MTB Hydraulic Calipers - Choosing Help Required

S

srhutch

Legend
 East Sussex, UK
I have a Kona Fire Mountain with 160mm disks. After going out last weekend and the cables clogging due to mud I'm looking to upgrade to hydraulic.

A colleague of mine as suggested it's not as simple as buying a set from say ebay as the mountings are all different. Is this correct, or if I buy a set for 160mm disks and they have the mounting bracket included will I be OK?
 
It does depend a bit on what adaptors (if any) your frame, fork and brakes have - best idea would be posting up photos so I can tell you :)

Basically there's two types of mount, and either type can feature at the front (on the fork) or the rear (on the frame).

1) post-mount: where the bolt holes on the frame/fork are inline with the disc
HMeiQFM-_XMAZeDiVtFygMvzOuHHXDOVzERZ_VFG4awK9AdESE.jpg

2) IS-mount: where the bolt holes are perpendicular to the disc
bQIqZ40cYXcDRRBoGHlACH1FAGHRRRSTdWDFcJzbgP-TeGkHFX.jpg

Manufacturers (fork, frame and brakes) like to muddle things up by offering various combinations - it wouldn't be the cycle industry is they kept things simple lol. Most brakes nowadays are post-mount but come with adaptors as standard to fit IS mount - even if they don't, adaptors are £5 or so each.

HTH :)
 
a11y is 100% correct the only other thing that needs doing sometimes ( or i had to years ago ) Was some shimming came with the breaks. Its just to align the caliper perfectly to the disc.
 
Wow, srhutch - the big 4-0 has made you do some physical work :rofl:
 
I liked my Avid Elixirs but they were a pain in the bum to bleed. The Shimano XT brakes i had before them were a doddle to bleed in comparison.
 
Mowflow said:
I liked my Avid Elixirs but they were a pain in the bum to bleed. The Shimano XT brakes i had before them were a doddle to bleed in comparison.
Click to expand...

Bleed them off the bike with the callipers in the air :) I found them to work perfectly after.
 
Thanks chaps (excluding PVR :P )

A11y As you say I have a mixture. IS on the rear and post on the front.

So I'm guessing I don't need a bracket on the front but do on the rear.

brakes1.jpg


brakes2.jpg
 
Just think that when you start your next mod, you will me my age when you finish it :D
 
srhutch said:
Thanks chaps (excluding PVR :P )

A11y As you say I have a mixture. IS on the rear and post on the front.

So I'm guessing I don't need a bracket on the front but do on the rear.

brakes1.jpg


brakes2.jpg
Click to expand...
Ah, that's a piece of piss :)

Just simply buy the new calipers. You've already got the rear adaptor in place, and the front is a straight bolt onto the fork. It's simply a case of unbolting the calipers (leaving the rear adaptor/bracket in place) and bolting on new ones and aligning them.

I wasn't going to recommend any brakes 'cos you didn't ask, but since everyone else is :P. Formula RX are fecking awesome but not cheap - I run them on my DH and BIG full-susser and they've never faded not even at Fort William DH or in the Alps. Cheaper but still good option are Shimano: Deore are more than adequate (use them on my commuter), SLX are amazing (got them on two bikes), and XT aren't worth the extra (same caliper/lever as SLX apart from the XT having an extra adjuster on the lever).

I bought my brakes directly from a bike shop in Germany as they're mega cheap - only issue is you need to swap over the hoses as the funky continentals like their brakes on the wrong sides, but it's easy to do with a 7mm spanner and a bit of care not to leak any fluid.
Front SLX - http://www.rosebikes.co.uk/article/shimano-slx-disc-brake-br-m675/aid:591857
Rear SLX - http://www.rosebikes.co.uk/article/shimano-slx-disc-brake-br-m675-591867/aid:591869
 
Thanks a11y. I didn't think it was rocket science but my friend is well into his mtb.

Just got to work out which one to get now. :cry:
 
srhutch said:
What about these chaps. I'm trying to keep my costs down as I'm still a novice and who knows how long the novelty will last.

http://www.bike-discount.de/shop/a5...ront-black.html?baid=8922301&referer=pdbasket

http://www.bike-discount.de/shop/a51787/disc-brake-br-m446-bl-m445-rear-black.html?baid=8922298


Or would I really be better off paying a bit extra for something like this when they come back in stock.

http://www.bike-discount.de/shop/k495/a28715/disc-brake-set-deore-br-m595.html
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Those appear older versions of the Deore brake. The newer ones (which I have on my commuter) have a much nicer lever and the prices are still good:
http://www.rosebikes.co.uk/article/shimano-deore-disc-brake-br-m596/aid:516076
and
http://www.rosebikes.co.uk/article/shimano-deore-disc-brake-br-m596-516078/aid:516080

The good news is they take the same pad as the older-style XT,so replacement pads are plentiful and cheap from somewhere like Uberbike (online).

Edit: damn, just noticed the rear is out of stock, but I'd be looking around for that version of Deore rather than what you posted, being totally honest with you.
 
Machine monkey said:
Z4 forum Bike ride????
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Did a few MTB meets with fellow car enthusiasts from a similar forum when I was yonger, involving a trip from central Scotland to North Wales:


2006-10-15 Cliosport MTB pic8 by Ally Mitchell, on Flickr

Would be ideal to combine with something like the Lakes National Meet (Lakes = MTBing) but impracticailities with the Z4s rule that out.
 
Z4 bike ride would be great - sparks the question again, can you fit an MTB into the boot without cutting it into bits... ;)

Here's my hydraulics - Avid Elixir 1, came with my Trek 6300, pleased with them but will upgrade in the future.
White calipers and levers look good on white frame.

picture1hbh.jpg
 
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