WTF is up with those SRAM brakes?

carvegybe

Well-Known Member
So I got my dream bike in November and I freakin' love this thing. It is orgasm on wheels. The bike also marks a complete switch from everything Shimano to everything Sram. But I don't want to turn this into another Shimano vs Sram debate. But what I do wonder about is the brakes. I love the XT brakes on my old bike. I hear people say SRAM brakes have "more modulation". To me that's French for "brakes suck". I had all the modulation I needed with Shimano plus the bite when I needed it. I'll add I'm comparing Shimano XT 2-piston against SRAM G2 4-piston brakes. Same rotor size in the front and the bite just isn't there.

I just changed the pads from resin to semi-metallic (riding in the wet a lot)...hoping this will be a cheaper fix but I fear it won't be. The new bike cost me a lot of cash and initially I thought I'm not upgrading anything anymore but after 200 miles on the new bike I'm thinking that having a dream bike with $hit brakes isn't very orgasmic.

The only thing I can imagine is my fault is that I didn't do that thing when the brakes are new that you ride up and down a hill to heat up the brakes and wear them in. But I also didn't do that with the Shimano kit and it worked perfectly.

Predict my future. Am I buying Shimano brakes?
 

one piece crank

Well-Known Member
Put G2 RSC on my fat bike and they are simply awesome. Yes, much more “bite and modulation”. For me, that means slowing/controlling my 240lbs+bike on rooty steeps and off cambers - something that my older brakes simply could not do.
 

carvegybe

Well-Known Member
Put G2 RSC on my fat bike and they are simply awesome. Yes, much more “bite and modulation”. For me, that means slowing/controlling my 240lbs+bike on rooty steeps and off cambers - something that my older brakes simply could not do.
If you feel there is "bite" with all the weight you're hauling then there may still be hope for the G2s.... I'm 200lbs and I thought I was getting used to the Sram brakes but I took my old bike for a spin today and I realized I'm fooling myself re the brakes.
 

shrpshtr325

Infinite Source of Sarcasm
Team MTBNJ Halter's
If you feel there is "bite" with all the weight you're hauling then there may still be hope for the G2s.... I'm 200lbs and I thought I was getting used to the Sram brakes but I took my old bike for a spin today and I realized I'm fooling myself re the brakes.

have you tried bleeding them? i had trouble with mine not holding a bleed, they would be good for a couple weeks then the levers would get soft. Warranty replacement solved the issue and my second bike with them were just fine. Try bleeding them and see what happens.
 

carvegybe

Well-Known Member
IU
I just couldn't get used to SRAM brakes.
I dumped the Guides for XT and couldn't be happier.
Sounds like I need to start researching brake clamps on handlebars that work with SRAM AXS shifters....any "best practice" advice out there?

Also, is the world of brakes divided into Sram and Shimano? Is there a worthy 3-rd party brake manufacturer? I read about TRP but wasn't convinced...
 

carvegybe

Well-Known Member
have you tried bleeding them? i had trouble with mine not holding a bleed, they would be good for a couple weeks then the levers would get soft. Warranty replacement solved the issue and my second bike with them were just fine. Try bleeding them and see what happens.
If there is air in the system I would have to squeeze the brake handle further in its travel to get the bite, right? I'm getting plenty of back pressure when pulling the brake handle, but the wheels keep turning. I just need to pull much harder than with XT to get the bite. Doesn't feel right. Also, just to anticipate this coming up, there is no way my rotors or pads are contaminated. I always watch out for that.

I don't know how to bleed SRAM brakes. I'll ask my LBS to do this before deciding to go back to XT.
 

Sven Migot

Well-Known Member
Could be difference in brake pads???

1640652907574.png
 

Paul H

Fearless OOS Poser
IU

Sounds like I need to start researching brake clamps on handlebars that work with SRAM AXS shifters....any "best practice" advice out there?

Also, is the world of brakes divided into Sram and Shimano? Is there a worthy 3-rd party brake manufacturer? I read about TRP but wasn't convinced...
Look up problem solvers mismatch
Not sure if axs is any different tho
 

shrpshtr325

Infinite Source of Sarcasm
Team MTBNJ Halter's
If there is air in the system I would have to squeeze the brake handle further in its travel to get the bite, right? I'm getting plenty of back pressure when pulling the brake handle, but the wheels keep turning. I just need to pull much harder than with XT to get the bite. Doesn't feel right. Also, just to anticipate this coming up, there is no way my rotors or pads are contaminated. I always watch out for that.

I don't know how to bleed SRAM brakes. I'll ask my LBS to do this before deciding to go back to XT.

the levers would feel soft, a bit more travel would possibly increase the bite, but if you bought the bike with air in the system you may not know what they should feel like new. . . .
Could be difference in brake pads???

View attachment 174389


this is another point, metallic pads do have less initial bite than resin . . .





your honestly the first person i have ever heard say that SRAM brakes lack stopping power, some dont like the amount of lever travel, or other complaints, but not lack of power . . . . something weird is going on there.
 

BPaze

Well-Known Member
IU

Sounds like I need to start researching brake clamps on handlebars that work with SRAM AXS shifters....any "best practice" advice out there?

Also, is the world of brakes divided into Sram and Shimano? Is there a worthy 3-rd party brake manufacturer? I read about TRP but wasn't convinced...
So far love my Shimano XT Deores, tried Magura and thewere awesome but couldn't get them to hold a brake bleed. They would be the best brakes ever for a week then go to crap. Currently trying TRP and so far best of both worlds great bite and modulation but I am having some issues with the rear but pretty sure that is the crappy worn out old rotor and last ride they were pretty good. I will only run mineral oil brakes so haven't tried SRAM or other DOT( no specific reason to only run mineral), but a lot of different brakes and a lot of different preferences. I'm sure you can sell the SRAM for decent coin to minimize the cost of different

If there is air in the system I would have to squeeze the brake handle further in its travel to get the bite, right? I'm getting plenty of back pressure when pulling the brake handle, but the wheels keep turning. I just need to pull much harder than with XT to get the bite. Doesn't feel right. Also, just to anticipate this coming up, there is no way my rotors or pads are contaminated. I always watch out for that.

I don't know how to bleed SRAM brakes. I'll ask my LBS to do this before deciding to go back to XT.
This is actually a symptom of air in the line you squeeze and never get bite
 

carvegybe

Well-Known Member
Could be difference in brake pads???

View attachment 174389
My XT brakes have metallic pads (originally resin, which I didn't like) - one of the cons of which is weaker initial bite. My SRAM have been resin until today - one of the pros of which is stronger initial bite. Yet, sram brakes don't have the bite. I installed semi-metallic pads in the front today to test the Sram brakes...let's see
 

carvegybe

Well-Known Member
the levers would feel soft, a bit more travel would possibly increase the bite, but if you bought the bike with air in the system you may not know what they should feel like new. . . .



this is another point, metallic pads do have less initial bite than resin . . .





your honestly the first person i have ever heard say that SRAM brakes lack stopping power, some dont like the amount of lever travel, or other complaints, but not lack of power . . . . something weird is going on there.
I don't think I'm saying they don't have stopping power. They just don't stop as fast and the difference is really noticeable. It is not a binary condition.
 

carvegybe

Well-Known Member
So far love my Shimano XT Deores, tried Magura and thewere awesome but couldn't get them to hold a brake bleed. They would be the best brakes ever for a week then go to crap. Currently trying TRP and so far best of both worlds great bite and modulation but I am having some issues with the rear but pretty sure that is the crappy worn out old rotor and last ride they were pretty good. I will only run mineral oil brakes so haven't tried SRAM or other DOT( no specific reason to only run mineral), but a lot of different brakes and a lot of different preferences. I'm sure you can sell the SRAM for decent coin to minimize the cost of different


This is actually a symptom of air in the line you squeeze and never get bite
Ok, good to know. I'll have them bled and see what happens. The LBS put my bike together because the frame was separate from all the components...I'd have expected them to make sure the brakes were assembled and bled correctly when assembling the bike.
 

Sven Migot

Well-Known Member
In my experience SRAM Level brakes have more bite (stop quicker) than Guide. I do like the twitchiness of the Levels. Guides are known for modulation which took some getting used to, but I like them now.
 

carvegybe

Well-Known Member
In my experience SRAM Level brakes have more bite (stop quicker) than Guide. I do like the twitchiness of the Levels. Guides are known for modulation which took some getting used to, but I like them now.
It is possible I'm confusing more modulation with lack of bite. But, for me, application of strong force to brake handle should lock up the wheel irrespective of external conditions...not that I want to do that, of course, but I want to have that option as a matter of having a good feel for how the brake performs. With the G2s I don't have that. It rotates a bit until it stops. Is that normal for G2s?
 

stb222

Love Drunk
Jerk Squad
I have tons of hours on sram and switched to Shimano XT 2-3 years ago. Shimano contact Point is much faster/sooner than sram. This is why people say sram has more Modulation, in theory you have more of the lever stroke to play with to brake. So yes, if you go to sram from Shimano,they feel a lot less responsive.
I ride semi metallic and don’t have an issue stopping in an condition. I have 4 piston up from and 2 in the rear.

For the RSc version, move the contact point as close as to the rotor as possible, this should help.
 
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carvegybe

Well-Known Member
I have tons of hours on sram and switched to Shimano XT 2-3 years ago. Shimano contact Point is much faster/sooner than sram. This is why people say sram has more Modulation, in theory you have more of the lever stroke to play with to brake. So yes, if you go to sram from Shimano,they feel a lot less responsive.
I ride semi metallic and don’t have an issue stopping in an condition. I have 4 piston up from and 2 in the rear.

For the RSc version, move the contact point as close as to the rotor as possible, this should help.
Contact point is close already. I guess the next steps are:

1) Test out the semi-metallic pads
2) Re-bleed
3) Go back to XT if unhappy with 1 and 2. I just don't know if my preference for XT is justified or simply a result of not having understood how a MTB brake should work...

I would have learned to be happy with the Sram brake performance if I didn't get on my old bike today and get reminded about how XT braking feels....
 

Paul H

Fearless OOS Poser
Its just preference IMO.
At the time, I had Shimano on one bike and SRAM on the other. Going back and forth from one to another, I just preferred Shimano.
They both lock up just fine but I thought that SRAM requires slightly more pull to get to that point. For the same amount of pull on the lever, Shimano bites sooner.
I guess I don't like too much modulation. :shrug:
To me... SRAM felt like Shimano with little bit of air in the system.

If you don't like too much modulation like me... Shimano is the way to go.
Also, I could be wrong but it seems like on this board at least... used Shimano brakes sell a lot faster than SRAM... whatever that means.
 
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