Brakes

[jackstraw]

We've discussed this in the expert thread but it's hard to find old specific posts.

As I mentioned in that thread my Mavens failed (completely!) on my first ride. Reading and watching reviews it appears to be pretty common. Speaking with an industry guy yesterday he mentioned he's had zero issues with them, but his friend had a complete failure similar to mine.

I've always been with Shimano brakes and a SRAM drive train.

So I'm thinking about going with the Saints to replace the Mavens. I guess one reason I like the Shimano is the ease of bleeds and the mineral oil. Yeah, it probably overheats quicker than DOT, but I haven't run into an issue yet.

I'd like to try a TRP or maybe Hopes. Idk, sometimes it's just nice to be comfortable with what you know.

[zion zig zag]

I have had TRP Trail EVO's for 3(?) seasons now and they have been awesome. Super good modulation and power, easy mineral oil shimano type bleeds. I did have to replace the stock levers with aftermarket from Freedom Coast, but I think the newer TRP's come with a better lever.

[jackstraw]

Yeah, the modulation is the draw to TRP for me. I've heard good things.

[toast2266]

I've switched all of my bikes to Hayes Dominions. Great power and modulation, and the best feeling lever I've tried. They're DOT fluid, but I'm not particularly picky about what's inside my brakes. I can make a compelling argument for DOT or mineral. Once it's in there, I can't tell a difference.

Seems likely that Shimano will be releasing new Saints in the foreseeable future (although that could really be any time between now and 2030). New ones might be awesome and/or old ones might be cheap.

[jackstraw]

Yeah, I was wondering if the Saints were ready for an update. Sometimes knowing what you're getting with the old is safer than the unknown latest and greatest. -see Mavens 😁

And the Hayes are another one I've heard good things.

There is something to be said for having the same brakes on all your bikes. Not just feel, but maintenance purposes also.

[XXX-er]

I got no issue with DOT or mineral the bleeds seem to work on Guides but they also worked on Shimano, if you are gona do a bleed and get fluid everywhere why bleed half the brake I could could never understand , there are 10 pages of how to bleed each on youtube so watch a couple and pick one I kinda went with the guy from down under with the hair like lyle lovett
yeah there is a redundancey running the same of any thing if you get a brake down ( pun intended) just swap parts. posting on this new form is wieerd

I have just run whatever came on the bike

[N1CK.]

I used Saints for 15+ years, on every bike. Loved them, aside from well-documented bite point issues as they age. I'd be interested in trying their new xt/xtr Mx220 series of brakes.
Moved to TRP Dhr-Evo, LOVED those too, strong as hell, reliable, but some ergonomic issues that could be improved. All said, they're killer for most riders.
I sell Radic Kaha brakes, easily the best brakes I've ever used. ( https://www.radicperformance.com/store-brakes ) not cheapest nor the most expensive, massive power, highly adjustable.

[El Chupacabra]

I'm biased, I like Shimano brakes. Over the years I've tried some other brands, occasionally something comes along that's supposedly much better, and inevitably it isn't.

So...

Shimano 4-piston brakes are awesome. Pick any set, they're all great. I have Saint, Zee, and SLX, and they're all basically the same functionally. The ones newer than Saint have different bar clamps - - so whether that matters to you, that is a difference. They feel the same to me.

Wandering bite point has not been an issue for me. I dunno, maybe I'm the only one who can get a good bleed? 😛

[jackstraw]

Just got my Mavens back from the factory. They feel better than they initially did...so that's good. As Toast mentioned, the shop did also, maybe wait if I was to upgrade to Saints as they may be changing. He thought the new XTR's are close to as strong as the old Saints. He also mentioned how moto tech is creeping into the MTB world with brakes, so it's like a bigger thing now. I suppose eebs have pushed that forward.

[smmokan]

I had TRPs for a couple of years and thought they were powerful... until I used Mavens. Now I have them on all my bikes, including my Epic Evo.

But to be fair, I haven't had any real issues with mine (three personal bikes with Silvers or Ultimates, plus ~12 demos with Bronze).

[jackstraw]

^thats good to hear. Mine are the bottom tier bronze...which I never like as I hate bottom tier shit for my gear...and it's going to take a bit for me to trust these brakes, if ever, which will hinder my rides.

[summit]

TRP on my Relay is aaaaamazing. Power power power and enough modulation

Spire has shiguras love it. 4pot front 2 rear xt levers. More power than either thw original xt or mt with more reliability and only a little modulation loss.

[mildbill.]

Hayes are the truth. Have on both muscle and ebike. 250lbs.

Require super light lever input (which is a big thing once you try it - less hand fatigue and can ride looser and more accurate if that makes sense - night and day compared to the shimano 4-pots that came on the ebike).

Super consisitent (like 5 years and I can count the one time they felt odd-level consistent) with no wandering bite point.

Work best with MTX gold.

[jamal]

What specifically is failing with the mavens?


We have seen a ton of shimano calipers leak past the piston seals, brand new out of the box. Pretty much every new mtb with 4-pots for the last 2+ years that has come through the shop has needed the calipers replaced. Last week we replaced a leaking caliper on a 6mo old bike than had already been warrantied. One of the mechanics recently got a top fuel with the new xt brakes and those calipers leaked too. So, yeah, I would not trust any shimano brakes at this point. They seem to be doing a good job at ignoring it and pretending it's not an issue just like with the cranks.

Rode a hei hei with the new motives and was pleasantly surprised at how they worked, even being the "bronze" version. But to be fair my mtbs have guides and levels so it's not a high bar.

[jackstraw]

I never spoke with the mechanic who worked on my brakes, so I don't know what they did. The guy who gave me the bike assumed they did a bleed and possibly a caliper massage. I've ridden it twice since and they're working fine.
Possibly is was a shit bleed to begin with, but they were working fine and then "bang" right to the bars and no brake at all. Never had that happen before.