Similar Products Used: AVID MECHANICAL 6 INCH THESE ARE EXCELLENT BRAKES AFTER BRAKE IN.
Bike Setup: 2001 GIANT AC1
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Submitted by
Dan Hubbard
a Cross Country Rider
from Freeland, MI
Date Reviewed: January 1, 2003
Strengths: Cheap. Easy to set up. Doesn't squeal (but of course, that would imply that these brakes have stopping power.)
Weaknesses: No stopping power.
Bottom Line:
These things suck. Yeah you get them cheap off of eBay. But, that's only because they don't work! I have my servo wave adjuster on the highest leverage setting and i still can't get the front to lock up. O.k. maybe that's good 'cause I won't scar up the trail. But, what about scarring up my body when I crash 'cause I can't stop?!
Don't waste your time with the cheap stuff off of eBay. Go with a good hydraulic setup. Hayes is what I'd recommend.
Similar Products Used: Hayes hydraulic, Shimano V-brakes
Bike Setup: Specialized Rockhopper, Rockshox Judy SL fork, XT shifter/brake lever
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Submitted by
Phil
a Weekend Warrior
from Gainesville, FL, USA
Date Reviewed: November 3, 2002
Strengths: Cheap, actually doens't rust
Weaknesses: Everything else
Bottom Line:
I think that these Grimeca System 9 (mechanical) disc brakes I got off of ebay actually make you go FASTER. Now, the System 8 or something else would probably work great, but for $50 (F and R), you should know that you're getting crap. If you can't even stoppie on command, what good are brakes anyways?!?! Early on, the rear wouldn't even lock up. Avid levers, mind you. Basically, you would be better off not putting any brakes on.
Submitted by
Chris Meyer
a Cross Country Rider
from Atlanta, GA, USA
Date Reviewed: September 18, 2002
Strengths: Cheap
Weaknesses: Where to start? How about stopping power, or calibration, or performance in a variety of conditions, or just the whole damn rig.
Bottom Line:
Grimeca System 9:
DON'T PAY MONEY FOR THESE BRAKES!!!!
BUY SIDE PULL RIM BRAKES BEFORE THESE BRAKES!!
Bought these cheap on eBay to fit my new disc only wheelset, big mistake going cheap. Seemed fine at first- not great but ok. Rode them a little to break them in, then took them to the trail one wet morning. In the rain they were worthless, like having no brakes at all. I had to drop my bike four times to get off the trail. I tried cleaning all braking surfaces with alcohol, sanding the braking surfaces, and breaking them in for a long time (multiple days). No help. Tried e-mailing Grimeca- NO HELP. Mabye their other lines are ok but these are crap.
Strengths: Lots of stoping power and very good modulation. Great shape of the brake levers.
Weaknesses: The brake hose that I got for the rear brake is a bit too long, but other than that I have nothing to complain about.
Bottom Line:
The brakes worked perfect right from the start, just needed around one hour to brake them in. As I'm riding on snow right now I really can't use the front brake the way I would like at this time. But I'm surpriced to see that even tough the front brake is soo big it's really not that hard to modulate the force when braking. They might not be the prime brake for XC, but for freeriding they work great!
Similar Products Used: None, these are my first set of hydraulic brakes
Bike Setup: Azonic DS1. Z1. System 12 (200 front/160 rear) brakes
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Submitted by
scott rogers
a Racer
from salt lake city
Date Reviewed: December 5, 2001
Strengths: easy to set up, easier than xt in fact, with the 2 piece levers, easy access to parts( discs, pads, and hose lines)since shimano stole the design from grimeca, and you will need adapters for manitou and some other front forks along with a larger front disc. If your shop can get grimeca pads stick with them , I tried the shimano's and they dont last as long
Weaknesses: idiots that buy a x-country brake system,The system 8, when they should be on the system 12's then whine about their own ignorance.
Bottom Line:
I race 24 hour series, the local weekend race series(sport division),love to ride like hell on any x country downhill, and I've yet to have any problems with my brakes. Yes they do take a while to brake in, ALL DISC BRAKES DO(car motorcycle or bike) Yes dot 3 fluid will eat paint, but dot 3/4 will not fade due to heat build up( vegitable oil will ask your mom what happens when she cooks with it, ask any one with xt discs.They will fade as will any other brake on this planet if you ride with them partially on and they get excessively hot. taping your brakes( squeezing lightly then releasing,then repeat will get you down long steep descents safely if it is unwise to fly down. This helps with all breaks but you will experience less fatigue with disc.( I was an auto mechanic before a i was bike mechanic). Hayes is another good hydraulic disc and avids mechachanical disc is great to. stay away from magura and formula, I know bike shop mechanics that hate these, They rank up there with coda discs and Cannondale stopped using them because they sucked so bad. SRAM is currently leasing the rights for system 8 brakes ( grimeca wants to get back at simano for the obvious theft) and grimeca has been making brakes for Ducati motorcyles and for lambourgini for years, I think they know what there doing.
Bike Setup: trek Y 300 superlite, chris king headset, easton mokey lite carbon bar and seat post, xtr 9 speed drive train and shifters, rock shocks sid front and rear( not a very good front shock, switching to the fox forx or marathon)dolomite disc wheel set
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Submitted by
DAVE
a Weekend Warrior
from New Zealand
Date Reviewed: March 5, 2001
Strengths: powerful, don't fade, no weak hands at bottom of downhills, inexspensive, obviously work well in wet, pads easy to obtain
Weaknesses: hydraulic disc brake inherently means that it cannot be left and forgot risk of air bubble when bike upside down uneven pad wear takes a long time to bed in requires regular bleeding inherently less reliable than a mechanical brake realistically you need to be able to bleed them yourself, otherwise you will spend a lot of time at the shop
Bottom Line:
The 4 pot system 8 took a long time to bed in, then provided good stopping compared to v brakes. Most noticeably at the end of a long DH and obviously in the wet. However, they aren't without fault. At the start of a race I had them leak from the top hose joint - my fault should have checked that it was tight, probably loosened in a crash - easily fixed when I got home but if you are miles from home it could make for a long trip back. They are a pain to bleed due to the small reservoir and it is a messy procedure and yes hyraulic fluid is paint stripper and doesn't do your pads any good if spilt on them - for example when it runs down the hose. However I have found what seems to be an easier way of bleeding the air from the system:
Instead of bleeding in the conventional sense from the top down, I have started forcing fluid up from the bleed nipple using a 30cc syringe and flexible tubing. (Fortunately a standard syringe accepts the flexible tubing perfectly) Fluid will spill from the top of the opened reservoir so be prepared for this. Then it is a simple matter of using a spacer between the pads to ensure correct clearance, screwing the top on and away you go. I have seen bike mechanics bleed and setup the clearance with the disc in situ - this don't work. The disc has to be removed otherwise it makes for a very spongy feel.
Having adopted this method they certainly feel better than ever and you don't seem to be chasing your tail with an air bubble which makes its way almost out of the system before having to refill reservoir, only to have it migrate back up to the top.
When I first got the disc I made sure that I got a conventional rim with a braking surface, on long rides I throw in a front v brake unit, just in case something disasterous happens with the hydraulic fluid - doesn't weigh much and could make a big difference to the day. If only v brake levers had a 2 bolt clamp rather than having to remove the grips.
These brakes have only seen summer use so far hence not a lot of wet muddy tracks - which is really where a hydraulic disc comes into its element. Hopefully they prove to be an improvement in the long run.
Bike Setup: 2000 Marin Rift Zone, 2001 Z1 drop offs, XT front disc hub with Sun Hill Rod, Sup 521 rear, front XSIV = Grimeca sys 8 disc, rear v brake, Deore drive train, Roox risers, Conti Survival Pro.
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Submitted by
Carsten Huettl
a Cross Country Rider
from Allstedt
Date Reviewed: February 14, 2001
Strengths: System 4 hydro-mechanical to use with original Sh. brake levers, easy to mount,
Weaknesses: heavy
Bottom Line:
The brake is better to control (proportion) as rim brakes. But after a while it lost much of it s initial performance/power. At last power was that poor so I remount the XT brakes.
Strengths: System 8, 4-caliper hydraulic discs brakes. great modulation makes for total control in panic situations, no wash-outs from over breaking in sandy corners. plenty of strength means nose wheelies anytime you want, even when frozen and wet, or hot after a long run. never clog with mud, or get dirt packed in the calipers.
Weaknesses: brake fluid eats finish.
Bottom Line:
the 4 caliper system on these brakes provides better stoping power and control than any i've used. hayes hydraulics are awesome, but i had trouble getting them to brake lightly - it was too easy to brake too hard. perhaps that's cause i only weigh 135#. these grimeca system 8 discs ROCK. i can control the braking strength perfectly, and still get way too much stopage if i want to endo for some reason. if you are willing to put in the extra effort to do hydro brakes, and get the corresponding extra performance, these ROCK.
Bike Setup: azonic ds-1, white bros, diatech hubs, vuelta rims.
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Submitted by
Stan
a Weekend Warrior
from Los Angeles, CA
Date Reviewed: October 24, 2000
Strengths: They Stop Really well and Fast. Great Modulation on the Brake Lever! And they look GOOD!!!
Weaknesses: My Rear right Brake lever broke on a Fall. But the Great people from SuperGo helped me replace the lever, Fast!!The Brakes Squil when they get Wet!
Bottom Line:
These Brakes RULE!!!And they will not leave your broke.They stop GReat!! Gives you excellent Control, they make you wanna go faster and faster. Quad Piston Disc Brakes are AWESOME!! For the money....they are the BEST!!If you wanna go Disc, and don't wanna fork out your life savings, go with Grimeca system 8.
Bike Setup: "00" XCR-5000, Front and Rear Grimeca (Sys 8) Hydraulic Disc Brakes w/ Shimano XT Disc Hubs, Specialized body Geometry Saddle, Tioga Factory DH 2.1 Tires, and Shimano "00" LX crank.
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Submitted by
Tony
a Cross Country Rider
from Boulder
Date Reviewed: October 23, 2000
Strengths: Modulation, Power, Comfort
Weaknesses: Could be a bit stronger, squeal a bit when wet, interfere with Yakima steelhead mount. Minor filing needed for perfect install on my Rock Shox.
Bottom Line:
The Grimeca 4-piston system 8 are fabulous. I can do nose-wheelies at will and have never had a problem with fade. They do make some noise when wet, but they are quieter than the disk on my '98 Honda XR400 dirt bike. I am bummed that my DBR is incompatible with disks on the back.
I had to file the mounting posts down a bit on the caliper to fit my '99 RockShox SID. Took about 5 minutes.
I am never going back to V brakes after using these!
Check out pricepoint or jensonusa for the best price. I bought mine from Excel Sports and got screwed.
Bike Setup: '99 Diamondback XR-4, SID XL, Grimeca System 8 in front, Avid SD2.0 in back.
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Submitted by
Adam
a Cross Country Rider
from SF Bay Area
Date Reviewed: October 14, 2000
Strengths: System 8. Best stopper on the market, 'licensed' by Shimano for their XT disc (different hyd fluid being the only practical difference.)
Weaknesses: Feeble doc. Poor QA. Vuelta doesn't do much as a distributor.
Bottom Line:
Buy from SpeedGoat to overcome issues of tech support, available spare parts and they'll only send you stuff that's passed their QA ... not a guarantee, but better than any other Web based parts shop I've tried.
Hydraulic discs add significant weight, and the Avid mechanical discs (I've just ordered) may work equally well and shave some weight ... we'll see.
When you're sick of V-Brakes, especially in the wet, don't waste your money starting with cheap hyd discs (especially don't buy a closed system or a cheap mechanical disc.) Most of the complaints I read here are related to cheap products (noisey, weak stopping, continuously needing tuning, overheating, binding, squealing -- it's all associated with cheapo products.) If you're buying discs, you're not building up a super-light or super-cheap bike any more, so be prepared to throw a few hundred at the kit.
Submitted by
Tony
a Cross Country Rider
from Richmond, CA, USA
Date Reviewed: October 13, 2000
Bottom Line:
You guys should pay attention to models. Grimeca makes 8 different models of disk brakes for bicycles from the very cheap mechanical to the System 8 four piston design. The Shimano XT 4 piston caliper system is made by Grimeca. I personally haven't used them but people seem pretty impressed by both the System 8 and the Shimano XT (virtually the same product). So when you are reviewing youshould state what model you are using.
Submitted by
dave carter
a Downhiller
from forest grove Or usa
Date Reviewed: September 27, 2000
Strengths: They kick my a-s-s good feel, great power, sweet modulation nylon coated steel cables no scratching like shimano
Weaknesses: they squeal like a mofo when the get wet. they are a b-i-t-c-h (they censor you if you spell out bad words normally) to set up on a QR20 fork. when pulling long wheelies or manual, and squeezing lever air bubbles from the top of the resavoir get into the lines and thus make doing nose manuals impossible
Bottom Line:
these brakes rock despite what these people say. I sense a little prejudice here. I own the system 8 brakes I dont know what the heck you some of you got but that's what I'm talkin a bout. These brakes work frickin great period! mine DON'T leak. The levers fit my hand perfectly. they have the exactly right amount of pull for my style. F.Y.I almost all brakes feel different. Theres no one right way that a brake should feel. First off it should work to the owners preferences. And break feel is a personal issue. Imean my friend runs his v's like a hair trigger, while mine don't even engage until they're about 1.75 cm from the bar. And finally Don't dog anyone of another nationality and base your product judgements on this I mean come on. god this is an ethnocentric country. These are great brakes and for the money I would buy them again. P.S. Mail order sometimes sucks and they get factory 2nds and crap like that. go to your local bike dealer and order parts alot of the time they will match if not beat mail order prices. besides it get you out of your house and into some actual human contact.
Bike Setup: cove stiffee FR race face of all sorts, z-1 QR20 rhyno lites DT made hayes hub ( with in a month I broke the drive side bearing cup, it kind of wussy, but dt has awsome customer service), And tioga xc 2.1 tires (note: the Tioga 2.3 DH tires smell like dirty a-s-s, but they work fricken great
