Raiyn

Wise A2 is. Good the bike must feel or else badly the rider will feel. Agree with him on the Shi**NO's I do not. Better off with v-brakes you are. Strong the Avid's Force is. Weak the Hayes are not.

Justen

Lightyear,
I agree with A2. What it all boils down to when you are buying a bike is which one works the best for you.

I looked at a number of different bikes before I settled on my Brodie Bruzza. It does not have all the top end components ( i.e. Avid disk brakes) but the fit and comfort are top notch for me and I absolutely LOVE riding it. I spent alot of time researching and asking LOTS OF questions - as the other members here can testify too :-)

But, this time investment in finding the right bike worked out well for me.

I test rode this bike and two others several times but kept coming back to the Brodie as it was the most comfortable of the three.

Good luck with your decision Lightyear,

Justen

Raiyn

Pssst.... Justen! Avid mech aren't that expensive compared to Hydros. I only paid about $75 a wheel, and I've seen better deals, Not "top-end" just really good bang-for-the-buck

Justen

Hi Raiyn,

Thanks for the suggestion. I know they are not that much more expensive but so far, I am happy with my Hayes brakes. I am not an extreme MTBiker so am not sure that I would realistically notice the difference between the Avids and the Hayes.

I have already put out all I can afford for this bike so will have to wait before I can do any upgrades. For now, I am just going to go out and enjoy what I have :-)

Justen

Raiyn

My intent Justen was simply to correct the "top-end" comment you made above. That's all. The Hayes are fine brakes. If you'll excuse me I'm going to go take a nap.

Justen

No problem...I didn't mean to come across the wrong way. I just meant that I can't afford to get the Avids and will have to make do with the Hayes.

By the way, I tested them out today - LOTS. A little bit of squeaking but it is mostly gone now and the brakes are WAY more powerful now than they were before...very sharp and so little pressure needed. I LOVE em' !!! :-)

Justen

Lightyear

A2, Master Raiyn, & Justen,

I feel fortunate to have caught up with the three of you. Your advice is right on the money, and I will take it to heart as I research and deliberate my decision.

A2: Your comment (six posts above this one) really hit home. When I stopped and thought about what you wrote, I realized that I need listen to what my body is trying to tell me as I test ride these bikes. The bike that felt the best so far, and was just awsome to ride, was a bike I did not consider seriously the first time I looked at it. The ONLY reason was because I had never heard of this manufacturer.
My research has told me that it is a reputable manufaturer, and the bike has quality written all over it, but I acted disinterested because I figured my "expert" neighbors would say "what the hell did you buy that for!"

The bike is a K2. Ever heard of it?

Justen

Hi Lightyear,

I took a number of bikes for a test ride - I would say about 10-12. Out of those, there were a couple where I knew within minutes of getting out the door that they were not the right fit and returned for another bike to try out. Then, as I narrowed it down, I took my three favorites out for 2-3 test rides each to compare fit, braking, etc. During that time, I also read all the reviews I could find on each of these 3 bikes and asked questions here and elsewhere.

I finally settled on the Brodie Bruzza because it just fit so well. I loved the feel of it, I wanted the disk brakes, the size was right and last but not least, it is a great looking bike ! :-)

I would strongly encourage you to ride as many bikes as you can, narrow it down to 2-3 favorites and then read the reviews on them. Don't worry about what your friends or neighbours say about the bike unless they do alot of MTB'ing themselves and can offer helpful technical advice. It is you who is going to be riding the bike ultimately and you who is spending the money so choose the one that works the best for you.

I have heard of K2 bikes but honestly do not know enough about them to comment. Do a google search on them for k2 bike reviews or something and see what others have to say, but remember when you read the reviews that they are personal opinions. Some people will give a bike 5 stars, others will give the same bike 2 stars.

In the end, it boils down to whether the bike suits your needs, how comfortable it is for you and how it fits within your allotted budget.

I hope this all makes sense - good luck with your choice. You will know when you have the right bike !

Justen

Raiyn

K2 makes a very good product. The LBS that I frequent sells them as well as Specialized. From what I've seen and heard you should have no problem. Which model are you looking at? Perhaps we could look it over and comment on components or suggest upgrades?
As for your "friends" they should be happy that you are looking at a bike in a bike shop instead of X-mart

vortec135

Hi, my name is Travis. I live in Toronto Canada. I just bought a Specialized Hardrock Comp with disc brakes a few days ago because that's about all i could afford wich was around 750$. The disc brakes are 6" mechanicals. They don't stop that well, even comparing to my old V brakes. What can I do in this situation to help increase friction between the pads and the rotor?

Raiyn

Ride the bike for a couple of days to let the pads bed in. If that doesn't help take the bike back to the shop and explain the situation.

vortec135

how tight usually are mech. disc brakes? are they supposed to lock faster than v brakes?

Al.canoe

My wife and I have been using Avid cable actuated disc brakes now for over 2 years. I'm guessing that we easily have a few thousand miles between us. Maintenance has consisted of tweaking the adjuster knobs periodically to adjust for wear (no tools required) and replacing pads (no tools required). Once in a while we'll clean the discs with alcohol.

About a year ago I got a rather expensive new full suspension bike that came with Shimano hydraulic disc brakes. I'm sure they were good, though I wasn't all that impressed in the parking lot. I got the bike shop to buy them back ($140.00). I put on the Avids from my old bike. Nothing beats Avids for low maintenance and good braking. We ride about 6 weeks a year in the N Georgia/ N Carolina mountains and the rest of the time in the grinding N Florida sandy-soil.

Al

Johnny N

G'day just new to all this forum stuff.
I was just reading your comment and thought u might be able to help me I just bought a big jump mountain bike going to get back into riding. My quiry is i wont to tighten the front brakes the lever pulls more than the back and doesn't stop as good as the back, they still work just wanted to know if u can adjust the lever or were the pads are. Don't like to take it to the shop all the time for service like to know what is going on with my bike. Hope u can help .
Thanks

tatfiend 

I have two bikes that came with disc brakes, a Civia Hyland Rohloff and a Swobo Dixon. The Swobo has Avid mechanicals and the Civia has Shimano Alfine hydraulics. The Swobo with Avids came with a BB5 front and BB7 rear. I may upgrade the front to the BB7 though no problems so far.

Shimano claims the Alfine stuff is Ultegra level for commuter bikes. Looks good and no plastic parts noticeable. Based on the rest of the components choice on the bike it might even be true.

I note that the discs on both bikes seem to have better modulation than the rim brakes on my other bikes. Both operate quietly once bedded in. The Avids did squeal slightly as delivered but stopped after a few applications to bed them in.

Also no rim wear with disc brakes which can be a safety advantage if you do not keep a close watch on it, which can be pretty rapid if you ride in muddy conditions. All rim brakes wear the rim which can lead to a nasty accident if the rim fails. If you ride fast in mountains and hills the discs do not heat up the rims either. I remember watching a mountain descent in the TDF some years ago and one rider was badly injured when he had a tubular tire come off the rim during the high speed descent. I would expect that heat buildup softening the glue was at least partly responsible. Similar failures have occured with clinchers too.

The biggest disadvantage of discs I expect for some riders is the added weight but until I lose a lot more I am not going to worry about a pound or so on the bike.

z415

Welcome to the forums.

Please try not to revive old threads such as this 5+ year old one.

I wonder whatever happened to Raiyn...