Submitted by
dudemanbro
a Weekend Warrior
from norcal
Date Reviewed: December 20, 2008
Strengths: lightweight, durability, adjustability
Weaknesses: must remove grips to slide off of handlebars
Bottom Line:
Nice levers that can be found for the right price on the web. They are as low maintenance and adjustable as anything else I've come across, and I've been able to bend the levers back to being straight after crashing! They have a very crisp action to them, and look pretty damn slick. No complaints here.
*If you're only getting new levers for your brake setup, look no further. However, if you need both levers and brakes for F/R check out the Speed Dial 7/Single Digit 7 Combo for ~$70 (if you don't mind the added weight).
Weaknesses: Looks whimpy (compared to Shimanos) but looks can deceive it is very strong.
Bottom Line:
I had a complete ProMax setup (which I believe is a Shimano product) and the biggest downfall where the pads and the levers. After upgrading the pads it made a big difference, but upgrading to the levers made an even bigger differnce. On my maiden voyage i almost toppled over the handle bars. They are also half the weight of my old levers. Many adjustments available. When AVID says single digit they really mean that you can stop the bike in wet or muddy conditions with just One Finger. I heard people always talk about the first think you should upgrade are the calipers, i found out that the pads and levers matter more than the calipers. I now outbreak my frinds bike with expensive disks in wet or dry. I would recommend going with Ti's (which I believe are now replaced by the SL) or the 7's, don't go with the 5's they are junk.
Bike Setup: 08 Rockhopper, ProMax Calipers, Coolmax MTB Dual Compound, AVID SD Ti Levers
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Submitted by
Charlie
a Cross Country Rider
from Prague, Czech Republic
Date Reviewed: June 20, 2007
Strengths: Adjustability, light weight, look good
Weaknesses: None so far
Bottom Line:
I bent one of the stock SD5 levers so put these on (had bought them a while back, just hadn't got round to fitting them). Instantly i noticed that setup was much better than the SD5, the build quality is miles better, they just feel better all round.
Weaknesses: Watch those clamp bolts! Remember the're titanium screwing into a magnesium alloy! (Should be a cautionary note on in in the instructions - even though they give torque settings).
Bottom Line:
I'm reviewing the 'Avid Speed Dial 7 SL', which I suppose is the same (or similar) to the 'Avid Speed Dial Ti'(??). The leaver is well manufactured! Brake leaver feels smooth and moves without 'vertical' flexing. The levelage adjustment is excellent and works well - you can really setup the lever how you like it. Instructions are well thought out and actually help! Finally, the leaver feel in your hand & action when riding is fantastic, progressive as you want, movement feels anatomically correct. I'm using the 'SD7 SL' with cheap rim brakes and it really improves the action. The leaver shape reduces specific pressure on the fingers & reduced my hand fatigue. This was the first thing I noticed.
The SL is not much more than the SD7 & is really a worthy buy!
Similar Products Used: Bike Positive (#33102) levers.
Bike Setup: Mid range hard tail.
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Submitted by
Svenne
a Cross Country Rider
from Belgium
Date Reviewed: August 28, 2005
Strengths: Looks,light,don't break,they do bent!(lever)
Weaknesses: Just use the torque settings according the manufacturer!If not it will break.
Bottom Line:
These brake levers are just the one i'm searching for.You can adjust them them in many ways to fit your finger(s).The modulation i don't use.I broke once the clamp 'cos i didn't use a torque tool.After using the torque tool,no more probs.Also i felt once on the brake,and i could just bend the lever back(still using it after 8 months with no probs)There are of course much lighter levers,but these are one of the better price/quality for me(although i tuned them with alu bolts)
Submitted by
Mike
a Weekend Warrior
from New Jersey
Date Reviewed: February 8, 2005
Strengths: Light weight, strong, great adjustability
Weaknesses: haven't found them
Bottom Line:
I have had great experience with these levers. Much better than my old LX before them. The length of the lever is nice, the adjustment is superb. The speed dial is very nice, i set them so i don't go over the handlebars. Work great with my avid ball bearing discs. Nice comfortable feel, and cool looking too.
Bike Setup: 02 C-dale F800, fatty ultra dl, mavic wheels, sram drivetrain-LX deraileurs, thomson layback post, Maxxis tires
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Submitted by
chris hoffman
a Downhiller
from coral gables, fl
Date Reviewed: July 28, 2004
Strengths: Sublte looks,I dont need the "look at me" flashy stuff. Light weight yet still feel extremely solid and stiff. Great modulation. Better than the shimano counterpart, XT/XTR.
Weaknesses: None so far.
Bottom Line:
Bottom line is this. There are to many lightweight flashy, underbuilt, overpriced products on the market today. These TI levers do not fit in that category, they are reasonably light, super comfortable, extremely adjustable, and overall just plain killer. Regardless of what type of rider you are, I would HIGHLY recommend this product. Wait till you can find them for under $50 and snatch them up, you will never regret it.
Similar Products Used: Shimano LX, XT, DEORE, AND XTR.
Bike Setup: 99' Specialized enduro, upgraded shock and spring, shermans, arch rivals, atom lab stem, DK iron cross pedals, XT shifters&derrailleurs etc. Just good solid stuff.
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Submitted by
Smytty
a Cross Country Rider
from Kingston, ON, Canada
Date Reviewed: May 18, 2004
Strengths: Light. Adjustable. They work perfectly with Avid Mech Discs. Easy to use. Great ergonomics.
Weaknesses: They're not free.
Bottom Line:
Great levers. They feel and work better than my old LX stuff, and allow me to fine tune the reach, modulation and firmness using the speed dial, which is dead simple to use. When I get the chance, I'm going to convert my hardtail over to Avid levers too.
Strengths: feel weight compared to my first brakes (promax and later avid sd 5's) tough several endos on pavement and downhill
Weaknesses: none
Bottom Line:
i didn't really didn't think they'd improve my braking but wow. they're really scratched up now but that's only because i've been pretty rough on em. upgraded both the levers and v's. i've done downhills all over wnc and south carolina and they've always stopped great, even over the snow ride i did last night.
Similar Products Used: promax stock brakes, sd 5's
Bike Setup: trek fuel 90 stock except for the sd ti's and irc mythos
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Submitted by
Chucky
a Cross Country Rider
from Tampa, FL
Date Reviewed: December 21, 2003
Strengths: Strong, adjustable (thanks to speed dial), killer looks
Weaknesses: The brakes they are connected to right now.
Bottom Line:
Got these brake lever intending to hook them up to some Avid Mech. Discs, but have decided to try the SD 7.0s. These levers rock. I can adjust and squeeze the crap out of, and they flex the hell out of my current crappy brakes. I'm surprised they havent snapped em yet. I am very particular about the finer points in my bikes control and the amount of lever pull is one of em. I like TIGHT brakes, and the speed dial control gives me the ability to adjust the pull to EXACTLY where I want it.
Similar Products Used: SD 5.0, variety of crap on a lot of lower end bikes
Bike Setup: GT XCR 5.0. XT drive train. stock Pro Max brakes (complete crap!)
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Submitted by
Peter Hughes
a Cross Country Rider
from New Forest UK
Date Reviewed: December 12, 2002
Strengths: Look OK! Able to match the 'feel' of the front, and rear lever with absolutly no effort thanks to the speed dial.
Weaknesses: No weakness really,
Bottom Line:
they do exactly what they are there to do. Some people may be unexcited by their subtle, uninteresting looks, but they're a lever which kind of sits there minding it's own business, and doesn't scream XTR with it's fancy polish, and decals.
Similar Products Used: XTR, XT, LX, DX (time served MTB'ers will remember these), speed dial 3's.
Bike Setup: Airborne Lky' Strike, XTR, Easton, Chris King, Avids, Mavic Crossrocs.
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Submitted by
Joel
a Cross Country Rider
from Lancaster, CA, USA
Date Reviewed: October 8, 2002
Strengths: Lightweight, gotta the adjustable fulcrum point.
Weaknesses: The Ti's are a bit pricey, but the lower end ones seem to work just as good.
Bottom Line:
I won't use any other brake lever than a speed dial. Maybe I'm just anal about my bike setup, but the adjustable fulcrum point allows you to adjust how progressive you want the brakes to engage. An advantage when riding different terrain...dial them back off for the mud, and crank them back up when the traction is better. It also allows you to match the "feel" of the front and rear levers.
Only got a single ride on them, so take this with the appropriate grain of salt.
The levers work fine. They're stiff and leverage is an absolute pleasure to adjust. The main problem I have with them is their ergonomics when installed on any SRAM Halfpipe-length shifter. Despite having a lever length like other levers, its relationship with the clamp makes them no more than single-finger levers without the phenomenal power and modulation of hydraulic disks (which I can use single-fingered). It makes continuous braking more of a chore than it has to be.
Anther issue that may or may not matter to you is the fact that the plastic bushings on the pivot pin aren't as concentric as they should be, which means that if you rebuild these levers and don't experiment with the "clocking" of the bushings, the lever can scrape against the inside of the lever housing. It can be non-issue if you're a mechanically anal guy like me, but other people out there, take note. My levers arrived scraping from the very beginning, which is what forced me to discover this fact.
Similar Products Used: XT levers, XTR levers, SRAM 9.0 levers (pre and post SRS-era models)
Bike Setup: What's relevant with this product is that it is being used with XTR brakes and SRAM 9.0 Halfpipe shifters.
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Submitted by
Nate
a Cross Country Rider
from Waldport, OR USA
Date Reviewed: June 28, 2001
Strengths: Hopefullly it's strength is it's strength.
Weaknesses: Had to buy them.Avid said is was riding the levers at a point beyond there capability.I guess that means wanting to stop and have the lever arm remain atached to the lever body.
Bottom Line:
I broke two pair of Mag's and lost faith in them so I ordered the Ti from my local shop because I liked the feal of the mag levers but hated the way the broke.avid sent my dealer a set of repacement lever arms for my mags made of aluminium.What do you know, put the ti's beside my old levers with there new arms and they look just the same! I have a hunch that the only Ti parts are the little bolt's and pivot pin.I just hope that they hold up better than the mag's.
