Shimano Deore XT BR-M785 Disc Brake DEORE XT Disc Brake Systems offer a new level of performance and control. SERVO WAVE disc brake system contributes to a far greater performance. Rotor Sold Seperately.
Strengths: Can't beat them for the price (got front and rear with the ice tech rotors for $350 shipped). Power for any situation. Great progressive feel. One finger levers feel great, and it's all you need for these - you can launch yourself over the bars with one finger. Easy setup. No pad rubbing at all (so far). Easy one way bleeding.
Weaknesses: A little heavy (the lever clamp is really overbuilt). The pads rattle a little on rough terrain when the brakes aren't being applied.
Bottom Line:
Couldn't be happier. The weaknesses I mentioned are hardly issues when you consider how great they perform and how easy they are to set up and maintain.
Strengths: Power, and lots of it! No noticeable brake fade. Excellent lever feel. Excellent modulation. Very simple setup.
Weaknesses: Heavy
Likely to throw you to the ground with one finger if you're switching from some lesser brakes..
Bottom Line:
Amazing power and modulation coupled with one of the best lever feels of any MTB brake I've ever used! I was able to easily shorten the hoses to fit with supplies included right in the box, with no need to bleed afterwards and no mess either. Even dropping an inch in rotor size front and back, these brakes are MORE than powerful enough for any MTB use.
Strengths: They work
They work really good
Looks
Value
Setup ease
Weaknesses: None that I can find
Bottom Line:
Either I had super crap brakes before or these or really awesome. They replaced the stock Shimano hydro brakes on my '11 Trek Paragon and they are by far the best upgrade I've made. They were very easy to set up and cutting the hose to length was less than 10 minutes without the need for a bleed. I absolutely love these brakes and I can now ride 100% confidentally with one finger on the brake and my hands aren't cramped at the bottom of a long technical downhill stretch.
Strengths: Power, modulation and price. Got them on special for $300 for the set with discs.
Weaknesses: Me for not buying more sets for my other bikes.
Bottom Line:
Bought these as an upgrade for my 2012 Superfly AL. I didn't think the 6 inch disc would be enough to pull up my 120kgs on a 29er. Boy was I wrong, these brakes are awesome, best brakes I have ever used. I thought my old SLX brakes had good power and modulation on my 2009 Reign. Now I am worried that I am not going to be able to stop.
Strengths: True One Finger Brake, Increadible bite, yet still excellent modulation. Super simple bleeding and line shortening. No Heat Fade. Light.
Weaknesses: Not a huge fan of the chrome color. Rotors are expensive to replace and can't be easily re-bent if they get dinged.
Bottom Line:
This brake is a "game changer". Most power i have ever experienced in a cross country / trail style brake ever. Truly leaps and bounds better than the other brakes i have ridden, and I would put on every one of my bikes if i could afford it. It only requires light pressure from one finger to obtain whatever amount of stopping power desired. No fade on long decents, easy setup and adjustment, easy to bleed and service. Most satisfying brake purchase i have made ever.
Note: follow the break in procedure to get the best performance out of the system. I noticed a big difference from the "out of the box" to the post "20 rapid stops on pavement" performance.
Strengths: Very powerful, excellent modulation, reasonable weight, mineral oil, excellent lever ergonomics, very fading resistant, true 1 finger brakes!
Weaknesses: Cheesy plastic piston cover that gets ruined too easily.
Bottom Line:
Best brake performance I've ever experienced, period. Impressive power and resistance to fading.
cheaper than the previous XT's, but that reflects on the quality of the materials, ie the cheesy plastic piston cover.
Strengths: Considerably fade free. Powerful. Great bite, modulation, and hold...the Holy Grail--and quiet to boot. Easy set up, No DOT fluid!, Promising bleed system with a one way valve. Tool free reach adjustment. Hinged clamp. Heat sinked pads. No CPS cone washers to mess with.
Weaknesses: Pricy, but not really considering the performance. Need special consideration when running avid (165 and 185 mm) rotors instead of Shimano (160 and 180 mm).
Bottom Line:
Building up a new AM rig. Was going to cannibalize my old Juicy 7's or buy some aftermarket Elixer's. The guy at the LBS talked me into the 2012 XT brakeset.
Installation was quick and painless. You only need to consider the left right displacement of the top and bottom mount points as opposed to the left-right displacement and the in-out plane rotation of the dumb CPS washers from Avid. The stock hoses are a tad (inch or two) long, but I can live with it. The rear came with extra parts to shorten the hose, but I didn't bother. Since I didn't want to spend another 120 on Shimano rotors (I would get the Ice Tech ones if I did), I reused my Avid G2 ones. It turns out the Shimano adapters are perfect for shimano rotors, but a little short for Avid ones (180 vs 185 mm). Why can't the industry standardize? Anyway, nothing 2.5 mm stacks of washers can solve. Done.
While on the stand, I was impressed by the lock up. feels like my rim brake with a ground rim on the trials rig.
First ride...WOW!!! These brakes are POWERFUL! I nearly endo'd cruising on flats when a ground squirrel decided poorly to cross the trail. It took about an hour to get used to how much these brakes grab and to recalibrate my trigger finger accordingly. By then the rotors have bedded enough where I was getting repeatable response every time. In an hour I knew exactly when the pads made contact, exactly how much to squeeze and exactly when to lock up. Modulation was intuitive and delay-free...even after nearly 1/2 mile descent. By contrast with the Juicy 7's I still can't get it right every time after 4 seasons. They felt different every time I rode and during rides. What a breath of fresh air these new brakes are. I suppose the ceramic pistons and the heat-sinked pads are what contributes to no noticeable fade...at least not at my skill level. By contrast, the Juicy 7's sure seem to fade at different rates on different days--annoying to say the least.
On the lever end, I love the servo wave action. Using a cam, it changes the leverage throughout the stroke. It lets you move more pad initially to make contact then increase mechanical advantage after contact. You get both large pad-to-rotor clearance and fast bite at the beginning of the stroke, great modulation, and phenomenal power at the end of the stroke. The lever reach is easy on the fingers and don't require tools unlike the Juicy 7's. The only gripe I have is that the "free stroke" ("pad contact" in Avidese) adjustment has a very limited range. The one finger levers also have a more pronounced hook on the end than my Juicy's which is a lot easier on the finger. Aside from all the great technology, there are some niceties too. The hinged clamp will loosen completely but hang on to the bars unless you push a release. That's great when you mess around with the real estate in the cockpit.
I haven't had these brakes long enough to have to bleed them, but, I imagine anything is easier than Juicy's to bleed. Especially the rear, I'd never quite gotten rid of that one bubble, such that after I wheelie, I always had to pump the damn things a few times to pop the bubble back into the reservoir. Again annoying, but can be dangerous. Will have to wait an see, but the instructions are promising. They promise a bleed that pulls fluid through the entire line protected with a check valve...fancy that.
I don't know how these compare in weight, and I don't really care. The brakes work so well, I don't mind if they weigh as much as a set of cranks! It seems that as far as bike componentry, hubs, bars, and stems get the most attention from their proud owners who are too often willing to live with mediocore, if not, down right dangerous brakes. I was one of these guys...until now.
Awesomely powerful and reliable (so far) brakes...check.
Learn high speed stoppie...um...not quite yet.
Similar Products Used: Avid Juicy 7, Avid BB7, Avid BB5
Bike Setup: 2010 Specialized Enduro SL Comp, Avid G2 185 mm rotors front and back.
Overall Rating:
Value Rating:
Submitted by
holly wood
a All Mountain Rider
from redding ca usa
Date Reviewed: April 6, 2012
Strengths: great feel awesome power and modulation
Weaknesses: none so far
Bottom Line:
took a few rides to get used to only needing one finger. now i have a better control on breaking and riding. you can just ease into them and feather your breaking. AWESOME breaks they inspire confidence. any one who likes steep technical riding needs these brakes. i wish i had not waited so long to buy them.
Bike Setup: norco fluid 140 talas dhx 5.0 x fusion seat post maxis high roller front wtb wierwolf rear
Overall Rating:
Value Rating:
Submitted by
lew242
a All Mountain Rider
from UK and China
Date Reviewed: March 31, 2012
Strengths: Power, modulation, build quality, short one finger lever, anti-lock feel, just right straight out of the box.
Weaknesses: Cotter pins, brakes not shipped with bleed kit, uninspired product naming and color choices, confused by need for Shimano only mineral oil. It's mineral oil or not? If it is mineral oil, then any mineral oil would surely work.... are Shimano lying to me to get me to buy Shimano branded oil only?
Bottom Line:
The XT M785 brakes are a nice bit of bike bling, they are better than cheaper products but not that much, however they are a really well made and designed product. To be honest though the M596 is a brake that is nearly as good, yet costs much less and is cheaper and easier to buy pads for, and would suit 90% of all trail and XC riders.
These brakes are best for serious DH, FR and very aggressive AM riders who can really use the power, probably are overkill for XC riders, on the other hand on small rotors they have tonnes of modulation anyhow, so why not if you've got the money?
Some of the reviews for these seem overblown, but I haven't sustained any whiplash injuries yet. What I like best is that I can really grab on this brake on the front and put loads of power through it, but it really doesn't seem to want to lock up, which improves my riding, so I can fairly easily one finger endo, which is nice.
A few things that take my rating down to four stars. The bleed funnel is a tiny piece of plastic that probably costs 50c to make, yet isn't shipped with this expensive brake, meaning I have to go buy one later so that's annoying. Also cotter pins? Why? Really annoying to change the pads and rattle egh, Avid have much better screw in pins, although Avid has a flawed design with using alloy and it is really easy to strip the tiny hex fitting, so a cromo pin might be the way of the future with a T25 fitting. Plus the Shimnano only mineral oil thing, it's really not cool I live in mainland China, we have perfectly OK mineral oil, but if I want to bleed my brakes I should ship in their oil special oil? Yeah right, it's not cost effective or environmentally sustainable, I think I might take my chances with Elf mineral motorcycle engine oil 20W50.
Strengths: 1st ride, one finger stopping power. Look beautiful
Weaknesses: none so far
Bottom Line:
These brakes replaced my 8 year old carbon 9 hayes brakes. Piston was stuck in one caliper and one lever has been sticking forever, always had to readjust lever...anyway, glad they're gone.
This is a 1st ride experience. It was 37 degrees F*, alternating between rain and snow the entire ride depending on altitude. By far one of the wettest rides I've done this winter (spring i guess) in WA. And it we rode between 6-9:30 at night, close quarters, tree lined, high speed xc. Great fun even soaking wet.
I used my seasons old hayes disk rotors, didnt want to shell out cash for new ones.
These brakes initially did squeal alot, cold, soaking wet and not broken in, I wasnt concerned. As the ride went on the squeal was replaced by impressive stopping power and great modulation with only 1 finger on the lever.
I can already tell these brakes are going to be fantastic. The fact that they work this well in the wet tells me that in the dry months they will excel. I can't wait and couldn't be happier with their "worste case scenerio" performance.
Similar Products Used: hayes 9, old xt quad piston, slx
Bike Setup: Kona Kikapu deluxe frame built up wiht various awesome and less awesome parts
Overall Rating:
Value Rating:
Submitted by
mb london
a Weekend Warrior
from London
Date Reviewed: March 5, 2012
Strengths: Look great
Weaknesses: Admittedly this was my first time out with the bike and it was wet and as muddy as fcuk, but even so these brakes were not what I was expecting. I had come from Avid Juicy 3’s and they were sooo much better than then these. These squealed like nothing I had ever heard, to the point where I was getting embarrassed to pull the lever, the stopping power was nothing special, zero confidence to be honest.
Bottom Line:
I am sure that these brake will take a bit of time to bed in, if they don’t they will have to come of my bike as they are already making me not want to ride on my new £3K bike.
Submitted by
Nick
a Weekend Warrior
from Quezon City
Date Reviewed: March 2, 2012
Strengths: Very easy to setup, BRUTAL POWER, awesome free stroke adjustment feature, great pad clearance so that means no rotor rub, lightweight, very blingy looks,
Weaknesses: Can't think of any so far...
Bottom Line:
These brakes are awesome!!! The moment you put them on your bike, you'll swear you're never going to use any other brakes! The power on these babies are just amazing. This is true one-finger braking! The control is second to none! I came from a non-series shimano brake that usually fade and make noise at hour long descents and these brakes have not shown any sign of fade or noise. Can make you stop on a dime LITERALLY! The first shimano brakes i had (BR M445) always had a tendency to rub against the pads after every ride. With these brakes and it's very obvious pad clearance you won't have that problem anywmore.
Bottom line is, get these brakes!!! Your bike deserves to have this!!!
Bike Setup: Merida Matts Lite 3000, Shimano Deore XT Group, 2012 Fox Float RLC 140mm
Overall Rating:
Value Rating:
Submitted by
TwoHeadsBrewing
a Cross Country Rider
from Chico, CA
Date Reviewed: February 22, 2012
Strengths: Plenty of power, quiet, excellent modulation, one finger braking, mineral oil doesn't damage paint
Weaknesses: New reservoir design requires new bleed kit. The calipers need a little bit of care to line up for rub-free operation. New products don't have the support at the LBS that the old one do. Some shops don't carry the new pads, or the new bleed kit, so you have to wait for them to order or go online.
Bottom Line:
The new Shimano XTs are hands down the best brakes, especially for the money that I've ever owned. I purchased front and rear brakes, along with 180mm Ice-Tech XT rotors from Universal Cycles. With a coupon and some sales going on, I was able to score the whole brake setup for just over $300. The lines included with their "sale" were super long, and definitely too long for my medium frame. Thankfully trimming the lines is very easily done and doesn't even require bleeding the brakes. Just pick up a spare "olive and barb" for a couple bucks at the LBS or order online. The bottom line is that these brakes deliver without breaking the bank.
Construction:
One thing I've always loved about the previous XT 775 brakes is the solid and substantial feel of the lever and pivot hardware. Even after months of use and abuse and the occasional crash, the feel of the brakes is solid, smooth, and inspires confidence. No lever slop, no wobbling, and very precise. The new model is no different, although it appears the entire lever assembly has gone on a diet.
Brake power, modulation, and feel:
On the first ride, as other reviewers have mentioned, the XTs are grabby. This doesn't fade with time, and it's not a bad thing. The reality of these brakes is that they are just more powerful and require less grip strength to deliver an amazing amount of stopping power. This took a couple rides to get used to, but once I did it was pure bliss. I'm normally a two finger brake guy, but not with these brakes. You could probably throw yourself over the bars with your pinky finger, seriously.
In addition to being more powerful there is very good modulation in that power delivery. Especially on the steep downhill or technical sections, it allows you to precisely dial in how much brake you need. It's very easy to lightly ride the brakes with one finger and achieve that perfect speed. The power comes in a smooth and predictable manner.
Maintenance:
After almost 6 months of running these brakes I'm about due for a set of brakepads. Not bad for doing 3-4 15 mile rides per week. Other than pads, these brakes just keep doing their thing. Despite going through a few endos and generally getting smacked around I haven't had any parts break. So far so good!
Gripes:
I really like the old reservoir design which made it easy to bleed the brakes in your own garage with no special tools. The new reservoir, although lighter weight and smaller than the old XTs, requires a new funnel that threads into the bleed port on the master cylinder. I'd trade the minimal weight savings and "XTR looks" for the old style reservoir. Not a big deal I guess since these only need a bleed once every year or so.
Similar Products Used: Avid Juicy 5, Deore Hydros, Hayes Stroker Ryde, XT 775s
Bike Setup: Cannondale Rize 4, Sektor Coil 150mm, Push'ed Float RL, SRAM X9 drive train.
Overall Rating:
Value Rating:
Submitted by
chuckbuck
a Weekend Warrior
from Sacramento CA
Date Reviewed: February 13, 2012
Strengths: Great modualtion and power. Like the mineral oil. Very strong stopping power, even with a 160mm rotor.
Weaknesses: None
Bottom Line:
The brakes make the bike stop when you want it to stop. Period. No squealing, no noise, good clearance between pads and rotor. I've only put them on the front so far but they are awsome. Wish they were a little less expensive, but I guess that could be said for anything. Anyone looking to upgrade disc brakes should get these. Heard good things about Code-R, similar price, but the Mad Cat guys (awsome shop by the way) all ride XT's and they talked me into XT's over the Code-R's I was considering.
Similar Products Used: Hayes HFX 9, Elixir 1, BB7,
Bike Setup: 06 Marin AXC B-17 hardtail dirt jumper.
Overall Rating:
Value Rating:
Submitted by
MI-29er
a Cross Country Rider
from Portage, MI USA
Date Reviewed: February 8, 2012
Strengths: They look bas-ass!! Very smooth when appling the brakes, very smooth modulation, the levers are perfect for a 1 finger pull. The stopping power....WOW!!! The knob to adjust the lever reach is very easy to adjust on the go.
Weaknesses: Rotors don't come with the brakes. You have to buy them seperate. Brake lines to long. Could be a tad bit shorter.
Bottom Line:
Over all I was shocked at the power of these brakes. I have a pair of Hope Tech X2, and these brakes are far better in stopping power. The feel of the brakes, the modulation is spot on. The over all new design of the brakes makes these a good all around brake. These brakes are of XTR quality and power at an XT price. Great brake for anything XC and Racing!! It's gonna be hard to find a better brake at this quality!! Job well done Shimnao!!
