Great reliable (sharp) brake (whenthey work)

Highly disposable, takes mineral oil

I fitted these new to my Whyte PRST4 worked great, changing pads great, been happy for two years, seel gone on either the caliper or the lever, and I'm being told that for the sake of a couple quid Shimano expect me to buy a new brake set, never will I buy Shimano again, Avid and Hope both supply seal kits for pennys

Excellent modulation, even on loose, slippery descents. Single- Finger design allows for an ease of shifting while braking.

Stock metal brake pads engage too quickly. For optimal performance you need to pony up another $40 for resin pads.

These brakes work as well as anything I have ever ridden and are powerful, yet impossible to lock up. The only drawback I see is the performance of the metal pads it comes with. The resin pads perform substantially better.

POWERFUL! Easy to set up, including adjusting hose length. Just cut and install the new hose barb (included) by using a mallet and the included hose-grabber-holder-thingy and screw on the compression fitting. I didn't even have to re-bleed the brakes!

Modulation isn't the best, but it may just be a function of me not being used to brakes that actually work.

My old Juicy 7s finally gave up the ghost on a recent trip to Fruita. I have Avid brakes on all the other bikes in my collection so I thought I should replace w/ a newer Avid product since I was familiar (all too familiar) with the bleeding procees, I had boatloads of DOT 5.1 and a bleed kit. The mechanic at Over the Edge Sports informed he they didn't carry Avid brakes given reliability issues (I've had my fair share) so I was compelled to get these XTs. Holy crap--I freaking LOVE these brakes and I can't believe they weren't on my radar before. Get them on Amazon. Free shipping on Prime. Low price (I had to buy the front at the bike shop and added the rear a week later...Amazon's price was about $75 cheaper). No brake fade either. I could smoke my Juicys on a long decent (203mm rotor BOTH front and rear) and they'd be worthless until I could cool them down. No chance on the XTs.

Similar Products Used:

Juicy 7s. Codes (the real ones...not the sissy Rs). BB7s.

Smooth, quiet, excellent control, good feathering, good stopping power

The reservoir is a little too "bling"

I have just upgraded to these brakes after testing a number of other non-hydraulic disc brakes, and the difference is night and day. The stopping power is insane (expected from disc brakes), but the overall feel is fantastic.
These brakes feel so much smoother and responsive than the cable-based ones, and the feathering is nicer on the XT than on most of the Avid hydraulics - and with no DOT-3 brake fluid mess.
Easy to bleed, easy to refill, easy to clean. I think mineral oil was a really good choice.

The brake fade on long descents was almost unnoticeable, I had no issues even when I was riding the brakes. They are a great choice for stopping a large fast bike.

Got these for 300 installed, with rotors.

Similar Products Used:

Shimano XTR disc, Avid BB5, Avid Elixir 5, Shimano XTR V-brakes, Shimano SLX disc brakes

Super strong

a bit heavy

Great power...went from avids with a 180 upfront to just running these with 160's

Consistently spongy.
Consistently require a full purge.

Heavy, spongy feel, reach adjustment does nothing, extremely difficult to fully purge/bleed. Poor/disappointing power levels. Does not warrant its cost. Very expensive pad replacement costs.

I have 2 sets of the 775's. Each set with the 2 varieties of rotors available in 180/160, one being centre-lock. I have encountered endless poor power levels and the constant, consistently essential need for a full purge of the system every few months. This is time consuming and with the rediculous cost of Shimano oil...expensive & with no real advantages. I feel that the maintenance needs and spongy feel added to weak power levels render this brake only useful for XC......except that this is a heavy set of brakes. Very expensive pad replacement costs too.

Similar Products Used:

Hope Mini, Mono Mini, Formula K24, Shimano Deore, Magura Julie.

Very good stopping power, very light, easy to maintain. no problems whatsoever.

they squeak very loud when they get wet. It is very annoying.

Very good breaks all around. theres really no weaknesses. i wouldnt use them for DH though because they may not be strong enough for extreme stopping power, but they are light, strong and easy to maintain. If you want silent brakes, these are not for you.

Jay-zus they are powerful. Almost too powerful. I like the heat sink thing they got on the pads. I like the mineral oil.

My set up didn't come with a rotor so I had to fork over another $45 for that.

Super powerful. If you want the tires not to continue rolling, squeeze the lever a little tiny bit, and just like that, you stop, bottom line. Awsome brakes, bottom line. If your in the market for new disc brakes, take a serious look at the XT from Shimano, they will stop your bike, abrubtly!

Similar Products Used:

Hayes 9

Bleed once and forget. Adjustability. Extremely easy to change pads. Stop very well.

Can't find one after two years.

Very easy to set up never need bleeding again. We have very steep fire trails here and are often coming in to corners at 40MPH, reducing to >10MPH, where straight shooting spells disaster. I have confidence with these brakes and recomend them. They have been superceded and were recently on special for ridiculous prices. If you can find them, buy up.

Similar Products Used:

I must admit, these are my first hydraulic brake, replacing BB7s, which I still use on another bike and like very much. The price I posted was per end.

Incredible brakes, they live up to everything I read. One finger stopping.

None.

If you are looking for new brakes buy these.

Similar Products Used:

Juicy 7, 1st gen XTR disc.