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Submitted by
sercan
a Weekend Warrior
from Istanbul, Turkey
Date Reviewed: January 23, 2010 | | Favorite Trail: | kartepe | | Duration Product Used: | 2 Years | | Price Paid: |
$200.00 | | Purchased At: | bike & outdoor | | Strengths: | powerfull, it can stop the bike in every condition | | Weaknesses: | not sensitive, sometimes it feels like on/off button. and I hate juicy levers. | | Similar Products Used: | hayes, juicy3, xt | | Bike Setup: | commencal meta6, fox 36, juicy 5, xt mechs, avid discs. | | Bottom Line: | I'm using j5 for 2 year and never bleeded. positioning the new calipers can be pain in the ass. (I don't want to mention about the sound. cos I don't care)
But it work. every time, every where ! and not expensive | Value Rating: Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
dr13zehn
a Weekend Warrior
from Jackson, MS, USA
Date Reviewed: November 11, 2009 | | Duration Product Used: | 6 months | | Strengths: | They are OK (at best) for the prices they come in at nowadays I suppose. Not overly heavy for its class. Not ugly. | | Weaknesses: | They have no modulation to speak of and can be a pain to adjust just right so there's not too much squealing. Feathering the brake is awkward and not precise.
The blades feel loose a floppy.
Not too much power either. | | Bottom Line: | I would not recommend buying them (even for the low prices you can find them for).
While they are not the worst hydros out there by far, they will make especially first time hydro users feel blah about the whole concept.
If your bike comes equipped with them, it's not too bad for awhile since they do their job, not too well, but they get it done. However, in that case the brakes should be one of the first upgrades. | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Al Osorio
a Cross Country Rider
from Zurich, Switzerland
Date Reviewed: October 26, 2009 | | Favorite Trail: | Engadin Switzerland | | Duration Product Used: | 2 Years | | Purchased At: | came with bike | | Strengths: | Great power for a non-top of line brake. Allows for really good control even for a heavier rider. I weigh 180 lbs. and have easily gone down over 3000 feet of downhill "in one bite" and they held up fine. | | Weaknesses: | IF you do not use original break pads or Cool-Stop (which I almost feel comes from the same production line) you are doomed. Squeach, scraping, and all kind of noices occur during heavy braking. The bike shop that sold me the Swiss-Stopper pads couldn't believe it. Then the Trek dealer sticks me with a British brand of brake pad and the squeal was heard in another Kanton! If you have no access to original pads, beware.
Finally, after over 2 years of use there is a general rub on the back break the shop cannot get ride of anymore. | | Similar Products Used: | Shimano XT | | Bike Setup: | Trek Top Fuel 8 2007 model almost in original minus saddle and tires. | | Bottom Line: | I would not go out and buy the breaks at normal price, only at discount. If your new ride comes with them it is not a reason to not buy the bike, but avid always seems to have little annoying surprises. Still, they work well but are not anything to scream about, and it seems most of my riding buddies who are on Shimano XT can change and adjust breaks much easier than I, and do have the Squeach and rub afterwards. | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
mcap
a Weekend Warrior
from Doylestown, PA
Date Reviewed: October 18, 2009 | | Favorite Trail: | Wissahickon | | Duration Product Used: | 6 months | | Purchased At: | Came with bike | | Strengths: | The lever is adjustable for reach, paired with the 185mm rotors they bike stops very well | | Weaknesses: | Often very noisy! I clean them with Alcohol after almost every couple rides. The noise is hit or miss. Can be very annoying. Another weakness is that for some reason my front rotor sits agains one of the pads. I have tried every trick to center the rotor and haven't had much luck as there aren't many distance adjustments. | | Bike Setup: | Trek Fuel EX8, tubeless, XT/XTR, 32T E13 bash, Maxxis High Roller 2.35's | | Bottom Line: | I am overall happy with the brakes. I feel they stop very well. I see the biggest downside being the noise. I am still using the stock pads, so it may be a matter of switching to a different compound. It's not a deal breaker for me, makes me ride faster and not brake as much! | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
biga6462
a Cross Country Rider
from Houston, TX
Date Reviewed: September 30, 2009 | | Duration Product Used: | 6 months | | Purchased At: | Came With Bike | | Strengths: | Great stopping power unless wet | | Weaknesses: | Lots of noise and vibrations | | Similar Products Used: | Shimano M765 Mechanical Brakes | | Bike Setup: | Fuel EX 8 | | Bottom Line: | I am fed up with these things and decided to get rid of them. I never have been able to adjust them perfectly and when I get them close they mis-align after a few miles of riding. The noises these brakes make can be annoying. It seems like I could get the noise to go away after a wash but after hitting the trail it would resurface. This was true for the rear brake vibration also. The only good thing I can say about these is that they have decent stopping power. I would go with something else for the price. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
tony_tiger_35
a Weekend Warrior
from Castaic
Date Reviewed: September 28, 2009 | | Favorite Trail: | CA | | Duration Product Used: | 6 months | | Purchased At: | rbikes.com | | Strengths: | Grip well, once working they are a pretty versatile brake, hydraulic | | Weaknesses: | Tend to squeal after they have been used a lot | | Similar Products Used: | Only mechanical before this | | Bike Setup: | Turner Sultan XL | | Bottom Line: | Can stop myself (6'4" 200lbs) and bike very fast when you get on them. Overall a great brake for the money and have never failed to stop me in time. They do squeal a bit when they get hot, but it goes away after they cool down a bit. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Piotr
a Racer
from Denver CO US
Date Reviewed: September 26, 2009 | | Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month | | Purchased At: | Ebay, came with Scot | | Strengths: | Good braking power if this brakes work. | | Weaknesses: | I just abandoned my first race because one pad just sliped out on the bumpy trail, and i almost killed myself when i realized that i lost my front brake...ok, trail was bumpy but that shouldn't happen, AVID juicy 5 showed me very poor performance... | | Similar Products Used: | i never used disc brakes before... | | Bike Setup: | scott scale stock bike | | Bottom Line: | don't buy this brakes, it's really awful if you have $3000 bike and you have to abandon race because brake pad just slide out and you barely stay alive without one brake... | Value Rating: Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
todd92
a Racer
from telford
Date Reviewed: September 5, 2009 | | Duration Product Used: | More than 3 years | | Purchased At: | on the bike | | Strengths: | good in the first year of riding with EBC pads | | Weaknesses: | after a beasting the fluid boils and the presure in the leaver dies all the way back to the bar. a common problem with avid is the pots in the calliper stick well its the same here. diddle squat left in mine now and im a cross country rider | | Similar Products Used: | hope minni
hayes 9
oro
xtr | | Bike Setup: | megga easy to set up | | Bottom Line: | good for a year then just buy new ones, or save all that cash a buy some hopes | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
kimi rossi
a Weekend Warrior
from manila, philippines
Date Reviewed: August 24, 2009 | | Favorite Trail: | timberland | | Duration Product Used: | 1 Year | | Price Paid: |
$150.00 | | Purchased At: | JBL | | Strengths: | lightweight, looks, simplicity, good stopping power | | Weaknesses: | squealing a liitle when dry, squealing a lot when wet | | Similar Products Used: | avid BB7 | | Bike Setup: | giant reign, rockshox pike, avid, truvativ, syncros | | Bottom Line: | when i bought this it was leaking a little bit of fluid from the top cap of the reservoir. it went away and occasionally comes back. lever adjustability is a little time consuming because the location of the screw is in between the grips and lever. Lever feel is also set a little deep but I will have it re-bled. Squeals a lot when wet but i think pad replacement can cure this problem. Overall a very good brake if you don't want bling and extra adjustments. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
sp00n
a Weekend Warrior
from bristol, ct
Date Reviewed: August 21, 2009 | | Duration Product Used: | 2 Years | | Purchased At: | LBS | | Strengths: | good modulation, decent stopping power | | Weaknesses: | maintenance costs | | Similar Products Used: | first hydraulics | | Bike Setup: | came stock on stumpjumper | | Bottom Line: | worked good when still fresh. after the first 6 months i started having problems with the calipers sticking causing lots of brake rub, especially in the rear. costs $40 per caliper for a rebuild kit to fix the problem...i could buy a whole new set of 2008 juicy 5's for that much which just seems silly. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
j-crow
a Downhiller
from Nanaimo, BC, Canada
Date Reviewed: August 19, 2009 | | Favorite Trail: | merry-jane | | Duration Product Used: | 2 Years | | Price Paid: |
$250.00 | | Purchased At: | beyond bikes | | Strengths: | Have good power, easy to use in one finger situations. easy to install. got them fixed for free under avid warranty. | | Weaknesses: | Master cylinder broke on both front and back about 2 months appart. had to send them in for about 2 weeks each. lever bounce back never felt the same after being fixed. have to bleed them alot! | | Similar Products Used: | juicy three's, they work great, have never had a problem with them. | | Bike Setup: | jamis parker | | Bottom Line: | they seemed great at first but after using them for a while I had to start getting them bled alot. They require alot of maintenance which the cost adds up when you don't have alot of cash to spare. The require an over haul every one or two years. the lever feels sticky eversince getting work done on them. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
keegan
a Downhiller
from Bend, Oregon, US
Date Reviewed: August 15, 2009 | | Favorite Trail: | Dirtjumping and the slalom track | | Duration Product Used: | 3 months | | Price Paid: |
$120.00 | | Purchased At: | LBS | | Strengths: | Good Power, Good moderation, new alignment system making it a breeze to get it on, pre bled in most cases an the new DOT 5.1 has a extremely high boiling point. | | Weaknesses: | MUST be well bled, very vunerable to air in the lines, also the ajustment is tiny and not worth your time, turkey gobble. | | Similar Products Used: | Hayes strokers | | Bike Setup: | 2008 kona stuff 24
Forks: DJ2
Bars: monkey bar SL
Cranks: Orange Raceface
Brakes: No front and Juicy 5 rear
Rims: Atomic lab
And so on, everything on this bike is new execpt the cranks and bearings | | Bottom Line: | I would definatly recommened this product to almost anyone that wants a great brake with great power for a good price. And i took care of the turkey gobble problem but switching out the GSG2 rotor for a Hayes rotor and gave me double the power with no screeching wet or dry. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
specialized FSR XCpro 05
a Downhiller
from Cali
Date Reviewed: August 13, 2009 | | Favorite Trail: | not sure?.....i just started | | Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month | | Price Paid: |
$160.00 | | Purchased At: | Ebay | | Strengths: | real strong...nice color..great feel. they came with sram x-7 shifters so they match perfect | | Weaknesses: | the first week i had them they made horrible noises (bout them used) then the stopped making noises and work fine, but i think my rotors are slightly bent so i adjust them like every week hard to align, but i got the hang of it. | | Similar Products Used: | first hydraulics's , used Tektro disc | | Bike Setup: | fox triad position rear
shimano deore xtr medium cage not shadow, looking for sram x-9
sram x-7 shifters
loking for a fork (fox or pike)
8 speed xtr cassete looking for sram pg-990
wtb veloci raptors, looking for maxis
| | Bottom Line: | for the price i got them the work great, front stops perfect pitches the pike forward ( indo). rear stops wheel with no rotation. if you want strong brakes that dont brake the bank these are pefect for you. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
jkkfam89
a Weekend Warrior
from Hartland
Date Reviewed: August 13, 2009 | | Duration Product Used: | 1 Year | | Purchased At: | Fullcycles.com | | Strengths: | The breaks for the first portion of many trails held well. They seemed to loosen and not perform as well towards the back end of rides. | | Weaknesses: | The Sound these breaks made were horrible. Lound and soft. I did everything everyone reccommended and they still didn't perform well. | | Similar Products Used: | Formula | | Bike Setup: | 2008 Yeti 575 | | Bottom Line: | I would not sway anyone to use these breaks. I swapped them out for Formula K24's. I will see if there is a huge difference. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
fesch
a Weekend Warrior
from Springfield VA
Date Reviewed: July 31, 2009 | | Favorite Trail: | Wakefield | | Duration Product Used: | 1 Year | | Strengths: | Works well, great stopping power, trouble free and pads easy to replace. | | Weaknesses: | I would be nice if it was even easier to bleed. | | Similar Products Used: | Cable disk brakes | | Bike Setup: | GF Hifi Deluxe Nevegal tires, CB Candy SL pedals, Shimano drive | | Bottom Line: | They stop smoothly, have great stopping power for quick stops and are easy to maintain. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
mlepito
a Cross Country Rider
from baltimore, md
Date Reviewed: July 31, 2009 | | Duration Product Used: | 6 months | | Strengths: | When they worked well, they were easy to control. No grabbing. | | Weaknesses: | Need to bleed lines a lot. The rear brake gobbles with hard braking. | | Similar Products Used: | Avid BB7, Shimano XTR | | Bike Setup: | Trek Fuel ex8
| | Bottom Line: | These came on the bike. They are my first hydraulic, but even I know they don't work right. I did like the engagement. Not too grabby, no too weak. But don't get me wrong, they aren't strong by any means. You aren't going to do a lot of single finger braking with these.
The worse part is the noise. I can't take it anymore. Squeals and gobbles with every pull. Only the rear, I don't know why that is. I spoke to avid who said they would switch out the rotor, but I doubt that will get rid of it. I'm looking to replace them with XT's. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
SSRG
a Cross Country Rider
from wasatch front, ut
Date Reviewed: July 26, 2009 | | Duration Product Used: | 2 Years | | Price Paid: |
$150.00 | | Purchased At: | LBS | | Strengths: | inexpensive...? after upgrading rotors and pads they work ok. | | Weaknesses: | spongy (low braking power), SQUEAL a lot, gobble like a turkey. | | Similar Products Used: | cantis, v brakes, tested a few other (way better) hydraulic discs from magura, shimano... | | Bike Setup: | steel SS, fully rigid 29er. | | Bottom Line: | i've had the juicy 5s on my bike for most of 2 seasons and i've only even demo'ed other hydraulic discs, but wow the juicy 5s are bad with stock rotors and pads. just upgraded to alligator serration rotors and organic pads and braking power doubled with no noise. only a few rides on new rotors/pads - but way better so far. was my last attempt at keeping these on my bike instead of buying new brakes. did i mention that with the stock rotors (CSG2) and pads they squeal like pigs and gobble like turkeys? | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Mikeerac
a Weekend Warrior
from UK
Date Reviewed: July 6, 2009 | | Favorite Trail: | Swinley Forest | | Duration Product Used: | 2 Years | | Price Paid: |
$160.00 | | Purchased At: | Merlin Cycles | | Strengths: | VERY easy to install, reliable | | Weaknesses: | Turkey gobble squeal | | Similar Products Used: | None, used LX v brakes | | Bike Setup: | Kona Blast frame, Juicy 5s, Fox F100RLC, WTB Speedisk rims | | Bottom Line: | I bought these as OEM items from Merlin Cycles, they came ready bled, ready to fit and these were on my Trek 6500 frame in no time at all, especially with the tri-allign caliper mounts i found them very easy to get up and running. These were swapped to my next bike, the Kona Blast just as easily and set up in no time. The 5s are powerful, not grabby and easy to modulate, i have moved the levers on mine about in inch away from the grip in the last few months and this makes them more comfortable for my hands to operate. Reach can be adjusted very slightly an i am not sure about the worth of this as we are talking a very small amount. I do suffer from the dreadded turkey gobble noise which is fine in the dry but does get annoying in the wet, i may take this to the LBS one day to get this fine tuned as it's probably down to the frame mounts which need facing. Overall i rate these very highly, for the money, the look good, work very well and are easy to fit, i have tried some Hope brakes which really show what can be done but they were at least double the cost. You pays your money and you makes your choice.... | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
scottzg
a Cross Country Rider
from san jose, ca
Date Reviewed: July 2, 2009 | | Favorite Trail: | braille | | Duration Product Used: | 2 Years | | Price Paid: |
$200.00 | | Purchased At: | rei | | Strengths: | easy to bleed, consistent feel, nice lever shape, plenty of power, reliable. | | Weaknesses: | lots of free stroke before they engage rather firmly makes for a brake that feels grabby until your hands learn where the engagement point is. All that free stroke may be annoying to people with small hands. People with poorly maintained bikes complain the brakes make a gobbling sound. The pads are a pain to change, but they last forever. | | Similar Products Used: | hfx-9s xt, bb7, stroker trails
| | Bike Setup: | long travel hardtail | | Bottom Line: | these things are proven. Are there better brakes on the market nowadays? Sure. You gotta learn how these feel and the latest generation of stuff is more intuitive. But these are a generation old brake that still hangs with the new stuff. They work very well. Avid has moved them down market and that makes them a real deal. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
eeeskwa
a Cross Country Rider
from Denver
Date Reviewed: June 16, 2009 | | Favorite Trail: | White Ranch, Buffalo Creek, Devil's Backbone | | Duration Product Used: | 3 months | | Purchased At: | Golden Bikes | | Strengths: | -Adjustablity
-Installation ease
A hydraulic that will definitely get the job done. Middle of the road is a good range for them against the rest of the hydraulic brakes out there, but if you can get them cheaply they are worth the potential upgrade. | | Weaknesses: | -Air bubbles in the lines
-Spongy
-Discs that screech so badly that it sometimes closely resembles an angry screeching howler monkey.
Any one who knows hydraulic brakes accepts that some amount depending on amount of eventual use will lead to some amount of bubbles in the line or feeling of sponginess requiring a bleed. My experience with these has been fairly reliable (say a 6 out of 10). During longer rides i have experienced several instances of bubbles and severely reduced braking power, but eventually they went away returning to normal braking power without having to bleed. | | Similar Products Used: | Avid Mechanicals
Hayes Stroker Carbon
Shimano XTR M975 | | Bike Setup: | Frame: L Niner One9 with EBB
Fork: 08' Reba SL
Brakes: Avid Juicy 5's in front and back
Headset: FSA Orbit threadless and sealed
Handlebar: FSA
Stem:Easton EA70
Handlebars: FSA
Grips: Felt
Crank: Stylo
Seatpost: Thompson Elite offset
Seat: Selle Italia NITROX
Seatclamp: Salsa
Wheels:
-Rims: WTB Laserdisc trail 29ers
-Hubs: Felt
Tires: Maxxis Cross+Mark front and back
Pedals: eggbeaters
| | Bottom Line: | Good brake if you are upgrading from Lower end mechanicals or v-brakes for the first time to hydraulic for the first time as long as you can get for cheap. Don't pay Retail.
| | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Shmoo
a Cross Country Rider
from Virginia
Date Reviewed: June 13, 2009 | | Duration Product Used: | 2 Years | | Purchased At: | Came with bike | | Strengths: | Strength of braking. | | Weaknesses: | None. | | Similar Products Used: | Only hydro set-up I've used. | | Bike Setup: | 08 Fisher Big Sur | | Bottom Line: | Take my review with a grain of salt; I don't have any other experience with hydro brakes.
But coming from your conventional rim brakes, I think these are terrific. I've adjusted them once, after the brake-in period.
These give me confidence on steep descents. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
brandonj1979
a Cross Country Rider
from Breckenridge, CO, USA
Date Reviewed: June 6, 2009 | | Favorite Trail: | All of them! | | Duration Product Used: | 3 months | | Strengths: | NONE! | | Weaknesses: | I don't know where to begin. OEM brakes, probably put on to keep the price point down. Loud, squeal, no power, constant bleeding! Yuck. | | Similar Products Used: | Avid BB7, Juicy 7's, Hayes HFX 9, Shimano XT | | Bike Setup: | Santa Cruz Julianna | | Bottom Line: | These came stock on my girlfriends bike, and are junk. I've personally had 2 other sets of Avid's, and both were crap. The mechanical BB7 was constantly needing adjustment, the Juicy 7, constant adjustment and bleeding. My girlfriend weighs 105 lbs., and if they can't stop her, what are they good for. She is embarrassed by the noise, so I try to adjust them before EVERY ride. The design of all Avid's is the problem. The reservoir is all wrong. Look at Shimano and Hayes, and you'll see why they work so well. The reservoir is located on the top of the lever, not below and behind. This will be taken off and replaced with Shimano and Hayes, very soon. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
jcholpuch
a Weekend Warrior
from Chico, CA
Date Reviewed: June 3, 2009 | | Favorite Trail: | Upper Bidwell Park | | Duration Product Used: | 6 months | | Price Paid: |
$120.00 | | Purchased At: | fullcycles.com | | Strengths: | Good stopping power, Hydraulic, low price point. | | Weaknesses: | Squeek when dirty, no pad contact adjustment | | Similar Products Used: | Hays mechanical disc brakes. | | Bike Setup: | Gary Fisher Sugar 4+, X-fusion Velvet fork, SRAM X.9 drive train, Juicy 5 brakes. | | Bottom Line: | The Juicy 5's are a good option for entry level hydraulic disc brakes, and are an improvemnt if modulation and stopping power over mechanical disc brakes. I got a great deal online ($120 for front and rear) and can't complain at this price point, however, I found myself missing the pad contact adjustment feature found on the Juicy 7's. Out of the box, the pre-bled brakes and levers are working but occasionally one of the brakes is soft causing it to engauge very close to the grips. I would also like to move the levers closer to the grips but can't do this w/out causing them to bottom out. Finally, I started getting noise from the rear brake after the first few rides.
I will need to get the avid bleed kit to dial these in and remove any air from the lines. If you have double the budget (>$200 per set) then check out the new Elixir line for better performance than the Juicy line.
jcholpuch@hotmail.com | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
yeti dj
a Downhiller
from Carpinteria, California, USA
Date Reviewed: May 12, 2009 | | Favorite Trail: | Coldsprings | | Duration Product Used: | 2 Years | | Purchased At: | Bike shop | | Strengths: | Good Stopping power, Don't fade, Easy to align. | | Weaknesses: | Some people might like a more firm felling lever.
Not idiot proof. | | Similar Products Used: | Hayes HFX9 and Sole | | Bike Setup: | Yeti DJ- Avid, truvative, Ethirteen, Blk Mrkt,Azonic. | | Bottom Line: | These are great brakes, I have used them for two years and have only had them bled once. What people need to do is take their bike to a real professional mechanic and have them serviced professionally! I have ridden these brakes in all conditions in all styles of riding and never had any problems. Also never had problems aligning them. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Anonymous User
a Weekend Warrior
from New Zealand
Date Reviewed: April 26, 2009 | | Favorite Trail: | not fussy | | Duration Product Used: | 3 months | | Price Paid: |
$170.00 | | Purchased At: | Online auction | | Strengths: | Solid, reliable and powerful braking, easy to set-up, no need to readjust, 1 finger braking. | | Weaknesses: | Exposes other weaknesses in cheap, entry level bike setup - especially front fork. I can see the benefit of the contact adjustment feature of the 7s. | | Similar Products Used: | Tektro IO mechanical discs. | | Bike Setup: | Stock 2005 Tyax Mongoose apart from these brakes, Shimano 6" rotors and Kenda Nevegal tyres | | Bottom Line: | These are an excellent upgrade from mechanical discs that will make you a better rider. I've really got into my mountain biking since fitting these brakes.
The upgrade from from the Tektros is like having a whole new bike!
No more do I have to stop every 5 minutes to let the lactic acid out of my hands!
No more do I have to ride in fear of imminent death by brake failure.
No more do I have to readjust the pads 4 times on a ride.
Confidence the brakes will work means I go faster and actually use them less! However, this has exposed the lack of quality on other parts of my bike, especially the RST Gila front fork which is rubbish.
Some people here have commented on the noise. I'm using a set of Shimano rotors that were already on my bike, not stock but a replacement set put on by local bike shop some time ago. I get no noise besides the quiet hiss of the friction surfaces working, certainly no mechanical poultry of any sort so those symptoms must be the rotors more than anything - my Avid rotors are sitting in the cupboard as spares.
5 for value since I got them so cheap (by NZ RRP). 4 for overall because I can see the benefit of the contact adjustment feature of the 7s so they're not perfect.
I'd recommend them to anyone thinking of upgrading their mechanical discs. I don't think I'm going to grow out of these brakes for a while, certainly not while I can still go for bigger rotors. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
matthew13sanderson
a Downhiller
from Richmond Hill, Ontario, Canada
Date Reviewed: April 23, 2009 | | Favorite Trail: | bogie | | Duration Product Used: | 6 months | | Price Paid: |
$125.00 | | Purchased At: | bike zone | | Strengths: | excellent brake for almost anything. | | Weaknesses: | not the best brake for dowhhilling but good enough | | Bike Setup: | khs dj 300, sun rims doubletrack rims, manitou sherman slider plus avid juicy 5 | | Bottom Line: | these are awesome brakes and i would recomend them to anyone. excellent stoping power and a nice look to them. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
AL29er
a Weekend Warrior
from Huntsville, AL, USA
Date Reviewed: April 16, 2009 | | Favorite Trail: | Bluffline | | Duration Product Used: | 3 months | | Price Paid: |
$150.00 | | Purchased At: | wheelandsprocket eba | | Strengths: | Inexpensive, available in 6-7-8in rotor, shares the Juicy 7 caliper design and most of the lever features, decent weight, good power | | Weaknesses: | A bit of noise when wet, not much modulation | | Similar Products Used: | Shimano XT-Saint, Hayes elcamino-original-hfx9, hope m4, juicy7 | | Bike Setup: | Santa Cruz Heckler, AM build, 185mm rotors | | Bottom Line: | Do I think these are the best brakes ever? No. But I was on a budget of under 2bills and I can't think of any other brake that performs as well for the price I paid (under 150 for NIB F&R system). They are plenty powerful and easy to setup. My only complaints are noise when wet and that they lack the modulation I got used to on my other brakes. The modulation is partly due to the metalic pads. They are a bit grabby if you get a handful. It hasn't been a problem, but I do notice it. The noise is an avid thing I think. All my avid systems have made noise when wet. These are less annoying than the original J7 I had.
Overall I highly recommend these brakes for someone on a limited budget ($100-200). I think you would be hard pressed to find a better brake for less than double the price. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
LB Kloppers
a Cross Country Rider
from CapeTown, South Africa
Date Reviewed: April 1, 2009 | | Favorite Trail: | To Hell and Back | | Duration Product Used: | 3 months | | Price Paid: |
$150.00 | | Purchased At: | private sale | | Strengths: | It stops when I want it to. It modulates when I want it to. | | Weaknesses: | in RSA the costs for this quality brakes are still too much for the local guys. Some Shimano products are cheaper, but the are also far poorer performers. It is time where quality stoppers like the Juicy five become available as an entry level product. | | Similar Products Used: | Shimano | | Bike Setup: | Scott Aspen 10 | | Bottom Line: | I had Shimanos. I had a horrorable time trying to sort out the pad allignment. I never succeeded! The Juicy 5 solved all my problems completely. No rubbing, no vibrations, no nothing to complain about. Yes the Seven have the bite adjustment, but I ride the bike. I am in control and not the bike. What more can I ask? | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
one incredible donkey
a Weekend Warrior
from Alexandria, VA, USA
Date Reviewed: March 5, 2009 | | Duration Product Used: | 6 months | | Price Paid: |
$100.00 | | Purchased At: | Pricepoint.com | | Strengths: | Nice stopping power. A good value for the cost. Juicy is a pretty cool name. But really it all comes down to the stopping power. | | Weaknesses: | Occasionally emits warbling noises reminiscent of a mechanical turkey. | | Similar Products Used: | Hayes HFX-9 | | Bike Setup: | 2006 Preston FR | | Bottom Line: | Overall these have been great brakes for me. They stop when I squeeze the lever - what else can be asked for with brakes? I didn't need the fine tuning that comes with the Juicy 7 so I went with its cheaper cousin. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
jonny boy
a Weekend Warrior
from Longmont, CO
Date Reviewed: March 2, 2009 | | Favorite Trail: | Gooseberry Mesa | | Duration Product Used: | 2 Years | | Purchased At: | University Bicycles | | Strengths: | Strong braking power
Predictable (over time) | | Weaknesses: | Grabby with new pads and no bleed | | Similar Products Used: | Avid BB7 mechanical disc brakes | | Bike Setup: | 2007 Stumpjumper Comp, 185 mm front disc, 160 mm rear disc | | Bottom Line: | These are great brakes. They stop powerfully. Modulation is perhaps not the best - I recently replaced both sets of brake pads and the rear is still quite grabby. I imagine a bleed could satisfy this issue, but I have to borrow a friend's time for that. I've only bled the brakes once, so the system seems pretty well sealed.
I did have some ringing/squealing issues, til I learned to center the rotor and adjust the quick release properly.
Adjustability would be nice for those times when the system is not bled ideally. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Max
a Cross Country Rider
from Fort Collins, Colorado
Date Reviewed: February 24, 2009 | | Duration Product Used: | 3 months | | Price Paid: |
$100.00 | | Purchased At: | ebay | | Strengths: | great modulation, came bleed in the box, good power when broken in. | | Weaknesses: | pad break-in time was very long, factory bleed wasn't the best, lever pops in and out sometimes... | | Similar Products Used: | juicy 3 | | Bike Setup: | Scott | | Bottom Line: | adjusting them wasn't a problem for me at all, and they don't rub the rotors. the pad break-in period was very long, but they eventually were nice and grippy. great price, great quality
| | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
biker2
a Weekend Warrior
from Gainesville
Date Reviewed: February 24, 2009 | | Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month | | Purchased At: | stock | | Strengths: | Modulation, reach adjust, price | | Weaknesses: | noisy, long pad break in period, mediocre power with 185mm rotor. Caliper positioning system is worthless | | Similar Products Used: | deore xt | | Bike Setup: | fuel ex 8 | | Bottom Line: | you get what you pay for, and the power is reasonable after an excessive pad break in. You are lucky if you are not spending hours trying to re-adjust them. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
myoung14
a Cross Country Rider
from Chicago
Date Reviewed: January 20, 2009 | | Duration Product Used: | 1 Year | | Strengths: | Popular so parts are easy to find. Nice feel and plenty of power. | | Weaknesses: | I am constantly adjusting them. There is a piece inside the lever that is between the rod that attaches to the lever and the hydraulic plunger that is made of plastic and easily breaks. The brake and the disc didnt meet in the optimum position and I had to use small thin washers to bring the caliper up on the disc so its not clamping down on the spokes on the disc rotor. | | Similar Products Used: | There are the first hydraulic brakes I have had. All my other disc brakes were cable actuated. | | Bike Setup: | Trek Soho. Flat bar, 9 speed, driven daley in Chicago. | | Bottom Line: | I think for the casual rider these brakes are going to perform great. I have found that I have to adjust them a lot. Buy yourself a bleed kit and get good at using it. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
maximilian
a Weekend Warrior
from Pasadena, CA
Date Reviewed: January 2, 2009 | | Favorite Trail: | Chesboro Canyon | | Duration Product Used: | 6 months | | Purchased At: | Gary Fisher Hi-Fi | | Strengths: | I'm not sure. Maybe they are light? | | Weaknesses: | Nearly impossible to dial in. Mine rubbed for a while. I took hours of my time to get them more or less dialed in. However, I upgraded from the stock 6" rotors to 8". Man did I create a problem for myself! I can not get them to dial in again. They rub and there's just nothing I can do about it, no matter how much I try to fine-tune it. It appears that the caliper does not sit exactly straight in relation to the rotor, so the slightest (.0000001") wobble on the rotor rubs. | | Similar Products Used: | Hayes | | Bike Setup: | XTR, Minute, Race Face front, Fox Rear, Hope Pro II hubs | | Bottom Line: | I'm just one person with one opinion, but I'm seeing the same comments all over this site. That is, these things are difficult to dial in without some rub. Even when dialed, they tend to jump back out of tune. That's my experience anyway. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
dhw
a Weekend Warrior
from a.g. ca us of a
Date Reviewed: December 22, 2008 | | Favorite Trail: | east boundry | | Duration Product Used: | 3 months | | Price Paid: |
$150.00 | | Purchased At: | cbo | | Strengths: | Great stopping power easy adjustment way better than the juicy 3 thy replaced
great feel at the lever and the price was right. | | Weaknesses: | some drag, a real pain to bleed need like 6 hands
| | Similar Products Used: | I have used the juicy 3 and they never worked right but now they are on my 29er and work good | | Bike Setup: | S.C. Heckler Marzochi all mountain fork fox float shock Mavic 819 wheels
| | Bottom Line: | I guess tat the Avid brakes are just good not great but good. You got to learn how to use them they squeak when wet and are prone to dragging, They stop good and i know how they are going to work when I need them. The price was right and I knew what I was getting. They rated better than a lot of other brke setups i was looking at. I had Hayes brake on another bike and was never to stoked with either | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
tassiedave
a Cross Country Rider
from Launceston, Tas, Australia
Date Reviewed: December 22, 2008 | | Favorite Trail: | Mt Wellington reserve | | Duration Product Used: | 1 Year | | Strengths: | Great stopping power | | Weaknesses: | These brakes can really take the edge off a great ride. The pads rub on the rotor and need to be adjusted constantly. The rear brakes have a horrible feel to them when braking at lower speeds, and judder. The squeeling from these brakes when wet would wake the dead! | | Similar Products Used: | Shimano XT, Haves cable discs | | Bike Setup: | Scott scale 30 | | Bottom Line: | These brakes will be the next thing changed on this bike. I have tried to adjust these brakes countless times to no avail. I am tired of listening to the high pitched squeal from them. They are simply the worst thing about the bike. Will stick with shimano xt or xtr next time | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
steven boltzmann
a Weekend Warrior
from adelaide
Date Reviewed: December 5, 2008 | | Duration Product Used: | 1 Year | | Purchased At: | chainreaction cycles | | Strengths: | affordable, good looks | | Weaknesses: | pads and caliper quality | | Similar Products Used: | shimano saint | | Bike Setup: | khs solo one SE, stock except for these brakes | | Bottom Line: | I was dissappointed in the quality of these brakes both in performance and feel given the juicy's good reputation. the stock pads have a very metallic feel making them grabby, noisy and have a grinding feel. This alone would be ok as I can replace the pads with better ones. On top of this, one piston on both the front and back brakes wont retract fully or evenly meaning that there is wheel drag and intermittant squealing when riding.
overall the brakes work well when i need them to but the quality and feel are no where near the quality i was expecting. compared to the saints on my other bike the juicy 5s are not even in the same ball park. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
timmeh
a Weekend Warrior
from UK
Date Reviewed: November 13, 2008 | | Duration Product Used: | 1 Year | | Purchased At: | Chain reaction | | Strengths: | Powerfull with a luxuary feel to the pull on the leaver - the power comes in smooth and fast (yes if you pull the leavers hard like you have just got off a crap £100 bike - you will die) but if you feel it, its very controlable with not much gap take up, so the breaking curve starts quickly (which is good, why have 2cm of nothing??? -just dont pull em for same effect!!!) and is smooth.
Once you start to move them back about 30% way, the powrer starts to come in BIG TIME.
There is no noise or drag and no problems with fluid that some people report - looking at most of the reviews I think 70% of people can't set up jack! - they shove £1800 at the problem and then goto the bike shop (that tend to be not as in love with your bike as you are).
Personaly I think 160mm rotor is too small for any brake... I run 200mm front and 180mm rear. This much reduces the pressures on the brake system and pad wear + temprature are far better controlled.
These are very good brakes - I don't think any break in the world could be "miles" better than these - evon NASAs!! | | Weaknesses: | Could always be cheeper??? | | Similar Products Used: | Deore, Hope mono, Avid 3, loads of V breaks and a few cable discs | | Bike Setup: | GT I-Drive 5 - Jacked to 6.25" rear and running 150mm Mazzocci AM1 air up front. | | Bottom Line: | Unless you spend a SHED load of cash on your brakes these are the ones to go for... (get a 200mm up front - you won't look back)! | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
CompuTard
a Weekend Warrior
from Boulder, Colorado
Date Reviewed: November 5, 2008 | | Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month | | Purchased At: | University Bikes | | Strengths: | It's hyrdraulic? First hydros owned, others ridden feel comparable. (Shimanos look more sensible, from an automotive-design standpoint.) They're only catchy if you spazz out and pull them too FAST (slow and hard works fine). | | Weaknesses: | Grumble rumble. Trying to be fancy with the bleeding method, and yet they haven't fully appreciated what a bleeder valve is for. Too heavy I guess. Remove tube, then replace cap = chance for air bubbles. | | Similar Products Used: | some old shimanos | | Bike Setup: | Fuel EX8 | | Bottom Line: | Some of you people need to go work on your cars. Hydraulic brakes historically were meant to have the pads ride the rotor all the time, and they do so via the fluid pressure from gravity. The real compelling reason not to have them do so on a bike is to get the wheel back in after you take it off. Motorcycles and cars all have the pads ride it--it's safer that way--it keeps the rotor surface dryer and cleaner than if there were a gap. That also translates into longevity.
That being said, the rear on the avid has huge brake fade on downhills, and a little flappy-tappy sound as it goes over all the (excessive) slots in the rotor. Probably junky pad material. That also combined with the angle of descent during dowhill (decrease in base fluid pressure), and the jostling and impacts, causes the rear H-spring brace whatever to spread the pads farther off the rotor and make the lever draw-length longer. It will probably get worse as the pads wear, if the spring doesn't bend down with them.
In other words, I'd like some better pads and no H-brace! (not daring enough to try riding without it... and yes, that's asking for MORE drag). Oh yeah, and some smoother rotors with just a few holes here and there, like with the older Shimanos--probably my biggest complaint of the design. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
hitek79
a Cross Country Rider
from Littleton, CO
Date Reviewed: November 2, 2008 | | Favorite Trail: | Mt Falcon | | Duration Product Used: | 1 Year | | Purchased At: | Came with Bike | | Strengths: | Good stopping power. | | Weaknesses: | Noisy as hell. Pads seized up 3 times now. | | Similar Products Used: | Magura Louise | | Bike Setup: | Stumpy FSR Comp | | Bottom Line: | Well the brakes stop the bike well, but you need to be wearing headphones so the noise doesn't drive you crazy. I don't know a ton about hydraulic disc brakes, but was warned to not grab the lever when the front tire was off. Easy enough. My first problem was when I brought the bike from near sea level back to Colorado, and the pads closed up. I couldn't get the front tire back on, so I took it into my LBS and they pushed the pads back in and bleed the brakes. First ride after, the pads did the same thing. I took the bike back and was told that sometimes the seals get dried out and that's why the pads get stuck. Fine, but the bike was only 10 weeks old! My LBS rebuilt the brakes, and they've been better, but they're still noisy as hell. Overall the experience has been pretty annoying. I have Avids on my Enduro SL, and no problems whatsoever, so I'm sure it's just bad luck. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Jules Evans
a Cross Country Rider
from hobart, tas
Date Reviewed: October 25, 2008 | | Favorite Trail: | Mt Wellington | | Duration Product Used: | Tested or demo'ed only | | Strengths: | Very strong braking power!
Adjustable reach is easy to use with an allen key.
Ergonomic levers. | | Weaknesses: | Modulation is not fantastic but ok when you get used to the strength of the brake. | | Similar Products Used: | Magura, Shimano, Avid BB7 | | Bike Setup: | Trek Fuel | | Bottom Line: | These are great brakes. Very strong on power with the 180mm rotors, perfect for freeride/DH. I think probably 160mm rotors would be better for XC as they are a bit lighter and I don't really need all that power for most XC courses. However on long descents the 180mm rotors are excellent.
| | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
jumpflight
a Cross Country Rider
from manila, philippines
Date Reviewed: September 28, 2008 | | Favorite Trail: | La Mesa ecotrail | | Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month | | Price Paid: |
$200.00 | | Purchased At: | LBS | | Strengths: | strong braking capability. good play and control. This is my first hydraullic brakes after replacing my stock mechanical brakes. I've noticed the difference dramatically and made me more confident during steep downhills. Appreciated the single finger operation which gives me more control on the handle bars. | | Weaknesses: | kind of plain looking | | Similar Products Used: | upgraded from stock avid mechanical brakes | | Bike Setup: | giant anthem, with sram components. X9, stylo 3.3 | | Bottom Line: | A bit pricey but the performance is worth it. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
buzzy248
a Cross Country Rider
from Aberdeen, WA USA
Date Reviewed: September 7, 2008 | | Favorite Trail: | any | | Duration Product Used: | 3 months | | Purchased At: | Old Town Bikes, brak | | Strengths: | Control, power, | | Weaknesses: | ? | | Similar Products Used: | none | | Bike Setup: | Cannondale Prophet2 2008 | | Bottom Line: | This is my first set of disc brakes but I think they are pretty damn good. Previously rode XTR V brakes on a Klein hard tail and these are quite a step up from those. Took the bike in to the shop for the free tuneup after purchase on Friday. Went for a ride on Sunday and thought the brakes were dragging, they must have missadjusted them. I readjusted after the ride and they are great now. I think they have good power and good control. Problems probably come from improper assembly and setup by the shop or individuals installing them.
I would actually like to get a set of Formula Oro K24's. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
rob kubicki
a Weekend Warrior
from Manila, Philippines
Date Reviewed: September 2, 2008 | | Favorite Trail: | timberland | | Duration Product Used: | 6 months | | Price Paid: |
$190.00 | | Purchased At: | JBL | | Strengths: | soft lever, lots of power, | | Weaknesses: | squeal when wet | | Similar Products Used: | bb7 | | Bike Setup: | giant reign, rock shox, truvativ, syncros | | Bottom Line: | out of the box, they work fine. Similar to my bb7 but with softer levers and added power. easy to set up. haven't had any problems with them. They started to squeal when I rode in the rain. I would recommend them. The split clamp design makes it easier to change handlebars. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
blk mrkt
a Weekend Warrior
from rocky mtn house
Date Reviewed: August 8, 2008 | | Favorite Trail: | what i can find | | Duration Product Used: | 3 months | | Price Paid: |
$164.00 | | Purchased At: | all sports | | Strengths: | powerful.looks nice.lots of play in the lever.easy to bleed | | Weaknesses: | wroks better sometimes better then other.not alot of adjustments.craps out lots but is faxable eaily | | Similar Products Used: | hayes9.juicy three | | Bike Setup: | blk mrkt .357, 06 dj3,juicy 5 front juicy 7 rear,mavic 325 rims,cromo 3-piece crank | | Bottom Line: | juicy fives can be a hasel cause they will crap out on you but they will fix them selves but if they dont they are easy to fix they re reallly strong and have alot of play in the lever mefor you lock your brakes they are trust worthy over all i think they are a great brake | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
ironhorse66
a Weekend Warrior
from Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
Date Reviewed: July 9, 2008 | | Favorite Trail: | Rabbit Hill | | Duration Product Used: | 3 months | | Price Paid: |
$90.00 | | Purchased At: | Sport Chek ( Pro dea | | Strengths: | easy setup, good discs, effortless bleeding with the syringes (i trimmed my hose out of the box and rebled it in 20 mins.) good power after just 1 rides. self adjusting pads help set up brake and make removing the rear wheel less dangerous (no rebleeding necessary) | | Weaknesses: | none at all | | Similar Products Used: | hayes 9 | | Bike Setup: | norco 416, single speed, dh bars, fsa impact headset, race face evolve bb, hussefelt cranks, stype rims, k rad tires, juicy 5 rear brake only, 06 marzocchi drop off 1 | | Bottom Line: | best brake i have ever ridden besides avid code. super easy to set up and awesome power almost instantly. good rotor as well. easy as hell to bleed. what is this with people complaining about the brake gripping too much? thats is wat brakes are for. if u dont want it to lock up, dont pull so damn hard. (DUH). awesome product and i only payed 90 bucks cuz i pro deal it att work ;) | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
endo-boy
a Weekend Warrior
from Longmont CO
Date Reviewed: July 6, 2008 | | Favorite Trail: | Hall Ranch | | Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month | | Purchased At: | Bicycle Village, Bou | | Strengths: | Stopping power | | Weaknesses: | Noise, bleeding | | Similar Products Used: | Hayes, Shimano | | Bike Setup: | 08 Enduro SL Comp | | Bottom Line: | I had a problem with them right from the start. The brakes where not properly bled from the factory (Specialized) and lost power / faded to the point where I had no effective breaking left. I returned to my LBS twice before they got it correct. I insisted that they bleed them out until the 'found'the bubbles, which they did. Not properly set up, they work well. I hope that is the last of my problems with them. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
kinga
a Downhiller
from Brisbane
Date Reviewed: July 4, 2008 | | Favorite Trail: | DH | | Duration Product Used: | 2 Years | | Price Paid: |
$180.00 | | Strengths: | Modulation, power, lever feel | | Weaknesses: | DOT fluid, AVID fluid supplied with bleed kit is rubbish | | Similar Products Used: | Hayes nine, shimano mech discs | | Bike Setup: | Norco 6, Gaint DH comp | | Bottom Line: | These brakes are simply excellent. I ran them for 18 months on my norco 6, all mountain style riding, was stoked with them from day one.
I recently bought a new set for my DH bike with 8 inch rotors and was initially dissapointed. From the box they were spongey.
After a few bleeds I couldnt get them dialled in, the lever kept pulling almost to the bar.
As I had used the pitifully small amount of fluid supplied with the bleed kit by doing two or three bleeds I bought a new bottle of good dot 4/5.1 Mobil disc brake fluid.
After one bleed with thte new fluid the difference was immediate. The brakes bled alot better, and the initial bleed of air in the syringe worked alot better too. The lever instantly became rock solid and worked a treat.
THese brakes rock, I have seen alot of bad reviews here but honestly I cant see why, they have fantastic modulation and immense power. For the price they are a great brake system. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Jack
a Racer
from Fresno, Ca, USA
Date Reviewed: June 20, 2008 | | Favorite Trail: | singletrack | | Duration Product Used: | 1 Year | | Price Paid: |
$200.00 | | Purchased At: | Tri-Sport | | Strengths: | Everything, so much better than Hayes. | | Weaknesses: | None. Everyone that's complaining about noise, needs to shut up about it and the people that said there's no way to fix it, are liars. Run Shimano rotors and you problem is solve, now everyone needs to shut up about noise. Cleaning the pads always helps too. | | Similar Products Used: | Hayes Stroker, worst brakes ever made, they are inconsistent and feel terrible. The lever is horrible. Don't get those. | | Bike Setup: | Specialized pitch. | | Bottom Line: | These brakes are the best, they stop, they're quiet with Avid and with Shimano rotors, Shimano rotors help greatly, but you cannot go wrong with Avid. For the idiot who said it makes too much noise on a long descent, try letting off the brakes, don't always hold or drag them. These brakes are killer. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Dmanj
a Weekend Warrior
from Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
Date Reviewed: June 18, 2008 | | Favorite Trail: | whiitier Park | | Duration Product Used: | 1 Year | | Price Paid: |
$250.00 | | Purchased At: | some guys house | | Strengths: | very good braking power, easy to bleed, great modulation, easy to align | | Weaknesses: | very noisy, takes time to wear in the pads, no pad adjustment | | Similar Products Used: | hayes HFX 9's, hayes soles, lots of mechanical brakes | | Bike Setup: | 243 DH, truvativ holzfeller cranks, howitzer bb, marzocchi 55r, e13 srs guide, odi grips, juicy 5 brakes, etc. | | Bottom Line: | these are good brakes for the price. they are easy to maintain and they are very powerful. excellent brakes for anybosy looking into getting hydraulic brakes or for people who dont want to spend a pile of money on their brakes. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
erich
a Racer
from gainesville, fl
Date Reviewed: June 14, 2008 | | Duration Product Used: | 1 Year | | Purchased At: | came with bike | | Strengths: | cheap | | Weaknesses: | Loud, hard to keep properly aligned, necessary yearly rebuild. | | Similar Products Used: | Shimano XT | | Bottom Line: | These are average brakes. They were really loud on the bike they came on. I swapped them onto another bike, swapped the roundagon rotors for G2's and the warbling is tolerable. What is not tolerable is the fact that Avid no longer sells a caliper seal overhaul kit. These seals need to be replaced yearly, however Avid now only sells the complete overhaul kit. What's the difference? $12 vs $35(each caliper)...I thought $12 for 3 o-rings and a piston seal was bad, but $70 a year to keep ok brakes functioning...no way! This goes for all Juicy brakes...I'm buying another pair of XT's | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
canyonbruce
a Cross Country Rider
from California
Date Reviewed: June 14, 2008 | | Duration Product Used: | 3 months | | Price Paid: |
$1.00 | | Purchased At: | Sharp Bicycles on bi | | Strengths: | I'm not sure there are any strengths. I'd go back to my vbrakes if I didn't feel obligated to get these things working. I'm not sure why Fisher would put junk like this on their bikes. | | Weaknesses: | Chatter, Grabbiness after 3 rides on new bike. The chatter is annoying, but the grabbiness is scary at high speed. My dealer said I rode the brakes too much, but what else are you going to do on steep descents? | | Similar Products Used: | none | | Bike Setup: | Fisher Hifi Deluxe 29er | | Bottom Line: | If you are getting a new bike, ask the dealer to remove these and install Shimano or any other brand. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
abikerider
a Cross Country Rider
from Sacramento, CA
Date Reviewed: June 12, 2008 | | Favorite Trail: | Hole In The Ground | | Duration Product Used: | More than 3 years | | Purchased At: | OEM on bike | | Strengths: | Good stopping power, good system for bleeding brakes.
| | Weaknesses: | Noisy, sticking rear caliper piston, sticky rear lever, but I eventually fixed the rear brake. Did not find any mechanics competent enough to fix the problem so I had to do it myself! | | Similar Products Used: | It's my first bike with disk brakes. | | Bike Setup: | medium 2005 Epic Comp Disk with longer 100mm stem, Salsa motoace 11 degree flat bar, eggbeaters, and Terry saddle. | | Bottom Line: | I had the rear brake need work 3 times. Had the caliper replaced, had the whole rear brake assembly replaced, and had the rear caliper piston/seal cleaned, all under warranty. Each time it seemed to work but then after a few rides the rear pads would start rubbing to the point that it was unrideable due to drag. At the same time the lever for the rear brake would feel sticky; it would move slowly back to the forward position when released instead of snapping in place. Before I decided to replace the brake I decided to rebuild the rear lever and caliper with new seals myself. After doing this and bleeding the brakes the lever still had that "sticky" feel. I finally stumbled upon the fact that the little set screw that holds the pivot pin for the lever pivot in place shouldn't be tightened all the way. Once I loosened it slightly the lever felt like new. (Thanks Avid for not stating this in the directions!) Other than needing to bleed it once more after the rebuild it has been trouble-free for a dozen rides so it is "cured". It doesn't even rub the disk at all. I suspect that my bike shop may have put the wrong brake fluid in and damaged the seals or the seals were defective on the original and the replacement brakes. I'm just happy to have my bike rideable for the summer. I hope this helps others with the same problem. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Rob
a Weekend Warrior
from Pasadena
Date Reviewed: June 2, 2008 | | Favorite Trail: | Chesboro | | Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month | | Purchased At: | OEM with GF HiFi | | Strengths: | I have not idea, other than perhaps they do end up stopping the bike? | | Weaknesses: | Can't tune properly. Once you get it close, and ride for more than 20 feet (literally), you have to try to re-tune. Noise. Mine don't seen to grab too well. I have to use 2 fingers to slow down. On my other ride (with Hayes), it's a one finger deal. | | Similar Products Used: | Hayes 9 Hydraulic | | Bike Setup: | GF HiFi Deluxe ('07) | | Bottom Line: | I am not impressed with these OEM brakes. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Rob
a Weekend Warrior
from Pasadena
Date Reviewed: June 2, 2008 | | Favorite Trail: | Chesboro | | Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month | | Purchased At: | OEM with GF HiFi | | Strengths: | I have not idea, other than perhaps they do end up stopping the bike? | | Weaknesses: | Can't tune properly. Once you get it close, and ride for more than 20 feet (literally), you have to try to re-tune. Noise. Fade. | | Similar Products Used: | Hayes 9 Hydraulic | | Bike Setup: | GF HiFi Deluxe ('07) | | Bottom Line: | Look, I never thought there could truly be much difference between brakes. I've used Hayes mechanicals on bikes with no problems. I've also used Hayes hydraulic with no problems. However, I purchased a GF HiFi Deluxe which came with the Juicy Fives. Well, it rubbed right off the bat. I figured, no problem, I'll just tune them. Yea sure, that's what I'll do. What a pain. It still rubs on the front and back on each revolution. Really bad. I will have to upgrade or sell the bike. Not useable. Oh well.
I hate to be so negative, but..... | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Eric Stahlke
a
from Fairbanks, Alaska
Date Reviewed: June 1, 2008 | | Favorite Trail: | American Summit | | Duration Product Used: | 2 Years | | Strengths: | stopping power | | Weaknesses: | grabby, noisy, pads too close to disc causing rub | | Bike Setup: | Stumpjumper | | Bottom Line: | I hate these brakes...irritatingly loud on long descents, dangerously grabby on steep slopes. The slightest extra pressure on the grip will send you head over heals. The constant squealing takes takes the joy out of bike riding. The dealer says there is no way to silence them. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Jim Parman
a Cross Country Rider
from Oshkosh,Wi
Date Reviewed: May 30, 2008 | | Duration Product Used: | 3 months | | Purchased At: | Oshkosh Cyclery | | Strengths: | Seem to be good stoppers - lever reach more prone to stay in place than the hayes brakes I had. Modulation is acceptable though there is defiantely a difference in lever feel from the front brake to the rear. | | Weaknesses: | Bleed required right from the start. I ride with the levers fully extended and the lever could be pulled right to the bar. The front brake got worse over a couple days and could eventually be pulled to the bar as well. (this was over a course of a week and a half, two rides) | | Similar Products Used: | Hayes (Hayes Hydraulic Disc, 6" rotors) that came stock on a 2003 Giant NRS 1. | | Bike Setup: | 2008 fuel ex, 15.5 | | Bottom Line: | I really don't know what is out there that may be better - but given what I know now, I would have likely requested to see other options. Brake bleeds in wks 2 and 3 of ownership don't reflect well on setup from manufacture. If they took shortcuts here, who knows where else. Count me disappointed for now, but with plenty of time and patience to have the product become favorable in my opinion. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Dan Dudley
a Weekend Warrior
from Indianapolis/Phoenix
Date Reviewed: May 21, 2008 | | Duration Product Used: | 1 Year | | Purchased At: | Came on my StumpJumper | | Strengths: | Good stopping power, fast or slow. No fade in heat or cool weather. | | Bike Setup: | StumpJumper Comp | | Bottom Line: | I love these brakes. I have been through a set of pads and am currently on my second set. I ride in Indiana conditions and out in Arizona in sandy conditions and have the same performace. I have had no trouble with squeaking or any other problems listed below. As with any disc brake setup car or bike you need to keep your rotors clean of any chain grease or grim. I clean my rotors after ever ride with a grease cutting chemical and never have problems. I would recommend this product. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Nick B.
a Downhiller
from Jackson, WY, USA
Date Reviewed: May 21, 2008 | | Duration Product Used: | 6 months | | Price Paid: |
$200.00 | | Purchased At: | jenson | | Strengths: | good modulation, excellent stopping power, easy to bleed. | | Weaknesses: | noisey discs, but easily fixed. | | Similar Products Used: | hayes 9's, stroker trails. | | Bike Setup: | santa cruz chameleon, manitou nixon, shimano drivetrain, raceface cockpit. | | Bottom Line: | great breaks. i dont know why people dont like them, maybe some bad seeds ruining the reviews. these breaks have great modulation. They lock up nice also when you need them to, around those tight corners and when other people come flying up the trail at you! I used these breaks on my xc/trail/all mt. hardtail and they work great. I get going fast and these brakes work well at high speeds, even with 6 inch rotors. I have not experianced any fade either, which i heard is a problem on some longer decents.
all in all a great break for the price. very affordable for what you get. I would recommend them to anyone. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Nick B.
a Downhiller
from Jackson, WY, USA
Date Reviewed: May 21, 2008 | | Duration Product Used: | 6 months | | Price Paid: |
$200.00 | | Purchased At: | jenson | | Strengths: | good modulation, excellent stopping power, easy to bleed. | | Weaknesses: | noisey discs, but easily fixed. | | Similar Products Used: | hayes 9's, stroker trails. | | Bike Setup: | santa cruz chameleon, manitou nixon, shimano drivetrain, raceface cockpit. | | Bottom Line: | great breaks. i dont know why people dont like them, maybe some bad seeds ruining the reviews. these breaks have great modulation. They lock up nice also when you need them to, around those tight corners and when other people come flying up the trail at you! I used these breaks on my xc/trail/all mt. hardtail and they work great. I get going fast and these brakes work well at high speeds, even with 6 inch rotors. I have not experianced any fade either, which i heard is a problem on some longer decents.
all in all a great break for the price. very affordable for what you get. I would recommend them to anyone. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
adi b
a Weekend Warrior
from bucharest,romania
Date Reviewed: May 18, 2008 | | Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month | | Strengths: | great stoping power(major improvement from mechanical),very easy to adjust | | Weaknesses: | loud when wet | | Bottom Line: | great brakes,buy them if a little noise doesn`t bother you | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
alex
a Cross Country Rider
from houston, tx
Date Reviewed: May 14, 2008 | | Favorite Trail: | walnut creek, austin | | Duration Product Used: | 1 Year | | Price Paid: |
$1.00 | | Purchased At: | sun&ski | | Strengths: | low maintenance, work in wet and dry conditions, great feel, excellent modulation | | Weaknesses: | some noise when in muddy conditions | | Similar Products Used: | cantilever, V-brakes | | Bike Setup: | 2007 Specialized Stumpy Comp FSR | | Bottom Line: | My first set of discs- came stock on the Stumpjumper. An incredible improvement over V-brakes! Haven't had any of the major issues discussed here. Maybe I'm just lucky that this set was prepped right at the factory. Just replaced the original pads with a new set of organic pads (better modulation, less noise than sintered) after one year of use. Did notice that sanding the pads with 220grit after regular use seems to smooth out the feel and reduce noise, squeeling etc... No complaints other than pads are a bit pricey (21.00-pair)considering how small they are. Ride on!! | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Spencer Fish
a Weekend Warrior
from Riverside, CA, USA
Date Reviewed: May 5, 2008 | | Favorite Trail: | DC-10 @ Mammoth | | Duration Product Used: | 6 months | | Purchased At: | California Cyclery and Supply | | Strengths: | Extremely powerful, takes a heck of a trail to develop any brake fade. Good ergonomic feel on the brake lever. Simple, functional, look good. Great all around brake. | | Weaknesses: | None that I have encountered, been using for 6 months, no squeeling what-so-ever. Stock brake pads (2008). | | Similar Products Used: | stroker, hfx9, bb5, bb7, xt hydraulic, lx hydraulic... the juicys are the best i've used. | | Bike Setup: | 2008 GT Sanction 2.0, Thompson stem, x-9 drivetrain, Dhx air rear, zocchi 55 fork, juicy 5s, richy pro bars... (Stock) | | Bottom Line: | Best brakes I have ever used in terms of power, brake fade, feel, and modulation. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Geoff
a Cross Country Rider
from Seattle
Date Reviewed: April 22, 2008 | | Duration Product Used: | More than 3 years | | Price Paid: |
$2.00 | | Purchased At: | OEM on FSR | | Strengths: | Stop well | | Weaknesses: | noisy, use up pads quickly. | | Similar Products Used: | Lots of other stuff | | Bike Setup: | has gears, has brakes, has wheels | | Bottom Line: | This is an update to my earlier post from last year. I've found two things that help a lot with both the horrific squealing and adjustment difficulty. Number one, clean the glaze off of the pads and rotor often. This may have to be done after every ride in wet/muddy conditions. Number two, put thin stainless steel washers on the caliper attachment bolts between the bolt head and the back of the conical washer. This has made the unit move out of alignment less when I tighten the bolts.
Lastly, I tried the UNEX replacement pads and have had a lot less brake noise. I have one set of UNEX Pads and one set of the Avid that I installed at the same time. The Avid ones make way more noise!!! Based on the fact that I have been able to improve this product on the cheep, I've upgraded its chili rating. I still wouldn't recommend them. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Steve
a Downhiller
from Park City,UT,USA
Date Reviewed: April 14, 2008 | | Favorite Trail: | Empire | | Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month | | Price Paid: |
$222.00 | | Purchased At: | price point | | Strengths: | easy set up, powerful, short break in period, awesome ! best breakes hands down | | Weaknesses: | none that i have found | | Similar Products Used: | hayes. | | Bike Setup: | 02 M1, 06 Boxxer Team, E-13 guide, race face cranks, azonic wheels, intense tires, Juicy 5's | | Bottom Line: | Don't rock hayes I have had nothing but problems with hayes mounted up my Juicy's up and have been problem free.. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Grant
a Weekend Warrior
from Sydney, Australia
Date Reviewed: March 21, 2008 | | Favorite Trail: | Menai, Sparrow Hill | | Duration Product Used: | 2 Years | | Purchased At: | Phantom Cycles | | Strengths: | Power | | Weaknesses: | Lever feel | | Similar Products Used: | '08 Shimano XT, another set of Juicy 5s, Hayes Mags | | Bike Setup: | Santa Cruz Nomad, Devinci Magma | | Bottom Line: | The power of the Juicy 5s with an 8" disc is excellent, although only slightly better than my '08 Shimano XTs with 6" discs. Modulation of the XTs is far superior to the Juicy 5s, which are a bit on/off. Lever feel is very dependant on how the system has been bled. I love the feel of the Juicy's on my Nomad but the set on the Magma doesn't have enough lever travel because of a bit too much fluid. Obviously not the fault of the brake but the XTs are easier to bleed. Before i got the XTs i would have rated these brakes a 5 overall, and while i really like them on my Nomad the XTs are just a better performing system. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Steve
a Cross Country Rider
from Canberra, Australia
Date Reviewed: March 20, 2008 | | Duration Product Used: | 2 Years | | Strengths: | Powerful brakes that will always pull you up | | Weaknesses: | More on the sticky piston problem. Took the pads off today and looked at pistons. A whole lot of crud and possibly a bit of corosion - so cleaned it and pushed pistons back in with help of a bike technician - and put on new pads - OK now just like new. So I will up the rating. Avid should tell people how to do this on their web site - they would get better reviews. | | Bike Setup: | Norco nitro (good XC bike) | | Bottom Line: | Good - as long as you maintain them. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Steve
a Cross Country Rider
from Canberra, Australia
Date Reviewed: March 19, 2008 | | Duration Product Used: | 2 Years | | Strengths: | Good till the problems started | | Weaknesses: | Sticky pistons or something similar that makes the brakes vibrate off and on - on fast downhills - note this happens even when you have not put the brakes on - bit of a worry. | | Bike Setup: | Norco nitro | | Bottom Line: | Buy a more reliable disc brake system. I would rather be riding than trying to work out what is wrong with my disc brakes. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
brian
a Cross Country Rider
from los gatos, ca
Date Reviewed: February 10, 2008 | | Favorite Trail: | kennedy | | Duration Product Used: | 6 months | | Price Paid: |
$130.00 | | Purchased At: | Web, some store | | Strengths: | Price. Reliable, Easy brake change. Easy set up out of box. | | Weaknesses: | Some say Noise - solution: The stock organic pads, once overheated, leave voids in the pad face. I have tested this twice on steep descents. Once the voids exist the noise goes through the roof. On one trail, very steep, I have twice overheated pads to where they smell of burning brakes. Noise immediately apparent. Solution is the use of metal pads as they just dont seem to overheat like organic. The organics are great until they are toasted. Going to try another pad brand next. | | Bottom Line: | I like these brakes quite a bit. Seem to have no more issues then my riding buddies on Shimano systems. Riding steep terrain in the NorCal coastal range. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Gunj Ved
a Weekend Warrior
from Irvine, CA
Date Reviewed: January 27, 2008 | | Duration Product Used: | 6 months | | Price Paid: |
$260.00 | | Purchased At: | Rock and Road - Irvine | | Strengths: | Oh My God! These brakes bring you to a complete stop no matter what the conditions. These brakes were good enough that I upgraded my wife's brakes to the Juicy 5's. | | Weaknesses: | LOUD... These suckers got really loud when they got wet. I live around a college campus and it was great because I didn't have to yell at people to get out of my way. I just hit the brakes and they all moved. | | Similar Products Used: | Magura, Shimano, Avid Ball Bearing discs | | Bike Setup: | Specialized Stumpy Comp, Specialized Myka Expert (for the wife) | | Bottom Line: | Get the brakes!!! They are not top of the line, not bottom of the barrel. A great all around brake. Wet or dry, they do their job. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
bryan
a Weekend Warrior
from hopewell junction ny
Date Reviewed: January 26, 2008 | | Duration Product Used: | 6 months | | Strengths: | Lots of power, super easy to align calipers. | | Weaknesses: | Stock pads are garbage. When they get wet( which is often in the northeast) they will scare old ladies and small children.Haven't had these long enough to develope any other problems. | | Similar Products Used: | Various Hayes hydraulic and mechanicals for years (with zero problems) | | Bike Setup: | "07 Fisher Paragon | | Bottom Line: | These brakes are powerful and easy to align calipers. My problem was the ungodly, ear piercing squealing when they got even a little wet. I think I read where another reviewer called it "like a scalded monkey" and I would add "still on fire, high on crack"! I've been riding discs for years, so they aren't new to me.I always make sure the rotors and pads are thoroughly broken in before I ride a new bike, and have the fluid flushed annually. I had the "turkey warbling" and vibration in the frame like others, a squeak here and there, but that didn't bother me that much.I added washers under the calipers to make sure the pads weren't contacting the rotor spokes, cleaned the rotors and pads with alcohol, being careful not to touch them. I made sure the rotors were straight, made sure the calipers were aligned perfectly, even tried one reviewers recommendation to carefully coat the caliper bolts with grease, but nothing I did would stop the piercing howl when they got wet. It was so bad I vowed to not ride this bike until I got rid of these avids , but I tried one last thing- I replaced the stock sintered pads with a set of aftermarket "EBC" brand (I hope I got the name right) organic pads. Wow, it was like night and day! They squeak a little when they get really wet, but nothing like they were, and after a few yards, silence! No more turkey warbling, no shrill piercing squeal that won't go away, no vibration, no embarrassment,just pure singletrack heaven. I gave up a negligable amount of power with organic pads, but I can live with it.I've been riding these now for about a month and a half through rain, snow, stream and pond crossings,ice, so far so good. I didn't ask the LBS if EBC makes semi- metallics, maybe I'll try some when these pads wear out (assuming the avids are still on the bike).I'll write a follow up review if anything changes. A word to Avid- people are working harder than ever for their dollar these days and have precious little time to enjoy it.If you continue to release products that aren't quite ready for production and back it up with lousy customer service, we will spend our very hard earned money elsewhere. Shame on you. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Jackson Drake
a
from Alpharetta, Ga, U.S.A.
Date Reviewed: December 29, 2007 | | Favorite Trail: | anything with freeride and tech | | Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month | | Purchased At: | Alpharetta Bike( Peachtree Bikes) | | Strengths: | You can actually gradually stop like mechanical, but when you actually pull you'll stop immeadiatly.Great hydrallics. | | Weaknesses: | None so far, | | Similar Products Used: | Juciy three's(demoed the threes they suck) | | Bike Setup: | 1)Santa Cruz Blur LT, Shimano LX deore, lizarad skin grips, fox dhx air shock, rock shox revelation, race face seat post, race face handle bars, TruVativ Stylo w/ giga, thats pretty much it amazing bike, the rear fox dhx air shock is so adjustable its amazing for free ride and xc. | | Bottom Line: | Great brakes | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Brian
a Cross Country Rider
from Los Gatos, ca. U.S.A.
Date Reviewed: December 25, 2007 | | Duration Product Used: | 6 months | | Price Paid: |
$130.00 | | Purchased At: | Web store | | Strengths: | Easy install (replaced V brakes). Good modulation. Super easy set up and worked great immediately. | | Weaknesses: | A bit grabby. I only experience noise after very hard braking and then a 30 sec cool down period. Then brakes can be noisy. There seems to be a temperature range, somewhere below really hot where they get noisy. However, I have found that consistent modulation on the steep descents completely solves the problem. Using stock brake compound. | | Similar Products Used: | Shimano brake XT on a different bike. They squealed badly but with brake pad experimentation solved the noise issues there. | | Bike Setup: | Custom frame, hard tail. V brake on front, disc on rear. | | Bottom Line: | I just don't have noise problems any worse than others I ride with on shimano XT and XTR systems. Seems as though they have noise issues as well and have solved them with compound adjustment. Haven't attempted a bleed yet. The kit looks pricey. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Les Botha
a
from Australia
Date Reviewed: December 24, 2007 | | Favorite Trail: | Lysterfield / YouYangs | | Duration Product Used: | 1 Year | | Price Paid: |
$1500.00 | | Strengths: | Front awsome always there , reliable ! | | Weaknesses: | Rear weak, grindes like a windmill, have changed the pads twice , hopeless !! puts doubt when hitting the hard stuff. | | Bike Setup: | Dual suspension | | Bottom Line: | All up the brakes are good , just needes more work to perfect when worked hard. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Erik
a
from NJ, USA / Stuttgart, Germany
Date Reviewed: December 15, 2007 | | Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month | | Purchased At: | Correction to earlier Post | | Strengths: | Wrong product / Correction | | Weaknesses: | Wrong product / Correction | | Similar Products Used: | Wrong product / Correction | | Bike Setup: | Wrong product / Correction | | Bottom Line: | Sorry, I missed the BB5 post and ended up posting to this one for soem reason. I posted the last review to the wrong brake system, it should have been the BB5 not the Juicy. Although there might be a Youtube video about the setup of the Juicy. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Gavin
a Racer
from New Zealand
Date Reviewed: November 25, 2007 | | Duration Product Used: | 1 Year | | Purchased At: | came with bike | | Strengths: | Amazing stopping power and durability great control. | | Weaknesses: | none. | | Similar Products Used: | hayes hfx-9 | | Bike Setup: | 2007 specialized fsr xc demo spec. juicy 3,s with 203mm rotors. | | Bottom Line: | a insanly powerful brake that is reliable and once setup and adjusted correctly as the owners manual tells you how to do, they are zero maintainance. A must for freeriders and xc racers alike. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
67degrees
a Downhiller
from SF Bay Area
Date Reviewed: November 25, 2007 | | Favorite Trail: | Boy Scout | | Duration Product Used: | 2 Years | | Price Paid: |
$200.00 | | Purchased At: | Ebay | | Strengths: | Reasonable weight, price, looks good, great stopping power and modulation. | | Weaknesses: | Wavey rotors cause brakes to pulsate which is particularly noticeable on the front brake. Brakes are a pain in the ass to bleed. | | Similar Products Used: | Hayes Purlples and Hayes Mag brakes from a few years ago. | | Bike Setup: | (1) Santa Cruz Bullit, Marzocchi 66 Light ETA, DeeMax Wheels, BT Floating Brake, X9 Drivetrain, Fox DHX 5.0 and Avid 5's with 203mm rotors. (2) Santa Cruz Heckler with Pike 454 Air U-Turn, DHX 5.0, XT drivetrain, Easton Havoc AM Wheels, Avid 5's with 185mm rotors. | | Bottom Line: | I like these brakes a lot and they are a great improvement over the Hayes I used to run. My main complaint is that the wavy rotors pulsate Avid should not have put these rotors out with these brakes. It is really a problem on the front brakes. Surely they knew of this problem before putting these brakes on the market. Bleeding is also a pain in the ass. I purchased the Avid Brake Bleed Kit and the instructions are for the Avid Juicy 7's with no mention of the Juicy 5's which are a little different. The bleed kit was $35 too whicy is pretty pricey. So, figuring out the bleed on the 5's was trial and error and a weekend long project. Not how I want to spend my weekend. Other than that these brakes rock. Once set up they are awesome. I wipe down my rotors with a rag and rubbing alcohol before each ride and rarely have any squeeling issues. The brakes now come with the round G2 Clean Sweep rotors so the pulsating is a thing of the past. I'd give these brakes 5 Chili's if they did not have the pulsating rotor issues. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
67degrees
a Downhiller
from SF Bay Area
Date Reviewed: November 25, 2007 | | Favorite Trail: | Boy Scout | | Duration Product Used: | 2 Years | | Price Paid: |
$200.00 | | Purchased At: | Ebay | | Strengths: | Reasonable weight, price, looks good, great stopping power and modulation. | | Weaknesses: | Wavey rotors cause brakes to pulsate which is particularly noticeable on the front brake. Brakes are a pain in the ass to bleed. | | Similar Products Used: | Hayes Purlples and Hayes Mag brakes from a few years ago. | | Bike Setup: | (1) Santa Cruz Bullit, Marzocchi 66 Light ETA, DeeMax Wheels, BT Floating Brake, X9 Drivetrain, Fox DHX 5.0 and Avid 5's with 203mm rotors. (2) Santa Cruz Heckler with Pike 454 Air U-Turn, DHX 5.0, XT drivetrain, Easton Havoc AM Wheels, Avid 5's with 185mm rotors. | | Bottom Line: | I like these brakes a lot and they are a great improvement over the Hayes I used to run. My main complaint is that the wavy rotors pulsate Avid should not have put these rotors out with these brakes. It is really a problem on the front brakes. Surely they knew of this problem before putting these brakes on the market. Bleeding is also a pain in the ass. I purchased the Avid Brake Bleed Kit and the instructions are for the Avid Juicy 7's with no mention of the Juicy 5's which are a little different. The bleed kit was $35 too whicy is pretty pricey. So, figuring out the bleed on the 5's was trial and error and a weekend long project. Not how I want to spend my weekend. Other than that these brakes rock. Once set up they are awesome. I wipe down my rotors with a rag and rubbing alcohol before each ride and rarely have any squeeling issues. The brakes now come with the round G2 Clean Sweep rotors so the pulsating is a thing of the past. I'd give these brakes 5 Chili's if they did not have the pulsating rotor issues. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Dirk Coenen
a Cross Country Rider
from kinrooi belgium
Date Reviewed: November 13, 2007 | | Duration Product Used: | 2 Years | | Price Paid: |
$250.00 | | Strengths: | power, looks | | Weaknesses: | weight | | Similar Products Used: | magura marta, xt 06 | | Bike Setup: | specialized, fox f32rl, xtr and xt, ritchey wcs, sella italia slr, dt hub with mavic rims | | Bottom Line: | I've used them for 2 years. The power was excellent, but in the mud, the lost some power.
I've alwase used BBB brake clocks, the are much cheaper en the make the same kilometers. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
andy
a
from dallas texas
Date Reviewed: November 8, 2007 | | Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month | | Strengths: | Stopping Power | | Weaknesses: | Loud | | Bottom Line: | The brakes took me about thirty miles before they really started to grab hold of things. They are like super glue now and I don't ever have issues with them not grabbing. I too have been unfortunate enough to have issues with the "loudness" of the brakes. The sometimes constant grinding noise and loud squeals on fast descents, but they really don't bother me that much. It just reminds me that I'm on a trail and getting dirty. That brings a smile to my face knowing that I'm not grinding away on the pavement with my road bike.
These brakes have been great so far. I've put about 400 miles on my bike now and (knock on wood) have yet to experience any real mechanical failures. If they come stock on the new bike you are getting don't fret, if you are upgrading you might want to look into the bigger siblings for the sake of adjustability in the levers.
All in all a good experience so far.
| | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Derek Bednarski
a Weekend Warrior
from Chadds Ford, PA
Date Reviewed: October 22, 2007 | | Favorite Trail: | Middle Run/Brandywine Creek | | Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month | | Purchased At: | Came with Bike | | Strengths: | Great Stopping power, Wondeful Modulation compared to Formula, Avid, and Hayes Mech's. | | Weaknesses: | Had to adjust first time on the bike. None other than that small thing. | | Similar Products Used: | Formula Mech, Avid BB5.BB7, Hayes MX | | Bike Setup: | 2007 GF Paragon, etc. | | Bottom Line: | Great improvement over any mechanical disk brakes I have used, wonderful. I found that I went faster downhill because I knew I could Stop on a dime. Have had no issues so far, get them! | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Fred
a Cross Country Rider
from New york
Date Reviewed: October 13, 2007 | | Duration Product Used: | 3 months | | Price Paid: |
$115.00 | | Purchased At: | Ebay | | Strengths: | Great stopping power, and have great feel | | Weaknesses: | During longer downhills there is alot of noise | | Similar Products Used: | Hayes disc brakes
| | Bike Setup: | Kona Stinky | | Bottom Line: | Great brakes, if you ever need a new pair of brake I highly recommend these. They are just great ! | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Fred
a Cross Country Rider
from New york
Date Reviewed: October 13, 2007 | | Duration Product Used: | 3 months | | Price Paid: |
$115.00 | | Purchased At: | Ebay | | Strengths: | Great stopping power, and have great feel | | Weaknesses: | During longer downhills there is alot of noise | | Similar Products Used: | Hayes disc brakes
| | Bike Setup: | Kona Stinky | | Bottom Line: | Great brakes, if you ever need a new pair of brake I highly recommend these. They are just great ! | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
benjie
a Cross Country Rider
from philippines
Date Reviewed: October 1, 2007 | | Duration Product Used: | 6 months | | Price Paid: |
$300.00 | | Purchased At: | sabak makati | | Strengths: | basic brake setup,good stopping power | | Weaknesses: | had a leak on the front piston seal which contaminated my brake pads | | Similar Products Used: | juicy 7,maguras | | Bike Setup: | orbea oiz pv,intense 5.5evp | | Bottom Line: | after using the brakes in two weeks had problems with the front brake.turns out one of the seals of the front caliper gave way due to the piston having a gash.i suppose it was bec of one of the rides during a storm.the trail was very muddy and from what i think there was residue left on the piston.its a gud thing sabak carry the repair kit and it was very affordable.12 bucks for a set of new pistons and seals for my front calipers.oh and i had to change the pads also.its a solid brake system,hopefully i wont jinx it and it will last me for a long time! | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Mark
a Weekend Warrior
from Littleton, CO
Date Reviewed: September 28, 2007 | | Favorite Trail: | Millinium in Willow Springs | | Duration Product Used: | 6 months | | Price Paid: |
$1500.00 | | Purchased At: | West Side Cycle | | Strengths: | Worked well for a short time | | Weaknesses: | Quickly began rubbing one rotor. Brakes fade quickly. Piston appears to stick | | Similar Products Used: | None | | Bike Setup: | Trance 2 stock | | Bottom Line: | Ive had it in the shop 3 times to make adjustments. Last time the it only lasted for 4 rides before more issues. Now outer piston is completely stuck and causing metal to metal contact. I don't know whether to throw the front brake in the trash or pursue a warranty claim. Either way I continue to lose my rides to to these pieces of junk. I | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Albert Osorio
a Cross Country Rider
from Zurich
Date Reviewed: September 18, 2007 | | Favorite Trail: | all over Grisons Switzerland | | Duration Product Used: | 1 Year | | Purchased At: | Came with 2007 Trek Fuel 8 | | Strengths: | Great stopping Power for price range. I am a big guy and I can still make fine braking input adjustments with little effort. It has improved my downhilling skills a knotch. They don't seem to make so much noise on long mountain climbs when not in use. | | Weaknesses: | The first time I got caught in the rain and had to really work the bike through all kinds of trails I heard this "weird Gargling" sound, but it is quieter now and I can't say I've had any wet weather performance issues from these brakes in the wet. | | Similar Products Used: | OK, there is my weekness. I am coming from XTR V-brakes with stabilizers. Compared to that set up it is at least a 50% improvement in my overall braking package. | | Bike Setup: | Standard 2007 Trek Fuel 8 with X-9 shifter ugraded I never asked for but got somehow, plus sattle and pedal upgrade. (Great bike) | | Bottom Line: | After one year of use in local forest and high mountains for a total of approx. 800 Miles I must say "great spec" for standard equipment. I don't know what the second year will bring, but I have read so much hammering of these brakes I needed to put my "2 cents" in after a year of use. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Geoff
a Cross Country Rider
from Seattle
Date Reviewed: September 14, 2007 | | Duration Product Used: | 2 Years | | Strengths: | They always work. They will stop you. | | Weaknesses: | Noisy, pulsating, pain to adjust. The noise from these things sucks the enjoyment out of my rides. I'm embarassed by the noise every time I'm on the trail. I hate these brakes. These came new on an $1800 bike. That's a price point where stuff ought to work right, maybe it won't be the most trick, but solid at least. And if there wasn't a reliable disc at that price Specialized should have put v-brakes on instead. Plus . . . these this get WAY worse in wet conditions (no suprise) and I live in Seattle (do the math. . . soggy town plus poor wet braking = ARRGG!) | | Similar Products Used: | Old Maguras (circa '94), lots of V-brakes and old-school canti's. | | Bike Setup: | 05 stumpjumper comp 100. Petty much stock. I would have liked to invest some cash in a nice lightweight Mavic wheel set. But now it looks like I'll have to replace something that should have worked well for years (ie my brakes). Seriously, it sounds like I'm being chased by loud, angry geese | | Bottom Line: | Everything else on my bike is great (yeah the forks middle of the road, but it works well), I love to ride it. I was a shop mechanic for 5 years and am used to keeping my stuff in good shape. These brakes are horrible to set up, they always want to drag on one side. The conical washers used to trim the caliper (ie to align it) have a very low torque rating and will pit if over tightened (cheap crap). The rotor will warp within a couple of rides (also crap). The bleeding process is complex and requires a special $40 kit. I worked on enough disc brake (moto and car) to know that the technology is simple and should work well. What a disapointment!
Booooo!!! to Avid
And sadly, cuz I love them . . . Boooo!!! to Specialized on this one. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Forest Kelly
a Cross Country Rider
from Boulder, CO, USA
Date Reviewed: August 27, 2007 | | Favorite Trail: | All around Ned | | Duration Product Used: | 6 months | | Price Paid: |
$150.00 | | Purchased At: | Performance | | Strengths: | Good looking brakes! | | Weaknesses: | Fade, very loud, go out of true after every ride... | | Similar Products Used: | First discs | | Bike Setup: | Canaan stock this time with tubeless | | Bottom Line: | These were great out of the box and for the first basic rides. But when I really hit the hills around here, they started to make tons of noises...squeels on the uphills and grinding with a nice Ab resonant tone on the way down. I've adjusted them about 4 times as perscribed by performance and they still do it. They do stop, but with great noise. It's a good thing I'm not hunting badgers... | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Jim
a Cross Country Rider
from Vancouver, BC, Canada
Date Reviewed: August 23, 2007 | | Favorite Trail: | The one I'm on | | Duration Product Used: | 1 Year | | Purchased At: | OEM on Stumpy FSR | | Strengths: | They will stop the bike and rider | | Weaknesses: | Rear piston failure after 3 months. 2 trips to LBS and finally the whole rear replaced under warranty. Turkey Gobbling. Squeal. Noise. Very disappointing brake. Design engineer deserves a bit of a beating, or better, make him use these damn things. I'm replacing with Magura Marta. | | Similar Products Used: | Magura Louise, Gustavs, Hope M4s, Hayes mags, Shimano LX. | | Bike Setup: | Stock 06 Stumpy FSR Comp. | | Bottom Line: | When I read about all the problems with Avid Juicys 3,5, 7, I have to question the design of them. Seems a shame as they have such a great shifting system, but the brakes and fork/shock departments need serious, serious work IMHO. i simply won't buy any more of their products in those areas.
| | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
P G
a Weekend Warrior
from Lancashire England
Date Reviewed: August 21, 2007 | | Favorite Trail: | Innerleithen | | Duration Product Used: | 1 Year | | Purchased At: | Blazzing Saddles | | Strengths: | Hmmm got me on that 1. | | Weaknesses: | Pain in the arse to bleed, The brake pads are easily contaminated and loose performance. The pistons have a habit of seizing and the brakes are very noisy wile in use. | | Similar Products Used: | Hope mono4 and C2 | | Bike Setup: | Spec Big Hit 3 | | Bottom Line: | I got these brakes with the bike, I have always rode on Hope disk brakes and ok hope aren't the most powerful brakes in the world but 1 thing they are is reliable! When I got these Avid Juicy Five I was happy with the power. Things started to go wrong after 6 months with the rear brake fading under heavy braking, which turn out to be contamination of the pads. The front brake then had a lose of power, due to 1 of the pistions seizing and now 1 of the rear pistion is showing signs of been lazy. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Simon
a
from Canberra, Australia
Date Reviewed: August 14, 2007 | | Duration Product Used: | 1 Year | | Purchased At: | OEM | | Strengths: | They will stop your bicycle. They offer a lot of power. | | Weaknesses: | Lacks modulation. Both L & R cylinders leaked on my as the cap seals failed withing 2 months of use- no warranty, deemed 'wear & tear' ie. horrible customer service. Rotor design causes noisy frame vibrations. Pad compound & rotor cause squeal in dry & wet conditions. | | Similar Products Used: | Shimano Deore & Hayes Sole. | | Bottom Line: | Let me put it this way, despite swapping at my own cost to G2 clean sweep rotors and organic pads... they still squeal, they still cause frame vibration. Hence will be selling these and getting some '08 XT's. Also, working in a shop- bleeding these is far more complicated than Hayes & Shimano. Yes, they will stop you... they just squeal at you, constantly! | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Matthew Cornell
a Cross Country Rider
from Amherst, MA, USA
Date Reviewed: August 11, 2007 | | Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month | | Purchased At: | Competitive Edge, Hadley | | Strengths: | hmmm. none? | | Weaknesses: | Multiple failures - after 30 minutes on a brand new bike sounds like gravel scraping on the rotor | | Bottom Line: | Plain, old-fashioned crap. Went back-and-forth with the dealer (who's been good). Tried replacing pads, tried replacing entire brakes (lines, levers, etc.) STILL the sound comes back. Current status: Dealer is going to replace with Shimano LX, but I'm not sure (newbie) how they compare quality-wise with the Juicy 5s... Ugh! | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Gary
a Cross Country Rider
from Thomaston,Tx
Date Reviewed: August 9, 2007 | | Duration Product Used: | 1 Year | | Strengths: | they stop the bike | | Weaknesses: | there seem to be so many, hard to adjust, annoying noise, have to be adjusted before every ride, the constant drag. | | Similar Products Used: | none | | Bike Setup: | marin rift zone | | Bottom Line: | These brakes suck!!! I can never get rid of the drag from the the pad touching the disc. I enjoy the peace and quiet of a ride thru the woods, thats not possible with these brakes. People keep telling me that they will eventually stop making the noise but how much longer do I have to wait. After a year they should be broken in. I will admit that I don't ride this bike as much as my other bikes because of all the braking problems. I have not tried changing the pad but I don't think I should have to with amount I originally paid. I want to sell these things and get something different but feel bad for the poor sap that buys them. they make me not enjoy riding my bike. Did I mention these brakes suck!!! | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Nevin
a Cross Country Rider
from windham, maine
Date Reviewed: August 9, 2007 | | Favorite Trail: | bradbury mountain | | Duration Product Used: | 1 Year | | Price Paid: |
$300.00 | | Purchased At: | EMS | | Strengths: | Stop very well. lever adjustability is key. need very little effort | | Weaknesses: | replacement levers are expensive | | Similar Products Used: | hayes mechs | | Bike Setup: | manitou minute xt stuff fsa xc300 wheels | | Bottom Line: | The only problem I have had was when it was hot outside the rear brake would close. Don't know why, on one ride I heard a small click and then it hasn't happened again. I did bend a brake lever though and it was quite expensive to replace but its easy enought to do. pads are a little hard to change with the auto pad adjust but who cares. a great brake that I would recomend to anyone who is afraid of hitting trees. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
el adrian
a
from Ploiesti,Romania
Date Reviewed: July 30, 2007 | | Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month | | Price Paid: |
$150.00 | | Purchased At: | came with bike | | Strengths: | very powerfull,even with 160mm rotors,smooth and soft lever.
| | Weaknesses: | none so far! could be lighter so 4 chilis. | | Similar Products Used: | shimano xtr,hayes mx2 | | Bike Setup: | b1 + manitou black + xt 08 | | Bottom Line: | great value for the money,great weight,power,price balancing! | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Jakub
a Cross Country Rider
from vancouver
Date Reviewed: July 27, 2007 | | Favorite Trail: | Torrent | | Duration Product Used: | 3 months | | Strengths: | Wicked modulation and power. Very reliable. | | Weaknesses: | Yes, you do have to adjust them once and a while. As any brake system. | | Similar Products Used: | hayes, Shimano, hope. | | Bike Setup: | KHS Alite 3000 | | Bottom Line: | This reveiw is for the juicy 3's and 5's. I have been a bike mechanic for 7 years and avid's are the best over all brakes I have encountered. I don't understand why some people have so many problems. Most of the complaints sound more do to with the lack of knowledge on how to properly set the brakes up or bike companies not choosing the proper brakes or adapters to start with. And these brakes are for cross country riding so to those people who are riding heavy bikes or are heavy themselves look into bigger roter's or don't cheap out on your brakes. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Padraigh Mac An Ultaigh
a
from Wheaton, IL
Date Reviewed: July 17, 2007 | | Favorite Trail: | The one I'm on ! | | Duration Product Used: | 6 months | | Price Paid: |
$225.00 | | Purchased At: | Do not remember | | Strengths: | Very easy to set up. Once dialed in, they stay there.
Good grip in mud, dust, and rain
Predictable performance. | | Weaknesses: | Price
Rear brake "gobble" under heavy pressure downhill. | | Similar Products Used: | N/A | | Bike Setup: | Airborne Ti Lucky Strike
XT & XTR transmission
Sun rims
Easton stem $ riser monkey bars
Ergon grips
Hutchinson semi-slick tires. | | Bottom Line: | I'd do it again. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
ben
a Downhiller
from seattle, wa, usa
Date Reviewed: July 16, 2007 | | Duration Product Used: | 1 Year | | Purchased At: | lbs | | Strengths: | stop well, great modulation, easy to mount and adjust, very little maintenance, true 1 finger braking, tough, have never needed bleeding (yet, in 1 and a half years of moderately heavy use), pads last long time | | Weaknesses: | crazy noises - sometimes....that's it! | | Similar Products Used: | hayes mechanicals? not too similar, though. hopes, hayes 9's | | Bike Setup: | ellsworth moment with lots of shiny parts | | Bottom Line: | these brakes are great. i see some posts that accuse them of being hard to adjust, in need of much maintenance, etc. This has not been my experience. i like things that are simple and work, and that describes these brakes. came bled out of the box, installed both in half an hour and went riding. i think a monkey could've done it. they DO make some noise when dirty/wet, but that doesn't really bother me too much. if you want some quiet time in the woods, go hiking. if you want some hydraulic brakes that will do a great job, and already have too much $$ in your bike, buy these. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Daryl King
a Cross Country Rider
from Boise, Idaho US
Date Reviewed: June 28, 2007 | | Favorite Trail: | I don't have one favorite | | Duration Product Used: | 2 Years | | Purchased At: | Came on bike at Supergo | | Strengths: | Fairly low maintenance for a long time | | Weaknesses: | Get noisy at times (squealing). The rotors were warbling or someting so i went with differnt 6" rotors. Then, I was getting fade on longer downhills so went with 7" rotors. Now they're super grabby and not providng good control. Maybe the brake bleed wasn't done right I don't know | | Similar Products Used: | Hayes, Shimano XT | | Bike Setup: | These came stock on a Silver Enduro I bought at Supergo in Laguna Hills over 2 years ago, now they're on my 5 Spot | | Bottom Line: | They seemed okay for a while and i dont' remmeber complaining about lack of modulation; but they were "warbling" or whatever earlier this year, so I had mech switch to a different rotors, which seemed to help. then a couple of months ago they got REALLY loud on a long downhill and I got fade. mech recommended 7" rotors. Got those and a bleed but then the rear lever pulled all the way into the bar so bled again. Now, having been bled and with 7" rotors, the modulation is really bad, they're super grabby and not providing good modulation and control like a rear brake should. The front is grabby too. I don't think my Kenda Nevegal StickE's are so worn that they would be the problem. These came stock, but if someone is in the market for new brakes, I would do the homework first. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
P Legault
a Weekend Warrior
from Ontario ,Canada
Date Reviewed: June 17, 2007 | | Favorite Trail: | Any. | | Duration Product Used: | 6 months | | Price Paid: |
$300.00 | | Purchased At: | Phat Moose Cycles ()ttawa) | | Strengths: | Very low maintenance. Quick easy stopping. | | Weaknesses: | Low quality rotors, Squeals once in a while. | | Similar Products Used: | Hayes hfx 9 hd. | | Bike Setup: | ,Khs alite 500 ,Avid juicy 5's, danger boy levers, Fox vanilla Forks(32mm,140mm). Raceface evolve dh crank set. Dmr moto digger tyres. Nrg pedals. Rhyno lite custom wheels set. Wtb comp head set. | | Bottom Line: | These brakes are good enough to handle my riding, and are really worth it. Everything about them is good , everything but the minor problems likes the brake pads rubbing on the discs due the water and dirt,and this could also be due to having to break the pads in when you receive the brakes new. Other than that these brakes are awesome their low maintenace and stop in a heart beat. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
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