|
Formula Brakes
Formula MD-1 Mechanical Disc
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
Submitted by
Jan Lauritzen
a Weekend Warrior
from Ballerup, Denmark
Date Reviewed: December 29, 2007 | | Duration Product Used: | 3 months | | Price Paid: |
$120.00 | | Purchased At: | a local Danish bike dealer | | 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.
| | Similar Products Used: | Shimano BR M555(which can actually brake!) | | Bike Setup: | Centurion | | 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. | Value Rating: Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
scott blacklow
a Cross Country Rider
from hobart
Date Reviewed: December 16, 2006 | | Favorite Trail: | big bend | | Duration Product Used: | 3 months | | Strengths: | none | | Weaknesses: | im sorry this was the worst MTB part i ever saw, the mechanically moved piston snapped and breaks failed (on mountain road with cars) | | Similar Products Used: | Avid Juicy 5, Grimeca Xcessive | | Bottom Line: | The manufacturer should be sued! | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Mess
a Weekend Warrior
from New Zealand
Date Reviewed: December 4, 2005 | | Favorite Trail: | Makara Peak | | Duration Product Used: | More than 3 years | | Purchased At: | Local bike shop | | 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. | | Similar Products Used: | Avid, hayes, magura gustav, deore, tektro... heaps | | Bike Setup: | '01 Kona Stinky + Dangerboy plates, 04 Dirt Jumper 3, Formula Md1's front and rear, avid rotors and levers, alex rims, cheap hubs. | | 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. | Value Rating: Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Laurens
a Weekend Warrior
from Netherlands
Date Reviewed: October 6, 2005 | | Favorite Trail: | dutch mountains :-) | | Duration Product Used: | More than 3 years | | Price Paid: |
$150.00 | | Strengths: | Looks when bought, easy maintainance, no oil. | | Weaknesses: | It took a while to adjust correctly.Lost a pad more than once. | | Bike Setup: | Old specialized FSR comp pro 98. Magura 100 front, specialized discbrake adapter aft. Stil workin' | | Bottom Line: | When installed correctly and adjusted. No problems for years, have been in France, Germany, Belgium and Austria. Never any new problems. | Value Rating: Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Laurens
a Weekend Warrior
from Netherlands
Date Reviewed: October 6, 2005 | | Favorite Trail: | dutch mountains :-) | | Duration Product Used: | More than 3 years | | Price Paid: |
$150.00 | | Strengths: | Looks when bought, easy maintainance, no oil. | | Weaknesses: | It took a while to adjust correctly.Lost a pad more than once. | | Bike Setup: | Old specialized FSR comp pro 98. Magura 100 front, specialized discbrake adapter aft. Stil workin' | | Bottom Line: | When installed correctly and adjusted. No problems for years, have been in France, Germany, Belgium and Austria. Never any new problems. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
sam west
a Cross Country Rider
from cheshire uk
Date Reviewed: February 6, 2003 | | Favorite Trail: | any singletrack | | Duration Product Used: | 1 Year | | Purchased At: | they came on the bike, i wouldnt buy them for more than £25 | | 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 | | Similar Products Used: | hope m4-they threw me over the bars, vuelta (spongy) v brakes | | Bike Setup: | xt groupset, dnm fork, mongoose frame | | Bottom Line: | good but not that good. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Mark
a Cross Country Rider
from New Zealand
Date Reviewed: December 18, 2002 | | Duration Product Used: | 3 months | | 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 | | Similar Products Used: | Deore Hyrdolic | | Bike Setup: | Jamis Eureka Formula hubs, now has Deore Hydrolic Discs | | Bottom Line: | Cheep crap | Value Rating: Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Johnny
a Weekend Warrior
from Melbourne Australia
Date Reviewed: November 25, 2002 | | Favorite Trail: | Lysterfield | | Duration Product Used: | 2 Years | | Strengths: | power and modulation is OK | | Weaknesses: | Changing pads is fiddly. | | Similar Products Used: | Avid mechanical disc (Switched to) | | Bike Setup: | Giant ATX870, XT and LX components. | | 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. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Looohie
a Racer
from dexter, mi
Date Reviewed: October 24, 2002 | | Favorite Trail: | Poto | | Duration Product Used: | More than 3 years | | Purchased At: | LBS | | Strengths: | Everything | | Weaknesses: | not enough color choices | | Similar Products Used: | Hopes
Shimanos | | Bike Setup: | Rocky | | Bottom Line: | 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!
| | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Brandon
a Downhiller
from Sammamish, WA, USA
Date Reviewed: August 30, 2002 | | Duration Product Used: | 2 Years | | Weaknesses: | ABSOLUTELY EVERYTHING! | | Similar Products Used: | bike with no brakes! | | 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 | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Stefan Grotegut
a Cross Country Rider
from Swittzerland
Date Reviewed: August 26, 2002 | | Duration Product Used: | 2 Years | | Purchased At: | Konstanz, Germany | | 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!! | | Similar Products Used: | V-Breaks
Canitlevers
Formula B4 | | Bike Setup: | Giant ATX 850 | | 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!!! | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Omi
a
from tokyo,Japan
Date Reviewed: June 3, 2002 | | Duration Product Used: | 1 Year | | Purchased At: | come w/ bike | | Strengths: | I didn't pay for it. | | Weaknesses: | do not work. noisy. need adjust before every ride. | | Similar Products Used: | Shimano Deore mech-disc. Hayes mech-disc. | | 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. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
coconut
a Cross Country Rider
from SF,CA
Date Reviewed: April 19, 2002 | | Duration Product Used: | 3 months | | Purchased At: | purchased with bike | | 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. | | Similar Products Used: | Shimano XT hydraulic disc brakes | | Bike Setup: | Kona Mokomoko, Formula MD-1 disc brakes with EBC red 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.
| | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Will S
a Racer
from Tassie/Australia
Date Reviewed: November 2, 2001 | | Favorite Trail: | Horse trails | | Duration Product Used: | 1 Year | | Purchased At: | Melbourne | | 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. | | Bike Setup: | Giant XTC NRS TEAM | | 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. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Mark
a Weekend Warrior
from Cape Town, South Africa
Date Reviewed: October 1, 2001 | | Duration Product Used: | 6 months | | Price Paid: |
$40.00 | | Purchased At: | Local bike retailer | | Strengths: | None | | Weaknesses: | These brakes would not stop a fairy on my bike going uphill, never mind downhill, period. | | Similar Products Used: | N/A | | Bike Setup: | Giant ATX 990 with Manitou Triple clamp front suspension and Xt components | | 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. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
derek lewis
a Cross Country Rider
from WA
Date Reviewed: September 27, 2001 | | Favorite Trail: | Tiger Mountain | | Duration Product Used: | 3 months | | Strengths: | Uhhhhh | | Weaknesses: | EVERYTHING!! | | Similar Products Used: | None | | Bike Setup: | Jamis Durago SX | | Bottom Line: | IT SUCKS!!! It sqweeks even when i dont use it. I hate it. It looks cool. I will probably upgade to good Vee brakes. I hate the disc! | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Matt
a Downhiller
from Perth, WA Australia
Date Reviewed: September 19, 2001 | | Duration Product Used: | 6 months | | Purchased At: | Wembley Cycles | | Strengths: | None, Nada, Nothing | | Weaknesses: | Anything and Everything | | Similar Products Used: | Hayes Hydros, XT discs | | Bike Setup: | Merida Hardtail, Deore/LX, Mavic rims, Judy XC forks | | Bottom Line: | These brakes worked better before they bedded in, after they bedded in they didnt work at all. Dont even bother trying to sell them, just throw them in the bin. I have Hayes on my downhill bike ('99 Kona Stab Deelux, sweetbike) and had the formulas on XC bike and the Hayes S*%t all over them. I tried all the adjustments and it didnt help at all. Swap them before you take the bike from the store. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
JOHN BREWER
a Weekend Warrior
from canada
Date Reviewed: September 14, 2001 | | Favorite Trail: | doumount | | Duration Product Used: | 1 Year | | Price Paid: |
$120.00 | | Strengths: | none. | | Weaknesses: | everything | | Similar Products Used: | all v brakes | | Bike Setup: | 2001 kona stuff | | Bottom Line: | these are the worst brakes ever | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
chris g
a Weekend Warrior
from melbourne victoria australia
Date Reviewed: September 13, 2001 | | Duration Product Used: | 2 Years | | Purchased At: | came with the bike | | Strengths: | none | | Weaknesses: | grabs doesent let go or doesn't brake at all | | Similar Products Used: | shimano xtr v-brakes | | Bike Setup: | giant atx840 2001 model | | Bottom Line: | its crap | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Gabriel Rotaru
a Weekend Warrior
from Canada
Date Reviewed: September 12, 2001 | | Favorite Trail: | Bromont, Quebec | | Duration Product Used: | 1 Year | | Purchased At: | Came With Byke | | Strengths: | None what so ever | | Weaknesses: | Don't break, but breaks all the time. Fragile and complicated to adjust. | | Similar Products Used: | Magura | | Bike Setup: | Rocky Mountain Instinct | | Bottom Line: | The brakes are a nightmare and a sorry escuze for brakes. Not even worth recycle them. They don't even come close to Shimano V Brakes. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
derek
a Weekend Warrior
from WA
Date Reviewed: September 2, 2001 | | Favorite Trail: | Tiger Mountain | | Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month | | Strengths: | Light, teh disc brake coolness factor | | Weaknesses: | Dont stop too well | | Similar Products Used: | Vee | | Bike Setup: | Stock Jamis Durango | | Bottom Line: | My Tektro Vee's in the rear stop better than it!!! | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Steve
a
from Kansas City,MO
Date Reviewed: August 20, 2001 | | Favorite Trail: | Sports Complex | | Duration Product Used: | 1 Year | | Strengths: | Haven't really found any | | Weaknesses: | Found more than I can count! | | Bike Setup: | Stock Giant 1999 SE1 | | Bottom Line: | I think formula misspelled these. They aren't Brakes they're Breaks! They Break but they don't Brake! The End! | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Peter
a Weekend Warrior
from Sydney Australia
Date Reviewed: August 2, 2001 | | Favorite Trail: | Quarry Rd | | Duration Product Used: | 6 months | | Strengths: | Stop well, adjustment is not difficult. No problems after 700km | | Weaknesses: | None apparent | | Bike Setup: | Giant ATX 870 | | Bottom Line: | I was very worried when I bought the bike, having read all the negative reviews.
Brakes squealed a little when new, but this disappeared after a couple of rides.
Downloaded manuals from website and have had absolutely no problems in adjusting these brakes.
They have proved reliable to date | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Rafalguru
a Weekend Warrior
from Warsaw
Date Reviewed: July 20, 2001 | | Favorite Trail: | Sniezka | | Duration Product Used: | 1 Year | | Strengths: | Light, simple construction, possible to use Shimano compatible brake levers (in my case XTR 99), good and light hubs, good distribution of braking power, no any fading observed even after 30 km downhill fast ride | | Weaknesses: | Sometimes noisy, but only, when you change pads for a while - around 100 km, I do not know why, but front work much better then rear, I use only front right now. | | Similar Products Used: | Magura, several v brakes | | Bike Setup: | Giant 970, Mavic Ceramic, Time pedals, XT/XTR trivetrain, Judy in front | | Bottom Line: | Very good for weekend ride and even for more aggresive downhills, probably not at the Pro level, but BEST "1st disc" purchase. Mechanicals are less sensitive for fading and for oil problem (locking) at extreme hot conditions | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
jimbo
a Weekend Warrior
from flyover country, USA
Date Reviewed: July 4, 2001 | | Duration Product Used: | 1 Year | | Strengths: | Looks like it can stop you | | Weaknesses: | poor design, bad accessibility to pads, weak stopping power...LOUD | | Similar Products Used: | Hayes, Avid Mechanical Disc | | Bike Setup: | pretty tricked out | | Bottom Line: | These came stock from Giant. The two comments I see on most positive reviews are "If you adjust the properly they work well," which is usually followed by the statement, "These are my first set of discs." I lived with these brakes and managed to remain mostly injury-free through the grace of unseen forces.
Screw adjustment. Compared to any quality disc brake, these are a failure. Swapping my front disc to an Avid drastically increased my confidence -- and stopping power. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Saint Viper
a Cross Country Rider
from WI, USA
Date Reviewed: June 27, 2001 | | Favorite Trail: | John Muir Trail, WI | | Duration Product Used: | 3 months | | Purchased At: | Came with Bike | | Strengths: | The look nice and seem to work well. | | Weaknesses: | None so far | | Bike Setup: | 1999 Giant XTC DS2 | | Bottom Line: | I was very concerned when I bought my bike and it had these brakes on it. I'm not a bike mechanic and don't want to become one. I read the reviews, and figured I'd just call Giant and give them a hard time till the sent me new brakes after I bought the bike. When I first got the bike, the brakes worked fine except that they dragged and squeaked when I wasn't using them. I went to their site and downloaded the manual for the brakes. After adjusting them which only required a few minutes and a set of allen wrenches (which I carry with me anyway) the brakes worked fine. No dragging, no squeaking, good stopping power. They've worked fine ever since and I have no complaints. As long as the continue to do so, I'll keep using them till the pads wear out and then replace them with hydraulics. Maybe I just got lucky, but they work fine for me so far.
Based on other reviews, I guess I wouldn't recommend going out and buying these brakes to add to your bike, but if you buy a bike with them already on there, try them out before you ditch them, they might work fine. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
serpico
a Cross Country Rider
from cle elum
Date Reviewed: June 5, 2001 | | Duration Product Used: | 1 Year | | Purchased At: | came with bike | | Strengths: | brakes are fairly light,easy to adjust(go ahead and laugh i can adjust both ends in 5 min.) they stop well after you break them end. no problems with fading on decents even after aprox 5 miles of steep switch backs.i can't believe the problems some people are having with these brakes.you can't beat these for muddy wet conditions. | | Weaknesses: | they are noisy until broken in. also when wet until they dry.(stream crossings) | | Similar Products Used: | first disc brakes,various v-brakes | | Bike Setup: | giant rainier,xt,lx derailluers,lx hollowtech crank, misc. up grades | | Bottom Line: | they work well if the time is taken to set them up properly. more reliable than hydros when 20 miles out in the woods. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Patrick Mullen
a Racer
from Albuquerque
Date Reviewed: May 22, 2001 | | Favorite Trail: | Otero Canyon | | Duration Product Used: | 1 Year | | Purchased At: | W/Giant XTC DS2 | | Strengths: | Low enough weight.
Good enough power.
Cheap. | | Weaknesses: | Fades too quickly. Stronger then most V-brakes, weaker then most disk brakes. | | Similar Products Used: | Hope, Magura, various V-brakes (XTR, Avid etc.) | | Bike Setup: | Giant XTC DS2 | | Bottom Line: | Cheap, light, not as powerfull as other disk brakes.
If you have last years Giant XTC DS2, Giant will replace these brakes with hayes cable brakes for their cost ($130). That's an insanly good deal. I suggest that those who got these brakes with their bike contact their dealer to switch them. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Rinco
a Weekend Warrior
from Kuala Lumpur
Date Reviewed: May 20, 2001 | | Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month | | Strengths: | Came with the bike. Cool looks. Good stopping power when properly adjusted. | | Weaknesses: | Hard to adjust. | | Similar Products Used: | Shimano V & cantilever only. | | Bottom Line: | It's my first try on disc brakes and I have this product on the front wheel and Shimano V on the rear. I must say that I'm not really a good mechanic. But never have I spent so much time on setting up the brakes.
I got it once tuned and it worked superbly. And then I need to remove the front wheel to transport the bike, and the hassle to adjust it started all over again. It's either the spacing is too wide and you dont have the braking power, or it's too close that the pads touch the disc. It's kinda frustrating especially when you want to hit the trail rather urgently :)
Being a poor mechanic, I'll probably swap this brake with a V and start to enjoy riding again. I think the V is more forgiving to set up, as I always get quick satisfactory result from my rear V.
So from my poor mechanic pov, 2 chilis as I dont see my brakes improve with the added weight and complexity. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Shaun
a Downhiller
from Salt Lake City, UT, USA
Date Reviewed: May 18, 2001 | | Favorite Trail: | Porcupine Rim (MOAB) | | Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month | | Price Paid: |
$70.00 | | Strengths: | Stopping Power. Price. Easy to Adjust. | | Weaknesses: | Takes a few miles to wear in. Until then, stopping power is pretty weak. | | Similar Products Used: | MD-1 | | Bike Setup: | Giant MCM Team | | Bottom Line: | This review is for the Formula Activa mechanical disk Brake. I owned the MD-1, and they were sorry brakes. However, I called Formula and complained. They have a customer appreciation special where you trade your old MD-1 brakes for new Activa brakes and 35.00/ea. It was a great deal in my opinion. These Activa's are awesome so far. If you have the old MD-1's, trade them in! | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Joe Carroll
a Weekend Warrior
from Everett
Date Reviewed: May 11, 2001 | | Favorite Trail: | Tour de Stump | | Duration Product Used: | 6 months | | Purchased At: | local bike shop | | Strengths: | Worked great for a short time after a brief "break in" period. Looked good on the bike because it came stock.
Could laugh at friends with old school brakes. | | Weaknesses: | Unadjustable by hand after less than 3 months of serious
weekend riding. Started screamin' like a banshee on all downhills and breaking power faded fast to the point of almost complete failure by the end of an afternoon ride. | | Similar Products Used: | My foot on my back tire provided better stopping power. The tree on the downhill corner eventually stopped me after overrunning a switchback. Oh well, no falls, no balls. | | Bike Setup: | 2000 Rainier SE | | Bottom Line: | Time for replacements. I do almost all my bike maintenance, but after reading other people's horror stories of repair and preventative maintenance adjustments, I'll skip the pain-in-the-ass ordeal of blowing a Saturday afternoon on that and shop around for a better product. Live and learn. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Shaun
a Downhiller
from SLC, UT
Date Reviewed: May 7, 2001 | | Favorite Trail: | Porcupine Rim (MOAB) | | Duration Product Used: | 2 Years | | Strengths: | The brakes have great stopping power when they work. | | Weaknesses: | The brakes never work. (well actually they worked for about 2 years and then the front caliper popped on me and now it is not repairable). | | Bike Setup: | Giant Team hardtail 1999 | | Bottom Line: | This brake is brutal to work on. You need to order a special wrench just to access the caliper for standard pad replacement. The tool is 15.00 and is ordered from Italy with backorder status(I wonder why). On the upside, I called their US distributer 618.939.2955 and told them my problem. They promptly sent me new front and back Activa mecanical brakes and new rotors for 35.00 each. That is a decent trade in my opinion. They are calling it a Customer Appreciation special. No excuse for the crappy MD-1's, but I will report on the new Activa model when they arrive. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Dan H
a Weekend Warrior
from Cape Cod, MA
Date Reviewed: April 22, 2001 | | Duration Product Used: | 1 Year | | Strengths: | progressive feel, no fading problems for me | | Weaknesses: | noise; criminally bad documentation | | Bike Setup: | Giant DS2 | | Bottom Line: | I already reviewed these brakes and don't want to flame/be flamed further, so this is just a quick update on adjustment to prevent nasty noises.
1) ignore the alleged manual.
2) look at the caliper from the front or back, straight on. Assuming your cable is not way out of whack, adjust the thumb wheel until there is an EQUAL gap (approx .75 mm) between the pad and rotor on both sides. You may have to squeeze the brake lever between adjustments to make sure the caliper is centered.
You're done, and it takes about 2 minutes, is quiet, and lasts longer than the method of using the inner pad as the benchmark, described (sort of) in the manual and on this site.
-dan | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Tom
a Weekend Warrior
from Canberra Australia
Date Reviewed: April 13, 2001 | | Duration Product Used: | 1 Year | | Strengths: | Stops in the wet | | Weaknesses: | Fiddly | | Bike Setup: | Giant XCX | | Bottom Line: | In the 4 months since I last commented my front brake started to lose its bite eventually getting to the point that despite tightening the cable to the max, they didn't stop.
In desperation I RTFM and decided to give instruction 2.2 Adjusting the braking a go. All went well until I started on the bike my 3mm spun around inside fixing screw L in Fig 11. My 1/8 inch did the trick and my braking is now as good as new.
After some 3,700 kms I've got nothing to complain about.
These brakes work fine if you are prepared to spend the time initially bedding them in and then adjusting them again after about 3,000 thousand kms.
| | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Hugh Jass
a Weekend Warrior
from MAD, WI
Date Reviewed: April 12, 2001 | | Favorite Trail: | one without hikers | | Duration Product Used: | 1 Year | | Strengths: | People that don't know what's up may think they're cool. | | Weaknesses: | DON'T stop you! Noise, super squishy, noise. | | Similar Products Used: | My shoe, various wooden objects on trails | | Bike Setup: | Giant XTC, XTR/XT drivetrain, semi-trials setup: RF cranks/bashring, Kujos, ZuZus Kore Stem | | Bottom Line: | So a few reviews down, someone claims to have had Giant replace their MD-1's with Avid Mechanical Discs -- not bad. I called Giant, and they are happy to exchange my formulas for the much-maligned Hayes Mechanical Discs, even though the 2001 Giant bikes come with Avids! I had serious trouble on my last ride with these. I gave these a chance and I'm buying the Avids myself. Stay away from these brakes...and Giant customer service! | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Scott Hubbell
a Cross Country Rider
from Franklin, MA, USA
Date Reviewed: March 27, 2001 | | Favorite Trail: | Vietnam | | Duration Product Used: | 3 months | | Purchased At: | East Providence Cycle | | Strengths: | Light weight, Looks good, sucked down many beers trying to get them set up right, still drinkin'- Now I Can't get replacement pads. --Dirt Cheap. I'll send you mine for postage. | | Weaknesses: | Low power, extremely difficult to set up right, and requires lots of repeated adjustments. Reminds me of an Italian Fiat Spyder I owned in college that I had to take to the repair shop every month because it didn't work either. To make it worse, I tried to get some replacement parts - Good Luck. Got an E-Mail that I had to get them from the manufacturer in Italy - Problem, I live in USA. I asked for them to shipped, never got a response. Mechanic, well I won't tell you what he said. | | Similar Products Used: | None, everything else works. | | Bike Setup: | Giant XTC NRS DS-2 (Why'd they sell this crap on the bike?) | | Bottom Line: | Fix them every day before ride - or get something else. Coordinates well with old FIAT that doesn't work either. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Kinny
a Cross Country Rider
from Sydney, Australia
Date Reviewed: March 24, 2001 | | Favorite Trail: | Lane Cove, Oaks, Andos . . . etc etc | | Duration Product Used: | 1 Year | | Purchased At: | came with bike | | Strengths: | - When it stops it stops OK
- It looks cool | | Weaknesses: | - No power even if set-up correctly & when it works
- IT doesn't work in the rain
- Fiddly to adjust, & you need adjustments every few kms in the wet
- It can fail catastrophically
| | Similar Products Used: | Magura Clara - now THAT is what I call a brake! | | Bike Setup: | Giant Warp dually | | Bottom Line: | IT sucks! Doesn't work in the wet, & requires adjustment far too often.
The bottom line is that it doesn't work when you want it to work. ie it failed once in the pouring rain & I had to walk the bike ALL DAY because it couldn't be fixed out on the trail.
Any v-brake will have MORE power & costs far less, & it won't fail you like this piece of junk.
I mean, for the money you could get an XT v-brake . . .
So don't buy it. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Robin
a Weekend Warrior
from Foxboro
Date Reviewed: March 19, 2001 | | Favorite Trail: | Viet Nam | | Duration Product Used: | 6 months | | Purchased At: | The shop | | Strengths: | NADA! | | Weaknesses: | Cant think of any although the color is nice | | Similar Products Used: | Avid | | Bike Setup: | Gt | | Bottom Line: | Heeelloo Avids and goodbye Formulas forever. Yeah sure, "they have to be set up right" what a frigin joke! Easily THE WORST product I have ever purchased. Thank God I went to a LOCAL bike shop where I could get these OFF my bike and put on something that WORKS. At least the manufactorers had the sense not to include these brakes on any future bikes. Absolute garbage,dont buy them. Avoid at all costs! | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Kilgore
a Cross Country Rider
from Troy, New York
Date Reviewed: March 19, 2001 | | Favorite Trail: | Any and All | | Duration Product Used: | 2 Years | | Purchased At: | Local Bike shop | | Strengths: | They can at times be powerfull | | Weaknesses: | Formula support
The product | | Similar Products Used: | Hayes | | Bike Setup: | Rocky Instinct | | Bottom Line: | After a positive review by a mainstream mtb. magazine, welll I just had to have them! I was even able to find a bike that I liked that had them stock. Unfortuneatly they never lived up to the hype and it was apparent that niether Rocky or the magazine ever really tested these brakes. They were lousy from day one and although I have been able to get them to work...sort of... I would not recommend these to anyone. The overall quality is poor and Formulas product support is equally poor.I have recently replaced the Formula set-up with Hayes and the performance is supperior. It will be a long time before I purchase anything with Formulas name on it. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Rick
a Cross Country Rider
from Banga. Me
Date Reviewed: March 13, 2001 | | Favorite Trail: | all | | Duration Product Used: | 6 months | | Purchased At: | Local | | Strengths: | Kinda of like that constant squeeeeal | | Weaknesses: | Welllll they really dont work and its a pretty poor design. | | Similar Products Used: | Avid mechanicals. and of course Shimanos | | Bike Setup: | Giant | | Bottom Line: | I must concur with the majority, these brakes are totally useless. They can work but not consistently and the effort to make them work properly is just not worth it. The good news is that i dont see them around anymore. Formula needs to make amends before i would ever buy another product from them and even then i doubt that i would, nor should you... | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Matt
a Cross Country Rider
from Hellertown PA, USA
Date Reviewed: March 11, 2001 | | Favorite Trail: | Anything | | Duration Product Used: | 3 months | | Purchased At: | Saucon Valley Bikes | | Strengths: | These brakes don't kno the word strenths | | Weaknesses: | You name it they have it | | Similar Products Used: | Avid V's | | Bike Setup: | 2000 Giant Rainier "the brakes came stock" | | Bottom Line: | The brakes suck the squeal and do not catch the rotor. I called Giant and they sent me brand new Avid Mechanical disc brakes. Giant get 5 Flaming chilis for that. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Jordan
a Cross Country Rider
from Summerhill Pa
Date Reviewed: March 8, 2001 | | Favorite Trail: | anyplace where you can die | | Duration Product Used: | 1 Year | | Purchased At: | Trailside Bikes | | Strengths: | They aren't really that bad, thats if they are set up right. They work better on the front. For being cheap, they aren't bad. | | Weaknesses: | They aren't great | | Similar Products Used: | v's | | Bike Setup: | Came stock on my 2000 Gary Fisher HooKooEKoo.
-Wellgo 813's clippless pedals.
-Other parts I didn't win yet on eBay. | | Bottom Line: | For being Cheap brakes, they are good. Good for a person who is beginning or who is cheap. Work good on front, but not that great on back(how would I know, I don't have em on back, but it's just a guess.)If you think you are a good rider who needs good parts, get something better. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Blaine
a Cross Country Rider
from nashua,nh
Date Reviewed: March 5, 2001 | | Favorite Trail: | tsali | | Duration Product Used: | 1 Year | | Purchased At: | LBS | | Strengths: | The fact that no OEM puts them on their bikes anymore | | Weaknesses: | no strengths | | Similar Products Used: | Products that work | | Bike Setup: | GT | | Bottom Line: | Dont buy them! If the bike that your interested in has these things on them look at something else. After I took them off I thought about puttin them on ebay but I thought that would be morally rehensible.The two things I dont understand is how a product could be this bad and why in the world did GT ever allow it on their bike....Send these feckless attempts at brakes to the Hall of Shame where they belong! | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Charles
a Weekend Warrior
from Ft. Lauderdale
Date Reviewed: March 1, 2001 | | Favorite Trail: | Somewhere in Moab | | Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month | | Price Paid: |
$1.00 | | Purchased At: | Dowtown Bicycles | | Strengths: | look good stop fine cheap | | Weaknesses: | HOWL!!!!!!! minor adjusment for me | | Similar Products Used: | Other non disc brakes (this is my 1st set) | | Bike Setup: | 2000 Jamis Durango Factory | | Bottom Line: | The bottom line is im not sure if the bike shop that assembled my bike did a good job at caliber or what but these brakes have great stopping power as far as im concerned, they have the cool factor, i actually had the opposite adjustment problem were i had to loosen them so they didnt ride the rotor constantly. They do squeal but not as bad as first. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Chris
a Cross Country Rider
from Auckland NZ
Date Reviewed: February 28, 2001 | | Duration Product Used: | 6 months | | Strengths: | the virtues of a disc - excellent feel, good power, good in wet. Still think they look quite good - but then they’d look better on someone else’s bike.
| | Weaknesses: | The whole miserable, primitive design. | | Similar Products Used: | v-brakes | | Bike Setup: | GT Ricochet - on which the formula was stock, good to see that’s changed! | | Bottom Line: | Basic stuff really, the 'design' (I flatter them) of this sad piece of engineering boggles the imagination - imagine designing a brake that you have to completely dismantle in order to change the pads and then have three hands in order to do it, or that you have to half dismantle just to adjust the outer pad. The inner pad adjustment is ludicrously fragile and under-engineered so mere use will throw it out of adjustment. After my last review (22 Nov 2000) the characteristic shrieking returned - loud enough to really piss me off and this time nothing I did got rid of it. I installed EBC red pads and so far this seems to have done the job. Of course, the new pads meant repeating the whole performance of stripping the caliper and progressively filing the new pad so it sat parallel to the disc since the design of the unit means there is really no other way to align it.
In short;
1) this brake is like a bucket with a hole in it: No one in their right mind would actually go out and buy a bucket with a hole in it. If you happen to inherit one you might patch it up and get by, but at end of the day its still a bucket with a hole in it.
2) Any comparison of the Formula brake with the Avid cable disc will painfully demonstrate the difference between competent design and inept design. For every area of blunder or omission in the Formula the Avid has a simple and very effective approach. The really frightening thing is that the Avid is also cheaper. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Warren
a Weekend Warrior
from Grenoble, France
Date Reviewed: February 14, 2001 | | Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month | | Purchased At: | Routens | | Strengths: | Cosmetic | | Weaknesses: | My God, can these things make noise.
| | Bike Setup: | Giant ATX 860 | | Bottom Line: | I think these things are horrible. First, let me set the stage. I'm definitely no gear-head. With a little study and the right tools, I think I could figure out how to do my own maintenance, but I don't have enough free time that I'm going to waste it in the garage. I want to spend it on the trails (or on the water, windsurfing). So I'm not even going to think about going through all the adjustments people suggest below ... but then I shouldn't have to. I've bought a few bikes over the years, some of them less expensive than this setup was, some more; but I've never had a set of brakes work this poorly. They've made a ton of noise from day one, even on flat ground. The last two weekends, I've taken them up into the mountains around Grenoble and they just screeched unmercifully all the way down. Not only that, but they developed a really worrying vibration in the back wheel. Plus, they just had a really hard time stopping me. Albeit on very steep slopes, but, as I said, I've had much cheaper equipment that required no maintenance that worked much better. Shame on me for not doing my research before-hand; shame on Giant and Formula for selling such an inadequate product. I'll remember this. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Manny
a Cross Country Rider
from Portland, Maine
Date Reviewed: February 7, 2001 | | Favorite Trail: | The Rim @ Maob | | Duration Product Used: | 1 Year | | Purchased At: | Ye Old Bike store | | Strengths: | Cant think of one | | Weaknesses: | No one wants them | | Similar Products Used: | Hope | | Bike Setup: | Instinct | | Bottom Line: | I was under the impression that Rocky tests their products in the rugged Pacific North West? Well they blew it here! How they could put such a piece of sh#t on one of their great frames is beyond me.
Maybe you could get these things to work while your doin a street ride or somethin but for serious off road forget it, they just dont cut it. And there are so many things that are wrong with these brakes well...its been well documented....noise, shoddy workmanship, etc, etc,...
Yep I too down loaded the manual but it only worked temporarily. Brought them into a dealer too and they talked to Formula, didnt work either.
The Bottom Line? Probably the WORST product to come out in a long time! Soooo long Formula! | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
mavismofo
a Cross Country Rider
from B.C. baby
Date Reviewed: February 4, 2001 | | Duration Product Used: | 3 months | | Purchased At: | Bike Barn | | Strengths: | Look pretty on the showroom floor. | | Weaknesses: | Absolutely the worst cycling product I have ever owned. Tarnished Rocky Mountain for obviously not testing it before specing it on their bikes, in my case an Instinct. A class action lawsuit should be filed against Formula for ever releasing this product to the public. An absolute safety hazard. I had to jump off my bike because the pads wore out of adjustment so quickly. A pathetic excuse for the latest technology. I went to xtr vees and feel safe. | | Bike Setup: | Rocky Instinct with Fox Float shock, stock otherwise. | | Bottom Line: | Stay with vees if you ride xc or try something that a mechanic you trust can recommend. Doesn't even deserve one chile. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Lou
a Cross Country Rider
from Hartford, ct
Date Reviewed: February 4, 2001 | | Favorite Trail: | Sliiiick Rock | | Duration Product Used: | 6 months | | Purchased At: | LBS | | Strengths: | HA! | | Weaknesses: | How many pages can I have? | | Similar Products Used: | Hayes | | Bike Setup: | Giant | | Bottom Line: | Sure you can set them up properly after following the downloads/maunuals from Formula but IF you ever RIDE with them for more than a week you will know what a truely HORRIBLE product this is.
I have tried to make them work for 6 months but they just dont stay in adjustment...I shouldnt have to fiddle with them after every ride.
The constant squeal is incurable. Yeah I switched to EBC Red pads...didnt work. Brought them into several local bike shops and most of them laughed and said well...will give it a go....to no avail...and dollars to me...
My friend has Rocky Instinct that had Formulas and he too had bad luck with them...warped rotars...broken Formula rear hub...stripped screws
There are plenty of negative reviews on here about these brakes and they are JUSTIFIED! Just because someone can make these pieces of krap work for a day means nothing!So my opin. is this, If your looking at a bike and has Formula on it STAY AWAY!It will be the best purchasing decision you have ever made...
| | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Simon
a Weekend Warrior
from Canberra, Australia
Date Reviewed: February 4, 2001 | | Favorite Trail: | Stromlo | | Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month | | Strengths: | Came with bike. fairly simple | | Weaknesses: | Squeal a lot | | Similar Products Used: | v brakes | | Bike Setup: | Giant ATX 870 | | Bottom Line: | I read all the complaints about these brakes when I first got the bike, and went out and bought Shimano XT Hydraulics to replace them with. But after downloading the manual and fiddling with them for less than 10 minutes, they work fine. They still squeal a bit, but not as much as when I first got them. I can sto well, in fact can now do front wheel stands with much better control. I ran them down a long hill yesterday, on the whole way, and didn't get any fade. I think they've been given an unfair run in these reviews. perhaps people needed to accept that you have to put a bit of effort into getting them set up and then bedded in. I don't know how to rate the value as they came with the bike, so am basing it on an educated guess. Only the squeal brings it down on performance. Tonight I change over to the XTs, and will post a review on them once they're bedded in. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
andrew paul
a Cross Country Rider
from sydney, australia
Date Reviewed: January 30, 2001 | | Favorite Trail: | blue mountains | | Duration Product Used: | 2 Years | | Price Paid: |
$100.00 | | Purchased At: | sydney aust | | Strengths: | More efficient than v-brakes, they look cool too | | Weaknesses: | Like a howling baby, they need lots of attention, especially after ever couple of rides. | | Similar Products Used: | v-brakes -shimano | | Bike Setup: | GIANT ATX870 | | Bottom Line: | If you go to the website (some thing like www.formula.it) you will find lots of things that that a tech-head would love, and you must read before adjusting anything (they provide manuals on pad replacement and adjustment) but if you don't read these then your life is hell with these damn temperamental brakes.
Three things to truely remember :
1) change the stock pads to EBC aftermarket pads(the red versions are best, they"ll stop the screaming, but the wear out faster than the green EBC's)
2)once you get past the 2 allen key type bolts to get at the first pad, you'll come across a stupid piece of engineering, a ring with a thread and 4 little holes. How the hell is anyone supposed to know how to loosen it? (yeah and without it) Get a pair of needlenose pliers that have a rightangle in the end, and stick the end of each end each of the pliers in 2 of the ring holes and firmly rotate, but don't over do it. Believe it or not the Italian website manuals DON'T EVER MENTION HAVING TO USE A TOOL that is cheap and available for this purpose. A gross act of Italian stupidity!! When you finish the pad replacement, put this same ring back with a bit of loctite. DON'T ever forget to put a 2.5mm shim between the pads as a imatation rotor width as you reassemble the pads or you'll be wanting to kill someone (I forgot this critical step and went to hell and back trying to figure out why the rotor didn't fit between the pads later)
3) Before beginning anything, make sure you note the exact position and angle of the red colored arm (I got this wrong the first time and paid the price)
Good luck - they do work. Finally. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Cat
a Weekend Warrior
from Cornwall,,,UK
Date Reviewed: January 29, 2001 | | Duration Product Used: | 1 Year | | Price Paid: |
$120.00 | | Strengths: | When set up correctly (no mean feat) better than V brakes exept the expensive ones. Less likley to get wet than V's when going throught water. | | Weaknesses: | Many ... Screech like nothing on earth when rotor gets wet, Compared with hyro disks poor braking power. | | Similar Products Used: | Hope Disks, All types of V. | | Bike Setup: | Giant & GT | | Bottom Line: | Dont .... These need stripping and lubing every mud ride which is a pitty as the grease they so badly need on the internals gets past the complete lack of seals and onto the pads and they only start working properly again as your ending the days ride. The screech they produce on contact with water has to be heard to be belived, no need for a dingaling bike bell here. Makes a reasonable back brake with a hydro disk like a hope up front if set up correctly and bedded in (which takes 42 years 7 months by the way),Oh and the 4 bolt disc hub is,,,,,well thats another story. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Eric
a Racer
from Chapel Hill NC
Date Reviewed: January 14, 2001 | | Favorite Trail: | Tsali | | Duration Product Used: | 1 Year | | Purchased At: | came with my giant | | Strengths: | ...most of the strenghs that go with disk brakes. | | Weaknesses: | well... lots, will talk about that in a second. | | Similar Products Used: | Only V brakes after these. | | Bike Setup: | Schwinn Rocket 88 Stage 1 | | Bottom Line: | First off i hate being the one to shoot down a product, but i just need to for these brakes. I bought them thinking they looked cool, and they were disks! what could be better? hmm well i find out now that my Avid Mag brakes are thousands of times better. I think the formula brakes worked well for me in my first few months of owning them, but quickly got hold. The formula hubs that can along with the brakes weighed about 4 pounds each, and the brakes just plain didnt have enough power. They make horific mitalic noises when i ride, and the levers feel as though they will never return to there original position after being pulled. I even tried Gore-Ride on cables with these brakes to make them work better, but even that didnt help. my advise would be to take Formulas deal and trade em out for 100$ a wheel, and get rid of em. just my $.02 | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Brian
a Cross Country Rider
from St John's, Newfoundland, Canada
Date Reviewed: January 10, 2001 | | Favorite Trail: | Kenmount Hill | | Duration Product Used: | 6 months | | Purchased At: | Earle Industries | | Strengths: | Works good for the price! Good stopping power! works best when it has been used for over a month. | | Weaknesses: | Loud, Hard to set up! | | Bike Setup: | ATX 840 | | Bottom Line: | its great for people starting out, who want pretty good gear for a good price and I feel these brakes dliver! | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Dougs
a Cross Country Rider
from Dunedin, NZ
Date Reviewed: January 9, 2001 | | Duration Product Used: | 1 Year | | Purchased At: | R&R | | Strengths: | Excellent stopping power | | Weaknesses: | Unless you do this fix they are incredibly dangerous, squeak and will **** you | | Similar Products Used: | all kinds, brakes are brakes, unless they break you | | Bike Setup: | Diamond back, vertec comp, judy Xc, deore, front and rear formula brakes | | Bottom Line: | These are really good if you follow this story. I want to shout at the top of my lungs about this and wish there weren't so many f**kers putting the same old garbage out on this web site about them!
my brakes almost killed me, they would loosen off after only a short hill, they would squeak like buggery and when I told formula they didn't want to know.
The fix:
place a ball bearing on the inside of the internal screw!
The internal screw has to be tightened past the end of it's thread in the normal situation, thus it squeaks and will loosen off drastically. The ball bearing will space the internal screw out just that little bit needed to make them work!
please do this before you brake your neck! | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Tom
a Weekend Warrior
from Canberra Australia
Date Reviewed: December 4, 2000 | | Duration Product Used: | 6 months | | Strengths: | They stop - rain, hail or shine | | Weaknesses: | Long break-in period, squeal in the wet | | Similar Products Used: | None | | Bike Setup: | Giant XCX DS2 standard setup | | Bottom Line: | I read the reviews before I bought the bike and took a risk to save on the cost of hydraulics. I don't do a lot of riding (just ove 2,000 ks in 6 months) but I've been out and about in all weather and temperatures from -7 to over 30. I actually enjoy riding in the rain now that I can stop.
Some might sneer at them but, I've never used anything better and apart from taking about 500ks to properly bed in and some minor squealing in the rain, I cannot find fault with them.
If you can afford and want hydraulics buy them but if you are patient enough to invest some time to set up and bed these in, you will have great brakes. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Stan
a Cross Country Rider
from Traverse City
Date Reviewed: November 23, 2000 | | Favorite Trail: | Shanty Creek | | Duration Product Used: | 6 months | | Purchased At: | Local | | Strengths: | Zero | | Weaknesses: | Poorly made | | Similar Products Used: | Hayes | | Bike Setup: | Rocky Mountain | | Bottom Line: | I dont even know where to begin. It is amazing to me about how many apologists there are for this very, very, bad product. I have followed the directions on Formulas web site...I have brought these brakes to a QUALIFIED mechanic...I have talked to the crew at Formula...Yet they still dont work properly...Why should I have to sand the pads...the rotor...to stop the noise...Why has the rotor warped after 90 days of use? Why has my rear Formula hub stopped working? Why do not the oems use formula products?
Because they SUCK....
There is no defense of this product.They belong in the hall of shame.And PLEASE dont tell me about setting up the brakes properly....no more directions...THEY DONT WORK!
| | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Chris
a Cross Country Rider
from Auckland
Date Reviewed: November 22, 2000 | | Duration Product Used: | 3 months | | Strengths: | they work very well when carefully set up | | Weaknesses: | if not set up correctly they are noisy, mushy and generally feel like rubbish | | Bike Setup: | GT Ricochet | | Bottom Line: | From the reviews its obvious that these brakes are often not set up correctly by bike shops when sold already installed on a bike, and lots of people who buy the units separately donÕt get much useful help from the Formula documentation - thats if they even know about it, I only discovered the on-line manual (read it first) through these reviews - http://www.formula-brake.it/.
My experience is that they donÕt work straight out of the box - unless theyÕre set up correctly theyÕll be mushy, ineffective and squeal like a stuck pig. Setting them up takes time and patience, and some mechanical ability. Comments on this site suggest that those who feel short of these resources should either buy something else or will need to find a good bike shop where someone knows whatÕs required.
From the reviews here - thanks to those whoÕve posted their learning - and my own experiments I've added some thoughts for the adventurous:
1) Check the fixed (internal) pad for alignment against the disc. It should be parallel to the disc both vertically and horizontally. If it isnÕt, when you try to brake the outer pad will work at bending the disc to lie flat against the inner pad, and the system will feel mushy and eventually the (hot) disc will be warped.
2) If the internal pad is aligned with the disc (and your disc is ÔtrueÕ) youÕre almost finished. If the internal pad isnÕt aligned with the disc, take the caliper unit off the fork and use a set-square to check that the facing surfaces of the mounting lugs on the fork are actually 90 degrees to the disc - my ManitouÕs needed a good bit of filing to allow correct horizontal alignment, which is hardly FormulaÕs fault. Then put the caliper mounting screws back in the lugs on the fork and run a ruler down them so you can check they are roughly parallel to the disc. If not (as on my Manitou), the caliper is designed to allow for some some aligning movement, but I needed to do additional filing and use spacers to get correct alignment.
3) With this done, put the caliper unit back on again and check if the internal pad is now aligned with the disc. If it is, the outer, moving pad - which has designed to self-align to the fixed pad - will form a good, effective clamp on the disc and the brakes will work well. If the internal pad still isnÕt aligned with the disc the next step is to dismantle the unit and file the inner pad slightly until it is parallel with the disc.
4) To dismantle the caliper unit the pink lever needs to be removed, which means taking off the small cone-headed 3mm cap screw and carefully waggling the arm about to free it up - it is usually quite tight fit over the hexagonal cone of the main mechanism. The caliper unit can be left on the fork for this happy event. Be careful of (in this order) the outer seal and thin washer, the spring, and the inner seal, which will all come away in a hurry when the pink arm frees up. Try to note which hole in the back of the pink lever the spring end is anchored in. Still inside the caliper unit is a threaded locking ring, which will need some initial persuasion to undo, and when this comes out so will the main rotating ball-and-ramp mechanism and the outer/mobile pad. You can now take out the inner pad to file it (oh yes, what a design!! this is also how you have to change the pads!). Having removed and filed the inner pad so its aligned to the disc, refix that pad to the caliper unit and use the small plastic thumb-screw to move this fixed pad ( and caliper unit) so the inner pad is only just off the disc face.
5) Reassembly. Before doing this check that you can turn the tiny 2.5mm Allen key screw hiding inside the hexagonal cone of the main mechanism - this is the wear adjuster for the outer/mobile pad and youÕll need it to be turnable. It may need easing up, or cleaning out with solvent and re-setting with loctite so its still fairly tight but is adjustable later. Make sure the flat (inner) end of this 2.5mm Allen key screw is wound far enough in so that the ball bearing end of the outer/mobile pad will press against it. Now insert the outer/mobile pad, rotating ball-and-ramp mechanism, and wind in the threaded locking ring and secure it. Then replace the inner seal, spring, washer, outer seal and arm - takes a bit of fiddling to get it all aligned and held in place....
6) Finally, using your third hand, hold the arm in place and use a 2.5mm Allen key to wind the 2.5mm wear-adjuster screw so that the outer pad is just off the disc when the pink actuating lever is about 90 degrees angle in relation to the fork slider. This should give you about 2.5mm of exposed cable between the cable stop and the pink actuating lever, which works very well. Now fix the pink actuating lever in place with its 3mm cap screw.
Check all the screws and bolts and the brake operation and youÕre in business. Having done all this my disc works extremely well. It gives excellent feel and very rarely makes any noise. Of course you shouldn't have to do any of this, but those of us who have owned British and Italian vehicles (note that most of the reviews where people have worked out a cure are from the UK) are familiar with this sort of lunatic engineering. PS since half the US population seem to be lawyers seeking litigation: do this adjustment at your own risk - these are merely suggestions.
| | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Mac Stephens
a Weekend Warrior
from Freerider from Vancouver, BC, Canada
Date Reviewed: November 22, 2000 | | Favorite Trail: | pink starfish | | Duration Product Used: | 3 months | | Purchased At: | Carleton Cycle | | Strengths: | Better braking power than V's; no risk of busting open a hydraulic line; inexpensive | | Weaknesses: | SQUEAL!! Rotors seems a little weak; braking power is not bad but not great; some adjustments required... | | Similar Products Used: | Hayes hydraulic discs | | Bike Setup: | Norco VPS-4 | | Bottom Line: | These brakes aren't bad, especially for the money. However, you do need to fiddle with them and re-adjust frequently in order to get decent braking power. It doesn't take a mechanical genius to do this. But...after 3 months, my front brake has lost considerable stopping power despite there being lots of meat left on the pads. They do make a racket, and compared to my mates' Hayes, they are a second rate product. Still, they are superior to V's, especially when riding in the slop on the North Shore.
Having said that, I'm upgrading to Grimeca hydraulics(at wholesale...thanks Norco!). You need them when riding the Shore. I'm tired of the hand fatigue, the squealing and the inexplicable loss of power on the front brake.
Nevertheless, if you want some lower-end disc brakes these are not a bad buy and they are superior to V's. However, I would save up a bit more $$ and spring for a good set of hydraulics.
| | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Luke Waters
a Cross Country Rider
from Rockville, MD, 20853
Date Reviewed: November 10, 2000 | | Favorite Trail: | Watershed | | Duration Product Used: | 6 months | | Purchased At: | with bike | | Strengths: | cheap, very good braking power with good calibration | | Weaknesses: | hard to set up, noisy at first | | Similar Products Used: | Avid cable discs, Hayes hydro and mech discs. | | Bike Setup: | XTC SE2 w/ xtr ders. raceface crank, sx shock | | Bottom Line: | Dudes, go easy on these brakes. first of all, i didnt like them at first. they didnt feel right and were noisy. but, once i sanded the face of the pads, they made no sounds and were felt good. you MUST spend time with these brakes to set em up. because its only a one sided pad you must set the inside pad as close as possible to the disc. you also must set your levers so they pull less cable then a normal v brake lever. now once the pads are sanded, and you mess around with the red arm angle to get the right leverage, they work great. dont get me wrong, they are no hayes. but for the price you cant beet em. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Brian
a Weekend Warrior
from Canada
Date Reviewed: November 10, 2000 | | Favorite Trail: | Crazy Hores | | Duration Product Used: | 1 Year | | Strengths: | None, the brake should not be sold at all it is not even on the POS at Canndian ty or Toyes are us let alone realy bikes. | | Weaknesses: | Nosey, consten ajustment, the roter bends and worpes very ez. It makes an Ok front brake but on the back I sent more time going to the bike shop and geting the to waranty it then I rode it. | | Similar Products Used: | Cantys | | Bike Setup: | Orex super | | Bottom Line: | the bottom line is that it dose not desev one flamin'Cili but 5 flamin' peces of Crap | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Pablo
a Cross Country Rider
from Seattle
Date Reviewed: November 8, 2000 | | Favorite Trail: | Slick Rock | | Duration Product Used: | 1 Year | | Purchased At: | Bike Shop | | Strengths: | They came off the bike easy | | Weaknesses: | couldnt give them away | | Similar Products Used: | Shimano hydros | | Bike Setup: | Rocky Mountain | | Bottom Line: | They are horrible...Its funny when the mechanics/engineers write in and tell you how great these brakes are but what they dont tell you is that their bikes dont ever leave the garage.
Anyone who has actually ridden with these brakes off road and for greater period than a week knows that they dont work..And its much more than the incurable squeal..They have to adjust them after every ride, which I am sure the mechanics/engineers love to do...but I would rather ride...
But dont take my word for it, the reviews speak for themselves and besides that how many new bikes come with Formula Brakes? Rocky dropped them from their line...wonder why!
Oh and for those people whom state it is as simple as reading the instructions, try taking your bike out of the garage and actually riding it for more than a day...they dont work...
| | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Dan
a Weekend Warrior
from Cape Cod, MA
Date Reviewed: November 8, 2000 | | Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month | | Purchased At: | came on bike | | Strengths: | Good stopping power, linear feel, easy to adjust -- no, that's not a typo.
See below for an easy adjustment method. | | Weaknesses: | Manual makes adjustment sound much harder than it is, causing the brakes (and way too many users of them) to whine during break-in. | | Similar Products Used: | Hydraulic version of same brake, tried once on friend's Giant DS-1. No significant difference that I could detect. | | Bike Setup: | Giant XTC DS-2 | | Bottom Line: | Wanna know the secret?
With the wheel off the ground, tighten the thumb wheel (gently, by hand) until the wheel is hard to turn by hand.
Pull the lever a few times to center the caliper. Back off the thumb screw gradually, pulling the lever each time, until the wheel rotates freely. If caliper does not center properly, carefully put a TINY amount of lube on the pivot assembly.
Goodbye nasty noises. Yes, I had to repeat this highly difficult (NOT) task a few times during break-in. Gee, I musta invested 10 whole minutes and no tools to meet this unbearable owner responsibility during a week of break-in. Defective product? I don't think so. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Rick
a Cross Country Rider
from Baltimore, MD
Date Reviewed: November 8, 2000 | | Duration Product Used: | 6 months | | Strengths: | Look really cool | | Weaknesses: | Make way too much noise, require constant adjustment | | Bike Setup: | 00 Giant XTC SE2 | | Bottom Line: | The brakes came on the bike. After using them for 6 months, which is adequate for them to be brolen in, they still squeal like a stuck pig and need to be adjusted every ride. Most of the time they have adewuate stopping power, but enough to give an advantage over v's. If you have to go with disk, dont get these. I only did because they were already on the bike, and I am going to upgrade. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Kelvin How
a Cross Country Rider
from Richmond Hill, Ontario, Canada
Date Reviewed: November 2, 2000 | | Duration Product Used: | 6 months | | Strengths: | - Plenty of bite even in wet weather.
- They look good and function well with little fuss.
- No messy fluid or failure due to loss of fluid. | | Weaknesses: | - It squeels LOUD before the pads and rotors break in.
- Needs constant adjustments durring break in period.
- Requires more finger force to brake. | | Bike Setup: | 00'Giant ATX 840, Judy Race, Syncros bars, stem and post, and long live 8spd! | | Bottom Line: | They came stock on my ATX that is why I like them. You have to give the pads and rotor a chance to break. If you don't, they squeel like mad. After about a month they work great and haven't gave a fuss ever since. The pads do need some adjustments, but only about once a month. Regardless what other people claim, I do think these brakes work great. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Randy Pogue
a Weekend Warrior
from Perryton, TX
Date Reviewed: November 1, 2000 | | Favorite Trail: | GSL in Palo Duro Canyon State Park | | Duration Product Used: | 6 months | | Purchased At: | Southwest Bicycle Center, Liberal, KS | | Strengths: | Easy to adjust, Works great, Looks great, Reliable. | | Weaknesses: | Usually purchased by people with little or no mechanical reasoning, who then write bad reviews because they can't do simple adjustments or maintainence! | | Similar Products Used: | vee-brakes | | Bike Setup: | GT Backwoods with some Azonic upgrades | | Bottom Line: | Many of these people are correct. Do not buy this product! Do not buy this brake if:
You can't tell the difference between a hex wrench and a screwdriver.
You can get online and cry, but can't find www.formula-brakes.com to review the maintainence & adjustment manual.(hint; it shows you how to get the brakes working great!)
You expect great disc brake performance at a great price.
I may be a little advantaged in the mechanical department as I am an engineer, however; I weigh about 225, and have used this brake in all contitions for about 600 miles, on all types of terrain, in all types of weather, and I just have not had any of the problems these mechanically challenged riders have discussed. This product has done nothing but perform for me, and I would recommend it to anyone who can read a simple manual.
Face it, there are not a huge number of riders using disc brakes yet, so it stands to reason that the average bike shop won't have the know how to set these babies up correctly. I suggest a few less angry phone calls and a little more research and you too will love these brakes as much as I do!
Bottom Line:Brakes for those who want cool looks, fabulous stopping power, and can utilize more tools than a hammer! | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
James
a Weekend Warrior
from Toronto
Date Reviewed: October 28, 2000 | | Favorite Trail: | 401... | | Duration Product Used: | 3 months | | Strengths: | impulse buying appeal... you wonder why they stick these things on a bike rather than a good set of V's?...for suckers like me who think "disc brakes, WOW, I'll have so much stoppin' power!"....think again... | | Weaknesses: | the general lack of performance and shoddy engineering.... | | Similar Products Used: | V's...though i really should say BMX style U brakes. | | Bottom Line: | being able to do endo's is not the be all, end all of breaking....I could easily endo(and do front wheel scuffing maneuvers) on my old bmx with U-brakes upfront...
Case in point: I can either get large stopping power for 1 stop prior to the caliper dragging and waking up bears from hibernation(not to mention bringing me to a grinding halt if I ever stop pedaling)...or I can screw those barrel adjusters all the way down and just forget about using my fronts because the lever will go all the way to the bar, And I'll get nothing but a squeek.
I've fiddled with these things for months...the bikeshop guy told me they just needed to be broken in......I think they were pretty much BROKEN when i got 'em...
I'm gonna buy a pair of alivio vee-brakes for $1.99
and make my rotor into a clock or something....
| | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
John
a Cross Country Rider
from Andover,Ma
Date Reviewed: October 12, 2000 | | Favorite Trail: | Nam | | Duration Product Used: | 6 months | | Purchased At: | LBS | | Strengths: | Nice color | | Weaknesses: | They dont work
Have to adjust constantly
Rip off for the $$$
Poor quality | | Similar Products Used: | Shimano Hydros-They work | | Bike Setup: | Rocky | | Bottom Line: | Well I am a Tecky and I can tell these things blow. Sure you can set-up properly and they will work for 1 ride then you need to set them up again..No thanks...And I dont mind a little noise but this is constant. And sorry but they are not even close to the raw power of V-brakes.I sent them back to Formula they sent me new ones and those sucked too!Hey, read the reviews, How many people like these brakes? Rocky didnt include them on their 2000 bikes..Why? Because they do not work!!! Am I Pist, Yep and so are many other people and rightly so! | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Dan Kuzma
a Weekend Warrior
from Winnipeg, MB, Canada
Date Reviewed: October 12, 2000 | | Favorite Trail: | HAHA, trails? In Winnipeg, what a joke! | | Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month | | Purchased At: | Olympia Cycle and Ski | | Strengths: | - Mine are as strong as any v that I have tried
- Coolness factor
- The obvious advantages of discs being placed where they are.
- Great brake for the money!!! | | Weaknesses: | - Need to keep adjusting them, but if you're a tech head like me, you don't mind it all that much.
- Noise, who cares? It's not THAT bad, as long as I can still stop. | | Similar Products Used: | Many types of V-brakes, and Diatech Spiral Stop discs (now teh diatechs suck a$$) | | Bike Setup: | Giant Warp DS-1 2000, stock with a 2001 Psylo XC | | Bottom Line: | They are a disc, they do have they're advantages. Mine have been wonderful. Not as good as a hydraulic, but if you expect them to be, then you're a moron! All they need is some TLC and they will work fine. I have never had any problems on the trail with them yet. I am planning on upgrading to hydraulic eventually, but that's cause of what I said earlier, of course hydraulic is gonna be better. I also reccomend getting new levers like the Shimano XT V levers if you have some el cheapos like the Diatech DP-9 that comes stock on my DS-1. If you're looking for a good disk brake in the $1200 bike range, this is the best disc you'll find in that range. For the most part, tune em, and you'll be happy. If you don't, then QUITE YOUR B*TCHING!!! | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Rayn jimbabwe
a Weekend Warrior
from CANADA
Date Reviewed: October 11, 2000 | | Favorite Trail: | pink starfish | | Duration Product Used: | 3 months | | Purchased At: | came with bike, georges cycle | | Strengths: | worked great when they were tuned up right
| | Weaknesses: | didnt work well for long...
very finicky took forever to tune up
broke them doin rear pogos. they didnt just need adjusting to fix it though... I BROKE THE THING IN HALF!! NEARLY KILLED MYSELF IN THE PROCESS!!! they are not worth the hassle either get hydros or v brakes but not these | | Similar Products Used: | hayes hydros | | Bike Setup: | vps4 | | Bottom Line: | dont get these!!!
why doesnt norco just put vs or better hydros on their vps 4?
other than the brakes the bike is great | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Cabot
a Weekend Warrior
from Plymouth nh
Date Reviewed: October 1, 2000 | | Duration Product Used: | 3 months | | Purchased At: | inclluded on bike | | Strengths: | nice powerful mechanical disk brake | | Weaknesses: | perhaps you have to adjust a litle too much. | | Similar Products Used: | V Brakes | | Bike Setup: | Giant SE Ranier with front and rear XTR's | | Bottom Line: | I had severe distrust in the brakes after reading the reviews here. HOWEVER, it seems that if the riders who want to complain would try to adjust the brakes properly or take it to a very good shop, they would have a very good brake system. Noise is a bit much sometimes, but I can deal with it. The brakes always lock up on the front or rear any time I want with little effort. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
steve
a Weekend Warrior
from San Francisco
Date Reviewed: September 29, 2000 | | Favorite Trail: | Downeyville | | Duration Product Used: | 6 months | | Purchased At: | Ocean Cyclery, San Francisco | | Strengths: | This product stops your bike but have much more problems than benefits. | | Weaknesses: | 1. Brake levers are cheap! I have owned the bike for 4 months and have already broke the clamp which secures the lever to the handlebar. The levers have lots of play from the fully extended position to where the levers engage the brake.
2. Brake engages without pressing the lever. Road vibration causes the lever setting to change which causes the levers to engage the brake. I find myself adjusting the brakes everytime I ride singletrack.
3. The brakes squeak bad. I clean the brake disc and the problem returns after a 30 minute ride. | | Bike Setup: | Zaskar X stock | | Bottom Line: | I bought a GT Zaskar X which came equipped with Formula Evoluzione hydraulic brakes. If I would have known that the Formula disc brakes were so bad, I would have never bought the bike.
DO NOT BUY ANYTHING MADE BY FORMULA!!!
I have only had my bike for 5 months and the Formula disc are giving me nothing but problems. Besides the weaknesses I have listed above, their customer service is the absolute worst.
My bike has been in the shop since 9/2/00 because Formula has not replaced a defective brake lever. Today is 9/29/00 and I still have not received a replacement. I have been trying to contact them through email and telephone and the only response that I have received from them came from their Italy office. Their response...they would forward the message to their U.S. Office. It has been two weeks since my initial contact with them and I am still waiting for a solution to this problem. I have emailed them 5 times, faxed them a letter, and called their office line twice. Their voice mail system doesn't even work. I have yet to get a response.
They're customer service is the worst I have ever experienced. I am asking them to send me a refund for the total value of the brakes so that I could purchase a set of Shimano XT or Hayes disc.
If you scroll through these reviews, I am sure you must wonder why so many people have given this product such bad reviews. Take my word for it!!!! You would be much better off to spend a little more money for a set of Hayes or Shimano.
| | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
GTB
a Weekend Warrior
from Australia
Date Reviewed: September 28, 2000 | | Duration Product Used: | 6 months | | Strengths: | Work's as good as poorly set up v's.
Coolness factor | | Weaknesses: | Screamed like pigs from the start, not amount of filing, cleaning, breaking-in, adjusting could stop them from screaming.
Stripped bolt hole on caliper with FINGERS
Formula customer service gone downhill.
Very difficult to change pads.
Every 2nd or 3rd hard stop, you have to readjust to stop it from squealing.
Constantly adjusting. | | Similar Products Used: | First disc's (came with bike) | | Bike Setup: | Giant HT | | Bottom Line: | Please, do not buy this product. I have problems from day one. Simply put, Formula will be sued soon because someone will injure themselves pretty bad using these brakes. I have tried to like them, playing with the length betweeen cable stop and bolt on the arm, tried centring, off centring, filing the pads, but nothing worked.
Took the caliper off the front fork for some maintenance, when putting it back on, i stripped the hole on the caliper twisting the bolt in by hand (didn't get to use the allen key).
I have formula hub's on my bike, the will be coming off this weekend. This product deserves 0 flames.
I hope formula goes out of business! | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Robert
a Cross Country Rider
from Ann Arbor, Mi
Date Reviewed: September 26, 2000 | | Favorite Trail: | Shanty Creek | | Duration Product Used: | 1 Year | | Purchased At: | LBS | | Strengths: | Well they sure look pretty | | Weaknesses: | Too many to list | | Similar Products Used: | Shimano Discs | | Bike Setup: | 1999 Rocky Mountain Instinct | | Bottom Line: | Anyone who owns a 1999 Rocky Mountain Instinct knows about these little "Gems" These things are absolute jokes . They dont work and have no redeeming qualities. Formula likes to state That they have to be set up properly....well after many trips to various bike shops and many calls to Formula I just gave up. And I could never get rid of the noise even with aftermarket pads! And if that is not enough my rear hub which is also made by Formula self-destructed! At least Rocky had the sense not to include them on their 2000 year bikes. I wll never again buy anything that Formula makes... | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
William Logan
a Weekend Warrior
from Longmont, Co 80503
Date Reviewed: September 13, 2000 | | Favorite Trail: | Hall Ranch | | Duration Product Used: | 1 Year | | Purchased At: | The Bike Route | | Strengths: | They are discs. | | Weaknesses: | These breaks were disasters from the start. Every ride or two they have needed adjusting. The squeek is embarrasing! On three rides, usually after a long steep downhill, the rear break unexpectedly seized (I'm glad it wasn't the front one). On two occasions the rear break failed open. The unit was "frozen" and I was unable to repair it on the mountain. I'm too old to descend 2000 vertical feet of steep single-track with only a front break! In addition, the Formula reps are giving my local shop a rough time. Although Formula has "agreed" to fix or replace the broken unit, they are now balking. This is not what I call customer service. | | Similar Products Used: | v-breaks | | Bike Setup: | Giant XTC DS-1 | | Bottom Line: | Why a reputable company like Giant would put these pieces of garbage on a $1500 bike is beyond me. I am about to replace them with discs that are reliable. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Randy Pogue
a Weekend Warrior
from Perryton, TX
Date Reviewed: September 9, 2000 | | Favorite Trail: | GSL in Palo Duro Canyon State Park | | Duration Product Used: | 3 months | | Price Paid: |
$1.00 | | Purchased At: | Southwest Bicycle Center, Liberal, KS | | Strengths: | Great looking , works well in wet conditions | | Weaknesses: | None that I've experienced | | Similar Products Used: | Just regular "V" brakes. | | Bike Setup: | Bone stock 2000 GT Backwoods. | | Bottom Line: | I won't lie to you. This disc brake DOES need to be broken in and adjusted. But, brother, when you get it set right, look out! This thing grabs like a pit bull , even in water! I have read all the reviews here, and I just refused to believe that GT would put such a poor component on one of their top hardtails. So, I followed the advice of one of the reviewers and went to the Formula web page and adjusted the brake per the instructions there.
I had no problems with the brake before, although it WAS a little "mushy", but after it was set right, it will throw me over the handlebars, let alone do mere endo! As far as the repotred screeching and squeeling, the only time it makes any noise is when I ride through water deep enough to cover it, it will squeel until it dries out, then it's right back to churchmouse status.
I would indeed recommend this brake, and very soon I will get another one for my rear wheel, I like it so much!
| | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Nick Morozov
a Weekend Warrior
from Moscow Russia
Date Reviewed: September 2, 2000 | | Favorite Trail: | Rocket | | Duration Product Used: | 1 Year | | Price Paid: |
$120.00 | | Strengths: | It has enough power for use as rear breake, it's easy to clean. | | Weaknesses: | Not very powerfull. | | Similar Products Used: | Freeride | | Bike Setup: | GT LTS, RS judy XLC, xt/xtr/sram9.0. | | Bottom Line: | I recomand it for use as rear breake, they can stop the rear wheel, but it's bad idea for front wheel. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
david pearson
a Weekend Warrior
from toronto,ontario,ca
Date Reviewed: August 15, 2000 | | Favorite Trail: | theres so many | | Duration Product Used: | 6 months | | Strengths: | they have farley good stopping power for mechanical disk , work in bad weather, u can ride after kicking the skat out of your rims | | Weaknesses: | well lets see, you are always adjusting the pads to be sentered over the diks, thethe pads rub like a bisotch, the mount adapter breaks and strips | | Similar Products Used: | just v's | | Bike Setup: | oryx hta 500, rs judy xc(99),lx setup xtr rear derailer,rhyno lights, panaracer fire xc pro, tioga saddle | | Bottom Line: | the brake work well for what they are , alow end disk comprible to good v's but they should not be used for trials or you'll be very disapointed | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Justin Shumaker
a Weekend Warrior
from Amarillo, TX USA
Date Reviewed: August 13, 2000 | | Favorite Trail: | Palo Duro Canyon | | Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month | | Strengths: | Good performance once you mess with them a bit. | | Weaknesses: | Their image. Man, the people here are vicious! | | Bike Setup: | Giant Rainier SE, stock except for I took the reflectors off and put a Texas flag sticker on the down tube. Yee-haw. | | Bottom Line: | I read the posts here and experienced extreme buyer's remorse. My brakes didn't come out of the LBS performing as well as I'd like, but I had a youthful optimism...that is, until I found this page.
But there were a few rays of hope to be found here, offering suggestions on how the brakes could be dialed in better.
I messed with them (mainly, shortened the length between the brake cable housing end and the cable bolt on the brake), and now they bite well.
I've even done an endo. Stopping my 240lb self and holding it in the air is no small feat for a brake, I'd say. Plus, the rear brake saved me from an unfortunate demise yesterday as I nearly ran into a car at an intersection...the rear wheel came to a full lock and skidded across hot asphalt, with my big rear sitting full on the seat. Again, a decent test of braking, I'd say.
Anyway, this stuff may be anecdotal, and the people below may have much finer appreciation of the subleties of mountain bike braking than I possess, but I just had to throw in a rare positive review.
I played with them, they work great, and I'm happy. So there.
Have fun! | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Southbiker
a Cross Country Rider
from Germany
Date Reviewed: August 9, 2000 | | Duration Product Used: | 3 months | | Strengths: | Simple construction, no special tools for service required, no fading like a hydraulic system. | | Weaknesses: | very loud | | Similar Products Used: | V-brakes | | Bike Setup: | Giant XtC DS-3 | | Bottom Line: | It is a good brake, easy to repair but I think there are better systems available.
Where can I get the EBC pads described below or informations about them?
Are there any other alternative brake pads available which are not so noisy?
Please email me. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Brian
a Downhiller
from San Diego, CA
Date Reviewed: August 7, 2000 | | Favorite Trail: | Noble Canyon | | Duration Product Used: | 1 Year | | Strengths: | Good modulation,great stopping power,no brake fade on long downhills,simple | | Weaknesses: | noise,difficult pad replacement | | Similar Products Used: | magura clara's and v-brakes | | Bike Setup: | Giant MCM SE and Jamis Dakar | | Bottom Line: | These brakes offer better braking than most V-Brakes I have used and actually are easier to adjust. I started out using the brakes in 99' which had pads that were very noisy even after hundreds of miles of use. I changed out the stock pads for the EBC Kevlar pads which make pads to fit many different brands of brakes. The EBC pads worked great, no noise and better braking. I have also found that the brakes work best with Shimano XT/XTR, Avid or Sram brake levers. Like V-Brakes the cable actuated also work best with clean cables. It is best to get these brakes as part of a complete bike. The Formula Mechanicals and new wheels will cost about 400-500 dollars after installation. You can buy a complete bike with Formula's for $700(Giant Rainier) Buy these brakes if you want great stoppers that are simple. Just remember that they do require regular adjustment and may be noisy.
| | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Mike
a Cross Country Rider
from Ontario, Canada
Date Reviewed: August 4, 2000 | | Duration Product Used: | 6 months | | Strengths: | Nice Stopping. Better than conventional vee-brakes. Not as good as hydralic. Great for the price. | | Weaknesses: | I started out with them and then they started making a high pitch sqweeking constantly when i rode. After a few stops at the mechanics, their better. Stil sqweek when i gently touch the brakes for an amount of time (not all the time though) | | Similar Products Used: | Spiral Stop disc brakes (sucks) | | Bike Setup: | Came with my 2000 Giant atx 840. | | Bottom Line: | Beutiful for price and stopping power, not so great before u make some critical adjustments.
For the patient beginer mnt biker who is serious about the sport, these are good starter disc brakes (if u got the cash, their stillmore expensive than vee-brakes)
| | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Adam
a Racer
from Springfield
Date Reviewed: July 31, 2000 | | Favorite Trail: | Berryman Trail | | Duration Product Used: | Tested or demo'ed only | | Strengths: | All weather breaking. | | Weaknesses: | Hard to set up correctly. And you need a new set of wheels if you don't have disk hubs. This may not be a smart option as an upgrade. | | Similar Products Used: | any other menchanical brake except for avid | | Bike Setup: | a variety of bikes both front and rear equiped with this brake. | | Bottom Line: | This brake is difficult to set up. It is not a do-it-yourself-at-home-with-my-folding-allen-wrenches type of deal. Unless you understand how to properly set the adjuster barrels on the lever and the brake; set up the lever,if it has multi-position fulcrum points, and properly route and cut housing so the inner cable slides smoothly, stay away from setting these brakes up yourself. I have set up bunches of these brakes with no complaints on performance. True they are not as good as hydrolics, but they are not worse than V-brakes if set up properly. They do have the advantage of not waisting an entire set of pads on a wet day like v-brakes and they dont have the moment of hesitation rim brakes have on a very wet ride. The bottom line is that these are good brakes if set up properly, anyone who can't do it shouldn't. Check who the wrench is that set up the bike, if it is just a guy who is new or learning, get the best mechanic to set them up. Maybe you even have to take them to a different shop, but there are good service guys out there and they can make these brakes work well. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Alec Mackenzie
a Cross Country Rider
from Bowdoinham, Maine, USA
Date Reviewed: July 22, 2000 | | Favorite Trail: | Any place dirt | | Duration Product Used: | 3 months | | Strengths: | Dependable
Smooth
Kick *ss Look | | Weaknesses: | Finiky and Hard to tune | | Similar Products Used: | First disk set ever owned | | Bike Setup: | Mongoose NX 8.5 200 Model (FullSup.)
SID XC 2000
Avid SD 1.9
WTB Wheelset
IRC Notos Tires | | Bottom Line: | Stopping power: Despite what everyone else has said, these have tons of stopping power. The hard part is setting them up correctly, once they are tuned they work great. There are guys bellow talking about not being able to an endo, I can easilly ride it onto the front wheel and hold and know I can do an endo if i tried. They are much more smooth then your standard V brakes, and I think people get used to the jerkyness.
Noise: They do let out a squeel now and then, but not to the extent mentioned bellow.
Setting them up: If they aren't set up properly, they will be loud, won't stop you, and will feel grainy. They weren't working for me at all, so I just took them off and tinkered with them. Taking them apart is very difficult, but it gave me a better understanding of how they worked and made them easier to tune. It is importend to read the manual and do everything it says, even if they came pre set up, and I also found it helpful to read their web site at http://www.formula-brake.it/. First, set the brakes up on the bike and use the knob on the back to adjust its position (keep in mind that only one of the pads move and the knob moves the position of the whole brake). Twist the knob until the pad on the wheel side hits the disk lightly, then spin the wheel and back it off until there is no contact but they are still very close. Then adjust your cable to the desired tension of your brake levers.
I may have had good luck with this product simply because of my wonderful brake levers (which have two diffrent adjustments that can both be easily adjusted on the fly), wheelset, and tires, all of which are large factors in braking. It takes a while, but it is worth it. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
XShadowz
a Weekend Warrior
from Herndon, VA, US
Date Reviewed: July 16, 2000 | | Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month | | Strengths: | Formula is good at marketing the MD-1 brakes with bike manufactures. This front disc came stock on my GT Backwoods - also have seen it on Gary Fishers. | | Weaknesses: | What looks good in theory, sucks in real life. | | Bike Setup: | GT Backwoods | | Bottom Line: | Formula MD-1 front disc came stock on my bike. I have to say that the performance of the disc was terrible. This thing can't possibly be used for serious biking, it has no ability to stop quickly... rather, it just slows you down leisurely.
I took my bike back to the shop to find out what's the secret to getting this brake to work... here's the secret: REPLACE IT! The shop swapped it out and put shimano lx v-brakes up front, much better! | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Shaun
a
from CA Bay Area
Date Reviewed: July 15, 2000 | | Favorite Trail: | That spot on the road where I BAILED! | | Duration Product Used: | Tested or demo'ed only | | Strengths: | They look cool. | | Weaknesses: | They suck. | | Similar Products Used: | Hayes hydraulic disc brakes demo'd at the bike shop. | | Bike Setup: | 2000 Gary fisher Hoo Koo e Koo with maguras hs33 rim brakes. | | Bottom Line: | Ok, seriously... what the heck was Fisher thinking. They take a thousand dollar bike and put this pathetic piece of crap on the front. Ok, sure it looks neat, and the reason I picked this bike was because of the front hub being disc compatable, but still guys... this is absurd!
I tore the cheezy V brake off the back and put on my other bikes Magura hs33 hydraulic rim brake. Then I took it for a test ride with the MD1 on front still. Normally the front is supposed to do the majority of the braking, not true here. The rear had about 70 times more stopping power than the front. I *TRIED* to endo just to see if I could do it, nope. The MD1 only made HUGE amounts of noise and gently slowed me down. I figured, maybe its adjustment. Tightened the cable quite a bit and adjusted the rear pad reach. Still just made noise.
Someone is going to get killed using this stupid piece of crap, and because it comes on bikes that cost upwards of $1100 bucks people are going to believe that the brake is worthwhile and a good investment! This isn't only crappy sales practise, it should be downright criminal.
The bike rocks, but PLEASE ditch the MD1. You can get a front Magura Louise hyrdaulic brake for $170 and it'll be the best thing you've ever done to a bike.
And no, its not a setup issue. Its a crappy brake. The reviews speak for themselves. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
andrew paul
a Cross Country Rider
from sydney
Date Reviewed: July 12, 2000 | | Favorite Trail: | blue mountains | | Duration Product Used: | 1 Year | | Strengths: | price, and looks( I still get people oogling at the brakes) | | Weaknesses: | set-up, noise, drag, adjustments. | | Similar Products Used: | acera/alivio shimao V-brakes | | Bike Setup: | GIANT ATX 870 | | Bottom Line: | I’m not about to say much apart from agreeing generally that the italian inventors of this product need to go and rethink the whole set-up, they have problems and they are likely to go out of the disk brake business if the don’t get version .2 right.
I’ve had my bike bake to the dealer 6 times, and mainly to adjust, fix, fiddle, etc with the formula MDs.
I had the rear set snap in half at the mounting before anyone took me seriously.
I’d like to add that Giant australia fixed this all free of charge and now most of the problems (except for the squeeling) are gone. My advice--be persistant and GET THE SHOP TO SET THEM UP CORRECTLY from the start. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Stephen Harrington
a Weekend Warrior
from Melbourne
Date Reviewed: July 11, 2000 | | Favorite Trail: | Any trail involving jumps, bumps and pubs. | | Duration Product Used: | 6 months | | Strengths: | People think you have a disc brake and the screeching noise can be used to scare small mammals. | | Weaknesses: | EVERYTHING. | | Similar Products Used: | XT V Brakes | | Bike Setup: | Giant ATX 840, Azonic stem, GT pedals, Azonic bars and Mavic 517 rims. | | Bottom Line: | This brake was designed with purpose in mind, to make lots and lots of noise! It doesn't slow me down, but does make so much of a noise that people upto 5k away are well aware that I'm riding in their direction.
I hate this brake, I had a diatech disc brake which was replaced by the formula unit, I didn't believe anything could be worse than the diatech unit but the Formula take the biscuit.
| | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Marky D
a Weekend Warrior
from San Carlos, CA, USA
Date Reviewed: July 2, 2000 | | Favorite Trail: | monte bello | | Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month | | Strengths: | Oooh! Pretty! | | Weaknesses: | weak, unpredictable stops. causes hearing loss | | Similar Products Used: | v-brakes, cantis, Hayes hydros | | Bike Setup: | stock 2000 Giant XtC DS/2 FS, Formula MD-1s front and rear. | | Bottom Line: | Highly recommended for people who only ride uphill, or those who ride less than 1 mile per year. After 3 weeks, I returned the whole bike just to get rid of them.
Took a while to get them adjusted so they would stop the bike at all. Once levers and cable tension were set properly, they developed basic stopping power, but no better than the V-brakes on my old bike. Modulation sucks: you white-knuckle death-grip just to get them to work and then all of a sudden they bite and you skid. Very nerve-wracking on a slow steep descent. At the bottom of the hill my hands were cramped and I was shaky from the many near-death experiences.
But worse even than the performance issue was the sound, the horrible wailing! I still hear it in the night, like a thousand screaming underworld demons dragging their claws against a blackboard as long as the Great Wall of China. They would shriek incessantly like a hampster on a grinding wheel, or a cat on PCP. I know you think I'm exaggerating, but they really are loud. I would literally wince at the sound, and hikers would turn their head to look when I was still 1/4 mile behind them. Dogs were terrified.
I took someone's suggestion to clean with alcohol, which helped for about 13 seconds. Ultimately, I got tired of apologizing to everyone I met on the trail for the noise. I traded in my DS/2 on a DS/1, which comes equipped with Hayes hydros. Aaaaahhh. Much better. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Ryan
a
from Salt Lake City, Utah
Date Reviewed: June 30, 2000 | | Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month | | Strengths: | They look cool because they look like disk brakes that work. | | Weaknesses: | Everything. 1st day the pads fell off both front and rear. Once I epoxied them back on the squeeling began. My second ride down a somewhat harmless trail proved deadly when the rear caliper snapped in two and siezed up my rear wheel. I was forced to switch to a V brake on the rear which worked flawlessly. Actually it worked a little TOO well, shortly thereafter the Formula disk hub cracked and was left useless. I rode with the front for a while longer risking my life as all power to the brake faded within 10 min of moderate braking. | | Similar Products Used: | Hayes | | Bike Setup: | My Rocky Mountain is no longer set up with Formula disks. It now sports XT V-brakes which I haven't had any problems with for over a year now. | | Bottom Line: | Rocky Mountain, Giant and whomever else put these on their bikes deserve all the crap they get because of it. I am glad Rocky dropped them after a year but the others like pushing the law suit envelope a bit further I guess.
When I contacted Formula about the brake pad squeeling and falling off I was given a lame excuse about them being an "older" pair. What!?! My bike was only two weeks old! When the caliper broke they were at a loss. I attribute it to the material used. You could mar it with your fingernail it was so soft.
Bottom Line: Avoid Formula products with your life!!!
I wish there were negative Chilis because that is what this product deserves. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Stu
a Cross Country Rider
from Ottawa, Canada
Date Reviewed: June 20, 2000 | | Duration Product Used: | 1 Year | | Strengths: | Consistent braking in all conditions | | Weaknesses: | Consistent mediocre braking
Squealing like the death howl of a small animal | | Similar Products Used: | Canti's
V's | | Bike Setup: | XtC DS-1 - mostly stock with a few tweaks | | Bottom Line: | I give up. These brakes are no better than a set of V-brakes
with the advantages of not chewing up rims and they work in
the rain and mud. Frustrations are with the incessant high
pitched squeal, lack of any real power, and now the center
fixing bolt on the rear is siezed so I can't adjust the rear
pads.
Good-bye mechanical. Hello hydraulic. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
TOM GOODMAN
a Downhiller
from KAMLOOPS
Date Reviewed: June 19, 2000 | | Favorite Trail: | THRILL OF SPILL | | Duration Product Used: | 3 months | | Strengths: | PROVIDE ENDLESS FUNDING FOR THE STORE YOU GOT THEM FROM | | Weaknesses: | EVERYTHING | | Similar Products Used: | CENTERPULL | | Bike Setup: | 2000 WARP DS/1 | | Bottom Line: | OK THE BRAKES WORKED FOR THE FIRST DAY THEN LEVER (DIATEC DP 9) STARTED VIBRTEING AND THE BRAKES STARTED WAILING LODER THAN KIDS WATCHIG THE NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET WHILE RIDEING A ROLER COASTER FINALY AFTER THIS CARP THE BRKES STOPED WORKING COMPLEATLY. THE REASON FOR THIS IS THAT MY REAR ADAPTER BROKE IN 2 SO FORMULA SAID I HAVE TO SEND THE WHOLE BRAKE TO THE US (I LIVE IN CANADA) THAT WAS 2 WEEKS AGO AND THEY ARE NOT BACK YET AND AFTER ALL THIS IM READY TO RAGE AND GEUESS WHAT THE FRONT ROATER GETS SOME KIND OF FILM ON IT AND WILL NOT STOP SO I HAVE A $1500 BIKE WITH NO BRAKES!
I GIVE AN OVERALL RATEING OF MINUS 3 | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
aaron murray
a Cross Country Rider
from liberty,nc usa
Date Reviewed: June 14, 2000 | | Favorite Trail: | anything with jumps,hill,boulders, and so on | | Duration Product Used: | 3 months | | Strengths: | depends on what kind of rider you are for me theirs no strengths | | Weaknesses: | pads,bolts,cables,levers its all no good. Would not recomend this product to anyone who calls themselves a biker. | | Similar Products Used: | hayes disc brake 6"chrome a whole lot better than the Formula's | | Bike Setup: | Giant Ranier SE, rock shox judy race suspension,Bontrager race wheelset | | Bottom Line: | these brakes are no good for any cross-country,downhill,or racer. the only thing their good for are beginners or ones that just ride around. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
jake
a Weekend Warrior
from concord, ma
Date Reviewed: June 13, 2000 | | Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month | | Strengths: | These will stop the bike pretty well, and they modulate pretty well too: that is, when you let off the btakes, the brakes almost release the disc. breaks | | Weaknesses: | These things didn't start making noise until I bought the bike and took it home. They will quiet down after a while and then start squealing again. I couldn't sneak up on a deaf warthog with a bike with these. They stop ok, but the noise is too much. meybe a little experimentation will shut them up, but I'm not real optimistic | | Similar Products Used: | My old bike had cantis, and they are not as good at stopping. The wheel brakes have attendant problems. If they get out of adjustment, they'll demo a tire very rapidly, and when they're wet you have to wait for them to dry before they grab, so I like the concepty of the discn brake, but there needs to be a better execution than this. | | Bike Setup: | stock giant 2000 XTC | | Bottom Line: | we'll see if I can figure out how to adjust them to work more silently. I hate to think that I'll have to shell out the dough for hydraulics, but that's what direction I'm headed. the bike has noi bosses for Cantis or v brakes for the rear wheel, so I'm stuck. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Anthony
a Cross Country Rider
from Melbourne
Date Reviewed: May 23, 2000 | | Duration Product Used: | Tested or demo'ed only | | Strengths: | Nothing | | Weaknesses: | It doesnt stop you. | | Similar Products Used: | I havent used any other disc brakes but they couldnt be this bad | | Bike Setup: | mongoose nx7.3 (theyve gone down hill as in quality ) | | Bottom Line: | I tried a mates new Mongoose nx7.3 today and i was so shocked about how useless this product ( formula front disk brake) was that i had to check out what others had to say. Possibly you can fix them up to work ok as some people have said, but its pretty piss weak if a brand new bikes breaks dont work.i had a quick play around with the fine adjust but to no avail. It seemed no matter how i adjusted it that one pad only was really pushing against the disk and forcing it into the other pad(not really breaking huh). this product was without doubt the worst brake i have ever used on a modern mountain bike.Like someone else said its hard to believe that inthis competitive day and age such a useless component could be released onto the market. It wouldnt stop an empty shopping jeep. But seriously if you really needed your brakes in an emergency it just wouldnt pull you up. I reckon $5 sidepull brakes of a Kmart bike would work better. They get 1 chilli cos they do look impressive. but what use is that. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Pete
a Cross Country Rider
from Cambridge
Date Reviewed: May 9, 2000 | | Duration Product Used: | 1 Year | | Strengths: | Aesthetics | | Weaknesses: | Performance
Durability
Reliability | | Similar Products Used: | V_brakes | | Bike Setup: | 1999 Rocky Mountain Instinct | | Bottom Line: | Can not recomend these to anyone..They have been incredibly disappointing..They simply do not work..The boys over at Formula state that these brakes "need to be set up properly"....yeah right...and once they are setup....properly...they must be readjusted after every ride..
Had to replace the stock pads with after-market pads to try to eliminate the constant noise..didnt work...Discs have warped...bolts have stripped..Time to cut losses and move on...STAY AWAY FROM THESE BRAKES...... | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Dave L
a Cross Country Rider
from Torrance CA
Date Reviewed: May 8, 2000 | | Favorite Trail: | One without any horse crap | | Duration Product Used: | Tested or demo'ed only | | Strengths: | Cool looking | | Weaknesses: | They don't stop worth a damn. | | Similar Products Used: | XT V's, Avid V's, Hayes hydraulic | | Bike Setup: | year 2000 Giant XC full suspension | | Bottom Line: | Don't waste your time with these. V brakes are better unless you ride around in wet stuff all the time. Then you would be much better off with hydraulics anyways, which do work very well but are big $$.
| | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Woody
a Cross Country Rider
from Boston
Date Reviewed: May 7, 2000 | | Favorite Trail: | Porcupine Rim | | Duration Product Used: | 1 Year | | Strengths: | None | | Weaknesses: | lack of consistent power
noisey
constant adjustment
no durability | | Similar Products Used: | V-brakes | | Bike Setup: | 1999 Rocky Mountain Instinct | | Bottom Line: | I have had these brakes for over 1 year and have tried to like them but they are poor performers..After every ride they must be readjusted...And the squeal even with after market pads never really goes away...Parts quality is also poor..the discs have warped all too quickly and could not be easily repaired and had to be replaced at an exorbitant cost. Other parts were also poorly made and did not last...
Over-all performance is average at best and inconsistent..
These are not good brakes which is probably why Rocky did not include them are their 2000 Instinct...And I should also point out that my rear hub which is also made by Formula just went....Sooooo if it is made by Formula stay away and look elsewhere
| | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Ben
a Weekend Warrior
from Wellington, New Zealand
Date Reviewed: May 6, 2000 | | Duration Product Used: | 1 Year | | Strengths: | Better braking than V-brake. | | Weaknesses: | Setup is crucial.
Requires regular setup. | | Similar Products Used: | Magura Louise | | Bike Setup: | 99 DBR X6 | | Bottom Line: | Worked well from day 1. Good in the wet. Minimal drag, but squeals quite a bit, even with regular maintenance. Works better than my friends Magura Louise. Was good value at the time of purchase, but the same money now gets you hydraulic discs. Good brake for those on a budget, cross country rider perhaps. Freeride, DH and heavy riders should definetely go with hydraulics. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Mark
a Cross Country Rider
from Woonsocket, RI
Date Reviewed: April 9, 2000 | | Favorite Trail: | I love em all | | Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month | | Strengths: | I have just had the brakes for 2 days and i love em....They alrady stop me great | | Weaknesses: | Noise!!!!!!!! | | Similar Products Used: | All V brakes | | Bike Setup: | 2000 Giant Rainier SE | | Bottom Line: | They came stock on my bike, but overall i like them. I think they work well now, i cant wait to see how they work when broken in! | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
| |
|
Photo Caption Contest
(sponsored by Maxxis)
|
Enter here
|
|
|
$
