thepope1986
Likes Dirt
Has anyone got the new saint brakes? I'm looking to get some for the enduro bike and was curious to hear people's thoughts on them
New saint brakes
- Thread starter thepope1986
- Start date
bikesarefun
Likes Bikes and Dirt
F#cking amazing. Levers feel great, power to burn.
thepope1986
Likes Dirt
Sweet thanks guys, I'm planning on doing the mega and I was enticed by all the cooling that they're doing with the pads and rotors
andy73
Likes Bikes and Dirt
Actually I've been a bit underwhelmed. The bite point adjustment literally does not work. Multiple bleeds and getting that tight, solid feel has been incredibly difficult. Secondly the cooling fins - I don't know if they aid the cooling or not but they're noisy. Given Shimano have been banging on about the new Saint being so quiet (and I have to say, the rear mech is stealthy quiet), rattling brake pads seem contradictory to the whole Saint thing.
I've put some Brake authority pads in and seem to be getting a lot more power and perhaps my issues are isolated but, given how excited I was about getting these brakes, they haven't quite lived up to the hype for me.
I've put some Brake authority pads in and seem to be getting a lot more power and perhaps my issues are isolated but, given how excited I was about getting these brakes, they haven't quite lived up to the hype for me.
Nautonier
Eats Squid
Sounds exactly the same as my experience with the new XTs that people have been raving about. Bite point adjustment IMO is essential if you want to get brakes properly dialled, as in lever throw right where you want it and the same on each side. I've not heard of anyone being able to use this adjustment on Shimano brakes, which is a major design flaw/oversight.
How is the modulation on the Saints? On the XTs it's pretty much non existant - they're either all on or all off, barely anything in between. "Grabby" is a word I've heard used. For all the Avid haters out there, I would suggest that Avid's latest has surpassed Shimano.
Weird about the cooling fins and two-piece rotors, I would have thought it would make a huge difference, but on really long runs they still seem to fade just like any brakes. But they do look pretty and the short lever design is great. Also really like the increased pad clearance, which makes set-up a breeze.
I have loved my XT trails with a Saint front caliper. Coming up to a 12 months of use pretty soon and only now are they beginning to feel like they need a bleed (and I didnt bleed them after I cut the lines). I like the grabby feel, I dont tend to drag my brakes so when I do hit the brakes I want them to stop me as quick as possible. I am using RT75 rotors too, no fancy ice-tec or anything.
I have the new saint on my bike, and I can easily say that it takes a big shit on all Avid products. Avid are good, but unreliable. One person may have a killer set that both the modulation and the power are excellent, but then someone else might have a pair that fling you over the bars when you touch the lever. The rotors on the bike were much, much, much cooler than the rotors on my friend's bike (I have 2013 Saint, he has 2012 Avid Elixir CR's) and I would have done much more braking then he would have done. I like the feel of the levers as well, it feels like your fingers will never move, in comparison to a previous set of Avid's where it felt less secure. I feel like I can control my braking power a lot more with Saints than with Avids. As for volume, these are super quiet. I have absolutely no rattling noises in my brakes, all except for my back rotor which was slightly bent in a crash that I will fix. As for the other rotor; it's super quiet and super efficient. I would definitely reccomMend. Plus they look 10x more baller than Elixirs!
thepope1986
Likes Dirt
Andy did you put a review on the crc website for the saint brakes?
frdlvr
Likes Dirt
I haven't used the new SAINTS but I am using the little brother ZEE and they have a better feeling than CODES and ive been using CODES for the past 4 years and thought I would give shimano a chance as I didn't like there old stuff and have to say I wont be going back to AVID any time soon...
whiteman
Likes Bikes and Dirt
I'm super happy with mine!
I came off Elixer 9's and absolutely hated them due to the ridiculous brake fade and the resulting unpredictable lever throw. My only complaint is that the bite point adjuster doesn't work at all (but luckily a not too fussy bleed leaves them in the perfect spot for me), but they still shit all over my previous Avids in every other aspect. I'm loving the short levers and minimal/no fade!
Would highly recommend.
I came off Elixer 9's and absolutely hated them due to the ridiculous brake fade and the resulting unpredictable lever throw. My only complaint is that the bite point adjuster doesn't work at all (but luckily a not too fussy bleed leaves them in the perfect spot for me), but they still shit all over my previous Avids in every other aspect. I'm loving the short levers and minimal/no fade!
Would highly recommend.
After using avid they are awesome, changing my xc bike to xt's because I'm so happy with the saints, one little fault is that on a rough shuttle the tooless lever adjustmeant sometimes rattles n changes the lever position but this doesn't happen all the time, and the levers feel awesome aswel would highly suggest getting a set
blackmamba
Likes Bikes
yeah XT's are damn fine BUT if you love Xt's, your going to poke your eye out with the boner new saints will induce! unreal, and can take long sections of hard braking without whining like a school yard bitch/taylor swift.
in other news i have a set of 2012 XT's in my shed if someone wants to exchange for australian currency.
in other news i have a set of 2012 XT's in my shed if someone wants to exchange for australian currency.