hydraulic to be replaced by mechanical...

[mikehorne]

im in a predicament..... I have a TREK 4900 1035u035 2006 with the above brakes, which for the first few years were fine... as the bike is stored in the shed and during cold weather I always have problems with the hydraulics leaking this happens every year and I fed up of chucking money at this brake system?

I do mostly off road with no serious mountain stuff just forest tracks etc... with the family, I've seen a nice Carrera in Halfords but is worth selling the Trek and getting new bike (with mechanical brakes not v brakes) or swapping out the Hayes for something fresher.... my heart wants the Carrera but my bank balance says the cheaper upgrade is the way to go.

can someone shed some light and help me choose the right how easy is it to swap hydraulic for mechanical?

 

[lpretro1]

Those old Hayes brakes often did that - there is a tiny little push fit cap on the bleed port which pops out with alarming ease! So yep bin them get a cheap set of Shimano hydraulics. The only difficulty you might have will be shortening the hoses -when you do that and you'll need to cut the hose straight & very cleanly so a very sharp cutting tool (Plastic plumbing pipe cutters do a good job!)

 

[keithmac]

My last Carrera MTB had Shimano Hydraulic disc brakes and the were faultless, would deffinitely have another bike with them fitted!.

 

[Drago]

Last year had to replace one of my SLX levers, internal failure, just wouldn't bleed. Hydraulic systems are lovely and reliable, until they break.

There are some effective mechanical systems out there. They don't have the cachet or the smooth modulation of a decent hydraulic set up, but the better mechanical systems function perfectly well and aren't terribly expensive. Wouldn't cost a lot to replace them.