Submitted by
Matej Misvelj
a Weekend Warrior
from Slovenia
Date Reviewed: June 23, 2005
Strengths: nice look good power
Weaknesses: hard to setup hard to replace brake pads
Bottom Line:
I have been using this brakes for about 6 or 7 years. I set them up once a year and then just leave them alone. It takes a lot of time to set them corectly or to change pads. Overall it is a good brake system if you are not a professional driver. AND shimano brake pads are not very good. There should be a better alternative.
Bike Setup: stx-rc brake levers, OEM cables, stx-rc brakes
Overall Rating:
Value Rating:
Submitted by
Bernie Miranda
a Weekend Warrior
from The Philippines
Date Reviewed: September 7, 2003
Strengths: The metal used is very strong, guess much stronger than the newer XT's of 2003. Stopping Power is Good.
Weaknesses: Nothing except its local like ( generic taiwanese/chinese parts )appearance.
Bottom Line:
This XTR RC has the same performance of todays Shimano's XT versions ( or much better in every aspect ) considering my weight of 240 lbs, from 1997 up to now this old bike of mine still rolls in the rocky roads of Tagaytay and some rivers of Batangas. Very much moneys worth.
Similar Products Used: Shimano XTR, Deore , Exage & Suntour.
Bike Setup: MOB ( HardTail ) with XTR RC Gruppo, Alessa Rims, & Kinesis Forks ( no shock )
Overall Rating:
Value Rating:
Submitted by
Megan
a Weekend Warrior
from Claremont, CA
Date Reviewed: February 18, 2003
Strengths: So much better than cantis !!!!
Weaknesses: A little fussy with the alignmnet, but overall can't complain
Bottom Line:
So, I really couldn't take riding my old nishiki cascade (like riding a rock with wheels) and decided to build my own bike to save some cash, but use some good components. I had been riding cantis on my old bike. My dad had upgraded to discs and said I could have his old vees - and free is my favorite price. Wow, I almost cracked my skull open the first time I braked with them, I was used to jamming on my cantis. Even though they aren't top of the line, if you spend a little time aligning them correctly they have awesome stopping power (two fingers to ride along side my bipedal friends) and don't squeak a peep. If I had bought them, might have gone with something a little higher in the food chain, but I can't complain about these.
Similar Products Used: shimano lx cantis - ah my '91 nishiki cascade
Bike Setup: access XCL frame, lx/xt drive train, stx-rc vees with avid sd7 levers, thudbuster w/ selle italia gel flite, titec hellbent bars w/ big al stem, indy c fork - hey, I'm a college student on a budget
What can I say, for $16 for the set they can't be beat. They are not really that hard to set up, and they don't squeal if set correctly. This is not a cut at anyone, but most people don't know how to properly set up and adjust brakes. No problems with these brakes at all. 5 chilis for value, 4 overall.
Bike Setup: Rear : Acera Front: LX deore brakes: STX rc with servo wave action
Overall Rating:
Value Rating:
Submitted by
Rico Flor
a Weekend Warrior
from Philippines
Date Reviewed: February 18, 2002
Strengths: Great stopping power...almost endoed on a level street when I started using them. Lots of ways to adjust. I can slap on any wheel set and I'm almost sure I can find a way to fit the brake on them.
Weaknesses: Lots of ways to adjust. Times when your brain is mush, you just don't appreciate the democracy it gives you in adjustment. There is such a thing as tweak-weary mindset.
Bottom Line:
Bottom line? Is that the same as skid marks (remember John Leguizamo in Spawn)? Anyways, they're doing a great job on my trail. Depending on the time of year, I either get dust and dry forest litter, and gravel, and baby heads...or mud, and water, and sand and gravel, and wet and slippery baby heads. Back during D.C. (Days of Canti), my hands hurt due to the combined stress that a rigid fork and mushy, weak-braking canti's. On worst rides, I had to stop to pry off my hands from the handlebars...of course they remained curled and aching. Now, at V.B.D. (Vee Brake Days), I can lightly feather my braking with 2 (or sometimes with 1 if I feel like checking out Shimano's wisdom for designing a single finger LX brake lever, something that I don't have, BTW). Braking requires little effort with this baby that I can concentrate on other things like looking for a better line or shifting my weight over obstacles and dips. And not endoing if I my hands curled permanently into a fist.
All in all, I like the damn thing. Works fine for XC, so I recommend it for XC riders with shallow pockets, oodles of patience, and good mechanical acumen. Go disk if you really want to free ride and bash your bike to smithereens.
4 cat smelly droppings for value. 4 smelly turds also for the overall rating. I took out that one for failing to satisfy my LX envy.
Purchased At: Specialized (At least that's what the shop's name sez..)
Similar Products Used: I was using an XT canti before...it's a shock to experience a low end product beating what used to be the top end of the pecking order, in terms of stopping power.
Bike Setup: Let's just say I got a Cro-Mo hard tail with standard gague tubing running on Shimano guts. If you care to know the details, look up my review of the RST 381 EL.
Overall Rating:
Value Rating:
Submitted by
Stuart
a Weekend Warrior
from Hobart, Australia
Date Reviewed: November 12, 2001
Strengths: Relatively cheap, simple
Weaknesses: Difficult to adjust
Bottom Line:
I found no problems with installing these brakes, the only real bugger with them is trying to keep them dialed in, but as its such a simple system its pretty easy to see what's going on with them. The pads I ran in them (Red Koolstops) were a little unpredictable in the wet, and at times I had to use a fair amount of pressure on the levers. After experiencing XT-V's though, I would have to say that these are a pretty good brake, especially in thier price range.
Submitted by
Matt Brown
a Cross Country Rider
from Shaw,SC,USA
Date Reviewed: August 16, 2001
Strengths: None
Weaknesses: These are actually Deore V-brakes, but I didn't see that as a catagory, and I think everybody needs to know what junk these(Deore) are. They are incredibly hard to install, the springs in the calipers are not of equal strength and the bolts that secure them to your bike are lightweight (I broke one of them).
Bottom Line:
These are terrible brakes,I had better stopping power with canti's. If you are forking out the money, buy Avids. These Deores are 20 buck a piece, the Avid digit 7's are 35 for a set!!
Similar Products Used: Avid arch rival, Shimano XTR, Avid
Bike Setup: xtr xtr stxrc
Overall Rating:
Value Rating:
Submitted by
donovan
a Cross Country Rider
from greenville
Date Reviewed: November 17, 2000
Strengths: cheap! adjustable (high or low)
Weaknesses: no replacement pads available!
Bottom Line:
I've used these brake for a year, the only problem is that once the pads wore out, the local bike shops couldn't figure out how to replace them. The lx models won't fit. Ended up putting canti style pads on, seems to work ok after adjusting for extra thickness, but I'll probably move up to LXs next.
Bike Setup: Cannondale M500 w/ Marzocchi Atom Bomb
Overall Rating:
Value Rating:
Submitted by
David Molony
a Downhiller
from Canterbury Kent England
Date Reviewed: October 12, 2000
Strengths: Cheap....... anti lock system.......Nice levers though, Id reccomend the levers
Weaknesses: Anti lock system, complete lack of power, pads take months to wear in by which time they're worn out, flex, stick
Bottom Line:
Like trees? Buy these. They will not lock, and are about as powerful as a centrepul with the cable cut. I have to clean the rims and degrease the cables every weekend to make them work. If you have them on order, cancel them and get LX, Maggies, or Arch rivals. Youlle hit the aforemetntioned tree, or slip off the back of your bike in a wheely with these. Buy if you are oin a death wish, or want the levers, which are good.
Strengths: works really well when u set it right DOESNT unalign at all....(dont know what the others r talkin bout) :) once you set them right, you wont need to fiddle with them for AGES nice braking power
Weaknesses: tend to squeek now and then but seriously WHO CARES dont know why people make a fuss about noise :) when you get the hang of it, its a breeze to adjust
Bottom Line:
definetely worth the money this gadget works great id reccomend this for everyone but if your a racer youd probably want something with a bit more power
Favorite Trail: whatevers fast, bumpy and got jumps
Duration Product Used: 1 Year
Similar Products Used: *none*
Bike Setup: sick mate
Overall Rating:
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Submitted by
Alex Mitchell
a Weekend Warrior
from Somerset
Date Reviewed: April 9, 2000
Strengths: look good,work well brilliant for the non-racing sort of rider
Weaknesses: difficult to set up and adjust
Bottom Line:
aFTER YOU'VE SET THEM UP RIGHT, YOU PROBABLY WON'T HAVE TO ADJUST THEM FOR QUITE A WHILE!!!! ALTHOUGH THIS DID TAKE ME AND MY DAD A WHOLE MORNING AND HALF THE AFERNON TO DO!!! PEOPLE WHO ARN'T SERIOUS DOWNHILLERS OR ANYTHING SHOULD BE FINE WITH THESE BRAKES.
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