Avid arch rival V brakes...sorry......
 

Sorry......for all the brake posts ! I hate taking up so much space, but i'm feverishly reading thru a ton of reviews and such and have so many questions......

Anyway, i'm leaning away from discs now because i'm finding there are possibly V brakes that are much more powerful than your average set of V's.

So how about the Avid "Arch Rivals"? I read the reviews and it seems everyone raves about them saying they are the most powerful V's you can get. Some even said they rival some discs. And they are dirt cheap at about $70 a set. Any thoughts on these? (my stumpjumper came with avid SD, which leave my hands sore after a bit of downhill)

Thanks...

Before you do anything adjust the pivot point on your levers. That will reduce the amount of effort required to pull them.

I recently switched from Avid V's to Avid mechanical disks. There is no comparison. At 200 pounds, I find the disks to give up nothing to the V's. In the wet there is no comparison. Was the best move I have made on my MTB. The few ounces sacrificed to mount the disks is well worth the weight.

So are you saying they aren't any more powerful than any other good rim brake?

Not sure my Avid levers have this........i'll look tonite when i get home. Remember, i know very little about bike mechanics.

No, even if i had considerably more strength i'd still want them to be much easier just to make downhills more efortless. And hey, i'm probably twice your age at 49 !!! Cut me some slack !:D

Stop sweating the disc thing. They do add a wee bit of weight - but they are worth every GRAM. Virtually everyone that I've ever talked to absolutely loves the control and power of their discs.

A good friend of mine's been MTB'ing for 10 years...he's been such a slow convert to anything new. He finally upgrade to discs (along with a new Titus Switchblade)...he just goes nuts ranting and raving about "how come I waited so long to go with disc brakes?"!

Disks are great, you'd never regret buying them. In order to wring the most out of your v's, though, you must have ceramic rims.

:lol: Me, worry about weight?!!!:lol: Heck, they could weigh 20 lbs and i wouldn't care ! A gram scale is at the very bottom of my list right AFTER $hit sandwich!!!
:lol:

Excellent! Then your should definitely go out right now (or surf right now) and get them discs...

If steering towards discs anyways, you might want to wait on the Avid mechs and see how well the new Avid hydraulics fair in reviews. Anyone tried these yet? They look quite nifty and adjustable. Almost nifty enough for me to consider converting my fork for discs which is no easy task since it would involve a combination of welding and epoxy (CF forklegs).

I didn't even know they were release yet. I assume great things about them but would still give them a couple of years before I would grab them.

Darn it youse guys.......your making me jones for discs again right when i finally though i'd decided to get better V's !:confused:

Hmmm....are you saying "new" as in thier NEXT generation of hydos, or as in thier FIRST hydro? I ask because i saw reviews of Avid hydros at mtbr.com, and the reviews were from a couple years ago. Can i assume they did make hydros and that you are refering to a new model that may be better?

Correct. I'm not talking about their first ones. The new line is called the Juicy and it has pad adjustment knobs at the lever.

That sounds awesome. Maybe i'll wait, tho does anyone know when?

I heard they're to come out on the open market in summer. Supposedly they're only available to frame manufacturers right now. Maybe I'll go on a hunt to find some bikeshops that have bikes with them from the factory.

Hmmm.....i gotta wait till summer?! I'm not that patient.

Normally I wouldn't be either. But I still have to screw up the courage to build a mount for my fork. Converting the rear is easy... drill two holes and install the Hammerhead adapter from RDI. It's the front that's the hard part. This keeps me in debate about whether I really want/need discs in the first place. I'm running Avid ArchRival-50s and they've been serving me well even in the muddy/wet PacNW.

If their hydros are anything like their mechanicals.. they're gonna be the shizzle mah nizzle.

Then again, if the mechanicals are so great, why bother with fluid?

Perhaps they will be even GREATER!







Muuuuuuahah!


:D



I just saw the add in a magazine... they look sweet. Usually anything made by Avid is going to be good. Everything I've ever owned was great, and if not, they backed it 100% until things were right.

The other thing i'm thinking about is that the hydros have to be used with the included levers, while the mechs let you use your own. (i have avid levers) So the hydro factor plus the included levers are likely going to translate to a far higher price.

I'm having a hard time deciding what to do, but i am considering buying a front avid mechanical at supergo saturday for $69 plus whatever a cable costs. If i like it i'd buy the rear too. But this way i'd only be out 1/2 the amount if i'm not real thrilled about them. The likely much higher cost of the hydros and the wait have me leaning this way. In any case., this whole brake thing is turning into a headache ! I'm tierd of thinking about it.

Welcome to the club. I'm kinda in the same boat. I have integrated XTR shifters so that would mean buying new shifter pods as well as the new levers, brakes, disc compatible hubs, wheel rebuild/new rims (although I might go wth Mavic Crossmax disc wheelsets), and of course the mounting tabs and cable guide modifications to a carbon frame and fork no less. |8^)

I'm sorry to hear that.....makes my decision seem like a no-brainer ! But ya know, i think you're gonna do it eventually. It's not gonna leave you alone till you do, and you know it !;)