Originally Posted by
AusTexMurf
Right off the bat, don't have bb7's myself.
Do run AP Racing hydraulics, Juicy7's, and Magura hydraulic rim brakes, though.
The advantage to the bb7's ?
Two points to adjust the tow/set. Very adjustable, in mechanical disc brake world.
Cable pull. No hydraulics or lines to deal with. Sticky pistons, etc.
More than enough stopping power for the real world.
Pads are cheap and easy to find at any LBS.
My most expensive disc brakes, AP Racing, are the least adjustable and most prone to drag.
Thought of switching them to bb7's, actually.
I owned a juicy and it had the same pads as my now retired bb7. And I did a little happy dance when I retired those pieces of junk.
I never adjust my hydraulic disc brakes.
Never. I simply pop out the old pads, push back the calipers, pop in a new pair of pads, and squeeze the brake levers. 2 minutes and done. When I owned bb7s I had to constantly adjust the two little knobbies. Bb7s also warped my rotors over time.
And it blows me away that someone would talk about cables as an advantage. Having to change brake cables is a pain -- especially if you have internal routing. I never change hydraulic fluid on my brakes. Mineral oil is inert, heat resistant, and I figure I'll probably upgrade in 5-7 years anyways.
I buy semi-metallic pads for $8-10 a piece online but just about every bike store carries new and old shimano deore/lx/slx/xt/xtr pads.
I've never heard of ap racing brakes for a non-motorised vehicle.