Education We Like to Ride Bicycles

I actually forgot I have some Tioga DHs in the garage so ill see about lobbing the lovely wide 2.6" rear on for now. I'll bear those in mind though the look pretty good

 

Just to keep myself active in this thread I thought I'd tell you all of the nice thing that happened to me yesterday.

I was at work and feeling a bit under the weather (headache, lack of sleep ect.) when this old dear walks in with several bin liners. Straight away I think she's been conned by her grandson to carry something down to get fixed and as usual pay for it.

She tells me how her son has moved into a flat and has found bike parts in the cupboard and she would like me to have / use them rather than throw them in the bin. I take them off her, say thank you, offer her a few quid but quickly move onto other customers.

When I open the bags it's a basic wheel so I'm rather disappointed, then a pair of Alex rims on disc DR Swiss hubs which makes it a bit better, then I pull out a pair of Manitou Nixon forks.

Jackpot.

 

Oh man you lucky ducky! I wish someone would give me some lovely 160mm forks! Have you put them to good use?

 

Hi everyone, ive been out of the bike loop for a while and i would appreciate some advice!

I would like to upgrade the Avid Juicy 3s on my bike. I noticed that they leak a little oil around the levers, and that although they are good enough they are not the best at stopping.

They will be 3 years old this summer so have done me well.

Can anyone suggest an upgrade to them that wont break the bank? The bike is a 2010 Carrera Fury.

Budget is around the £100 mark but would go higher if needed.

 

I like my Shimano SLX brakes, about £120 the pair from Rose bikes in Germany.

If you're going to want them fitted I'd suggest going into to your lbs and asking what they've got. Its a bear of a job with out a work stand and turning up with parts is are sure way to get on the mechanics bad side but they'll probably fit them for less if they also supply them.

 

I have shimano SLX brakes on my XC bike and I like them alot. Shimano are easy to fit though as they come pre-filled and bled, you literally just have to bolt them onto your frame/forks and put the levers on your handlebars.

 

Not if you get it cheap from Germany, they need to be swapped over unless you can get used to the front brake being on the left hand.

 

What Mountain Bike magazine have a brake mega group test this month. The winner was the Magura MT4 - £140 with the Shimano SLX M675 - £135 in second place. The SRAM Elixir 5 - £113 got a good write up too.

 

You're the second person today to talk of magic cheap brakes from germany - I need to know this source!

 

If you aren't totally set on shiny new brakes I'd be tempted to buy new reservoir/bladders for your current brakes, should be about £30 last time I looked (mine are doing the same thing).

By the way, if they're weeping it's brake fluid, not oil, nasty stuff that you've got to keep well away from nice painted surfaces and skin!

 

This bit right here should discredit everything ever said in the magazine

Seriously, Elixir's are the single worst brakes that have ever been made, ever. Minimal clearance, spongy feel, constant need to bleed them, difficult to bleed (typically takes multiple attempts). Bloody rubbish brakes and should be avoided at all costs - especially the higher end units.

Other than that though, go with Shimano. The SLX's are absolutely amazing, but if you're on a budget it is hard to go wrong with any model on offer from Shimano. One thing to keep in mind is that rotors and adaptors are sold separately from the brakes themselves and it would absolutely be a good idea to get Shimano rotors (your existing ones will work, but not well), and that the stock hose lengths will be quite long, more than likely requiring some shortening. Your LBS will be able to do this without much issue while fitting them, unless you want to give it a shot yourself (assuming you have the tools).

 

Shimano also use lovely mineral oil in their brakes, which makes bleeding them or taking apart, filling and bleeding alot easier.

 

Don't know if I would say easier, as it's still a fluid you don't want to get in your eyes, just that while bleeding a brake with mineral oil you don't have to worry about the fluid stripping the paint off everything in the room and giving your mum cancer.

 

O RLY? That I didn't know.

Seems wrong to use anything other than brake fluid for disc brakes though...

 

Keep in mind that the mineral oil used in disk brakes isn't the same as what you'd use in the kitchen - it is formulated differently to cope with the harsh conditions it faces in a brake. Though it must be said: DOT fluid is functionally a better fluid to use in brakes than mineral oil for a great number of reasons, though manufacturers these days easily design around the limitations imposed by mineral oil simply because, for a home mechanic, DOT isn't something you really want to be around.

Currently Shimano, Tektro and Magura all use mineral oil exclusively while most other manufacturers use either DOT 4 or 5.1.

 

Also the cheapy Clarks ones use it DOT as well, i picked up a Front S2 caliper and disc for my commuter. I never expected anything amazing but they are surprisingly good for £45, and you get a dirty great 203mm disc

 

shimano m596 are supposed to be great value at £80. theyre what I plan to get when I get the money together

 

Thanks for the advice lads. Really helpful. I forgot to say that the main use is XC but im supposed to be taking it to afan this year with some mates so I want them to be up to the task.

I will deffo require them to be fitted by someone, i dont have time to become a bike expert all over again lol. Too many hobbies already!

I hadnt thought of needing new disc rotors though.... Might have to factor those in.

For me, if i can get a new set fitted including rotors for sub £150 il be happy.

 

The review will not appear online until next month but they do say "Last years revamp means none of the bleeding issues of the original Elixirs..."

 

http://www.rosebikes.co.uk/products...pe=list&count=16&order=aprice#anchor_products

Enjoy.