The brakeThat fits right in withThe SRAM X9 family.The C in CRdoesn’t actually stand for “control,” but it might as well. With itsuniqueTaperBore™Technology and optional carbon blade,The CR islighter and more powerfulThan ever. With featuresThat let youcustomize your ride, likeTool-free Contact Point Adjustment and reachadjustment—as well as matching colors for X9 components—itTakes secondstoTurnThe Elixir CR into your Elixir CR. Control at your fingerTips Carbon fiber le
The Avid Elixir brakes replace the Avid Juicy Ultimates and become the top of the line, multipurpose brake set for Avid/SRAM. Braking power with the new Avid Elixir’s are claimed to be somewhere in-between the Juicy and Code lineups. With new technologies like Taperbore, tool free adjustment, new G3 rotor and banjo fittings, the Elixir brake lineup brings something completely new to the table for Avid. Continue reading →
Submitted by
sloppyart
a Cross Country Rider
from Boulder, CO
Date Reviewed: January 31, 2012
Strengths: Really nice feel to them. I like my brakes to be catchy. No mush for me.
Weaknesses: None other than they cost money.
Bottom Line:
I don't know if I got lucky, or if Avid's quality control is a little lacking, but the brakes I just installed were about as easy as it gets to install. No issues with noise. They stop the bike great. Really nice feel to them. I like them about equal to my XT's on my Giant Trance X1.
Seems some people have issues with noise. I had no problem at all with that. No rubbing. No squeak. No issues requiring me to bleed the brakes. Only issue at all is I ride a small frame so the hose length is WAY to long. I'll have to get them chopped once I finalize the build and setup on my bike.
Set up was a breeze. I would suspect that at least some of the bad reviews on this site are due to people not setting up their brakes correctly.
I'm not sure if my method is the best way (feel free to correct anything that might kill someone), but I:
(1) Remove brakes from package.
(2) Install rotor on hub.
(3) Attach lever to handle bar fully (where I like them).
(4) LIGHTLY attach caliper to it's mount on the fork or frame.
(5) Pump brake lever a few times until it firms up.
(6) Pull brake lever all the way in (hard).
(7) Finish tightening down the caliper.
(8) Make sure the wheel spins freely.
(9) Go outside. Make sure the brakes work.
(10) Ride fast and then stop quickly. Do this 10-20 times.
(11) Go for a real ride.
Weaknesses: Very little modulations. Only two choices, no brakes of fully lock wheel, nothing in between! Bleed sucks, you have to buy a whole bleed kit for $50+, the parts wear our really quickly and Avid does not supply you all the O-rings in the rebuild kit for $25! These brakes are money sucking pits.
Bottom Line:
Don't waste your money on Avid or SRAM brakes, nothing but a nightmare.
Submitted by
394SMS
a Cross Country Rider
from Miami Florida
Date Reviewed: October 19, 2011
Strengths: After 9 months they finally work. Turkey wobble is now acceptable. Even though its still Oct.
Weaknesses: Read the reviews, they say it all. I read every review on google and did the bleeds x 3 all the scram videos cures and they now work. They howled, dragged, the adj doesn't do a dam thing. I suffered for six months and finally got them to work, no drag at all and back to loving to riding. When I used to go for a ride the rotors were so hot I couldn't touch them. Now all is well.
Bottom Line:
Unless you are a super mechanic, and have great technical skills, a problem solver, and lots of patience these brakes will drive you F ing crazy. Buy an anchor and throw it out to stop,as it will give you less problems than these Avid CRs will.
Similar Products Used: First set of hyd brakes, prefer mech type.
Bike Setup: Motobecane Ti 26er Phantom Pro
Overall Rating:
Value Rating:
Submitted by
Gunnar-man
a Weekend Warrior
from Calgary, AB, Canada
Date Reviewed: September 10, 2011
Strengths: Great modulation, love the carbon lever
Weaknesses: Required a bleed out of the box, howled alot on long, steep downhills, not as easy to bleed as the juicys, the G3 rotors seemed more flimsy than the Avid rotors
Bottom Line:
These started out as great brakes but after about 6mths of use they started to become a little mushy. They also would howl like a banshee on long steep downhills, which I had never experienced before on my previous brakes.
I don't think the pad adj worked, as i didn't notice any difference in the feel, stopping or contact when I did adjust them.
They did have great modulation and stopping power, though. And since I was able to get the complete system for $200, that made it a little easier to accept some of the short comings.
Submitted by
John
a Cross Country Rider
from Bristol, CT
Date Reviewed: July 31, 2011
Strengths: Can't find any strengths . Worst set of brakes after my Juicy 5's that came with another bike.
Weaknesses: Noise, gobble , squeal, spongy levers. Just can't make these work well.
Bottom Line:
Have the avid bleed kit, know how to use it. Still, I reviewed all the videos on bleeding avid brakes anyway because I could NOT eliminate the spongy lever feel and I can't get a firm lever. Impossible. Also they were terribly noisy brand new. Replaced rotors with aligators. Still had noise, replaced pads with organics. Reduced the noise. Replaced the rotrs aagain with Shimano XT rotors, that heldped a LOT!! Still, I can't live witht the crappy lever feel so I'm getting the 2012 Shimano XT disc brake sets.
Similar Products Used: Shimano XT 4 pot disc brakes (over 7 years old and still perfect) on my retired XC bike.
Bike Setup: 2011 Stumpjumper elite FSR
Overall Rating:
Value Rating:
Submitted by
qbngringo
a Weekend Warrior
from Miami, FL
Date Reviewed: July 7, 2011
Strengths: Light weight, good looks, strong
Weaknesses: Rubbed the rotor unless perfectly aligned, even then it rubbed the rotor some. It squeeled all the time and howled when wet. I would never buy these again.
Bottom Line:
These brakes were strong and light. I wanted to love them and gave them lots of time to be figured out. They were bleed several times and had the pads replaced but no matter what they just would keep being annoying. Adding just a little drag to my ride and lots of noise. They were replaced with Shimano XT brakes which are heavier but have better pad clearance.
Similar Products Used: Shimano XT, Juicy 3, Juicy 5, BB5
Bike Setup: Rip 9, full XT drivetrain, Haven Wheels
Overall Rating:
Value Rating:
Submitted by
Odiggy
a Weekend Warrior
from Mount Holly, Nj
Date Reviewed: June 30, 2011
Strengths: Great looking, excellent modulation, excellent braking power, reach adjustment
Weaknesses: None so far
Bottom Line:
I wanted to add my 2 cents about these brakes. Admittedly, I've only had them for a month now, but adding my recent adjustment story may help others they encounter the disc rubbing.
I was riding the trail and while coming down a hill with a sharp right, I missed the turn and rode off into the brush. Anyway, nothing broke or bent, but I found when got back on the trail the front brake begin rubbing inside the caliper. I was able to finish the ride. The next day I inspected the brake rub & discovered the caliper itself apparently lost its alignment during the crash. So I loosened the 2 hex bolts, straightened the cup washers, and retightened the caliper while spinning the wheel. There is a very small tolerance between rubbing and no rubbing inside the caliper. Keeping the cupwashers as straight as possible while slowly tightening both hex bolts equally and holding caliper away from the rim, I was able to again align the rotor inside the caliper and eliminate the rub. I then re-bedded the pads to the rotor and now everything once again works as it did right out of the box! FYI, the hex bolts and cup washers were still all tight before I re-aligned the entire caliper!
This may not be the fix-all solution for everyone, I'm going to always inspect this alignment evertime before I ride and definitely before I'd begin any internal pad, or more involved adjustments.
Lesson: The concave shape of the cup washers must allow for the caliper to slip over time or in my case, during hard braking. That is what must be what happened to me.
Anyway, my 2 cents! Hope it helps!
So far these are the best brakes I ever ridden upon. I'll update my post if this changes....
Submitted by
Wheelspeed
a Cross Country Rider
from Pittsburgh, PA, USA
Date Reviewed: June 25, 2011
Strengths: Looks
Weaknesses: Cannot replace seals for contact pad adjustment.
Frequent disc rub.
Contact pad adjustment does not adjust enough to get rid of brake rub.
Avid does not help purchasers of online products.
Bottom Line:
These brakes required me to readjust the caliper every time I had to remove a wheel. Sometimes I had to adjust the caliper even if I didn't remove the wheel. I didn't find the Contact Pad adjustment useful in resolving this.
The Contact Pad Adjustment barrel uses seals that are irreplacable. If the seals fail, you have to deal with Avid on a replacement lever body. Avid feels that you should purchase parts from bike shops. If they don't like where you purchased their product, they won't help you.
I can replace the lever body for $75.00, which I would do if it weren't for the constant brake rub and my assumption that the Contact Pad adjustment seals will fail again one day, requiring another lever body replacement, etc. etc.
I only had about 180 miles on the brakes and they aren't even scratched. The failure is not caused by a crash or poor care. Low value rating is for constant rotor drag and failure in low mileage.
Low overall rating reflects my displeasure to Avid for designing such an important item that can't be repaired with a seal kit. (Even a bike shop cannot make the repair.)
Submitted by
stumblemumble
a Weekend Warrior
from Santa Rosa, CA
Date Reviewed: May 14, 2011
Strengths: Ease of bleeding
They work
The reach adjustment is great
Weaknesses: DOT brake fluid is less easy to work with than mineral oil.
Never use the pad adjust, would only be useful if the pads are rubbing.
Bottom Line:
Many have had squealing issues, none here except when the pads are new and need to be bed. I wonder how many of the squeal complaints are just improperly bed brakes.
Submitted by
Dirtvet
a Weekend Warrior
from Spring, Texas
Date Reviewed: May 9, 2011
Strengths: Cheap, powerful, great looking w/ carbon lever, good lever feel.
Weaknesses: Horrible turkey gobble vibration and sound. Extremely loud when wet. Falls out of adjustment and disk rub. Nothing I tried cured these 3 things things.
Bottom Line:
Poor manufacturing quality - not a one piece caliper, and loose tolerences. The set-up with the washer stacks is borderline absurd, that prevents you from tightening sufficiently to prevent caliper micromovement movement and resultant disk rub. Easy to bleed, easy to change pads, looks good on the showroom floor - my advice is to not consider them.
Submitted by
DD
a Cross Country Rider
from Southern California
Date Reviewed: April 16, 2011
Strengths: Decent stopping power. Looks. Pad contact adjust. Easy Pad Replacement. Decent weight.
Weaknesses: Same as many others complaints: noise, horrible vibration (even my titanium bike frame cant dampen the nasty vibration coming from the rear brake), rubbing, warp issues.
Bottom Line:
If the same problems and complaints keep repeating itself from other users of this pathetic brake- then something is wrong. Yes the brakes have been properly maintained and cared for in terms of bleeding, pad and rotor replacement, adjustment and alignment, but nothing will eliminate the loud noise and annoying vibration traveling through the tubes of my titanium frame.
For those other riders who have not experienced the common problems with these brakes, there is always the possibility it may later occur during the life of the brakes. My brakes worked well initially for the first 1 1/2 yrs then the problems started happening repeatedly even though the brakes were properly maintained with regular bleeds, pad/rotor replacement, adjustments.
When the New 2012 Shimano XT Disc Brakes come out later this year, Im gonna get them, dump the Avid Elixirs and will never buy Avid again.
Similar Products Used: Avid Juicy Ultimates which are also pathetic - leaks fluid, noise, same nasty vibration, required frequent bleeds, fluid would get contaminated by the magnesium material of the master cylinder. Hayes.
Bike Setup: Pivot Mach 4 and Everti Titanium Hardtail both equipped w/ problematic Avid Elixirs.
Strengths: Simple to set up and adjust. If you have any questions on setting the brakes up, everything you ever needed to know is included in the directions.
Tons of one finger stopping power, smooth and quiet stopping every time.
Weaknesses: None to date
Bottom Line:
I have been more than pleased with the beginning and 'to date' results of these brakes. Avid makes one of the best brakes I have ever used. The cost isn't too bad and the performance is outstanding.
I have seen a lot of reviews which have online purchases. You should have went to your LBS and supported your local economy (for starters ya db's), or at the very least had your LBS professionally install the system. The mechanics should be trained to know how to properly install and set up the brakes for you. And if you did purchase the brakes at the LBS and you do have a problem, WARRANTY. SRAM is a great company and they will have helped us a lot when we have had issues. Although basic bike maintenance isn't rocket science, there are a ton of different little things that can mess the entire bike up. Bottom line = SUPPORT your local bike shops and stop buying online, or quit complaining.
Similar Products Used: Shimano XT and XTR Hydraulic, Avid single digit 7's, Juicy 5's and a bunch of others.
Bike Setup: 2010 Trek 8500, FSA carbon bar, Alpha Q stem Elixir CR's with 185 rotors, FOX F100 RL, SRAM x.9 pods and derailleurs, FSA Team issue Carbon crank with Egg beaters (best pedal ever). PG990 chain and 11-32 990 cassette, Bontrager RL wheelset with WTB Exiwolf's-tubeless = fast
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