XT vs guide RS

Dozer

Dozer

Heavy machinery.
Staff member
slowmick said:
If you find XT brakes on/off you need to weigh more. Once they are struggling to pull you up the have modulation...
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Can you elaborate more on that please? I found every Shimano brake I've touched to lack modulation and fade ridiculously fast. I'm not a featherweight world champ though. ;)
 
Ultra Lord

Ultra Lord

Beanie Fitment Specialist
Fade? As in overheat or as you pull em in they stop stopping kinda thing.

Like you squeeze to 7, and then when you turn it up to 11 it’s not clamping the disk any harder.
 
Dozer

Dozer

Heavy machinery.
Staff member
Ultra Lord said:
Fade? As in overheat or as you pull em in they stop stopping kinda thing.

Like you squeeze to 7, and then when you turn it up to 11 it’s not clamping the disk any harder.
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Both of the above, sorta kinda. On a trail ride I'll have the on off feel with relatively weak initial grab that feels the same all the way through the lever stroke. Now on a steeper line where you'll drag the brake and try to modulate it to control speed and turning, they warm up and get doughier and fade quickly.
In comparison on a SRAM brake, I can trust it'll pull me up as much as I pull the lever. A little bit for a little bit of brake control or a good handful of lever for a big stop and a long drag down some steep stuff.
The Hope's are in between those but as I said, I'm hoping sintered pads will like the ways of the force. ;)
 
slowmick

slowmick

Eats Squid
Dozer said:
Can you elaborate more on that please? I found every Shimano brake I've touched to lack modulation and fade ridiculously fast. I'm not a featherweight world champ though. ;)
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Try to imagine yourself with a beard and a backpack full of rocks out front. Now grippng the bars as tight as you can in your helmet with a removable chin bar take on that crazy blue trail at a .ittle over walking pace... You'll have all the brakes you ever need.
 
Haakon

Haakon

veni, vidi, volanti
Oddly enough the road Shimano are great. Not that I’ve ever ridden the road SRAM brakes, but unlike my last set of XTs the roadie version I rate.

It’s just an XT calliper too... Maybe it’s the higher speeds with sealed road/slick tyres traction and my more on-off riding style on the roadie?

Am keen to try the 4 pots for XT at some point though... Will be fun to see what they’re like on the roadie!
 
P

Paulie_AU

Likes Dirt
I don't understand Shimano on/off. Last steep ride I was using a ardent on the rear (other wheel problems) and had no problems modulating with saints.
 
Haakon

Haakon

veni, vidi, volanti
It’s all relative. I did ride with XT for ages and never crashed, and I did love the raw grunt when you needed to stop in a hurry.

Last two bikes have been guide RS. The last ones were better than these, so I guess there something amiss. Bleed time.
 
Oddjob

Oddjob

Wheel size expert
Dozer said:
Can you elaborate more on that please? I found every Shimano brake I've touched to lack modulation and fade ridiculously fast. I'm not a featherweight world champ though. ;)
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Mwahaha you call that a fat arse!


You've got nuthin on this nightmare of a brake tester.

I have literally boiled the water in dot fluid and guess what happened?

I have also expanded the 'fresh' dot fluid so much that the bladder in a set of Codes ran out of capacity. Want to have a guess how that worked out?

I have also glazed Avid sintered and organic pads.

I've never done any of these things with Shimanos. My Saint m810s with Goodridge lines and Uberbike pads would probably give Trickstuff brakes a run for their money, and have enough feel to let me do a stoppie.

Standard XTs with plastic lines and organic pads are grabby and have limited outright power. But with braided lines and sintered pads they are very good.

Oh and here's a fun fact. I have two set of m755s that are 15 years old still going strong. In fact they are better brakes then most.

Sent from my SM-G900I using Tapatalk
 
K

Kerplunk

Likes Bikes and Dirt
The Duckmeister said:
Not quite the worst.... There was the Hayes Sole single-piston pile of utter shit. Although they weren't so much on/off, more off/is it doing anything?
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I have a pair of sole’s somewhere in the shed, totally agree with you. I especially like the way the single piston bends the rotor on to the fixed pad. Dead silent and huge stopping power ...
 
hellmansam

hellmansam

Likes Dirt
Well I must not be using my brakes hard enough to find the shortcomings of XT with stock pads. Bought new from Torpedo 7 a couple of months ago, I reckon they are very good. Not feeling the on/off aspect at all, I'm 104kg, on a 29er HT.
 
Staunch

Staunch

Eats Squid
I have literally never understood people who complain about Shimano brakes being 'on/off'. If the power is that problematic, just don't pull as hard. I know that coming from riding SRAM brakes people are probably used to having to forcefully pull the lever to slow down, but having a lever you can simply feather reduces arm pump dramatically. Your fine motor control can't be that bad that you're either not braking, or you're completely clamping your finger onto the lever

This is coming from a background of riding multiple generations of Codes, Guides, Elixirs, XTs, and Saints. I'm not saying all SRAM brakes are trash, but in general all it takes a slight change in technique that'll keep your arms feeling fresh for longer.
 
hellmansam

hellmansam

Likes Dirt
[QUOTE="Staunch, post: 3219822 If the power is that problematic, just don't pull as hard. .[/QUOTE]
this ^
I’m often riding on WA’s infamous pea gravel which demands fine control of the front brake to avoid locking the front wheel, and am able to do that with one finger. The only time I have trouble is when Carpal Tunnel symptoms kick in on my left hand and I have trouble finding the lever
 
Haakon

Haakon

veni, vidi, volanti
I ran XT for some years. Never had a reason to hate it, and still love the roadie version.

But with the Guides I certainly enjoyed a different approach to engineering - maybe mushier, maybe less powerful. Maybe. Less grabby and easier to balance on trickier ground.

Both are good. But different.

I’m about at the point where I’ll try the new 4 pot XTs though :)
 
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