Scott Gibbs Posted July 14, 2016 Report Share Posted July 14, 2016 I'm thinking of running a rear V brake and abandoning a Echo/Magura set up. What's everyone running these days? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
niconj Posted July 14, 2016 Report Share Posted July 14, 2016 (edited) Cheap = Deore Brake + Avid FR5 lever and TNN ADV pads. Expensive and hard to come by these days = Avid Ultimate brake + Avid Speed Dial 7 levers (or Ultimate or XTR) + TNN ADV pads. Always with a booster, preferably an XTR Booster (if you have a V-Brake frame) if not, you'd need some adapters of which the Heatsink are the best in my opinion. Edited July 14, 2016 by niconj Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AndyT Posted July 15, 2016 Report Share Posted July 15, 2016 I had sd7, odyssey linear slic, tnn adv and shimano carbon booster on my syntace...have to say I never liked how mushy it was, but that was for a rear brake. Apparently more power than maggie, I just couldn't stand the feeling. Anyone know if it is better than a Magura? Has anyone tested the two to see which is best? Vee brake or magura? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
niconj Posted July 15, 2016 Report Share Posted July 15, 2016 (edited) 3 hours ago, AndyT said: Anyone know if it is better than a Magura? Has anyone tested the two to see which is best? Vee brake or magura? Totally forgot about the cables... I rode a Racing Line lever with Magura Slaves and ADM pads; later on, on that same bike, an Avid Ultimate with ADV pads, Odyssey linear slic cables, SD7 levers and Shimanor carbone booster. The Vee certainly has more hold and is quieter than the other brake. The bite is supposed to be worse than a HS33 but I didn't notice any difference. I run the same setup on my Rockman now* (it has Vee mounts) and cannot fault the brake. The feeling is different though. Pretty mushy (you can almost pull the lever to the bar) but once you get used to it it's on par or even better than a HS33. *With a crappy Tektro booster as my Shimano isn't wide enough. Will make my own carbone booster in due time. Edited July 15, 2016 by niconj Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scott Gibbs Posted July 15, 2016 Author Report Share Posted July 15, 2016 Are ultimates worth the money? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
niconj Posted July 15, 2016 Report Share Posted July 15, 2016 (edited) Well... Deores are way cheaper and work almost the same. The thing with Ultimates is that they don't have any play like the Deores. Some people on here say that the bearings wear rapidly and play develops over time but I haven't had that problem yet and @Martin Direske hasn't had this problem either and he's been riding them for ages and is also a way better rider than I am. Edited July 15, 2016 by niconj Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt24. Posted July 15, 2016 Report Share Posted July 15, 2016 I have ram maguras and an echo and always return to a well setup v. Sd7 arms and levers. A reasonable linear cable, shimano Carbon booster, can't remember which pads they are but not prices clear things and when we'll setup better than anything else I have had. Have stuck with it for the last 4 years no complaints and they are a hell of a lot easier to maintain rather than bleeding and simpler to setup, i got fed up of hydraulic brakes and went cable front and rear and have had the best setup I have had for years with the above. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scott Gibbs Posted July 16, 2016 Author Report Share Posted July 16, 2016 8 hours ago, Matt24. said: I have ram maguras and an echo and always return to a well setup v. Sd7 arms and levers. A reasonable linear cable, shimano Carbon booster, can't remember which pads they are but not prices clear things and when we'll setup better than anything else I have had. Have stuck with it for the last 4 years no complaints and they are a hell of a lot easier to maintain rather than bleeding and simpler to setup, i got fed up of hydraulic brakes and went cable front and rear and have had the best setup I have had for years with the above. I'm thinking about a cable set up front and rear. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
niconj Posted July 16, 2016 Report Share Posted July 16, 2016 (edited) 56 minutes ago, Scott Gibbs said: I'm thinking about a cable set up front and rear. Just try it. It's not too expensive if you go for Deores. SD7 brakes aren't that good though, only the levers. I have to kinda agree with the maintenance. Whenever you have to tighten the chain the wheel doesn't sit exactly where it sat before resulting in one pad being closer to the rim than the other. With a Vee you just take out your tool and turn the bolt a bit to align them again. I have never had problems with bleeding a brake though. Get the TNN ADV and you'll be happy. Edited July 16, 2016 by niconj ADV for Vee Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scott Gibbs Posted July 16, 2016 Author Report Share Posted July 16, 2016 11 minutes ago, niconj said: Get the TNN ADM and you'll be happy. I'm going to run some Rockman Green pads in some cnc backings. They're my favourite pads Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
niconj Posted July 16, 2016 Report Share Posted July 16, 2016 22 minutes ago, Scott Gibbs said: I'm going to run some Rockman Green pads in some cnc backings. They're my favourite pads Either way, the TNN backings have that integrated dome washer which is really cool. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scott Gibbs Posted July 16, 2016 Author Report Share Posted July 16, 2016 I had a Deore/SD7 set up on the front of my old Saracen Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Luke Rainbird Posted July 16, 2016 Report Share Posted July 16, 2016 Ran Ultimates for years on assorted bikes, nothing but good words to say about their performance. I had a set of bearings go a little crunchy over the span of a couple of years but replaced them with little effort and they felt good as new from that point on until I sold them. That said, they are inherently expensive and a decent quality, mid-range brake will give you 90% of the performance at a fraction of the price. If you're on a limited budget, get some cheaper arms paired with a comfortable lever (XTRs were always the nicest, SD7s a budget option. Avoid the Ultimate levers as they had a nasty square blade) and you're golden. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scott Gibbs Posted July 16, 2016 Author Report Share Posted July 16, 2016 There's a couple sets of XTR levers floating around on Pinkbike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ali C Posted July 16, 2016 Report Share Posted July 16, 2016 I found my Ultimate arms went notchy within a couple of months which then made setting up the pads to hit at the same time impossible, I tried to replace them but found it very hard and ended up breaking the arms. I'm a huge fan of shimano arms (narrow so easier to set pads up on wider rims) with an SD7 lever (the speed dial adjustment is really handy) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
niconj Posted July 16, 2016 Report Share Posted July 16, 2016 (edited) 28 minutes ago, Ali C said: I found my Ultimate arms went notchy within a couple of months which then made setting up the pads to hit at the same time impossible, I tried to replace them but found it very hard and ended up breaking the arms. Your comments made me buy the Deores first but after having heard what Martin said about the Ultimates, I bought them and never looked back. That being said, your level of riding probably requires more from the brake than mine does. Edited July 16, 2016 by niconj Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scott Gibbs Posted July 16, 2016 Author Report Share Posted July 16, 2016 Ok so the consensus is Avid levers with Shimano arms and Linear cable. What's some suggestions for pads on a smooth rim. I've always liked Rockman green Maggie pads is there anything similar for V brakes or is it a case of doing what I said earlier? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
niconj Posted July 16, 2016 Report Share Posted July 16, 2016 8 minutes ago, Scott Gibbs said: Ok so the consensus is Avid levers with Shimano arms and Linear cable. What's some suggestions for pads on a smooth rim. I've always liked Rockman green Maggie pads is there anything similar for V brakes or is it a case of doing what I said earlier? Heatsink yellow or just grind the rim and take the ADV. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scott Gibbs Posted July 16, 2016 Author Report Share Posted July 16, 2016 I'm not grinding my rims after spending a week polishing them! Ha ha Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ali C Posted July 16, 2016 Report Share Posted July 16, 2016 52 minutes ago, niconj said: Your comments made me buy the Deores first but after having heard what Martin said about the Ultimates, I bought them and never looked back. That being said, your level of riding probably requires more from the brake than mine does. I think I maybe got unlucky Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
niconj Posted July 16, 2016 Report Share Posted July 16, 2016 20 minutes ago, Ali C said: I think I maybe got unlucky That might be the case but now it doesn't matter as you've got the MT6 and 7 on your bikes. No need for a Vee anymore. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Davetrials Posted August 1, 2016 Report Share Posted August 1, 2016 I've Finally had enough of my Front Magura/Freno setup, sick of it going tits up all the time so just bought some SD7 lever and arms Heatsink mounts and TNN pads, so fingers crossed i'm impressed, not had a Vee set up since i was starting out 13 years ago.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
niconj Posted August 1, 2016 Report Share Posted August 1, 2016 44 minutes ago, Davetrials said: bought some SD7 lever and arms Hope you meant levers and some cheap deore brakes. The SD7 brakes aren't really good for trials. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Davetrials Posted August 1, 2016 Report Share Posted August 1, 2016 (edited) shit, Whats so bad about the sd7 arms. Also if i have the option to change should i go deore or XT? Edited August 1, 2016 by Davetrials Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AdamR28 Posted August 1, 2016 Report Share Posted August 1, 2016 Yeah, what's up with them? I must have used a set for a couple of years on the back with no issues. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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