Swapping brakes - keeping hoses?

flamin'trek

flamin'trek

Likes Bikes and Dirt
New bike is on way. Can't work out why they've specced Deore brakes on it, but figured I'd give them a little test and probably end up upgrading to my current XT with icetech setup. The bike has internal routing, so:

How much drama is it to switch out the brakes, or alternatively is it possible to whip off the callipers and levers and use the existing hoses? Assuming the hoses fit both sets of brakes, remove calliper and replace, remove lever and replace then bleed? Sounds simple enough.

My current XT brakes are M785, the new ones are whatever 2017 model Deore is.
 
Z

Zaf

Guest
The trickle down on Shimano stuff is kinda nuts.
Thow some Ice-Tech rotors on and be done with it, if you really want to go all out, pick up some of the finned brake pads for good measure but the Deore will be indistinguishable in function to the SLX, XT, XTR unless you want to throw it on scales.

I feel like an absolute spanner having bought XTR because I know the decision is completely driven by form (that silver finish on a Titanium frame!!)
 
Oddjob

Oddjob

Merry fucking Xmas to you assholes
moorey said:
Easy line swap...but excluding vanity, the deore will work a treat.
Click to expand...
+1 but the m785 is a particularly excellent brake. Especially compared to the problems people are having with the m8000.

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flamin'trek

flamin'trek

Likes Bikes and Dirt
Interesting. Thanks all. Will give the new bike a test or three in standard trim, but... upgrades!
 
G

goobags

Likes Dirt
I thought deore didn’t have ceramic pistons, so it would be more than just cosmetic


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ozzybmx

ozzybmx

taking a shit with my boobs out
If they hot-swap with like connectors, then you could get lucky without a bleed. Alternatively, either bleed them or just pull in your XT hoses and sell the Deores as new take off's.

My good mate cracked a ceramic piston too... just adjusting his pads before a ride :) no ride that day...
 
ozzybmx

ozzybmx

taking a shit with my boobs out
Zaf said:
Haha, what do you guys change your pads with? A jackhammer?
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As the story goes, he was trying to push a piston in with a screwdriver... must have cocked it to one side or though he was using a jemmy bar.

Anyway, found out from that ballsup that all the Shimano brakes have the same sized ceramic pistons... he replaced it with one from a Shimano road brake then fixed them back up with the one he ordered.
 
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ozzybmx

ozzybmx

taking a shit with my boobs out
Just had a look at the boys... the banjos on my XTR and their SLX and XT are the same. Dont know what Deore is like.
 
The Duckmeister

The Duckmeister

Has a juicy midrange
M615 Deore (2012-17 model year specs, M6000 is '18 model) use a straight hose fitting into the caliper (same as the lever end), while M785 XT/M675/M666 SLX & M980-series XTR have a banjo fitting. You can use the same hose by cutting off the banjo & replacing with the olive & barb straight fitting, but you'll lose a little bit of length. Pad options are the same for all. The biggest difference is the piston material, but that will really only come into it if you're a real brake-roaster, the ceramics in the higher-spec calipers insulate the oil a bit better, but most mortals won't notice the difference. Lever geometry is basically identical, only real difference is you need an allen key to adjust the reach.

WHOOPS! I read part of the original post the wrong way!!!! Due to the different hose terminals, you will not be able to fit the XT caliper to the internally-run Deore's hose, as the banjo fitting needed to attach to the caliper is factory-fitted to the hose.

In short, real-world performance is damn-near identical between Deore and the higher levels.
flamin'trek said:
Interesting. Thanks all. Will give the new bike a test or three in standard trim, but... upgrades!
Click to expand...
In the absence of available spares I put a Deore lever on a customer's bike - with his knowledge - to replace a crashed XT, and swapped the shiny cap over so at least it looked like matched the other side until you looked more closely. Performed identically.
 
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Staunch

Staunch

Eats Squid
So in theory, I'm pretty sure you could use XT lines with Deore brakes if you just cut the banjo off.
However, there are 2 issues that come to mind with using Deore lines with XT levers/calipers.
XT will use a BH90 hose with a banjo attached, while Deore not needing the banjo are spec'ed with BH59 (which is just a straight hose).
BH90 hose has a smaller internal diameter to give the hose more strength in regards to avoid bulging, and requires different barbs to be used. They have the same outer diametre, so while BH59 could work in theory (IF it had a banjo) you may notice the brakes feeling a little softer than normal with XTs.

So, simple answer. No, change your lines.
If you already have lines in the frame, and need to disconnect the lever or caliper, fitting the new cable should be easy. Just attach something to the old cable before you pull it out of the frame, then you can attach that to the new one to pull that through. If you're willing to be a little sketchy, shoving a kinked inner gear cable into the end of the hose works wonders.
 
flamin'trek

flamin'trek

Likes Bikes and Dirt
So it looks like I'd need to change the line, then I remembered I'll probably need longer lines as I think I cut the existing ones down a bit for the current bike. 2 more sleeps and I'll be able to check it out properly. I'd probably need to extend the front lines too because the current bike only has 100mm travel while the new is 150mm. Oh the dramas!
 
flamin'trek

flamin'trek

Likes Bikes and Dirt
Bike arrived. Confirmed the hoses will need replacing due to different ends with the XT brakes. Haven’t checked length, but did discover the new bike has 180mm rotors both ends and existing ice tech rotors are 180/160. Depressing brakes worked fine though on three maiden voyage, albeit not heaps of braking in the route.
 
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