Description:B4 PRO. New black Caliper with 15 % more power and intercooler holes. A scant 355 grams including the rotor and all bolts.
Two opposed-piston caliper with self-adjusting pads
Re-attachable hydraulic tube fittings, easy to shorten
140,160 monolithic stainless steel disc (6 holes) Equipped with I.S. fittings. Yes we do have a designated Front Post Mount caliper available Oversize discs adapter available as upgrades to run larger discs.
140 mm rear and 160 mm front are standard rotor sizes Please specify Front IS / Postmount or rear brake
Submitted by
Andy G
a Weekend Warrior
from London Date Reviewed: August 3, 2006
Favorite Trail:
Pleny Black Run, Morzine, France
Duration Product Used:
1 Year
Price Paid:
$200.00
Purchased At:
eBay
Strengths:
Very light, good braking power, easy to install, good modulation, no leaks or hydraulic problems for me whatsoever, despite me weighing 95kg and riding some severe fast downhill runs
Weaknesses:
Can squeak a bit with sintered pads. Also if you do an 800 m descent dropping more than 100 m/minute while using EBC Organic Pads, the brakes will fade very quickly and you will be slaughtered.
Similar Products Used:
Tried some Hayes HFX-9's and Hope M4's along the way and rode with people who had them
Bike Setup:
GT I-Drive, Rohloff Speedhub, Formula B4 Pro+ discs front and rear, Tora 130mm front shock.
Bottom Line:
Great brake. After riding with a 200mm Hope Mono M4 user in the skifields of Morzine for 9 day's, I'm convinced these brakes are very comparible in terms of power, modulation, and reliability, despite quite a bit less weight. The brake is completely different with different pads:
DON'T buy the EBC Organic Pad if you're doing any continuous steep descents, as if you overcook it, they can almost completely fade within 50 m or so of fireroad and then slaughter you. However this pad is (apart from squelchy noise) quiet and very powerful in general. Fibrax Sintered Pads - Good stopping power, reasonably quiet and didn't fade much on the skifields even when my rear disc turned red hot and then faded to that cooked black look. My favourite choice so far - they won't kill you, they last and perform well, and aren't too expensive... well that's what I thought anyway... Formula stock sintered pads - Good stopping power, long life, but a bit squeaky on the front after a while.
International Bike Disc pads from "bikefridge" on Ebay UK - unbelievably bad (i.e. they might as well have been nothing there) - I'd swapped them back for some destroyed sintered pads as soon as I was able to stop on their first run).
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Submitted by
Beñat Auzmendi
a Cross Country Rider
from Beasain (spain) Date Reviewed: August 7, 2005
Duration Product Used:
3 months
Strengths:
light, good modulation, looks and specially the lever disengagement system in case of "crash"
Weaknesses:
I´ve experienced very annoying squealing but this in not normal (if someone knows what could the cause be please email) Maybe not the most powerful either, but dunno
This is my first set of disc brakes so I can´t really tell how good/bad they are compared to others but I´m extremelly happy with´em.
My riding style is XC with some pretty hard descents. They´ve never shown any noticeable fade, at least in the kind of riding I do. Haven´t tested them in hight speed extremelly steep downhills or anything but they´ve stood a few serious warm-ups in places where I braked continiously for over 5-10 mins pressing the levers strong enough to get my fingers a little wasted. If only they wouldn´t piece my ears with that squaling!! Haven´t had any problem with leaks, purging or anything so far.
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Submitted by
Sean
a
from San Deigo Date Reviewed: September 14, 2004
Favorite Trail:
Epics
Duration Product Used:
6 months
Price Paid:
$152.00
Purchased At:
eabikes.com
Strengths:
Weight, performance and cost.
Weaknesses:
None
Similar Products Used:
Hayes
Bottom Line:
I just performed my first bleed and purge on my B4 and it went smoothly. Below is a tip I got on bleeding brakes that might help some of you. The weight of these brakes is amazing. The modulation and braking power is great once you get fresh brake fluid and a proper purge.
I use EBC Red pads and these brakes are great for XC race or general trail riding. I weigh 183 lbs and if your a sumo rider you may want to try something bigger 180mm rotors, maybe the Avid Juicys.
I found a brake bleed tip that I want to share. Maybe its one reason why people rate haydraulic brakes poorly is because they are difficult to get the lever firm. Its easy to get air in the lines during a purge.
A motorcycle mechanic originally gave me this tip. I have since verified this tip with Hayes brakes but it works on all brands.
If your lever still feels mushy after a brake fluid purge try this.
Leave the bike tilted in a bike stand Park Tools or whatever, with the handlebar and lever being the highest point and caliper at the lowest poinit. The difference from a standard purge is to leave it like this overnight with the resesivoir screw open and lever taped fully compressed to the handlebar grip. This will allow the air bubbles to rise over night.
Then purge again with lever compressed.
Untape lever and perform standard purge.
It worked for me and it might save you some brake fluid and work time.
Better time spent on the trail than in the workshop!!!
Hope this helps.
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Submitted by
Mike
a Cross Country Rider
from Santa Barbara Date Reviewed: September 14, 2004
Favorite Trail:
Tunnel, Romero, Kanan, Edison
Duration Product Used:
1 Year
Price Paid:
$139.00
Purchased At:
eBay
Strengths:
Lightweight, cost and performance.
Weaknesses:
Takes a few tries to learn how to bleed these brakes.
Similar Products Used:
Hayes Mag Plus, Magura Marta SL
Bottom Line:
I had a problem after the intial install with getting lever firmness. I went through quite a bit of brake fluid before getting it right. Since then I got over a full year of riding before replacing my pads, rotors and bleeding again.
I used EBC red pads and new rotors. Wow, like new all over again.
I have owned 2 other hydraulic brake systems and performed all my own bleeds. I do not recommend people trying to bleed there own brakes unless they have patience and persistance to get it right. My Hayes brakes got air in the Rear line after my first bleed. It took two more times to get it right. Its normal to me after using Hayes, Magura's and Formula's.
The end effect if you don't ruin a seal or improperly bleed the brakes is pure delight.
I'm very happy with my Formula's and would only recommend having a professional bike shop with experienced mechs peform the work.
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Submitted by
brian davies
a Racer
from uk Date Reviewed: July 15, 2004
Favorite Trail:
afan argoed swales
Duration Product Used:
Less than 1 month
Price Paid:
$210.00
Purchased At:
merlin cycles
Strengths:
Weight, cost,
Weaknesses:
Levers look fragile. Not as good looking as hopes
Similar Products Used:
Hope M4s
Bike Setup:
Scoot Gzero pro 2003, hope hubs
Bottom Line:
I Paid £115 for the complete set front and back. The calipers look good and the feel of the lever is good. Only ridden them a few times but because of the typical british weather they are already feeling better than my Avid 7s as they work in the wet. They are very light and to get an as light set from a different manufacturer you are looking at spending 3 times the price I paid. There are plenty of spares available. They are only intended to be used for Xcountry. They do not have the stopping power of my M4s but then these are more Dhill brakes. So far so good.
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Submitted by
kam_ja
a Cross Country Rider
from Philly Date Reviewed: May 19, 2004
These brakes take awhile to brake in. You could hear my bike squealing a mile away just from brake rub when they were first installed. Braking is good but they start to fade during long descents.
Similar Products Used:
Magura Louise - used 3 years, very reliable simple brake
Bike Setup:
Indy Fab Ti Deluxe, Rock Shox SID race, mix components
Bottom Line:
5 chilies for Value because it is relatively cheap compared to other disc brake systems with similar weight.
4 chilies for the Overall rating because of the brake fade
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Submitted by
bostonkiwi
a Racer
from Boston Date Reviewed: April 11, 2004
Duration Product Used:
1 Year
Similar Products Used:
XT. Mono Mini
Bike Setup:
7 Verve
Bottom Line:
Good modulation and weight, power o.k. The 04 kit had some important improvements incl. better lever protectors and Al bladder frame, however both before and after the kit installation I had problems with air getting into system. The brake system let me down in 2 races so it's gone.
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Submitted by
Anna the Biker Grrrl
a Cross Country Rider
from Out There Date Reviewed: September 25, 2003
Favorite Trail:
There's a lot of 'em !
Duration Product Used:
3 months
Price Paid:
$200.00
Purchased At:
a bike shop
Strengths:
Weight; the entire system (levers,rotors,everything included) weighs less than some high-end V-brake + lever combos.Looks great,very elegant and graceful on your bike.
Weaknesses:
They do a pretty good job at stopping/slowing my 120 pounds,but I doubt that a 180+ pound guy would enjoy riding with them as much as I do (I use small rotors).Bigger riders may even have problems with these brakes,since they're not nearly as powerful as Hayes or the unbeatable four-caliper Shimano XTs.Also,pad adjusting and bleeding is required rather frequently...
I'd recommend these brakes to any featherweight XC rider who'd like to switch to discs without any weight penalty.They offer reliable,decent performance,no matter how hostile the weather gets.But these fragile beauties aren't suitable for freeride-they simply don't have enough power,nor are they beefy enough to stop a rampaging "clydesdale".
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Submitted by
Ken
a Weekend Warrior
from London Date Reviewed: September 1, 2003
Favorite Trail:
Afan Argoed, Wales
Duration Product Used:
Less than 1 month
Strengths:
Weight, pull out sockets on the levers for protection during accidents
Weaknesses:
Plastic dust caps on the levers, and cheap bolt fittings on the callipers, levers and disks. I'm also a little concerned about the long-term durability of the pull out sockets on the levers
Similar Products Used:
This is the first disk brake I've used
Bike Setup:
S Works M5 HT, Rockshox Duke SL U turn.
Bottom Line:
Shame about the finishing touches (as mentioned above) but otherwise it seems okay so far.
$ 158.00
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