Avid Juicy 3s- Thoughts?

McPete

McPete

Likes Dirt
Folks;
I'm looking at possibly buying a STP0 fairly soon, and all seems pretty much right with it save for the brakes. They're a bit of an unknown quantity. Avid Juicy 3s. I did a search on here and on MTBR, no mention on here and MTBR seems a 50/50 split between people who hated them and thought they were pretty reasonable.
So, anyone on here had much to to with the Juicy 3?
Thanks,
Peter
 
Pete_10

Pete_10

Likes Bikes and Dirt
i dont own them personaly but plenty of my mates run them. I think they are great, best thing about them is they dont have the gay clicking lever! plenty of power and look just the same as other juicys.
 
moto-james

moto-james

Likes Dirt
I have Jucy 3 and i race 4x on them and they seem to be fine for me.
before my jucy three'i had hayes 9( 07 stp 1) and i am finding that the jucy 3 are easily better that the hayes 9.
The main difference between the jucy 3's and 5's is the metal they are made out of, and 5's are slitley more adjustable+ a few other little details(thats what ive been told). But the power in them is equivilent to the 5's.
Hope that helps you.
And get the 08 stp 0, they look awsome.:D
 
Daver

Daver

Kung Fu Panda
Only bad thing is that they come with Organic pads rather than the Sintered ones on the 5s/7s and up. Little less power than you could have at the expense of longer pad life...
 
blackjack

blackjack

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the juicy 3 was made to compete with the hayes sole, and it is far far better than the hayes, but im still not convinced with how good they are, but i can say i love my juicy 5' and 7's
 
S

Sherman_Guy

Squid
Juicy 3's

Ive got two pairs of juicy 3's and they're unreal for the money i paid... and as "blackjack" said they were to compete with the soles but i just brought my second set to replace a set of haye's nines on one of my bikes cause they're heaps stronger and better feel.
 
N

NoFearNick7

Likes Bikes and Dirt
I was fixing a Giant Reign the other day at my bike shop and it had Avid Juicy 3's on it. The only problem I found with these were the rotors make the braking feel really bad. I used a pair of hayes rotors and the brake felt like a dream to ride. I'd say these feel a lot better than the Hayes HFX9's on my bike.


Juicy Three Facts
Intended use Cross Country, All Mountain
FINISH Satin Black
Special features Improved lever to shifter clearance, Tri-Align Caliper Positioning System, Power Reserve Geometry, Ambidextrous, Wonder Clamp™, Drip-free bleeding
Rotor sizes 160, 185, 203mm
FLUID DOT 4
Weight 404g (160mm rotor; front post mount)
 
Pebble

Pebble

Likes Bikes and Dirt
I've never ridden them but I'd have them over hayes soles or shimano's low end (oem) brakes.

You could ask Captain Muppet what he thinks of them, he's got the '08 STP 0.

When I get mine I will be replacing the Juicy 3's for Shimano XT's (just over $300 from CRC). mainly for ease of maintenance instead of having two different kinds of brakes (I have XT's already on the other bike).
 
Wooly

Wooly

Likes Dirt
i run them on my haro escape comp, they are perfect for all the riding i do. but they seem to have run a bit low on the sufficiency side of things, but ill bleed em' and they should be fine after there done.
 
D

DJR

Likes Dirt
For an upgrade you can still go to 8" rotors with the correct adaptor, and then if you start boiling fluid or lose brake feel after long runs replace the fluid with dot 5.1 (higher dry and wet boiling point and lower viscosity) into the system and get some better pads.

Edit: The avid replacement pads for juicy 3's are sintered pads, so i'd say you can go EBC gold/red if necessary...
 
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B

Bazzil ballbag

Likes Dirt
From memory the 3's are just Original Equipment (only came with complete bikes, not for retail sale) and were just slightly diff. to the 5's. I think the main difference was the threes didn't have the lever that could push forward to prevent the pistons from closing over when you removed the wheel. Not 100 percent sure of this but otherwise they seem to be an ok brake, definately better than the 08 shimano entry hydros which feel terrible straight out of the box.
 
R

RideHard

Likes Bikes
Okay, the only dif between the juicy 3's and 5's is the threes have no locky-outy-lever thing (which is NOT gay), they have a slightly bigger reservoir, and a slightly cheaper hose. Apart from that, they're just a juicy five. And a juicy 5 is just a juicy 7 without the little brake-pad-contact-pont- adjustment dial.

So theres a quick summary of avids for you.

RideHard
 
S

Sov

Likes Dirt
RideHard said:
Apart from that, they're just a juicy five. And a juicy 5 is just a juicy 7 without the little brake-pad-contact-pont- adjustment dial.
Click to expand...
Juicy 3s don't have the two bolt bar clamp like the 5s and 7s. Doesn't really bother me though.

I love their solid lever feel. I'm running a 185mm front disc and 160mm rear on my xc bike with standard pads and I reckon they're great.

I have XT four pots with 8" discs on my other bike, and to be perfectly honest I think the Juicy 3s have better lever feel, but obviously less outright power.
 
t

t

Likes Bikes and Dirt
Bazzil ballbag said:
From memory the 3's are just Original Equipment (only came with complete bikes, not for retail sale) and were just slightly diff. to the 5's. I think the main difference was the threes didn't have the lever that could push forward to prevent the pistons from closing over when you removed the wheel. Not 100 percent sure of this but otherwise they seem to be an ok brake, definately better than the 08 shimano entry hydros which feel terrible straight out of the box.
Click to expand...
The clicky lever on the 5's is to get easy access to the reach adjustment and it is a good feature, it won't stop the pistons from closing (except that it might remind you not to squeeze them) Not having it is no great loss.

as sov mentioned the 3's only have a single bolt clamp (first gen 5's only had a single too but they changed to double for '07)

and I'm not sure about the hose, but they have removed the banjos and modified the bleed port arrangement at the caliper. It's simpler (cheaper to make) but you can't adjust the angle where the hose joins the caliper.

I've been running a set on 8" rotors and they have heaps of grunt, they feel the same as my juicy fives.

The only fault I can think of, and it's not really a fault: Is that if you bleed the brakes (according to the bleed instructions provided) when your pads are worn down. You'll over-fill the system and you won't be able to push the pistons back when it comes time to replace the pads.

But you can do that with almost any open system. So like i said, it's not really a fault.
 
G

g-fish

Likes Bikes and Dirt
RideHard said:
Okay, the only dif between the juicy 3's and 5's is the threes have no locky-outy-lever thing (which is NOT gay), they have a slightly bigger reservoir, and a slightly cheaper hose. Apart from that, they're just a juicy five. And a juicy 5 is just a juicy 7 without the little brake-pad-contact-pont- adjustment dial.

So theres a quick summary of avids for you.

RideHard
Click to expand...
Ok............. But where do juicy carbons fit in, i heard that the carbons were just 7's with carbon levers. I'm not sure if this is true or not but if it is why whould you spend the money on carbons (if you didnt care about weight) if you COULD be bothered adjusting the pads manually and being carefull when the wheel is off.
 
t

t

Likes Bikes and Dirt
g-fish said:
Ok............. But where do juicy carbons fit in, i heard that the carbons were just 7's with carbon levers. I'm not sure if this is true or not but if it is why whould you spend the money on carbons (if you didnt care about weight) if you COULD be bothered adjusting the pads manually and being carefull when the wheel is off.
Click to expand...
you kinda answered your own question ;)
 
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