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Death of the Elixir 7's
Hi,
I had something of a branch/disc brake event whilst out on the bike the other day. The branch managed to wedge itself into the rotor, met the chainstay, bent the disc and then the bent disc has taken a chunk out of the caliper too. End result - one dead Elixir 7 caliper and rotor.
SO.....options are, replace with the same OR do I upgrade to something better? Have to admit that the longer I've had the Elixir's (they're a year old now), the more troublesome and noisy they're becomming.
If I were to upgrade, are there any recommendations? I hear a lot of good talk about the XT's.....
Bike is a Specialized Camber (2012 model) with 203mm rotors front and 180mm rear.
Thanks
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They are practically identical apart for the pad adjustment screw & the fancy chrome finish on the XT's. Also ditch that gigantic downhill front rotor. 180/160 is more than enough stopping power for a Camber, you could even go 160/140 depending on your weight.
I have the SLX's and they are brilliant. Had Juicy Ultimates before & the SLX's are a class above
Even the humble Deore's are a great brake & apart from the finned pads & adjustments seem just the same as the more bling XT's so represent great vfm.
If you want something a little special go for Hope X2s, they are very adjustable, powerful & have better modulation than the Shimano's. oh and ther pad life is good as well. With the braided Goodrich hose option & 2 part rotors in various colours they look sweet as well but obviously don't represent anything like the same vfm as the Shimano's.
T
or pimp your ride with a set of these
http://www.hygia.com.tw/liveshop/index.php?route...
I have had XT brakes for 12 months and have been absolutely trouble free. Are they the best brakes in the world? Dont know but stop me when I need and it and are totally reliable.
Some early XT M785 brakes had some issues with leaking brake fluid but seems to be resolved now.
Go Shimano XT for sure.
Had them on my Trance and they were just awesome.
Test rode a Reign with SLX, and I didn't like them at all. Maybe they weren't bedded in properly, but I had to work harder and the feel and modulation just wasn't there.
I've got an old pair of LX brakes that work just as well if not better than my elixers
Throw the elixers in the toilet where they belong
And upgrade to any of the above options (XT's would be my choice once mine end up where they belong)
Cheers for the advice everyone. Looks like a strong argument for making the upgrade! Was planning on reducing the size of the disc on the front and going for 180mm F&R.
Any ideas about the cost of a set of Hope X2's for comparison?
Another thumbs up for the M785 XT's!.. I have them on my 29er Trance X0 and they've been brilliant. Leaps and bounds ahead of the elixir 1's I had previously...
Another vote for shimano. If you are willing to spend the time on set up and maintenance I think the elixirs have better performance but the XTs are not far behind and need 1/20th the stuffing around to get and keep right
http://www.evanscycles.com/products/hope/tech-ev... at about $143 plus rotors (I use old elixir rotors or hope sawtooth)
vs
http://www.evanscycles.com/products/shimano/m785... at $126 per end plus rotors.......(gee that's cheap for brakes with this pedigree)
I have two bikes running the hopes.... and none running the XTs. The only Avids I'll
trustbother with now are BB7.Hopes bleed like a car brake. No syringes, no pfaffing or pissing about tapping lines, pushing fluid out then back then out and then realising the adjuster was in the wrong position and the reservoirs are over/under filled which happened to me on both the adjustable Shimanos and Avids.
Buck for bling and rarity I'm biased and vote +1 for the hopes.
On rotor sizes, I run 160 front/rear on a 29er with the hope x2s and can't recall a time when I couldn't controllably lock up the front wheel to overcome tyre grip. Unless you are doing long fully braked descents, I can't see that you'll have any problems with the proposed 180/180 rotors. If you are, then the XT's are reportedly great at dissapating heat with the ice tech pads and rotors.
Give the Magura MT 4 or MT6 a look, I've had them l on my 29er ht for about 8months now and have nothing but praise for them. Iirc they're about the same price as the XTs.
I have 2011 xt brakes on one of my reigns and they work very well.better feel than my juicey5..they dont fade either.the initial bite is strong but once u r used to it the modulation is great.i run mine with g2(or g3 cant remember) rotors haand they r perfect match.i personally would not recommend downsizing rotors.if you have "too much" brake power for your bike you dont need to brake as hard n your brakes will last longer too.an unnecasary costly upgrade avoided imo.hear that slx are very good too.i hate to admit it but i think avid are falling behind and shitmano have the edge.or test ride some bikes with shitmano n some with avid n make ur own mind up
I have an unused set with 180/160 rotors goin cheap if you're interested. Came off the new bike.
I'm running Elixir 9s on my Kona and have had no issues with them. Actually I have never had any problems with Avid brakes on any of my bikes.
... the brake fairy is sure to visit!
Haha. Along the same lines as "Gee I haven't stacked in a while"
I'm still running some 10 year old Hope Mono M4's myself. Hope modulation still seems to be rated, and you can get spares for everything to keep them going forever.
Shimano is probably even more highly rated due to overall performance, reliability, and vfm, but people complain that you can't replace the seals which makes the calipers and levers disposable items. This may not be such a problem in Australian conditions.
Avid seem pretty universally disparaged these days. It seems they should have stuck with cables!