Mechanical Disc Brakes vs. Hydraulic

[Drago]

And I, in my typical long winded to the point of doubtless boring you to sleep are you still awake and reading this fashion, disagreed with the ''fit and forget' phrase, especially with respect to systems using DOT brake fluid.

 

[Cubist]

I meant the bit about Shimanos. I recommended Deores, and would tell anyone to slam their genitalia in cupboard doors before fitting Avids, I have SLX on the Cotic and XT on the Canyon, and ask myself why anyone else would ever consider making or selling Disc brakes with competition like that.

The current Hope Tech M4 on my lad's Ragley need a periodic faff and fettle, but Hope ownership comes with a price. I suppose I can live with that for the looks and function.

I'm tickled to see that the cost of Avid BB7s are the same as Deores by the time you get them from Germany and fit rotors, but cannot see why anyone would fear hydraulics so much that they would choose BB7 over Deore

 

[Andy_R]

I don't "fear" hydraulics, it's just personal experience. If something goes wrong on a long ride/tour, I can fix it there and then with my BB7s. Nowadays I'm a great believer in "Keep it simple, stupid"

 

[Cubist]

Fair enough I suppose, although I reckon at a push a small bottle of fluid and a spare hose would be a good backstop on a wilderness tour.

 

[byegad]

BB7s are great, however avoid BB5s like the plague. How one firm can make disc brakes so different in performance and ease of adjustment is beyond me.

As to adjustment intervals... After 1000 on BB5s with the oads worn out and adjustment needed far too frequently I swapped to BB7 and 5000 miles later I've adjusted the BB7s once and they still have plenty of pad left. Same trike, same roder, same roads and conditions. BB7s rock!

 

[RiflemanSmith]

My bikes always get maintained upside down and I've never had an air issue. It's the first time I've heard of it. As for bleeding hydro brakes, dead easy....take the lid off the reservoir, top up the fluid if needed, cable tie the lever back overnight....job done.

This.
I ride round my site at work when locking up, I lay my bike down on it's side at least 15 times a day/night, I always put my bike upside down to work on and clean and I do that a couple of times a month.
I have had no issues with air in the system.

 

[Drago]

I meant the bit about Shimanos. I recommended Deores, and would tell anyone to slam their genitalia in cupboard doors before fitting Avids,

Roger that Bro! I got Hope M4 multi-piston jobs on the commuter, and while they look bling and stop like a good 'un they are a maintenance nightmare.

 

[Dan151]

I have avid elixir brakes and they do the job for me even hammering down trails. Bit of a chew on to bleed but stop me well enough of the dirt

 

[potsy]

BB7s are great, however avoid BB5s like the plague. How one firm can make disc brakes so different in performance and ease of adjustment is beyond me.

As to adjustment intervals... After 1000 on BB5s with the oads worn out and adjustment needed far too frequently I swapped to BB7 and 5000 miles later I've adjusted the BB7s once and they still have plenty of pad left. Same trike, same roder, same roads and conditions. BB7s rock!

Interesting stuff byegad, was there a performance increase too or just the decrease in faff levels?
It's a swap I'm thinking about on my CX bike.

 

[byegad]

A performance difference is there. I feel it more from the reduced hand pressure needed for a given deceleration. This, I feel, is because the pads are substantially larger.