Full Hydraulic: Four-piston caliper offers superior modulation and braking power. Includes Inox stainless steel hydraulic brake hose and an alloy lever with reservoir. Complete system comes fully bled and ready to ride. Supplied with 160mm rotors front and rear. 292 grams for a front caliper, lever and housing.
Submitted by
Dennis Semik
a Downhiller
from Bensheim, Germany
Date Reviewed: September 18, 2007
Strengths: Brake point and power with little finger power
Weaknesses: does not fit very well with SRAM trigger (older version, I have 3 of these), IS2000 (instead of PM), fade a little on long runs
Bottom Line:
These brakes work just great. Two of them are with 160mm discs and one with a 180mm. Bleeding is not a hole lot of fun, but that applies to all hydrolic brakes. As written bellow, when using the torque recommendations there is no problem with them breaking. The bleed skrew does not have to be very tight! I use them with Kool Stop pads and they never failed. Just fade a bit on longer runs.
Strengths: Okay stopping power excellent modulation
Weaknesses: squeak, leak oil from everywhere, the bolts on the bleed cap stripped so i couldn't bleed them
Bottom Line:
these brakes are okay, they don't have the really strong stopping power that my juicys have, i would think 4 pistons would be a little bit more powerful. Don't bother with these, i have had only trouble with them, they leak oil from the caliper and lever, the bolts ont he bleed cap strip so i couldn't bleed them. go buy some juicys or something from shimano instead.
Strengths: Incredibly powerfull brakes. Exellent power modulation and lever feel. Hose fitting feel and look very strong. Hose does not scratch the frame because it is braided. Price/quality is excellent.
Weaknesses: None so far.
Bottom Line:
Good brakes with lots of power and they are even cheap.
Strengths: Stop very well, easy to install, easy to bleed, great modulation, look friggin' cool!
Weaknesses: Can be squeaky at times
Bottom Line:
After 2+ years of use these have never given me a problem. I weigh 240 lbs. and these brakes never complained, I can always bomb down the most technical drops with utmost confidence. Everyone that says "you can't turn your bike upside down with these brakes" obviously doesn't know how to bleed these brakes properly. All you have to do is push down and "burp" the rubber gasket before you put the master cylinder cover back on. This prevents any air from entering the system. I flip my bike upside down all the time to oil my chain and have never had a problem. Buy em! They rock!
Strengths: Reliable. Got mine second hand, together with my bike, and I biked for >10.000 miles so far. They only needed servicing every 4.000 miles or so - bleeding and changing the plates. That means, they didn't need service for years, even though I biked more than 15 miles per day, through snows and extreme hot days!
Weaknesses: Bleeding screws easy to break. However, even with the bleeding screw broken, I could perfectly bleed the front caliper. In very hot days, the fluid can expand and gently press the disk, causing a slight brake. That might also happen during extreme rides, due to the extreme heat released when braking.
Bottom Line:
Take care of them and they WILL take care of you. Trusty, reliable, effective.
Submitted by
Rey
a Weekend Warrior
from Jersey City, NJ, USA
Date Reviewed: June 5, 2004
Strengths: Nice smooth feel, Stop in a dime(when it works).
Weaknesses: Leaks from the reservour(looses power), Hard to find replacement parts
Bottom Line:
My front disk brake works great(for over 2 years no maintenance needed just change brake pads this year) but my rear disk brake has been troublesome. Had been bled so many time due to lost power, it's now leaking by the reservour and I also damage the screw. I just change the rear break with Avid Mechanical Disk yesterday and will try it out tomorrow. I bought this break due to great reviews by other riders and also I'M TIRED OF FLUID LEEKS!!! and maintenance. Look for my review on the Avid Mechanical in a the near future. The Grimeca System 8 came with my bike, it works great when it works but when it doesnt like my reak leaking during my last ride(lost 80% of breaking power) I end up on a ditch cause my front break did all the stoping. I'll give it 4 chills for stoping power when it works but overall 3 chills due to problem I had with this break.
Bike Setup: KHS FXT Pro(full suspension), Rockshock Sid 100 fork, Romic shock rear, ChrisKing headset, Raceface handlebar/stem/seat post, Koobi Xenon saddle, Truvative crank, Sun Single track weel/Shimano XT hub,Kenda Charisma Tire.
Overall Rating:
Value Rating:
Submitted by
Mike
a Cross Country Rider
from CA, USA
Date Reviewed: May 18, 2004
Strengths: Great stopping power, easy to bleed and adjust, easy to get parts (use the shimano XT 756 or SRAM for extras)
Weaknesses: Fades quickly on Downhills (6" rotors)
Bottom Line:
These are some of the best brakes i have ever tested, excellent if you are not going down a massive downhill (System 12 required ;)) The people with the broken bleed screws, first understand what "torque" means. It doesnt need 50lbs/foot! Second, going to the local AutoZone/Home Depot its called a Easy Out. Parts are easy to find, just go to your LBS and ask for the Shimano XT 756 or SRAM parts, its all the same! Recommend to anyone!
Strengths: Great modulation. Wouldn't trade them for anything when they work.
Weaknesses: Can't trade them for anything when they don't work. Takes a minor miracle to get them repaired.
Bottom Line:
Several local shops are refusing to repair them anymore. I am now an offical member of the "half the broken off bleed screw in my hand, half embedded in the caliper" club. If you don't have 2 bikes and work for the factory, I'd look elsewhere. I do, I don't and I am.
Strengths: High quality, Excellent modulation/lever feel, Comfy lever and nice looking caliper, Stainless steel lines with soft outing.
Weaknesses: If it's red, paint strips easily like with any other DOT fluid. Cannot turn bike upside down
Bottom Line:
Great brakes for the buck. LEARN HOW TO PUMP brakes people who have problems! If you buy them, make sure that the bolts on the lever that hold top cover have flat head. Easy to install, setup. 4 chiilis cause you can't turn the bike upside down. Just to give you an idea: I pump my brakes about once in 2 months (I enjoy doing that, it's my hobby!), and completely change fluid once in 6-8 months.
Similar Products Used: Hayes (SUCK!) Magura Clara (good) Magura Louise (very good)
Bike Setup: BigHit with MonsterT, System12 and System8 brakes.
Overall Rating:
Value Rating:
Submitted by
Billy Wraga
a Cross Country Rider
from Athens Ga
Date Reviewed: November 20, 2003
Strengths: Incredible stopping power for the price I paid. Cool red paint.
Weaknesses: In the georgia heat the rear caliper locks up, evan after being re-bled by the local shop pros, twice! Rides well in winter though.
Bottom Line:
I think that my rear caliper could just have a factory defect because the front stops like a dream. If you've never tried disc brakes, then i recomend these. I think most disc brakes are the same its all just personal preference. Or maybe I'm just crazy. Oh well.
Similar Products Used: pathetic Shimano Deore mechanical discs
Bike Setup: 2000 limited edition shwinn mesa disc with my on cutom build including Chris King hubs, and headset XT drive train, Marzocchi air fork
Overall Rating:
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Submitted by
Mike
a Cross Country Rider
from Sheffield / South Yorshire / ENG
Date Reviewed: October 4, 2003
Strengths: Easy to Bleed, looses heat well and very responsive. These brakes have great stopping power particularly for those steep, tough and technical downhill sections. All round performance impressive, good design but most of all judging by the performance they are good value for money.
Weaknesses: Tends to rub occasionally but only on the front caliper. Despite several attempts to solve this I’m still non-the wiser, can anybody help?
Bottom Line:
Over all im pretty impressed with the all round performance of these brakes over any terrain, steep, flat, rough or technical. These brakes have saved my bacon on many occasions but have almost killed me several times too. I still plan on getting some Hope, but I shall be putting these on my girlfriends just in case I want them back.
Bike Setup: Claud Butler - Olympus, XT gear set, Grimeca disk brakes, Vuelta USA XPR Aero Plus wheels (Bomb Proof, Even tried and tested by driving over them in my car, not even a scratch) Sella Italia saddle, Thomson Elite seat post, Rock Shox Judy XC folks, next to be changed but quite impressed for the price, Easton bars, Intergrated Cane Creek ZST headset and Thomson stem.
Strengths: pre blead, damn easy to mount, cheap pads
Weaknesses: small amount of rubbing, a frend of mine with the same brake found that the extender for a 200mm bracket placed the caliper to close to the rotor, short cable if i had bigger forx it wouldnt fit
Bottom Line:
good brake in action and disapates heat real well but coming from v's OH MY GOD YES
Bike Setup: scott jump bike hard tail / mazzochi dirt jumper3's
Overall Rating:
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Submitted by
jdl8r
a Cross Country Rider
from sanD
Date Reviewed: August 11, 2003
Strengths: Great feedback and stopping power...
Weaknesses: Mechanical expertise and maintenance
Bottom Line:
First off - most mtb riders don't know much about hydraulic brakes [take this from a X-motoX-er]. These brakes are fantastic at stopping - provide incredible feedback and are quality built.
However, they are less durable then a pair of standard pad brakes AND require some knowledge and mechanical ability.
Without proper bleeding - the brakes won't work. Without regular bleeding and/or maintenance - they'll weaken over time.
So if you have the know-how - these are fantastic brakes for the bling. Otherwise stick to diapers and standard pad brakes.
Submitted by
Marcu Bogdan
a Downhiller
from Romania, Bucharest
Date Reviewed: July 19, 2003
Strengths: Very good brake power, good design .
Weaknesses: The air bleeding screw broke , cable leek, and the lever eventualy broke .
Bottom Line:
It is a good brake when it works ... the problem is that they broke very easyly ... the bleeding screw is a nighmare, i`ve seen about 3 brakes from grimeca with the same problem. Buy anything else if you plan to use it for longer than 1 month.
Submitted by
jubjub
a Weekend Warrior
from Perth, Australia
Date Reviewed: June 28, 2003
Strengths: cheap to buy, look good.
Weaknesses: No power, hard to find & very expensive parts, leaks, flimsy......all bad really.
Bottom Line:
If someone offers you these, just walk away. Parts backup is non existent in Aust- I finally gave up when the flimsy bleeder screw snapped in the caliper body. Owning and maintaining these brakes are like a migrane which never ceases.
