Yes, I have a set of Machine Tech brakes (not the Zero Flex or ZF II) that I haven't even found a picture of, but they are a previous revision because the use a noodle and have longer arms than any other pictures than their work I've seen. They still weigh in at 133 grams and look sweet as beans on my raw Al frame, but after trading parts with a bicycling machinist for one stainless barrel to be copied, and a cable retaining piece to be made, we found they WON'T WORK YET!

The deal is, that there is about 1/4" gab between where the spring wants to set and the actual frame, via the 1/4" wrench grip at the bottom of the brake bosses. There must have been a totally non-standard spacing part which the spring clipped into at some point. I may take some dense polystyrene and cut it haphazardly to fit, but will still need to tiny cotter pins to hold it rotationally static; this would be whack! HAS ANYONE SEEN NON STANDARD BRAKE BOSSES WHICH DON'T HAVE THE WRENCH GRIP ON THEIR BASE I COULD THREAD STRAIGT INTO THE FRAME WITH? That may be the solution another local biking machinist finds. I really want to see these brakes ride again, they are the lightest (even than my '04 Mag Avids) and sexiest looking brake EVER MADE!

I need to find a solution for MT brakes not sitting flush with the frame over the bottom of our current standardized bosses.

I bought the v-brakes and levers because I felt I was getting a good price for a USA-made product. I'm fairly happy with the levers, but the brakes are another story. Shortly after putting them into action, it became apparent that the wicked sister pulley was bullshit. It actually created MORE friction, and if it was muddy, the mud was pulled into the cable housing immediately rendering these brakes useless. I replaced the pulleys with shimano-style cable routing noodles, rigged some rubber boots, and with a little black electical tape have been able to keep the mud out. I'm still not entirely happy with the feel, as the coiled spring just doesn't work as well as the linear spring on shimanos and avids. Probably will replace these brakes with 1D20s or LX-Vs when I become pissed enough. My girlfriend's LX-Vs seem to work great and cost half as much.

Re.: the Machine Tech V-brakes . . .Man, what a dreadful product! These things could just have easily been a great set of brakes with only the most minor alterations in design, but they are all but unusable in their current iteration. Specifically, the Wicked Sister cable pulley is a preposterous, ineffective gimmick, and it keeps the brakes from functioning properly (or, in my case, at all), because it introduces a tremendous amount of cable friction.After spending four hours or so trying in vain to get these silly things to work, I sent them back and got XTRs; much better!Machine Tech's levers, on the other hand, are superb, maybe the best around.

Zeroflex QL Brakes look fantastic, but they also squeal like a banshee, and have a useless Wicked (friction) Sister. A local bike mechanic and I were unable to solve the squeal problem. I went to BikeWorld in San Antonio where I bought the brakes and these guys set them up sweet within 20 minutes. Machine Tech is issuing a new Wicked Sister (it has a 135 degree angle instead of the first run 90 degree angle and a few other changes). The brakes are working quite well with V-brake noodles. They look great and have a lot of mud clearance. There are 3 easy to set leverage adjusters on the brakes and the levers. The levers are fine.
I'll give them a 3 now. They'll get a 4 if the new Wicked Sisters work when I get them. They'll never rate a 5 because you shouldn't need a brake guru to adjust your brakes.
They sure look nice on your bike though.

I USE THIS BRAKES AND I LOVE THEM. iAM USING THE original machine tech brakes not the new v brakes. i have had them for about a year with much miles on them. they have a little squel every once in a while but a very powerful. stronger than the v brakes of shimano that i have ridden.

I purchased Machine Tech v-brakes because I didn't like shimano's sloppy v's.
They have similar power but the Machine Tech have more modulation. But I have
found these brakes to just about impossible to adjust. I hope the guy's at Machine
Tech fix this. I will give them 4 stars for function, but 3 as an overall brake.

Fairly effective when working properly. Good looking.

These brake worked great at first. But it is VERY easy to overtighten the pivot bolt, causing the inner bushing to deform, resulting in severe binding. I did this to mine. And guess what - the manufacturer no longer produces bike parts, will not warrenty them, and do not stock replacement parts. Also, the levers are not working so great any more.

DO NOT BUY THESE BRAKES! See product weaknesses for the reasons. As far as I know, they are not being manufactured any more, but there might be some still lying around. In my opinion, it is a good Idea to buy from established manufacturers that are able to maintain a level of quality control, and back it up with a good warrenty and customer support. Try Avid if you want to go with something other than Shimano.

The most beautiful V-brakes. Work great if setup properly. I think that these breakes have been given a bad rap! Maybe it's because I'm a bit of a tech-head, but I've got 'em workin great because I use Real X-levers which don't have a return spring and I set the spring tension on the brake very high. Make sure you use a minimum of cable housing length as this will sap the power from any brake. It is also important to grease the washer where it contacts the brake arm.

If done properly, I guarantee that you will fall in love (unless you use discs)! The pad holders are the best machined holders that I have ever seen.

***IF YOU DON'T WANT YOUR MACHINE TECH ZERO FLEX BRAKES, I WILL BUY A COUPLE OF SETS FROM YOU!!! I'M SERIOUS!!!

E-mail me, even if you want tips on setting-up.

Similar Products Used:

XT canti(still use), Alivio, XT V-brake(sucks--looks like shit('99) and uses a stupid small phillips head for spring tension. It also does't give proper return power for use with a lever that doesn't have a return spring.

If you are planning on building a bike up and never using it but displaying it for friends, you should consider buying these brakes. If you want to actually ride, don't even consider installing these brakes on your bike. I used them for less than a year and became so disgusted by there performance and constant cry for attention that I took them off and buried them in a little hole. I replaced them with the less expensive XT brake and have lived a happier life ever since.

Pluses: look nice, perform smoothly. good stopping power. Minuses: a pain in the butt to set up, wicked sister sticks out too far on the rear brake, my leg keeps rubbin' on it, they don't stay centered for very long...must be weak springs or the fact that the mounting bolt is very shallow and hard to tighten. It's the only thing that maintains the spring tension by forcing the brake against the brake boss. And think about this...if you had to adjust the spring tension out on the trail, you'de better have an open end wrench to hold the spring tension nut while you retighten the bolt!!! NOT A GOOD THING !!! I'll stick to a brake that uses a phillips head to adjust spring tension independently of the brake mounting bolt.