Replacing Disc Brakes - how to get right ones?
Discussion
I have a Scott Reflex 20 hard tail MTB which came with Avid Juicy 3 hydraulic disc brakes.
The bike is about 4 years old and both the lever master cylinders leak and despite buying and fitting the replacement seal kit - still leak.
My question is, how do I know what brake sets I can buy to replace them - obviously disc size and calliper mounting spigots/lugs are important to ensure they fit. The levers will need to be replaced too due to them being integral to the leaky reservoir.
What would be a good replacement? Should I stick with hydraulic or go with cable operated instead?
Thanks in advance
The bike is about 4 years old and both the lever master cylinders leak and despite buying and fitting the replacement seal kit - still leak.
My question is, how do I know what brake sets I can buy to replace them - obviously disc size and calliper mounting spigots/lugs are important to ensure they fit. The levers will need to be replaced too due to them being integral to the leaky reservoir.
What would be a good replacement? Should I stick with hydraulic or go with cable operated instead?
Thanks in advance
Shimanos latest Deore offering is fantastic. Easy to shorten hoses and also you should be able to use the existing brackets to the brakes you have, as the brackets used are designed for the discs on the bike. You will possibly have to jiggle around a few washers, but the avids come with half moon ones to adjust them in line with the discs. Places to look for deals are Chain Reaction, Merlins or Ribbles. Plenty of people here have retro fitted them and found they work amazingly well for the money.
I bought a set of Deore brakes (from Ribble) this year, to replace a set of Tektro cable operated discs which had given up the ghost.
A doddle to fit, they arrived with an adapter bracket (unused) to suit a 180mm front rotor, and I used the existing brackets, and rotors (both 160mm) when fitting mine. The fitting process was an absolute doddle. They're mineral oil instead of corrosive 'Dot' fluid, come ready bled, with pads fitted. It was a simple case of routing the hydraulic hoses, then unbolting the old levers and calipers from the frame, and bolting on the new stuff. The hardest part of the job was persuading the old grips off the bars to remove the old levers, but they were worn out anyway so I replaced them with lock-on grips as part of the same job.
Now. I imagine that there are subtle differences further up the Shimano groupset 'tree', but these brakes are fabulous, and all I could really want. I thought mechanical discs were way better than rim brakes, but the Tektro cable discs that GT fitted when they built the bike are smashed out of the park by the Deores. Bedding in was quick, and performance has been flawless since, aside from a little rubbing of the front pads which was solved by me remembering to tighten the caliper retaining nuts properly (
- my mistake!). They have, for about 350 miles, been a truly 'fit and forget' item. No further tweaking or adjustment has been required, and they work well from cold, and performance doesn't seem to fall away even when you work them hard, and get some heat into them.
A doddle to fit, they arrived with an adapter bracket (unused) to suit a 180mm front rotor, and I used the existing brackets, and rotors (both 160mm) when fitting mine. The fitting process was an absolute doddle. They're mineral oil instead of corrosive 'Dot' fluid, come ready bled, with pads fitted. It was a simple case of routing the hydraulic hoses, then unbolting the old levers and calipers from the frame, and bolting on the new stuff. The hardest part of the job was persuading the old grips off the bars to remove the old levers, but they were worn out anyway so I replaced them with lock-on grips as part of the same job.
Now. I imagine that there are subtle differences further up the Shimano groupset 'tree', but these brakes are fabulous, and all I could really want. I thought mechanical discs were way better than rim brakes, but the Tektro cable discs that GT fitted when they built the bike are smashed out of the park by the Deores. Bedding in was quick, and performance has been flawless since, aside from a little rubbing of the front pads which was solved by me remembering to tighten the caliper retaining nuts properly (
- my mistake!). They have, for about 350 miles, been a truly 'fit and forget' item. No further tweaking or adjustment has been required, and they work well from cold, and performance doesn't seem to fall away even when you work them hard, and get some heat into them.Another vote for Deore's.
I recently changed from Avid Elixir 5's as they needed a rebuild and I managed to buy a set of Deore's from CRC for not much more than the cost of rebuilding!
They come bled up and ready to use, but they also include the bits you need to shorten the hoses if needs be - and there's a technique to do this without bleeding which worked well for me (just google it).
I also changed my discs for bigger items so needed new mounts, but you should get away with the ones you have now if you're retaining the existing discs.
I recently changed from Avid Elixir 5's as they needed a rebuild and I managed to buy a set of Deore's from CRC for not much more than the cost of rebuilding!
They come bled up and ready to use, but they also include the bits you need to shorten the hoses if needs be - and there's a technique to do this without bleeding which worked well for me (just google it).
I also changed my discs for bigger items so needed new mounts, but you should get away with the ones you have now if you're retaining the existing discs.
Gassing Station | Pedal Powered | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff