XC disc brakes which ones

[Hornsby]

Ok I need to get some new disc brakes for my Anthem.
Currently have the old (2004) Hayes HFX jobs of my old bike and they starting to show their age. So my criteria are

Budget $300-$400 for front and rear complete.
Must be easy to adjust to get perfect alignment, my Hayes are a pain. The ability to wind the pad separate to the caliper would be good. I need to be able to swap in and out a different wheelset for my slicks.
Stopping power and modulation and "feel" I have never had a problem with my Hayes so not a major.
Weight a concern but budget rules over weight.
Pads changes should be easy unlike my current setup which require a full realignment.
I have never had to bleed my Hayes so any brand that has to be bleed every so often is out.

Current ideas are
Shimano SLX, Avid BB7's
Or Hayes much better for adjustment than before?

I need some more ideas, but please keep to the criteria above.
Thanks in advance

 

[Krank Bikes]

You may want to take a look at the avid range of brakes. The Juicy 5's fit within your budget and I feel are a very good value for money brake. They perform just as well as the Juicy 7 however do not have things such as the pad contact adjuster.

They have been proven to be powerful enough for DH so power wise they are more than adequate.

They are very easy to align and I have found that they rarely need bleeding.

 

[3viltoast3r]

They perform just as well as the Juicy 7 however do not have things such as the pad contact adjuster.
Pretty dam important to have, especially when switching between wheelsets.
They are very easy to align and I have found that they rarely need bleeding.

From what I have heard, juicy's are the worst brake when comparing the amount of times bleeding is required. My Strokers have only need to be bled once in 9 months.......Discounting from when I had to have the master cylinder 'serviced' due to slow rebounding lever caused by shit clogging it up, thanks to the master cylinder not being completely sealed off to the dirt/dust/grime and shit.

That being said, I found that if you pump up the levers 50+ times EXTREMELY rapidly it remedies the problem. Power is excellent, modulation is fairly decent but I found the actual distance required to pull the lever is annoying compared to other brakes I have ridden. Bottom line: Would I buy them again? No, I would buy shimano, but IMO strokers>juicies. Having said that the elixir have yet to be out long enough for any problems to bubble the surface, but from first reviews I have read they seem to be the goods, and they will fit your budget (I *think* they are $195 per end atm, dont quote me on it though.)

Have a look round and see if you can get some xt's (or cheaper shimano's) for your budget. If you cant, I would say go for the avid elixirs followed by the strokers.

 

[top_oz_bloke]

Have a look round and see if you can get some xt's (or cheaper shimano's) for your budget. If you cant, I would say go for the avid elixirs followed by the strokers.

New XT's might just be out of reach - I've just bought a couple of pairs and they came in at approx $220/end.

Before CRC upped their prices though, they were doable for $180/end.

 

[Krank Bikes]

From what I have heard, juicy's are the worst brake when comparing the amount of times bleeding is required. My Strokers have only need to be bled once in 9 months.......Discounting from when I had to have the master cylinder 'serviced' due to slow rebounding lever caused by shit clogging it up, thanks to the master cylinder not being completely sealed off to the dirt/dust/grime and shit.

That being said, I found that if you pump up the levers 50+ times EXTREMELY rapidly it remedies the problem. Power is excellent, modulation is fairly decent but I found the actual distance required to pull the lever is annoying compared to other brakes I have ridden. Bottom line: Would I buy them again? No, I would buy shimano, but IMO strokers>juicies. Having said that the elixir have yet to be out long enough for any problems to bubble the surface, but from first reviews I have read they seem to be the goods, and they will fit your budget (I *think* they are $195 per end atm, dont quote me on it though.)

Have a look round and see if you can get some xt's (or cheaper shimano's) for your budget. If you cant, I would say go for the avid elixirs followed by the strokers.

We have 2 riders that were running the juicys for the past 2 years and both pairs have only ever had to be bleed once in that time period.

 

[v1llage1d1ot]

Just saw the old saint's on chain reaction for $90 an end! That's a bargain!

 

[Viv92]

Formula Oro K18's.

About $400. Light, powerful, and you can get them in Australia for that price. Have the adjustments you need. Contact http://blacksheepimports.blogspot.com/ if you want some.

More reliable and powerful than juicys, shimanos, etc. Really good build quality. I just got a set of formulas and I'd reccomend them to anyone, and I've tried a fair few brakes but I think I'll settle with these.

 

[Sumo]

Definitely Formula Oro's. I'm running K24's, light and stop well. I picked mine up from the USA for $360.00 including delivery.

 

[Lorday]

The SLX's are very similiar to the xt's (last year models) I believe. I would go those, the SLX groupo is from the reviews its been getting, is an awesome group set.

Avid BB7's are cable breaks so if you want to go down that path, tekro I0 are also very good brakes.

IMO for the limited use of various hydro brakes.
Shimano > elixars > strokers >juicy's.
The elixars are a huge improvement of the more 'grabby' juicy's.

 

[Hornsby]

Thanks for all the advice I think I'll go the XT and may be upgrade the rear now which is the one needing the most attention.
We'll see what the bike looks like after I get it back from my move home from the UK. Its currently in a box on a container ship somewhere, the bike may need some more love than just a new set of brakes.

 

[RMB]

Very happy with my strokers,had them a year now and no need for a bleed yet.

 

[blacksp20]

+1 for Hayes Stroker Trail. 17 months without a bleed and still run sweet. I paid about $350 for mine but my mate got them for ~$245 delivered just recently. He thinks they are a huge improvement over his Juicy 3's.