Finally all the snow of the last couple of weeks has melted off the trails and I got the chance to go for a good ride with the new front Avid mech. brake. I have to say I was a bit concerned before the ride that it was going to be noisy like it was the few times I rode around the block after the install. Fortunately, I had nothing to worry about, it was as quiet as could be.
The ride I did was a three mile climb on rocky single track followed by an even rockier 2 mile loop at the top and then back down the way I came up. I wasn't overly impressed with the performance at first, but I expected there would be at least a little break-in period. In the begining, the lever modulation and feel was OK but the power was no better than my old xtr v-brakes if not worse. But twice on the downhill I had to really lay on the brakes hard coming into tight switchbacks and the Avid responded nicely, especially the second time. By the end of the downhill I would have to say the Avid is definately stronger than my old xtr brake. It sure was nice to be able to ride through a couple of mud bogs and a stream crossing without worrying about compromised breaking. I think I'm going to like the Avid alot.
Thanks for the install advice guys. An other happy customer
