Brake Upgrade

Rdoonz

Rdoonz

Well-Known Member
I'm looking to upgrade the crappy Tektro Novella disc brakes on my '12 Trek Marlin. I'm torn between upgrading to better mechanical brakes (like Avid BB5 or BB7) or going with hydraulic (I saw a set or Shimano M445/446). I'm really leaning towards upgrading to hydraulic, but I'm wondering if there is any reason not to.
 
I'm not a big fan of hydraulics...too much hassle.
IMO, Don't bother with BB5's. BB7's FTW
 
I have been using the BB&'s for years on my geared bike. Definitely great breaks never had any issues. I just got a Salsa SS which came stocked with Shimano Deor Hydro. so far so good. I also read the review on them and all good. I don't think you'll go wrong with either.
 
As far as the hydraulics go, I like the Shimano, because they use the mineral oil. Just out of curiosity, I saw a pretty cheap price on the SLX and Deore hydraulics on ChainReactionCycles, but they both said "ISPEC compatible". I did a quick search and it looks like they will only pair up with certain shifters. Does anyone know if this is correct?

I also have the skinny stock bars that are 25.4mm. Will this present any issues?

I'm sure the easiest thing is to just swap the Novella calipers with the BB7's and be done. Every review I've read has been great and say the stopping power is comparable with the hydraulics. Is there any reason I couldn't use my current levers if I decide to go this way.

Thanks for the info guys.
 
I have a set of XT hydros and they suck IMO. Noisy!, + they didn't stop at all under 20 degrees :-0
BB7's have awesome stopping power no matter what temp. :) Better than the XT's had for me with no screwing with them. Your results may vary :)
 
Last edited:
I have a set of the Shimano M445/6, they are ok but merely average. Don't bother. The current Shimano XT's are the WAY, killer bang for the buck, incredible power and easy to service. Can't imagine using anything else right now.
If you'd prefer the simplicity of mechanicals then BB7's with speed dial levers are a nice low cost upgrade.
I have no idea what went wrong with Michaels! ;)
 
Pricepoint had what looked like a good deal on the BB7's (less than $50) so I pulled the trigger. I think the key for me is keeping it simple since I do most of the work my bikes myself.

Thanks for weighing in everyone.
 
Interesting comments here.
I have been riding BB7's for the last 4 years but the squealing was driving me nuts, so I just switched over to XT's... we will see how that goes.
With the snow I haven't had a chance to ride them yet.
 
Been well documented my thoughts on bb7s v hydros. Bb7 just plain work and keep working same can not be said for hydros great in beginning but they will suck for one reason or another down the road. Other then DHing it's a waste of money IMO. Match them up with ultimate levers and get all the modulation you need...
 
People who dislike hydro mtb brakes are like those people who were hating on moving the toilet inside the house. I LIKE TO CRAP IN THE BACK YARD, IT ALWAYS WORKS.

Get hydro's, it's that much better. All my bikes have them, I never ever have problems.
 
mattybfat said:
Been well documented my thoughts on bb7s v hydros. Bb7 just plain work and keep working same can not be said for hydros great in beginning but they will suck for one reason or another down the road. Other then DHing it's a waste of money IMO. Match them up with ultimate levers and get all the modulation you need...
Click to expand...

personally I had just opposite experience with bb7. They are not reparable. Broke few of them when adjustment knobs stopped turning I had to rebuild my Avid elixir calipers once per set and bleed them but that was less pain than my unsuccessful attempt to overhaul bb7.
 
gtluke said:
People who dislike hydro mtb brakes are like those people who were hating on moving the toilet inside the house. I LIKE TO CRAP IN THE BACK YARD, IT ALWAYS WORKS.

Get hydro's, it's that much better. All my bikes have them, I never ever have problems.
Click to expand...

Exactly. I unless you got shitty avid brakes, the hydraulics are so much better.
 
idk what you people do to your brakes. I had bb7s. great brakes with 203s.- you can step it up to hayes 9s for 50 a piece with 203s...those are pretty good. I never had any problem with my hayes 9s.

This is all cheap entry level stuff but really great for the price.

Overall, the avid code is the best brake ive ever come across. But for that price you can have almost any brake you want.
 
Mechanicals are great. Hydros are great.

Hydro vote goes out to Hope. I liked them so much I converted all my bikes to the Tech X2 and M4.

Pros:

- Very reasonably priced. No need to sell organs to be able to afford them like the MT8's.
- Workmanship and machining second to none.
- Super easy to bleed. No special bleed kits, no special tools and no mess. Exactly like bleeding auto brakes.
- They look awesome.

Cons:

- They're made in England! (Kidding!!!)
 
One more vote for Hope hydros.
The set on my HT are 5 years old, the set on my FS are almost 10 years old.
They're like one of those Ron Popeill ovens, "set em and forget em"
 
I'm in exactly the same position with a 12 Marlin. Apparently the newer Deores (m615) are improved from the older styles and they get excellent reviews. I've come close a few times to ordering bb7's but I currently have a price match qued up on Jenson where I can get the m615's for about 130.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom