All Things Bikes and Tacos! (...and every vehicle imaginable)

I managed to break a chain link in the first 10 minutes but thankfully a nice father and son helped me with a new master link to finish my ride today. The trail was great compared to what im used to. Some greasy areas in the roots/rocks but overall very grippy everywhere else. Going for a ride with a friend who knows his way around better than me tomorrow so itll be even more fun, today was just messing around with a coworker.
Picking up a new chain tomorrow as well.

 

Ya uh, they STOP.... incredible brakes.

 

Just had my first couple of runs with XTRs, I love them. Came from RSCs and saints.

 

Sub $300 ideally.

 

The A4s really are a standout brake, as are the Magura MT7. Very different feel, both have been reliable and very powerful. Hayes are softer with a great ramp up, Magura come on harder and have less lever travel. Pros: extremely powerful, great control, solid and long lasting bleeds. Maguras use mineral, Hayes DOT. Maguras have so many lever options, Hayes have the easiest caliper alignment ever. Cons: Maguras have the plastic MC, which has broken once on me in 2 seasons (crash). They can also drag on the rotors. Hayes has very unreliable parts sourcing, spares can be a PIA to find.
I've ridden all modern Shimano (unreliable, weird bite point wander, need frequent bleeds), SRAM (not quite powerful enough, unreliable bleed), T3 Hopes (excellent, but not powerful enough).
I would definitely look at the new T4 Hopes, intrigued by @20somethingwidataco 's Cascade Slabs, DHR Evos are good by most people's experiences also. I've always wanted a set of Trickstuff. But I don't want to wait a year and spend over $1k...
I am HARD on my brakes though, long steep and rough runs that tend to get very very hot. Best thing you can do for ANY brakes is to get better pads off the bat and make sure you're running the right size rotors for your application.
I've had excellent experiences with MTX and Galfer pads. I also had to upsize to 223 rotors, also Galfer, to keep heat in check. My 220s were glazed and blue on the spines.

 

Saint is my favorite for all kinds of riding.

 

Enjoying the last of the New England fall colors. Soon it will be gray and depressing out, however that means getting ready to go on some fat bike rides. Last year the snow was terrible and we ended up only riding in the slush all winter long, maybe this year will be different.

 

Speaking of bikes, anyone in the XL height range wanting to try a Revel rascal? I like to try different things and this market isn’t really seller friendly- was going to explore trades etc frame swap plus/ minus cash etc.

 

The slabs are great so far, I run them with XTR levers, MTX Golds, and 203mm Galfer Waves. The NorthFork calipers (Sram compatible) are also pretty good. I test rode both of the prototypes for Cascade.

 

Another vote for Magura MT-7. Best modulation and sensitivity I’ve experienced (when properly bled).

 

speaking of mtx pads, i tried out the mtx golds. are they as bad as i've experienced? granted, i didn't do a full rotor clean but even after a week of riding, the golds didn't do anything. vague bite point, very noisy, very weak. i'll stick to the reds but it's easy to burn through them.

 

anyone with a 1up and an add on use a nut on the backside of the add on attachment bolts?

they seem fine after 3.5 hours to angel fire and 3.5 hours back. nothing seems loose. i think i'm just paranoid, but want some confirmation if its needed or not.

 

i haven't. not a bad idea. but i haven't ever seen the add-on loosen up.

 

Sweet baby Jesus

https://industrynine.com/?r=klav_br...BFmATuG-4uNnTFfUXR5p3tQt7l7M7iQEI9RGw=.QrfpvQ

 

I haven't had any issues with them. I've run the reds and golds. The last time I used golds they were on my Dh bike, which saw many races/whistler park days. They worked great. I'd pair them with clean rotors, or new rotors. They probably got contaminated.. Pour some water on them, rub them together and repeat until their clean.

 

I mean, my rotors were "Clean" as in they were coming off of reds. and the pads were brand new. i'll try new rotors and pads much later. sticking to tried and true for now.

 

right?!?! I'm too far down another color pallet to swap out, but damn they do look sexy!

 

I check my 1up once month because bolts do come loose. However, I'm too lazy to blue loctite them.

 

Whoa! That's hot.

I bet they have matching stems and headsets too.

 

Since my Boise SB100 is going to the PI with me in November (and staying there), I needed a replacement used bike. Scored this SB115 from TPC for a pretty good deal.