Submitted by
Drakken_11
a Weekend Warrior
from Bristol
Date Reviewed: December 21, 2009
Strengths: Price. They Work.
Weaknesses: Not the greatest thing out there.
Bottom Line:
I had these on my bike (rear) since 2000. They came stock on my bike.
Hey, they kept me from hitting any trees. They never failed and I never had any problems.
I know some Gear-Heads will gruff at the thought of using these. But they were not made for the "serious" biker. Most those guys are using Disc now anyway. Sure you could buy higher up the scale, but for the price there is nothing wrong w/ them.
They will take some adjusting to get them where you want them. But what brake doesn't???
If your wanting to buy brakes to get into some serious competition - Skip them for Disc brakes.
If you just need som reliable brakes to keep you from running into $h!t - Buy them.
Bike Setup: KHS Alite 1000 frame, RST Gila Pro TnL fork, Alivio group set, Ameoba Handle bar, Velo Plush saddle. AlexRims DC19 wtih Kenda Koyote tyres.
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Submitted by
Agustin Lopez
a Weekend Warrior
from Los Angeles, CA
Date Reviewed: May 28, 2004
Strengths: Price.
Weaknesses: Possibly weight but then again what's a few grams.
Bottom Line:
I like these brakes compared to the Tektros that came with my bike. I worked with them, adjusting them at least once a week trying to find that magical missing braking force.
I bought the Shimano (BR-M420 V-Brake) for $14.00 for the pair. So far this is the best upgrade so far. On my first ride they did what the Tektro's failed to do, brake. I thought they would offer better braking but I was surprised by the difference in stopping power. These brakes work great for $14.00 and don't let the price fool you into thinking they won't work.
In short, If you are not a hardcore rider and your bike came with P.O.S brakes, give these a try. I was surprised and pleased and not to mention I have enough left over to spend on other things for the bike.
I give them a 4 for value because they offer good performance for the money you pay and a total of three because nothing out there is perfect.
Similar Products Used: Cantis, vees, calipers, drums, etc...
Bike Setup: Full suspension, fork and rear shock, with suspension stem and suspension seatpost, yeah, and a sprung seat LOL! 124.635464 inches total travel.
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Submitted by
andi
a Weekend Warrior
from Regensburg, Germany
Date Reviewed: December 30, 2003
Strengths: enough power for most situations really cheap - 8 Euros! nice to look at simple construction: nothing which could break up, dirt - resistant
Weaknesses: quite flexy (especially w/ Avid SD3-levers)... ...but my ´01 LX isn´t that much better! durability??? But for 8 Euros - no problem.
Shimano stock brake-pads
Bottom Line:
I think for 8 Euros you cannot buy a better new brake. The stopping power is enough, but the modulation could be better with less flexing brake-arms.
I don´t know how long they will last, but I don´t see anything which could break up. And even if it doesn´t work anymore - I´ll mount the next one (but maybe a Deore - maybe they flex less)
The really crappy brakes that came stock on my cheapo Raleigh M20 worked just fine and didnt need to be replaced. However, I had upgraded the stock grip shifters and the brake levers that it had were the kinda that work with twist shifters, so they had the funny little bump in them. That drove me nuts rubbing my knuckle so I decided to look for new levers. Well I found some Avid Single Digit levers for really cheap and decided if I had such nice levers I needed to upgrade the crappy V-brakes as well. Cambria just happened to have the levers for $15 and then the Shimano M420 V-brakes whicha re the newer style for $5 a set. So for $25 I had a new brake setup, not bad. Lemme tell you these cheap brakes work great. They look nice and stop great with the Avid levers. They actually stop better on my cheap unmachined sidewall rims than the Alivo lever, Deore brake setup w/ XT pads on machined Mavic rims I had on my mountain bike, go figure. For the money you simply cant do any better.
Similar Products Used: Deore V-brakes, Promax, generic
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Submitted by
Aaron McGraw
a Cross Country Rider
from Oil City PA, USA
Date Reviewed: October 27, 2003
Strengths: Despite what some of the prophetic know-it-alls say: They DO work.
Weaknesses: Weight. No big issue, really...when I lose a few pounds myself, I'll start a letter-writing campaign to Shimano.
Bottom Line:
I love these doom-and-gloom self-annointed reverends that tell you, "Use these brakes and the end is near"....its not true in the slightest. Maybe if they kept their bodily fluids (tears and others) off the pads, maybe their brakes would work a tad better. Realisticly speaking, these brakes DO work. They are a bargain and will prevent you from careening off the un-beaten path into a river gorge and winding up as trout-food. They will provide stopping power ample enough to end your descents (whether it be down a ridiculous powerline grade, fire road, abandoned logging trail, or PA Route 8). With a decent pair of levers, they will supply a reasonable level of modulation. To top things off, they do look rather spiffy. If you are on a budget, these brakes (or Tektro offerings) are a rational and safe choice. I suspect that some of the folks that malign perfectly good products are somehow insecure about their riding ability, how their pasty butt looks in spandex, or work at the local bike shop behind the brake-upgrade counter and hope to make a nice fat commission from the folks they fill with fear.
Favorite Trail: Oil Creek, Allegheny, and Sugar Creek Trail Systems, Venango County
Duration Product Used: 6 months
Price Paid:
$10.00
Purchased At: Pricepoint or Cambria (I really don't recall)
Similar Products Used: Tektro V-brakes, Scott Pederson SE cantilevers, Alivio Cantilevers, Suntour Rollercam, Diatech U-Brakes, Exage Trail M350 cantilever and U-brakes, Chang Star Linear Pull Brakes (okay, now THOSE were dangerous)
Bike Setup: These brakes with SRAM 9.0SL levers, Titec Bars, Kore Stem, Profile bar ends, MRX shifters, Deore Front Mech, Deore XT rear derailleur, Taya Relief chain, Weinmann rims with formula hubs, Mutanoraptor tires, Truvativ 5-D crank with Syncros, LX, and stock (steel) Truvativ (inner) rings, Kalloy post with SDG saddle, Manitou Magnum fork, DMT rear shock, Wellgo Smootie DH SPD-type pedals, Nashbar cassette, Mongoose XR-150 frameset.
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Submitted by
Joshi "digi"
a Cross Country Rider
from Silver Spring, MarylanD
Date Reviewed: March 9, 2003
Strengths: Will stop you. Eventually. Better than nothing.
Weaknesses: you can see the metal bend. doesn't work with 26" X 2.1" tires.
Bike Setup: bridgestone mb-6 with misc. replacement parts
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Submitted by
Andrew Longden
a Weekend Warrior
from sheffield
Date Reviewed: March 2, 2002
Strengths: good stopping power, easy to ajust, looks o.k, cheap
Weaknesses: leaves black stuff on your rims, kills blocks, doesn't work when wet
Bottom Line:
very good stopping power when the brakes are clean but once they get wet they stop working.I scrubb a set of blocks every time I go out for a day ride (I now know my local shop onwner by first name). it's worth spending more and getting better if you can. I am now thinking of getting a hope mini to save on cost!!
Poor product. Lack of braking power and tendency to fade (during not even long rides) created many harrowing experiences on dh switchbacks. Overall, don't skimp when it comes to brakes! Spend a couple of extra bucks and get some alivios instead... single digit 5s are only 20 bucks at jenson... they're far better built and have greater stopping force than even mid-high priced shimanos.
Bike Setup: trek 7k.. alivio sd 7s (nice brakes), a z3 bam, & better rollers..
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Submitted by
Gunny
a Weekend Warrior
from Halifax, NS
Date Reviewed: January 14, 2002
Strengths: Damn cheap (moneywise).
Weaknesses: Damn cheap (qualitywise).
Bottom Line:
A phenomenally effective way of getting yourself killed in the classic heavy rain/heavy traffic cocktail. If you're new to cycling and you plan on doing anything in the wet, fire these into space and get even some low-end V-brakes. Seriously, there are a lot of folks who seem to think that if something's not brand spanking new and "trick", that it sucks, and while this is NOT true, brakes are one thing to absolutely not skimp on. Your safety is (should be) the number one priority, and while it is true that no rim brake is a sure thing in the wet, these brakes have relatively low power, even when properly set up. If you must stick with them (or any cantillever brake), be sure to use high-quality pads (I recommend kool-stops or Ritcheys).
Strengths: uh these i got with my 2000 schwinn moab 3. they work pre nice and look cool.
Weaknesses: ah that pads are like worn out after a year and a half of rideing (my bike was used so it got alil more wear on the brakes than i like)so i guess they still flip me but its slower and i wanna have better performance without that much cash. i think im gonna upgrad to some better pads. uh they crap up my rims but i try to keep that clean.
Bottom Line:
these brakes are nice but i would like to upgrade. i dunno maybe next summer but right now if you just upgrade the pads i think these brakes will work nice for you. might have alil bit of play but not that bad and they stop nicely.
Submitted by
Martin E
a Cross Country Rider
from Sweden
Date Reviewed: March 1, 2001
Strengths: Good braking power Easy to maintain Everlasting VERY cheap As good as LX Looks cool.
Weaknesses: Makes the rim change color to black No power when wet No sensitivity
Bottom Line:
If you dont have any money to buy the good stuff get this. If you do have money dont buy it. I got these with a cheap bike but I am surprised they work as good as they do but I changed brakes quite soon.
