Brake upgrading

carlbiker

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Here’s my steed 2021 ORBEA Wild FS H30 but I’m looking to upgrade the brakes. I’ve seen some second hand saint M810 for front/rear at a decent price so was wondering for £150 if that’s the best deal?
 
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Gary

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Don't go second hand. Shimano reliability is all over the place and your 2 year warranty isnt something I'd forgo for the sake of a few quid.
Buy Zee new and just use your current rotors. Same power half the price.
Freestroke adjust on those Saints does fk all anyway
 

Slapbassmunky

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Aug 1, 2020
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All the shimano's I've ever had have had a wandering bite point, even the SLX 4 pots on my brand new trek are all over the place. You can get MT5'S for a steal on a certain German website. They're really powerful and consistent.
 

carlbiker

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For some reason I though zee were the pads! Right I’ll have a look into those cheers for those saying the same too.

I had also seen SRAM Guide RE E-MTB Disc Brake | Chain Reaction Cycles are they a contender if I can’t find a decent deal on the Zees? I’d also been checking the SRAM code rsc but looking a bit expensive, albeit if you guys tell me it’s worth it to get higher end then I probably will if it’s only £100 in it
 

Zimmerframe

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I changed to Zee's and love them. I ordered the ones with the vented pads (big fins on them) as they were cheaper at the time. That's the only thing I do regret - the fin's rattle which I find annoying and always think somethings going to fall off the bike ... I doubt you'll need the fins as you're not doing 2000m descents.

I did have the Code R's - but for me, I hated the feel.
 

carlbiker

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I changed to Zee's and love them. I ordered the ones with the vented pads (big fins on them) as they were cheaper at the time. That's the only thing I do regret - the fin's rattle which I find annoying and always think somethings going to fall off the bike ... I doubt you'll need the fins as you're not doing 2000m descents.

I did have the Code R's - but for me, I hated the feel.

nice little article here, I wonder if the RSC would have been better for you. Sounds like the Guide might have a little more power than the Zees Best mountain bike brakes: Bike Perfect's pick of the best MTB brakes
 

Zimmerframe

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nice little article here, I wonder if the RSC would have been better for you. Sounds like the Guide might have a little more power than the Zees Best mountain bike brakes: Bike Perfect's pick of the best MTB brakes
Maybe .... It's another one of those things where there is no perfect solution for everyone as we all prefer a different feel.

I know people seem to say that the Shimano's have less modulation, but for me I have zero modulation issues - maybe if your hands are the size of boulders and you don't notice when you hit them with a hammer, then that might be the case.

I tried a bike with the Guide RE's and for me, I didn't get along with them at all. In fact the person with that bike rode mine with the Zee's later and swapped his to XT's - but again, it's personal preference.

For the Code RSC to have been a better choice for me, they'd have to not have "Code R" in the name in anyway - not even the letters C o d e r - used in there. If there was even 1% similarity to the Code R's - they would not have been the brakes for me. You have to ride the brakes all the time to keep them dry or you have no brakes. They scream in the wet like a pack of young ladies (or men maybe) seeing @BAMBAMODA naked for the first time and unless you modify the disks, they harmonically resonate when wet - hence the no brakes.

For me, I like a brake to perform the action of slowing the turning of the wheels via friction when I pull the lever - SRAM's are more like a fruit machine lever - you just don't know what you'll get each time.

Some people like them though....
 

Mteam

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money no object = sram code RSC (or really Trickstuff maxima - but thats getting silly)
Less money but not much less power = shimano xt 8120 or zee
Bargain , but still very good (but the lever feels a bit cheap) = magura mt5


All in my opinion of course, I have all the above brakes on various bikes - and they'll all do a very good job.
 

Gary

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maybe if your hands are the size of boulders and you don't notice when you hit them with a hammer, then that might be the case.
I've probably sustained cuts to my hands/arms at least once a week most of my adult life and never ever notice at the time. In fact it's often not until later and someone else points out the blood to me that Ill even know about it.
Normal sized 10s (L in gloves)
 

carlbiker

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Maybe .... It's another one of those things where there is no perfect solution for everyone as we all prefer a different feel.

I know people seem to say that the Shimano's have less modulation, but for me I have zero modulation issues - maybe if your hands are the size of boulders and you don't notice when you hit them with a hammer, then that might be the case.

I tried a bike with the Guide RE's and for me, I didn't get along with them at all. In fact the person with that bike rode mine with the Zee's later and swapped his to XT's - but again, it's personal preference.

For the Code RSC to have been a better choice for me, they'd have to not have "Code R" in the name in anyway - not even the letters C o d e r - used in there. If there was even 1% similarity to the Code R's - they would not have been the brakes for me. You have to ride the brakes all the time to keep them dry or you have no brakes. They scream in the wet like a pack of young ladies (or men maybe) seeming @BAMBAMODA naked for the first time and unless you modify the disks, they harmonically resonate when wet - hence the no brakes.

For me, I like a brake to perform the action of slowing the turning of the wheels via friction
when I pull the lever - SRAM's are more like a fruit machine lever - you just don't know what you'll get each time.

Some people like them though....

Your descriptions are second to none ?!

Okay I’m back onto Shimano......time for some zebs! I can handle feathering the brakes instead of SLAMMING ON MUST STOP!!!! type of braking, just can’t turn my bike like I can other bikes but thats another story!
 

carlbiker

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All the brakes bought from European shops will come like that, it's not hard to swap the levers over. Done carefully you can get away without needing to bleed them.

I didn’t think you could put a r/h brake on a l/h rear, how does that work? Like the guide and some other brakes are universal according to some videos I saw but curious about swapping over as such, if so I’ll order and let the bike shop sort it out. Cheers
 

Zimmerframe

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LOL .. if you're buying the front and the rear .. just connect them the way you want them :)

They both comes with a spare olive ..

This is one of those ... OH GOD NO moments .. you need to actually go "oh, it's a little pipe that pulls off, I buy a €3 shimano bleed kit, and I know a bit more about how my brakes work and have a lot more confidence in my bike and can fix my own issues in 2 minutes" .

Honestly .. I was the same as you .. and after only loosing 4 fingers and millions of dollars, it was fixed, just like that ..

But really .. it is sooooooooooo easy, you'll kick yourself and feel good that you did it - fix it, not kick yourself.
 

carlbiker

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Sep 15, 2020
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LOL .. if you're buying the front and the rear .. just connect them the way you want them :)

They both comes with a spare olive ..

This is one of those ... OH GOD NO moments .. you need to actually go "oh, it's a little pipe that pulls off, I buy a €3 shimano bleed kit, and I know a bit more about how my brakes work and have a lot more confidence in my bike and can fix my own issues in 2 minutes" .

Honestly .. I was the same as you .. and after only loosing 4 fingers and millions of dollars, it was fixed, just like that ..

But really .. it is sooooooooooo easy, you'll kick yourself and feel good that you did it - fix it, not kick yourself.

I promise this won’t be my last stupid question! ? Now where is that matrix chair!!!

okay the rabbit hole deepens....there’s a million bleeed kits strewth!
 

Zimmerframe

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I promise this won’t be my last stupid question! ? Now where is that matrix chair!!!
Ok .. if it helps you ..

Think of it like this .. The front brake quite often comes attached to the lever .. which in euro spec will be the wrong lever for UK layout.

However, the rear, as a lever won't squeeze through the frame, doesn't come attached anyway .... So you're already half way there !
 

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