High quality & great price! The Promax XC Mechanical Disc Brake is the most affordable in the category. Forged lever with low-friction pivot bolt, heat-treated one-piece stainless steel rotor & floating caliper for smoother braking. Includes extra lever, cable, housing & bolts.
Strengths: Inexpensive. Good stopping power. Easy to adjust.
Weaknesses: None as of yet.
Bottom Line:
Ill just say its all in proper adjustment. When I first used the brakes on a wally world xr 200 I purchased from a pawn shop; I wasn't very pleased. I re scuffed the disc and put on a new set of pads and did some adjusting. Now I am more than pleased with these brakes. I like them so much that I will convert the rears to promax as well. Don't let the price fool you. They could be $300 brakes and not work very well without proper adjustments.
Bike Setup: GT triple triangle moly frame. Shimano STX crankset. Shimano Alivio front and rear derailleurs. Shimano EF50 trigger shifters and brake levers. Sram PG-830 chain. Mozo M30 front shock. ProMax mechanical front disc brakes. Promax v-brakes (rear).
Overall Rating:
Value Rating:
Submitted by
Budman
a Weekend Warrior
from Lodi , California , Us.
Date Reviewed: June 28, 2010
Bottom Line:
All you guys should use the ABS - Automatic Brake System Modulator - the BUDBRAKE and the Promax disc brakes and V brakes will work fine and is safer.Try it - You Like It !
Submitted by
toyord
a Weekend Warrior
from slc,ut, usa
Date Reviewed: September 17, 2009
Strengths: decent entry level brakes
slow you down
Weaknesses: rotors heat up to fast
hard to adjust
jitters when trying to lock it up
not good for fast xc
fades fast
Bottom Line:
These brakes work ok if your gonna go riding around town or some small hills. Does not work good for fast descents, or steep trails. It like jitters when you try locking them up, kinda like abs brakes on a car, ha. would defenitley upgrade these breaks if your gonna do some serious riding.
Bike Setup: 08 diamond back recoil, with some upgrades.
Overall Rating:
Value Rating:
Submitted by
traxxasmaxx33
a Weekend Warrior
from Jacksonville, Florida, USA
Date Reviewed: September 16, 2009
Strengths: low price, smooth, came pre-mounted, simple, works in all conditions
Weaknesses: long break-in time, kind of heavy, hard to adjust, rotors warp easily, sometimes brakes are spongy
Bottom Line:
Paid $ 430.00 all together brakes are ok but I've only had them for four days so they still need some braking in. They ok for the beginner or on a budget (like me) but if your up to the price, Avid's hydraulic juicy 3's or elixir 5' have way more power but require more maintenance. Great if your on a budget but might be a bad choice if your a serious cyclist you know racing or what not. Dont be fooled if the brakes dont stop well at first, they need to be broken-in for about a month or so.
Weaknesses: A bit noisy, as are ALL disc brakes during the break-in period.
Bottom Line:
I was skeptical of these brakes as they came on an entry-level GT Avalanche we bought for my girlfriend but I'm fairly impressed. They don't have quite the stopping power that my Hayes hydraulic discs do on my 4 Banger, but to be fair my bike is also 10 lbs lighter and the brakes are worn in. My opinion is that these are definitely a good value and superior to MOST V-Brakes for all-weather braking. We haven't had them long enough to really say how well they hold up over time or on serious trails. My guess is that, as these are generally sold with entry-level bikes, this will likely be where they need to be. As with anything on a bike, maintenance is the key to better performance. For a full set of disc brakes with a price under $100, I really can't complain.
Similar Products Used: Hayes Hydraulic Discs, V-Brakes, Cantilever Brakes
Bike Setup: 2009 GT Avalanche. Brakes came pre-installed.
Overall Rating:
Value Rating:
Submitted by
Allen Gilliam
a Weekend Warrior
from Winter Park, Florida, USA
Date Reviewed: May 2, 2009
Strengths: Reasonable cost. Much stronger braking than rim brakes. They look cool.
Weaknesses: None I know of.
Bottom Line:
I'm very happy with the ProMax mechanical disc brakes on my new mountain bike. They're entry-level, so I feared they might be no better than rim brakes, but they're great. I weigh 275 pounds and, even before breaking them in, I can lock the back wheel and skid to a stop sideways on dry pavement. That put a smile on my face! I haven't been able to do that since I was a kid. I certainly couldn't do that with my old cantilevered rim brakes. Other than safety and cool stops, being able to skid the back wheel allows me to skid around sharp turns. Fun!
They do have to be adjusted properly to get full stopping power, but that's easy to do, unless you consider an Allen wrench to be a baffling high-tech gizmo. And when adjusted properly they do not rub the disc all the time as some have erroneously written. There's no contact at all.
Adjustment is really just common sense: Loosen the caliper mounting bolts. Adjust both pads toward the disc an equal amount until they're both touching the disc, squeeze the brake lever to align the caliper body, and then tighten the mounting bolts. This centers the caliper body on the disc and gets the pads parallel with the disc. Then simply adjust both pads out so they're as close as possible to the disc without rubbing, which can be easily heard when you spin the wheel.
The caliper body has a tiny Allen wrench screw on the side that locks the inner pad adjustment. It needs to be loosened before adjusting the inner pad.
If you're heavy, regularly ride in wet or muddy conditions, or need to brake for long periods of time in the mountains, these brakes are certainly worth the extra cost.
Submitted by
Scuds03
a Weekend Warrior
from Garden Grove, CA, USA
Date Reviewed: March 18, 2009
Strengths: Outclasses V-brake stopping power by far. Especially when wet. One allen wrench and your fingers turning a knob to setup/adjust (Don't know why others have problems its so simple). I ride my DH bike to and from work which takes me down a 55-60 mph hill everyday and I have full confidence these will stop me QUICK. 3 months of that hill now 2x a day 5 days a week and they stop great with no noise or rubbing. Replacement pads are super cheap.
Weaknesses: If I had to name the weakest link it would be the cables stretch over time which as cyclist I can accept. Beats the hell out of hydro brakes and the headachs that accompany them.
Bottom Line:
I love everything about these brakes. Power, reliability, good looks, and great price... If you have problems with them its cuz you most likely didnt adjust them correctly. If youre having trouble take your bike to a local bike shop and have them tune them in for you before you throw dirt, you'll be impressed! Just because they are economical does not always mean they are junk!
Strengths: Havn't ridden yet. can say that judging from how they worked on a friends fr bike they did a good job of doing thier job.
Weaknesses: me, learn to set up right.
Bottom Line:
For those that are buying parts from wal-mart, the above gentlman said it best. Wal-mart guys slam and show bike monkeys. First Always have a bike tech do a t5une on your bike when its new to get out the grimlins. Second ride a new bike with some respect to learn how and what it does well and doesn't do well, as with add ons. Above all reaserch before buying to see if it fits your type of riding.I see too many riders or novice complain about parts.Enjoy the ride and maintain your bikes..
Bike Setup: Set up old school Giant DS3 X-vert T fork Friend had sitting in garage for 4 yrs. Race Face Prodogy cranks disc going on it Maxxis 2.35 ignighters w/ Stan's. nuke proof hubs w/ bontregar asym rims Race Face B.B. isis drive
Overall Rating:
Value Rating:
Submitted by
Barry Leigh
a Weekend Warrior
from South Orange
Date Reviewed: August 10, 2007
Strengths: Inexpensive, reliable and replacement pads easily available.
Weaknesses: Available only for I.S. 51 forks, although I belive this has been addressed by more recent Promax models, especially those with fork adapters.
Bottom Line:
I have recently returned to cycling for the exercise and better health. Mostly I ride paved paths and the street, so the Promax disc brakes work well for me. As a bonus, Avid BB5 pads fit the Promax brake caliper, as do KoolStop and Jagwire pads. So you'll never be at a loss for affordable replacements (as compared to Hayes or Shimano).
Bike Setup: Completely upgraded discount/no name MTB. A so-called "branded" or "licensed" bike (using the name of a famous company that does not manufacture bikes, hah). Bought it because of the fine aluminum frame which fit me to a tee and because of the disc brakes, which in actually cost nearly as much as the bike if I had purchased them on the aftermarket. Replaced the stock discount store components with the real stuff; Deore hubs, Shimano/Ryno rims, Cane Creek and Aluminlite, Rock Shox Dart 2. All purchased at a significant discount.
Overall Rating:
Value Rating:
Submitted by
Ben
a Weekend Warrior
from concord, ma, usa
Date Reviewed: July 27, 2007
Strengths: it stops you decently. goes well with avid levers. adjustment knob works well and is simple.
Weaknesses: tons of contant adjustments, makes a really weird bubly noise in the front, sometimes squeaks, rubs occasionally, stock levers were horrible, fine adjustments are tedious and tricky, and both calipers are loose and i cant fix it
Bottom Line:
they work if you want a cheap disc brake, for anything else, its not good.
Bike Setup: k2 attack 1.0 not much is stock any more. i have to get a new brake system because these brakes don't fit on my new marzocchi
Overall Rating:
Value Rating:
Submitted by
m k
a Weekend Warrior
from Dallas, GA
Date Reviewed: June 28, 2007
Strengths: great stopping power once broken in and adjusted properly. They stop on a dime even going down hill on dirt.
Weaknesses: they need to be adjusted a lot.
Bottom Line:
Great brakes for $!!!! and if you are on a budget. Thanks to previous posters for the hints on adjusting. If you follow the hints on adjusting the brakes they will work great. I did and they do.
Strengths: Inexpensive, They do work! Great introductory to disk brakes, seeing a complete set is only $90. pads last a long time. Rain , snow, sand, mud, saplings, dust do not effect their braking power.
Weaknesses: At times pesky to tune nice and tight. Only entry level. Week holding magnets.
Bottom Line:
They aren’t no Hope/Shimano/Hayes/Avid/(insert top brand here). However they are not junk. They do better than V-brakes.
Joe Green has it right. You have to get down there and fiddle with them.
Here is my tuning guide I made over 2+ years with these brakes. Using this you should be able to get the perfect set up and have very good preformance Skip 1-3 If you cable is already tight.
1. Set your cable tension knob on your brake leaver to its lowest setting. 2. Loosen the cable lock bolt on the brake arm so you can move the cable to take the slack out. Tighten it back up. 3. Slowly tighten your Cable tension knob on your brake leaver till the arm moves a hair, but only a hair. As soon as you move the brake leaver, the arm should move. If there is a delay keep tightening the tension knob. By the way you have to have a good strait disk to do this right. 4. Down under the brake body there is a little red wheel. Turn this till there is only about a millimeter to half a millimeter between the disk and the Left pad. 5. On the inside of the brake, there is a big silver circle with a hex whole in it. This is the pad adjuster that many people don't know about. Now take a hex key and turn it clock wise till the RIGHT break pad is about a millimeter to half a millimeter from the disk.
Now you should be done. Careful your brakes should now be tight, and powerful.
Similar Products Used: Avid BB5 Mechanical Disk Brake, Hayes HFX Mag XC, and many V-brakes
Overall Rating:
Value Rating:
Submitted by
mike
a Weekend Warrior
from Victoria, BC, Canada
Date Reviewed: February 19, 2007
Strengths: looks good
Weaknesses: poor stoping power
Bottom Line:
i just got this bike and it came with these brakes and all i have to say is give your self about 7 feet befor you have to stop to start braking, this is my first time using disk brakes and im disapointer, i have to say they suck
Strengths: Forged lever arm, die-cast block, low price, heat treated rotors which look kinda cool, performance.
Weaknesses: weight...err...none
Bottom Line:
Good disc brake for the price, i recommend it to anyone on a budget. Avid bb5 pads are compatible with this brake so you can use avid pads! comparable with hayes mx2 preformance!
