Mountain Biking - Shimano XTR vs. XT Hydraulic Brakes

A very knowledgable bike builder gave me some interesting tips on the Shimano hydraulic brakes. Since the XTR components are designed to be as light as possible, the dual action controls hold less brake fluid, the cable/hoses are smaller ID, and the calipers have smaller pistons, which results in less braking performance. He suggested using the XT brakes if you are a very aggressive rider or a heavy rider and if you are doing a lot of downhill stuff because the XT brakes have a larger oil capacity and larger pistons which will produce more braking power.

I am not sure I would ever experience the difference in braking power since I am just getting back into biking and it will be some time before I am hitting the steeper slopes.

The XT stuff works great, likely as well as the Avid Juicy stuff. XTR is designed for XC racers...

i dont kno a pro/elite, expert that would touch hydro disc brakes for racing....

Well, "designed for" and "used by" are not necessarily the same thing...

i dont kno a pro/elite, expert that would touch hydro disc brakes for racing....


Umm... what?

i dont kno a pro/elite, expert that would touch hydro disc brakes for racing....

I assume you are referring to xc racing only?

I don't know any dhillers who wouldn't use hydros. I know several xc wc riders who use hydros. And just from watching I would say 50% of the riders in the 24hour wc were using hydros. At least from what I could see, it was pretty dark.

Well, if I was XC racing in the desert I wouldn't use them either.

But the spring races in Ontario can result in so much mud getting on the wheels that they lock up. Discs give you a bit more room to roll, and that alone wins or loses the race. At least that was my rational for buying them. Most guys are on discs these days.. I considered myself a bit of a hold-out.

XT is good enuff, XTR is just for show off and looks and its double the price and its prolly 1% lighter