Mountain Biking - Mechanical Disc Brakes

Which mechanical disc brakes do you guys all prefer?
Me personally
Hayes HMX-2
Avid BB-7
Avid BB-5(not much different besides pads and the adjustion knob)
The rest all basically suck
My own personal opinion

(out of what i hear on this forum/trails/shops) the bb7s are one of the best peforming mechs you can get.

Avid BB-7
Avid BB-5

I'm an AVID homer, I have the BB5's but want the BB7's. BB7 > BB5, I <heart> AVID! OK now I got all the sillyness out of the way.

Just replaced the Shimano mechanical brakes that came on my bake with Avid BB7 and consider them to be far superiour.

Great brakes.

I just bougth a set of avid bb7's my first discs on ebay 135.00 plus shipping.

I have the Hayes Mx-2 that came with the bike. They do the job, but they don't blow me away or anything. If I upgrade it will be to Avid BB7.

bb7
easy to adjust, powerfull enough, maintenance free.

Be sure to mate them with some good levers/cables. makes all the difference.

avid bb7 no question.
best power, best modulation, best adjustability.
bb5s would be good budget brakes.

i'd prefer a good v-brake over all the others..

what about the new IRD Dual Bangers?

they're the only mech that moves both pads, and they look sweet, and all the reviews suggest that they are.

BB7 all the way

I have the Hayes Mx-2 that came with the bike. They do the job, but they don't blow me away or anything. If I upgrade it will be to Avid BB7.

MX-2 too.

They're cheap OEM brakes. They're not worth purchasing.

At some point I will be upgrading the front to a Juicy 7 or BB7. I don't care about the back as long as it doesn't drag. I don't use it that much anymore.

I have Hayes MX-2's. I just replaced the rear pads yesterday. They still perform good, but i'm still looking for the better brakes....the Avid BB7's.

Which mechanical disc brakes do you guys all prefer?
Me personally
Hayes HMX-2
Avid BB-7
Avid BB-5(not much different besides pads and the adjustion knob)
The rest all basically suck
My own personal opinion
First off why didn't you search?
http://img245.echo.cx/img245/9869/search7ro.gif
This has only been covered to DEATH.
Secondly the Hayes HMX-2's SUCK in comparison to the Avid BB7's.

Just having disc brakes puts your bike in a completely different league as opposed to pads. Ill take and disc brakes, as long as they work.

Just having disc brakes puts your bike in a completely different league as opposed to pads. Ill take and disc brakes, as long as they work.

I'd take quality v-brakes over low end discs any day.

Just having disc brakes puts your bike in a completely different league as opposed to pads. Ill take and disc brakes, as long as they work.

Funny, I have had several mech discs and would take regular v's any day. Most mechs still suck especially the hayes ones. My gf's techro's (whatever they are) worked signifigantly better.

We've got Avid mechanicals on our tandem, and they work great. I took the Hayes off my Cannondale, as they're kinda crappy, and I can get the V brakes to work about as well.

I originaly had a Hayes MX2 Dh on the front of my bike and a Kooka on the rear - I've since swapped them over, the Kooka is amazing and may give the BB5 a run for its money.

They don't appear to have a website - but you can get them here:
http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Models.aspx?ModelID=7869

I have avid bb7s and they work great. Modulation is good, but not anything to get estatic about. I tried my ride buddy's IRD Dual Bangers with some of those nifty Azonic Cables, and they were amazing. As powerfull as Hayes HFX-9 Brakes, but with much less matinece.

harris

I totally agree with you. I switched back to my old trusty xt v's from some hayes mx2's that sucked in comparison.

i have hayes mx. Yep there mediocre, but im lookin at the bb5/7 now. How much do they run for?

I ride bb5s, I couldn't really tell the difference in breaking with the BB7s, they are just easier to adjust. the hayes mechs are junk. i would take quality v's over them.

Meh, all Ive had from v brakes are ****ty stopping power. Also they ware down fast, and I allways have to readjust em. For the most part, Id take any disk brakes over v brakes. Unless maybe your comparing the ****tiest disc brakes vs. the best v brakes.

I'd take quality v-brakes over low end discs any day.

Even rainy days.

I got caught out in the rain today. And I was VERY happy that I had my crappy MX-2s instead of rim brakes.

I have avid bb7s and they work great. Modulation is good, but not anything to get estatic about. I tried my ride buddy's IRD Dual Bangers with some of those nifty Azonic Cables, and they were amazing. As powerfull as Hayes HFX-9 Brakes, but with much less matinece.

harris Problem with the dual bangers is that there are more moving parts that can break.

Meh, all Ive had from v brakes are ****ty stopping power. Also they wear down fast, and I always have to readjust em.
If you're not getting decent power out of V's you're doing something wrong. How to fix 'em properly (http://tinyurl.com/b22e4)
I run V's on my commuter and I can lock the FRONT wheel at speed. (Yes, I found this out the hard way)
To be sure, I am a vocal advocate of discs and I do love my Avid BB7's, but in no way can a properly setup V brake be viewed as "****ty"

To be sure, I am a vocal advocate of discs and I do love my Avid BB7's, but in no way can a properly setup V brake be viewed as "****ty"

Unless it says Tektro or Promax, then you're on your own.

Unless it says Tektro or Promax, then you're on your own.
In truth, I'd rather have one of those then the stamped pot metal CRAP "V-brakes" they stick on X-mart bikes.

I was referring to brakes. You are referring to variable friction devices.

variable friction devices.
You should do the marketing for X-mart.
:lol:

I was referring to brakes. You are referring to variable friction devices.

not all tektro v's suck.

tektro quartz. gunn-rita dahle uses them.

Even rainy days.

I got caught out in the rain today. And I was VERY happy that I had my crappy MX-2s instead of rim brakes.

I must agree. I stuck with rim brakes on all my rides until this summer. Now I have 2 bikes rim brakes and two with discs.

the rim brake in the wet is a dangerous thing.

I am currently switching over to all front disc in order to feel comfortable in all conditions.

I don't find rim brakes in wet conditions that bad. Obviously braking characteristics are different and you have to modify your braking technique accordingly. It was pretty wet here this summer; a lot wetter than normal. Plus I have a lot of creek crossings on my regular ride, and my only braking issue was that the pads wear out much faster when they are wet/muddy. And that is including going down some pretty steep descents into the valley. Other than that, I haven't had any issues.

I will add a follow up.

I think my main problem now is that since I have fronts discs on some bike and not on other, I expect the same amount of braking force on the v's as on the discs in XC conditions. When its dry I have no problems. When its wet I sometimes forget to add addtional stopping time to my braking efforts.
Before this summer, I never thought the V- brakes were short on stopping power wet or dry.

Also, I got tired of cleaning the brake soup / sludge off the rims after wet rides . and like never said, the quick wearing pads when its wet.

I think my main problem now is that since I have fronts discs on some bike and not on other, I expect the same amount of braking force on the v's as on the discs in XC conditions. When its dry I have no problems. When its wet I sometimes forget to add addtional stopping time to my braking efforts.
Before this summer, I never thought the V- brakes were short on stopping power wet or dry.



Yeah, I've only ever really used V-brakes. My only regular experience with discs has been with my recently finished Major Jake (so about a week!). It has a Hayes HMX-1 up front and I haven't been overly impressed with it. I bet if I rode a bike with a quality disc setup for a while, I probably wouldn't want to go back to V-brakes.

I must agree. I stuck with rim brakes on all my rides until this summer. Now I have 2 bikes rim brakes and two with discs.

the rim brake in the wet is a dangerous thing.

I am currently switching over to all front disc in order to feel comfortable in all conditions.

And here is another truth of the matter. A good biker doesn't really need disc brakes on the rear. If you're upgrading, disc on the front is all you will need.

not all tektro v's suck.

tektro quartz. gunn-rita dahle uses them.

She probably runs them because she has to. Given her racing record, I doubt she ever uses them. :D

I've only owned Hayes disc brakes: HFX-9 DH w/8" rotors, and the MX-1's with 8" rotors. I can only barely tell any difference between the two in stopping power, BUT the mechanical's are FAR easier to keep-up.

Maybe I don't know what I'm missing, huh?

I've had the special ability to make even X-Mart brakes work great.

My bike has ProMax V-brakes on the rear, discs on the front. They work supurbly. Though I did put Kool Stop MTB brake pads on the V's.

As powerfull as Hayes HFX-9 Brakes, but with much less matinece.

Hmm. I've had to do exactly zero maintenance (other than occasionally truing the rotors) since I put my HFX-9's on a few months ago. What have you had to do?