Submitted by
Jan Lauritzen
a Weekend Warrior
from Ballerup, Denmark
Date Reviewed: December 29, 2007
Strengths: well nothing, perhaps an attractive design, but that's it!
Weaknesses: where to begin, well, the caliper is not rigid at all(the gap where the disc runs through increases during braking), which means that the braking force applied is weakened, thus ensuring that you need to pull the brake lever as hard as possible in order to stop safely. The brake pads are made of a wrong material. Proof: well it sure made many deep grooves in my disc.
Bottom Line:
This was the very first mechanical disc brake I purchased. Shortly after setting it up on my bike, and having broken the pads in, I realized that something was seriously wrong with this brake. Whenever I activated the brake handle, the caliper gap(where the disc runs through) increased by an astonishing 1 mm! What a flaw in the design: the caliper isn't rigid enough! The Bottom Line: Don't ever, and I do mean NEVER purchase the Formula MD1 brake. And don't purchase the Formula Activa brake too(it is the same brake but with smaller modifications). This brake may cost you your life if you use it. It literally couldn't stop a retarded ant going backwards up a steep hill in the winter time! It may look attractive, even though it is cheap for a mechanical disc brake, but don't be fooled, it is NOT worth your hard earned money. Instead, go with any other brand, Shimano for example. If I could I would give this brake 0 Chilis, but unfortunately 1 Chili is a minimum.
Similar Products Used: Avid Juicy 5, Grimeca Xcessive
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Submitted by
Mess
a Weekend Warrior
from New Zealand
Date Reviewed: December 4, 2005
Strengths: It was free. Simple, effective when it's set up properly.
Weaknesses: Pads seem to shift position all the time. Sometimes I will get to the bottom of a big hill and they will have moved way apart, and i'll have to adjust them again. Standard mounts don't fit 04 bomber DJ's without modification.
Bottom Line:
Well, I was given 3 of these for free by the local bike shop. If you get the soft compound pads they stop just as well as other cheap cable discs. With a bit of tweaking they stop you just as well as Avids, but they lose their feel after a couple of rides and need tweaking again. 5 chillis for value, because they were free and do a great job for that price. 3 chillis for overall, because they are so inconsistent.
Bike Setup: Old specialized FSR comp pro 98. Magura 100 front, specialized discbrake adapter aft. Stil workin'
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Submitted by
sam west
a Cross Country Rider
from cheshire uk
Date Reviewed: February 6, 2003
Strengths: look alright, work in the , more powerful than Vs, people think your bike is good if they cant see how bad this disc brake is.
Weaknesses: broke on me, in less than a year it has needed 2 new cables (£3 each), a new set of pads (£14 for a pair), and the lever resplining (£15)still wouldnt lock the wheel very satisfactfully
Purchased At: they came on the bike, i wouldnt buy them for more than £25
Similar Products Used: hope m4-they threw me over the bars, vuelta (spongy) v brakes
Bike Setup: xt groupset, dnm fork, mongoose frame
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Submitted by
Mark
a Cross Country Rider
from New Zealand
Date Reviewed: December 18, 2002
Strengths: Stopped ok when they were working
Weaknesses: Piston Broke, lever spun on spindle had total break falure on a trip, they needed constant adjustment to stop disc rub, a bit noisy, dirt got under piston
Bike Setup: Jamis Eureka Formula hubs, now has Deore Hydrolic Discs
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Submitted by
Johnny
a Weekend Warrior
from Melbourne Australia
Date Reviewed: November 25, 2002
Strengths: power and modulation is OK
Weaknesses: Changing pads is fiddly.
Bottom Line:
These came with the bike. The number of poor reviews have been of concern, however I decided to evaluate the product with an open mind. Overall I have no complaints about the stopping power of the brakes, they have done the job for 3000 kilometeres. Adjusment was quite straightforward and only required the use of a couple of allan keys and your thumbs. They do sqeal from time to time however I found that this could be rectified by simply lubricating the pivot points with WD-40. The pad eventually came loose from the front rotor. I attempted to service the caliper to see if I could change the pad as per the Formula manual. The whole internal mechanism was jammed up and I could not get it to come apart to access the pads. I have since installed an Avid mechanical front disc, the impressive thing with this system is the easy access and removal of the pads and that it was set up and working well within an hour. I will continue to use my formula rear brake until it wears and replace it with an Avid system.
I dont know what all the hubbub is concerning these brakes I have no problems with them what-so-ever! No squeals and very reliable. Kudos to Formula for making such a durable product. I have no incidents of rust at all. And the red calipers really stand out in the aquarium. But what I really enjoy is watching the guppies go thru the holes of the ever so warped rotors!And I still have those wonderful Formula hubs too...perhaps I can make salt shakers or something out of them...I dont know! Formula products? Never again!
Submitted by
Brandon
a Downhiller
from Sammamish, WA, USA
Date Reviewed: August 30, 2002
Weaknesses: ABSOLUTELY EVERYTHING!
Bottom Line:
these brakes are the worst brakes ever, my old cantilevers were beter than these. they came on my Giant DS1. and the rear brake would squeel so badly they could hear from up to 2 miles away. also it would lock up and not release the disc. finally i broke the casing and had to get new ones, thankfully giant gave me a good deal on hayes mech. also you have to adjust the pad alignment during rides or after them otherwise they drag and squeel like a pig. and to the guy below me, why did you put up like 3 of the same thing?you f*g. anyways, these brakes deserve negative 5 chilis but they dont have that, so heres one chili
Submitted by
Stefan Grotegut
a Cross Country Rider
from Swittzerland
Date Reviewed: August 26, 2002
Strengths: they look really cool chaep easy to adjust enough braking power quite good for a mechanical disc (you will be surprised!)
Weaknesses: needs an extra tool for replacing the pads ;-(( quite heavy really bad stock pads!!
Bottom Line:
Hey come one. These breaks are really inexpensive and for those who wants to have disc breaks and not want to wait until the've saved enough money to afford the hopes. These breakes come along with really bad stock pads. They got one my nerves because they never stopped and were embrassingly screaming. I was just about to throw them away- until I found the green EBC pads. Now they are gorgious. Don't even try to wear them in with the original pads. Buy immediately the EBC. Another thing I tried was the MD-1 upgrade kit offered by Formula consistant of the B4 disc and the sintered pads from the Activa. I think, even this combination is not as good as the EBC green pads. However, I would not buy them new, but if you have them -exchange the pads!!!
Weaknesses: do not work. noisy. need adjust before every ride.
Bottom Line:
It's on my girl friend's bike. It sucks bad. only thing that is good at is to make noise. She changed her brake to hayes about a month ago, no noise, enough stopping power, and she likes it.
if you thinking of getting this brake spending cash, Just go get Heyes or Avid.
Similar Products Used: Shimano Deore mech-disc. Hayes mech-disc.
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Submitted by
coconut
a Cross Country Rider
from SF,CA
Date Reviewed: April 19, 2002
Strengths: Stops well with EBC Red brake pads, no brake squeal. Easy to adjust.
Weaknesses: Lousy stock brake pads. Require special tool to replace brake pads. Not worth buying new, but don't throw it out if you already have it. It can be improved with better brake pads.
Bottom Line:
The stock brake pads are atrocious. They provided feeble braking power even when grabbing the brake lever with the whole hand. I cleaned the disc with alcohol and sanded the pads down to bring out a fresh braking surface to try to make it stop better. Nothing worked. I was ready to junk the whole thing. I gave the brake one last chance by installing a new set of EBC Red brake pads. The EBC brake pads made a world of difference. Now the brake stops with authority. The feel is not as good as my Shimano XT hydraulics disc brake, but good even for mechanical disc.
Strengths: Good after bedding in. Takes about 2500Km though!
Weaknesses: Rattle when going fast. Overheat when going realy slow down 45 degree hills. Disk tends to warp. Fiddly.
Bottom Line:
If you want to get these disks you need to be prepared to wear them in for a while. I am now on my second set of pads(EBC pads) and they work heaps better than the first set. The EBC pads seem to overheat a lot less than the other ones. Overall I like these disks. There light, look good, and have plenty of power.
Submitted by
Mark
a Weekend Warrior
from Cape Town, South Africa
Date Reviewed: October 1, 2001
Strengths: None
Weaknesses: These brakes would not stop a fairy on my bike going uphill, never mind downhill, period.
Bottom Line:
You are warned , dont buy these brakes at all. You will endo on any downhill or single track, anywhere. Save up and buy Hayes hydraulics, that's what I am doing and I know I wont be sorry. My overall rating is actually a zero but I could only give one chilli. In SA we have no after sales service.
