Submitted by
andy w
a Weekend Warrior
from mishawaka
Date Reviewed: May 16, 2007
Strengths: quartz mt 11 no cheap plastic parts, good stopping power, flawless paint finish
Weaknesses: adjusting screws fall out, stock brake shoes lose pads easily, mounting bolts strip easily, mounts arent sealed... horse shoe guide fell apart after a wreck where i bent a rear wheel.
Bottom Line:
i was a little weary of tektro products, and i bought these just as a temporary brake after i broke two left xts in a wreck. i ordered a set of xts from my dealer, but had to leave the state quickly, and never ended up getting them. ive now had these on this bike for the last 5 years and basically just have the v brake issues.... constant adjustment, adjustment screws falling out. the paint has withstood my years of abuse, and there is not a scratch anywhere. the weaknesses i listed were mainly due to my riding habits, so i wouldnt hold this against the brand and would recommend them to xc riders only. these are definetly not all mountain/trail brakes.
Bike Setup: custom steel frame, white bros x8 fork, xt crank/der/shifters/hubs
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Submitted by
Connor
a Cross Country Rider
from Denver, CO USA
Date Reviewed: October 11, 2006
Strengths: Still going after 6 years! Just read the review here and realized my rear V-brake is still going strong after 6+ years and thousands more miles. Front was replaced by Avid BB7...but not due to product failure.
Weaknesses: None
Bottom Line:
Don't know if they're still sold, but a great, cheap V-brake. Just locktite the leafspring screws and replace pads with Koolstops, and ride away.
Bike Setup: 96 Trek 970/'00 Z-2 Atom 80/Avid BB7 front and Tektro Quartz rear V-brake.
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Submitted by
Nick
a Weekend Warrior
from Amherst, MA
Date Reviewed: October 10, 2006
Strengths: Price! Good stopping power, decent levers and return springs, no junky plastic and easy to install.
Weaknesses: constant adjustment needed, supplied noodles are garbage, brake pads are sub-par.
Bottom Line:
I was looking for a cheap v-brake set to replace my horrible squealing rim-eating cantis, and these seemed to be the best bang for the buck out there. It came with all the supplies I needed, although I had to re-route the cables with a cable guide, but the install was nice and easy.
I was impressed with the performance, and they seemed equivalent to shimano v-brakes (Deore, etc) and greatly improved my stopping power and modulation. For once I was able to go downhill on singletrack without fear of flying into a tree trunk! The leaf spring design works well, and the levers have a nice feel to them although I wonder how well they will continue to hold up as there is no way to repair them if they do break. The brakes themselves are solid with little to no flex, and look good to boot!
However, one of the first things I realized is that the little plastic noodles supplied are absolute junk - go to your LBS and get some flexier ones (they gave them to me for free). Also, the pads, while they work ok, are not ideal esp. in wet weather, and have the tendency to occasionally lock up (did a nasty endo into pavement - ouch!). Also, the adjustment screws on the brakes tend to back out, requiring weekly fiddling - i might try some loc-tite or something cuz its annoying.
Overall though, they are sweet for the price despite some downsides, and an essential upgrade from cantis! I kind of wish i had dropped some more cash for some nice Avid SD 7's, but then im not sure if my old bike really deserves them ;)
Similar Products Used: Cantilevers (UGH!), various shimano v-brakes on test bikes
Bike Setup: '95 Trek 930 w/ Tektro brakes, Magura Quake Air fork, Egg beaters & various other upgrades.
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Submitted by
Matiss
a Weekend Warrior
from Thunder Bay, ON, Canada
Date Reviewed: April 3, 2006
Strengths: They will stop you. Easy to set up. Easy to adjust.
Weaknesses: Need adjusting a lot (like any v-brake i've seen)
Bottom Line:
These brakes rock! I've had them for 5 years with no major problems. I feel sorry for all those riders with Shimano or generic brakes exploding on them.
Submitted by
John W.
a Cross Country Rider
from Red Lodge, MT
Date Reviewed: February 12, 2005
Strengths: Great performance, easy set-up, and unbeatable price!
Weaknesses: Not adjustable for power/modulation.
Bottom Line:
I'm very impressed by these brakes. While ther is no adjustment for power/cable pull at the lever (other than a setting for V or canti), for my type of riding (technical xc) they don't need it - power and modulation are fine. Not as powerful as the Arch Rivals, or as good of modulation as the XT's, but not that far behind and for a fraction of the price. If you're just looking for a good performing, inexpensive pair of V's, look no further.
Similar Products Used: Many V's from Shimano including STX-RC, Deore, LX, and XT, and Avids including SD5, SD7, and Arch Rivals.
Bike Setup: Surly 1x1 with handbuilt (by me) wheels, WTB MutanoRaptor Race 2.4's, Cane Creek S2 Headset, Salsa SUL stem and ProMoto bars, Bontrager Race Crank/TruVativ BB/Salsa ring and bashguard, ACS freewheel, Rock Shox post, and the best part - Brooks Swift saddle. And of course Tektro Quartz Brakes.
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Submitted by
SGT. ROCK
a Racer
from Grande Cache, AB
Date Reviewed: December 9, 2004
Strengths: Price Good quality materials Nice appearance
Weaknesses: Insufficient cable hardware
Bottom Line:
I was skeptical about a complete V-brake system for $35 - a Shimano LX system would have cost at least twice that. I like LX brakes very much, BTW. I bought the Tektros strictly on the reviews here, and I wasn't disappointed. The Tektros look better than the LX's, and the arms don't have any more play, either. Good feel at the levers when installed and adjusted. I prefer non-parallel push brake arms - less rattly. The pads could be crap, but the good replacements I use are $3.00/pr., so who cares?
Only negative comment is that Tektro doesn't supply enough ferrules to complete the cabling. Neither did Shimano with the LX shifter pods I installed on the same bike,so again, who cares?
Similar Products Used: Shimano LX V's on three other bikes in my stable
Bike Setup: Giant ATX 890
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Submitted by
David Backman
a Cross Country Rider
from Sweden
Date Reviewed: August 4, 2003
Strengths: Price, weight, looks. Can be made to work with handles meant for cantis.
Weaknesses: A lot of play in the bushings. Adjustment margin on return spring is small. On my bike they cause what seems like an unfixable brake squeal together with a ceramic rim.
Bottom Line:
Yes they are cheap, and yes they can lock your wheel(s) better than cantis. But so does a stick through the spokes. With luck (and some experimenting) maybe you can get a setup that works better than that. Expect to switch to other pads. They look quite nice.
Similar Products Used: Hayes hydro disc, Shimano LX V-brake, Shimano LX canti
Bike Setup: Marzocchi COMP ETA on noname hardtail aluminum frame, Shimano LX 7-speed drivetrain that just won't wear out... Bits and pieces I had laying around.
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Submitted by
Chris
a Cross Country Rider
from Canberra
Date Reviewed: February 5, 2003
Strengths: Cheap,they work well for the price.Heaps better than canti's.
Weaknesses: Check often or lock tight in the screws for the "leaf" springs they will fall out. you need to adjust often.
Bottom Line:
These are good for the price,I had canti's so these were a huge improvement.The leaf spring screws(front) feel out on a very steep and tight single track, hence no brakes as i virtually destroyed the rear pads trying to slow down.Ended up having to crash into some small tree's to stop.(yes i had my feet down as well!).I fixed them with locktight and no more trouble(1 year on).If i were to buy v's again i would probably shell out the extra $$ and go with avids.I'm riding steeper and more technical tracks these days so I'm upgrading again to magura hs-33's.I'm 6'2" and 100kgs so i really need to stop all the time.
Similar Products Used: Tried avids on a friends bike, that convinced me to go with V's. canti's used previously.
Bike Setup: old hardtail, upgraded running gear to xt, m535 wheels, manituo x-vert shock.
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Submitted by
JJ
a Weekend Warrior
from Cranbrook, BC, Canada
Date Reviewed: November 7, 2002
Strengths: Lots-good power, good looks, very light, good in all conditions.
Weaknesses: They sqeek a little bit in the wet but thats no bigy.
Bottom Line:
These came stock on my bike. Theyre awsome. I use 'em' for trials, DJ/DS, aggressive single track, DH, urban and lots of rad stuff. Get them-theyre worth it!!!
Bike Setup: A Giant hardtail frame, Manitou forks, TekTro brakes, Shimano brakes, Raceface bashring, ATi grips, Axiom sofa bed DH seat, Ryhno Litle rims
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Submitted by
Todd K.
a Weekend Warrior
from Canton
Date Reviewed: March 29, 2002
Strengths: They stop, sometimes. Enjoyable to swear at when they start sucking
Weaknesses: The brake itself.
Bottom Line:
These things suck. They have so much play in them and no matter how good the pads and cables are, they still suck. Squel liek crazy, dont stop half the time, they of course are bad in mud, most V's are. Im getting myself a pair of Avid Arch Rivals and see how those are.
Strengths: Over power... They got exceptional stopping power. They look awesome and are really easy to adjust
Weaknesses: My only problem is over power, they bend the seat stay very easily. They don't screech. And 240g a little heavier than xtr (195g) and avid arch rival which are 196g. But the extra weight is worth it.
Bottom Line:
For the price you pay they're really great and are well worth it. If i wouldn't have front mech disc i'd have these cause they stop just as good.
Submitted by
Mico Valera
a Cross Country Rider
from Dublin, Oh
Date Reviewed: July 21, 2001
Strengths: Damn good stopping power. Looks good and good value.
Weaknesses: Too much power for the novice.
Bottom Line:
I built my bike on a very limited budget winning auctions on ebay and looking for mild used components spending no more than 300 on my rig. I came accross the MT20 complete set for $15. It's got rear wheel raising power that threw me of my bike while I was testing the raise on the rear wheel. Recomend practicing different stopping levels.
These are great brakes! Setup was easy. I love the little leaf spring, it's much better than those stupid little wire springs. Like I wrote under Product Strenghts, "Price, stopping power, easy setup, looks", what more do you want in a brake? Buy it!
Bike Setup: Sorrento Sport frame with 9.0SL drivetrain and SID.
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Submitted by
Jim
a Weekend Warrior
from Richland,WA USA
Date Reviewed: May 28, 2001
Strengths: Cost. They are a great brake for the money. Easy to install and they have great stopping power
Weaknesses: The adjusting screws tend to back out, so they need to be watched. Small turns on the adjustment screws make large changes to the adjustment, took a while to get them adjusted. The levers seem to be a little flimsy (No problems yet)
Bottom Line:
I think the brakes are great, the best value upgrade I have done so far. I found that using blue thread lock has solved the problem with the adjusting screws backing out. I am very pleased with the brakes so far
