Newfangled disc brakes

Well, now that the ruckus has quieted and the dust be clearin', I'm
thinking that the manufacturers have worked the kinks out of them disc
brakes for bicycles.

I'm a 215lb x-country galoot, riding an 80mm (gasp!) 2003 Marzocchi MX
fork it'll be attaching itself to.

I'm looking at an ought six Avid BB7 with some FR-5 levers.

Horror stories? Heaping superlatives? I rode a test bike with some Avid
mechanicals a year ago and found the experience delightful. Plus
finding LBS's with pads for my old Magura RaceLines isn't getting
easier.

/s

Scott Gordo wrote:
Well, now that the ruckus has quieted and the dust be clearin', I'm
thinking that the manufacturers have worked the kinks out of them disc
brakes for bicycles.

I'm a 215lb x-country galoot, riding an 80mm (gasp!) 2003 Marzocchi MX
fork it'll be attaching itself to.

I'm looking at an ought six Avid BB7 with some FR-5 levers.

Horror stories? Heaping superlatives? I rode a test bike with some Avid
mechanicals a year ago and found the experience delightful. Plus
finding LBS's with pads for my old Magura RaceLines isn't getting
easier.

/s


Still using them on my Racer-X after three years. Never a problem other
than the occasional pad replacement. Hydros feel feel better, but these
suckers last and last and are easy to adjust. And they don't get all
f'ed up when you ship them. Last time I shipped a hydro equipped rig,
the front bleed screw came loose and left me with a non working brake
and a big mess to clean up.

Racer-X is neatly packed in it's box and off to Phoenix tomorrow.

Ya hear that GeeDub????? Next Friday 'bro.



--
o-o-o-o Ride-A-Lot o-o-o-o
www.schnauzers.ws

"Scott Gordo" wrote in message
oups.com...
Well, now that the ruckus has quieted and the dust be clearin', I'm
thinking that the manufacturers have worked the kinks out of them disc
brakes for bicycles.

I'm a 215lb x-country galoot, riding an 80mm (gasp!) 2003 Marzocchi MX
fork it'll be attaching itself to.

I'm looking at an ought six Avid BB7 with some FR-5 levers.

Horror stories? Heaping superlatives? I rode a test bike with some Avid
mechanicals a year ago and found the experience delightful. Plus
finding LBS's with pads for my old Magura RaceLines isn't getting
easier.


Well, after having had enough with my rear Avid Juicy fading immediately
after multiple attempts by me to bleed them and with one trip to the shop so
far I bought some BB7's to replace the rears before my last ride with the
Freak. They were incredibly quick and easy to set up, and we did a long
sustained 4000ft drop with zero problems.

I'd highly recommend getting some Speed Dials because it really helps to
adjust them to the touchiness that you prefer. With the speed dial I was
able to almost exactly match the feel of my front Avid Juicy (which I've
never had a problem with).

I'm going revisit the rear Juicys but only when I have some time to test
before the next descent with the Freak. It was nice being able to keep him
and the other Bill in sight, at least on the downhills, this ride.

Greg

Got the same fork/brake setup on my Klein XC, and also a set on my wife's
Stumpjumper. You've got a few pounds on us, but I doubt stopping power will
be much of an issue.

Some squeal issues after a good dustbath, but nothing a good rinse and
adjustment wouldn't cure.

"Scott Gordo" wrote in message
oups.com...
Well, now that the ruckus has quieted and the dust be clearin', I'm
thinking that the manufacturers have worked the kinks out of them disc
brakes for bicycles.

I'm a 215lb x-country galoot, riding an 80mm (gasp!) 2003 Marzocchi MX
fork it'll be attaching itself to.

I'm looking at an ought six Avid BB7 with some FR-5 levers.

Horror stories? Heaping superlatives? I rode a test bike with some Avid
mechanicals a year ago and found the experience delightful. Plus
finding LBS's with pads for my old Magura RaceLines isn't getting
easier.

/s

"Scott Gordo" wrote in message
oups.com...
Well, now that the ruckus has quieted and the dust be clearin', I'm
thinking that the manufacturers have worked the kinks out of them disc
brakes for bicycles.

I'm a 215lb x-country galoot, riding an 80mm (gasp!) 2003 Marzocchi MX
fork it'll be attaching itself to.

I'm looking at an ought six Avid BB7 with some FR-5 levers.

Like others have mentioned, the brakes work great. I'm running them on my
Heckler and ran them on my Locomoto for three years before that. I echo the
recommendation for the Speed Dial levers and would also suggest that at 215
you look at the 185mm disc up front. If you're going to run them in the
rear, I'd go with a full housing run from lever to brake.

Glenn D.

Scott Gordo wrote:
Well, now that the ruckus has quieted and the dust be clearin', I'm
thinking that the manufacturers have worked the kinks out of them disc
brakes for bicycles.

I'm a 215lb x-country galoot, riding an 80mm (gasp!) 2003 Marzocchi MX
fork it'll be attaching itself to.

I'm looking at an ought six Avid BB7 with some FR-5 levers.

Horror stories? Heaping superlatives? I rode a test bike with some Avid
mechanicals a year ago and found the experience delightful. Plus
finding LBS's with pads for my old Magura RaceLines isn't getting
easier.

/s


I run the Avid mechanicals without issue and I have no intentions of
replacing them.
My wife's Racer-X came with them as well, but she never really like
them, so I swapped them out to Juicy 7s.
The issue I found with her is that she is not all that aggressive a
rider and very light (110 lbs), and the mechanicals tended to be grabby
for her.
You may want to consider this if you are a featherweight.

--
Craig Brossman, Durango Colorado

Owner/Operator of the Pekingnese Ranch.

In the previous article, Craig Brossman
wrote:
I run the Avid mechanicals without issue and I have no intentions of
replacing them.
My wife's Racer-X came with them as well, but she never really like
them, so I swapped them out to Juicy 7s.
The issue I found with her is that she is not all that aggressive a
rider and very light (110 lbs), and the mechanicals tended to be grabby
for her.
You may want to consider this if you are a featherweight.

I've never had issues with my mechanical V-brakes, other than heating
the rim to the melting point of rubber (not really, but it seemed that
way) on long descents like Moab Rim. I now have Avid Juicy with 6"
rotors (and I'm no featherweight) and I like them a lot, though I
don't love them as much as everyone told me I was going to.

However, I have a riding buddy (also a big-time Clyde) who has
arthritis in his braking fingers and he says the hydraulic brakes have
been an absolute godsend. So, yeah, if you have any grip issues at
all, consider hydraulics.
--
_+_ From the catapult of |If anyone disagrees with any statement I make, I
_|70|___=}- J.D. Baldwin |am quite prepared not only to retract it, but also
\ / |to deny under oath that I ever made it. -T. Lehrer
***~~~~-----------------------------------------------------------------------

Scott Gordo wrote:
Well, now that the ruckus has quieted and the dust be clearin', I'm
thinking that the manufacturers have worked the kinks out of them disc
brakes for bicycles.

I'm a 215lb x-country galoot, riding an 80mm (gasp!) 2003 Marzocchi MX
fork it'll be attaching itself to.

I'm looking at an ought six Avid BB7 with some FR-5 levers.

Horror stories? Heaping superlatives? I rode a test bike with some Avid
mechanicals a year ago and found the experience delightful. Plus
finding LBS's with pads for my old Magura RaceLines isn't getting
easier.

/s


I'm also thinking of these (or one for the front anyway). Looks like I
can still use my XTR V levers. Anyone else run that combo? Any problems?

Matt

Per Craig Brossman:
The issue I found with her is that she is not all that aggressive a
rider and very light (110 lbs), and the mechanicals tended to be grabby
for her.
You may want to consider this if you are a featherweight.

I'm about 220# and went back to my Hope C2 for the front after finding an Avid
mech up there tb too grabby.

Since not that many people complain, I wonder if it's something to do with the
pads?
--
PeteCresswell

MattB wrote:
Scott Gordo wrote:
...
I'm looking at an ought six Avid BB7 with some FR-5 levers.

Horror stories? Heaping superlatives? ...

I'm also thinking of these (or one for the front anyway). Looks like I
can still use my XTR V levers. Anyone else run that combo? Any problems?

That is THE combo. XTR V levers are so sweet--the lovely
shape of Shimano brake levers combined with the ball
bearing silkiness like top-of-the-line Avid levers. And they
have an adjustment that's the equivalent of speed dial.

I ran XT 4-pot hydraulics for several years. They are really
really nice with infinite levels of modulation and power. But
I never liked the fact that hydraulics can need bleeding, that
you are more or less stuck with the lever you have, that you
can't really adjust much about many of them...
and then I saw the mechanics at the shop I work for all using
the bb7s with XTR levers. I tried that setup.

I wound up selling my aging XT hyraulics and now I have
XTR levers and BB7s on both my bikes. Perfect. Perfect.
--
Tom Purvis - Salida, CO
http://arkansasvalley.net/tpurvis/