of feathering.
Mar 28 2010 12:34AM
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MACAQUE
Posts: 2811 - Karma: 696
Uhhhhh wrong. R's only have reach adjust. The CR's have reach adjust, and pad contact adjust. The R's are also available with a carbon lever blade as well. The Stroker Trails, Elixers, and XT's are all good brakes. I'd stay away from the Elixer's though. A lot of people have trouble with their reliability. If you want a ton of modulation, go with the XT's. If you don't like a ton of modulation, get Strokers.
Mar 28 2010 12:48AM
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Flozz
Posts: 144 - Karma: 13
I'd definitely consider Shimano deore's or XTs. Dunno bout the US pricing but in here in NZ they represent serious value for money and they really do perform extremely well (not just in a good for the price sense).
Mar 28 2010 2:43AM
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ThaLorax
Posts: 21083 - Karma: 8,455
saints are too heavy. i do a lot of long trail rides.


interested in the XTs and the Strokers. Anybody with first hand experience? I've only riden the XT's a few times and am not familliar with this new line of Strokers. The Stroker Trails seem like a good medium.
Mar 28 2010 3:04AM
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asonUnique
Posts: 361 - Karma: 13
avid code homie. ive had em on my dh bike and theyre powerful and not grabby. relatively easy to maintain too
Mar 28 2010 10:51AM
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lebowski
Posts: 212 - Karma: 11
i would defiantly go with the shimano xt i hat the feeling of the strokers ive ridden them strait for a week and absolutely hated them. i have also ridden the shimano xt and find their very reliable and dont need to much maintenance but if it were me i would go with some juicy 5's
Mar 28 2010 10:59AM
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PeterWojnar
Posts: 3937 - Karma: 678
Elixirs. Every bike I buy from this point onward will have them on it, they blow every other brake I've ever used right out of the water. Powerful and they have excellent modulation.

If you want cheap, look to Elixir 5s. No adjustments except for allen key reach adjust.

Rs have easier reach adjust, and CRs have pad contact adjust, too.

I've experienced problems with Stroker trails, as in getting airy quickly, and they're a lot heavier than elixirs. I have never used the shimano gear, but I like SRAM so much better for dtrain than shimano that I have a bias against all their products.
Mar 28 2010 12:43PM
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fireballin
Posts: 392 - Karma: 13
avid 7 or 9. both very solid
Mar 28 2010 1:11PM
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Aenigma
Posts: 11256 - Karma: 424
Codes would be way overkill for any type of riding at his size. I run them on my DH bike doing 3,000' vert runs and even at 160lbs they are a bit much sometimes.
Mar 28 2010 1:18PM
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chewy15
Posts: 674 - Karma: 60
you'd prolly be fine with juicy 5's too. anything set up properly should be fine.
Mar 28 2010 1:39PM
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ThaLorax
Posts: 21083 - Karma: 8,455
is the juicy 5 the same thing as the elixir 5?

when i google juicy 5 i get a link to it on the avid website but when i go to their product page to find it again, it doesn't show up.

main hyrdolic product page: http://www.sram.com/en/avid/hydraulicdiscbrakes/index.php

link from google to juicy 5: http://www.sram.com/en/avid/hydraulicdiscbrakes/juicyfive.php
Mar 28 2010 2:03PM
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no_steeze
Posts: 23992 - Karma: 4,272
hayes nine's are cheap and pretty sick but some people HATE them, including myself. not sure what it is about them but they just annoy me

i currently run juicy 7's on my blur lt and they are my favorite brakes ever. I require something that's relatively easy to tap and squeeze because i only brake with one finger and i ride mostly tight singletrack so there's tons of tapping the front brake to cut a super tight corner and quick taps through technical sections. they also lock in hard when you really squeeze, i do a lot of hoppy jumpy stuff over logs and through technical sections and i never find myself falling off because my brakes won't hold

juicy 5's are great too but i love the adjustable levers, spares some time before you have to bleed them again

magura makes a ridiculously nice brake but they're super expensive and the levers are pretty weak if you get carbon ones.

hope is just teh secks, over and over again, but i will never use them because i literally cannot afford one hope caliper, they're so crazy expensive
Mar 28 2010 2:10PM
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ThaLorax
Posts: 21083 - Karma: 8,455
you just described the majority of my riding style exactly. i brake almost exclusively with one finger too. i hate having to use both.

also, i definitely would want something with adjustable levers and levers that won't break on me. i ripped out both the levers on my Hayes HFX-9s.

i completely forgot about the Juicy line until this thread. the juicy 7s are on sale at jensonusa so i think i'm going to go with those. i also forgot that i've ridden some bikes with the XTs and wasn't a huge fan of the XTs.
Mar 28 2010 2:28PM
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no_steeze
Posts: 23992 - Karma: 4,272
shimano brakes are SHIT, never had good experiences with them. i generally dislike shimano except for the XT crank which, imo, is the best crank. juicy 7's are definitely my main recommendation, go for it if you found them cheap
Mar 28 2010 2:48PM
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ThaLorax
Posts: 21083 - Karma: 8,455
thanks man. turns out i can only find the front brake for cheap. anybody know where i can get the back as well? it looks like they don't make the juicy 7 anymore or it changed names to one of the strokers.

i ride pretty hard and do some long gnarly downhill runs (like porcupine ridge at moab if anyone is familliar, it's 11 miles downhill). but for my featherweight of a self, should i go with a 185 front or just go with the standard 160?
Mar 28 2010 3:12PM
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ThaLorax
Posts: 21083 - Karma: 8,455
and keep in mind i'm on the kona coiler which is kind of a beast for its size/travel.
Mar 28 2010 3:14PM
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ThaLorax
Posts: 21083 - Karma: 8,455
oh, and i can't remember the name of the website that branched off of backcountry.com to become their mtn bike site.... i feel like they'd have some good deals on there. anybody know it?
Mar 28 2010 3:27PM
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no_steeze
Posts: 23992 - Karma: 4,272
for a coiler i might go with a 185 front. i never ride lifts up and go down, but i've done a few 10ish mile descents and never had an issue with 160's, but i'm riding a blur LT set up for solely xc riding, it's not a beastly coiler

if i were you i'd probably go with the 185, and that's coming from someone who doesn't really buy into the whole oversized rotors phenomenon, but for some dh and freeride stuff on a coiler i think you'd be better off

they don't seem to make them anymore, i have the 07 ones, seems like they stopped in 09 and im not sure what the new version is, if anything
Mar 28 2010 3:30PM
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PeterWojnar
Posts: 3937 - Karma: 678
Hucknroll.com
Mar 28 2010 3:35PM
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soderfunk
Posts: 47 - Karma: 22
it looks like the fix still has some juicy 5's and 7's (but who knows last time they updated their website)
i have juicy 5's on my dj bike and love em there sick.

http://www.thefixbikes.com/bikes/dept.asp?s_id=0&dept_id=3020
Mar 28 2010 4:42PM
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The_Cube
Posts: 847 - Karma: 211
u might want to go on pinkbike
Mar 28 2010 6:39PM
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