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Submitted by
dave not sure
a Weekend Warrior
from north uk
Date Reviewed: July 7, 2005 | | Favorite Trail: | all of them | | Duration Product Used: | More than 3 years | | Strengths: | smooth, red, strong | | Weaknesses: | setup (probably why they get slated) | | Similar Products Used: | avid cables | | Bike Setup: | custom made frame, lx and fsa, dmr chain guide, kore bars and stem, jnr t's | | Bottom Line: | this thing are great once you get them setup i changed the pads to fibrex pads when i got them shimed the brake to get tracking correct and then fiddled till they felt right. use them for every type of riding from xc (not really the right bike for it but hay) to trails (still not the right bike) via down hill and junp. these brakes have never let me down theve done well over 3000 miles and have only changed the pads 3 times i see that as great.
learn to set them and they will rock.
oh and get some decent levers with good modulation (avids work well) | Value Rating: Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Chris
a Weekend Warrior
from Brisbane Australia
Date Reviewed: May 26, 2004 | | Favorite Trail: | Ironbark Gully | | Duration Product Used: | 6 months | | Purchased At: | Came with bike | | Strengths: | Looks good, sorta stops you - just | | Weaknesses: | Really weak, you have to jump on the levers to get them to work. Pads are expensive compared to much better shimano's | | Similar Products Used: | Other cheap discs and some decent V-Brakes | | Bike Setup: | Avanti Montari Disc, RST 381TL Shocks, Mavic rims 220 front, 321 back, wellgo clipless pedals, gripshifts, acera groupset, those weak rst dics, tektro levers | | Bottom Line: | You can live with the, if they came with the bike but don't buy them, and they look really cool, much an envious glance from other riders. The strength of the brakes can be improved by changing the modulation on your levers from v/disc to cantilever, this can be a little dangerous if your brakes work half decently, they have a habit of locking up especially the front... | Value Rating: Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Khalil Hassan
a Weekend Warrior
from Pierrefonds
Date Reviewed: July 14, 2003 | | Favorite Trail: | urban | | Duration Product Used: | Tested or demo'ed only | | Price Paid: |
$90.00 | | Purchased At: | maison des sports | | Strengths: | they look nice from far, if you dont know anything about disc brakes | | Weaknesses: | they brake very badly, theyre ugly, theyre f****** pieces oh $|-| | T!!!! | | Similar Products Used: | hayes hfx9, grimeca system 8, deore xt,deore... | | Bike Setup: | friends bike | | Bottom Line: | holy SHIZZNIT! those have to be the worst disc brakes ever i cant believe how bad they are! They dont even brake at all, they look REALLY ugly, they have such bad modulation, wait they dont brake at all so technically there isnt any moduation. they feel so mushy, like im pressing them into rubber, must be the plastic pads! they feel like someone put tons of oil on the disc, like they really dont brake AT ALL, i find it amazing how $*|-|*|*T*T*Y they are. why the f*** does rst make those "disc brakes" anyways? i think they are trying to cause accidents or something, because they dont brake AT ALL. NO ONE SHOULD BUY IT, EVERYONE SHOULDN'T | Value Rating: Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Jason
a
from Courtice Ontario
Date Reviewed: February 18, 2003 | | Favorite Trail: | What I finds, I rides | | Duration Product Used: | 1 Year | | Price Paid: |
$90.00 | | Purchased At: | Sport Exchange | | Strengths: | red | | Weaknesses: | RST, This is the worst brake I've ever used. I would suggest also buying a sturdy pair of shoes with a nice sticky sole because that's what you're going to use to come to a stop. | | Similar Products Used: | Ever seen the flintstones | | Bike Setup: | Giant ATX 860, 2001 | | Bottom Line: | Don't buy these pieces of crap. You'll regret it for a long long time. If you already have these, see how many times you can drop them off a cliff before they break into 12 peice. It's fun | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
rohan .
a Weekend Warrior
from new zealand
Date Reviewed: November 12, 2002 | | Favorite Trail: | any | | Duration Product Used: | 1 Year | | Purchased At: | came with bike | | Strengths: | sure they are crap for discs but are better than any v on the market | | Weaknesses: | mine tend to lock on sometimes during heavy braking. | | Similar Products Used: | lots used but none owned | | Bike Setup: | db hardtail wi mavic 521 and222 and odyssey A-brakes rear | | Bottom Line: | better than v brakes but more expensive i think.
If you do decide to go the v brake way get Odyssey A-brakes
they are VERY stiff and controllable(for v's) | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Mundi
a Cross Country Rider
from Tauranga , New Zealand
Date Reviewed: November 7, 2002 | | Favorite Trail: | Rotorua | | Duration Product Used: | 6 months | | Purchased At: | came witht the bike | | Strengths: | it has a solid caliper construction | | Weaknesses: | The fact that people are trying to pass this off as a brake. It does nothing of the sort, it is absolutely useless, it should have a warning saying ,"this only intended to LOOK like a disc brake,it serves no actual purpose". | | Similar Products Used: | Avid mechs, xt, lx v's | | Bike Setup: | avanti barracuda,rockshox judy XC's, deore groupset and those damn rst peices'o'crap | | Bottom Line: | never ever should anyone be subjected to the tauma of having to use these so called 'brakes'
they dont work and i only give them one flamin chilly cos you gotta hand it to rst its a killa scam , passing hunks of metal off as brakes and makin money outta them | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Janriê Reck
a Cross Country Rider
from Brazil
Date Reviewed: October 18, 2002 | | Favorite Trail: | Candelária city | | Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month | | Price Paid: |
$100.00 | | Purchased At: | Faccin bicicletas | | Strengths: | Look´s like a disc brake. When the bike is stopped at home, it seens very fast... | | Weaknesses: | Like others said, it´s suposed to be a brake. That´s the last thing this damm thing do! | | Similar Products Used: | Only V´s. I gave my used XT v´s to the shop to get a discount and now I want my brakes and money back | | Bike Setup: | Scott fx 3. Deore components. Duke up front | | Bottom Line: | If I have read this msgs before, I do not have done the shi* I done. Bike parts costs a lot here in Brasil, and I spend my little money in this damm poor thing. It´s simple: they don´t work. And, on the first hour of servicing, the adjusting screw went off when I was tightening the nut bolt.
I´m on the 4 day of brake and I gave up. Trying to get my money back.
YOU, NEVER BUY ONE OF THESE, I AM WARNING YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!! | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Robo Slosar
a Weekend Warrior
from Bratislava
Date Reviewed: October 16, 2002 | | Favorite Trail: | Pezinska baba | | Duration Product Used: | 1 Year | | Price Paid: |
$1000000.00 | | Strengths: | Looks like a disc brake | | Weaknesses: | It is not the disc brake, very poor stopping power, when wet absolute none stopping power. Hard to adjust. | | Similar Products Used: | Shimano XT disc | | Bottom Line: | It's total bull $hit. No braking power in downhills. My old cantilever brakes which cost 2$ are much better than this piece of $hit. When I replaced pads it worked better but now I couldn't stop when I've been jumping near to road and a car went there (I'm lucky man, the car had hydraulic disc brakes!!!). If you want to die, buy it!!! | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Ben
a
from Peaslake, surrey, england
Date Reviewed: October 2, 2002 | | Duration Product Used: | 6 months | | Strengths: | Um...They are red which looks kinnda pimpy. | | Weaknesses: | Less power than a wet cantilever | | Similar Products Used: | hope O2. Hayes, XT, Avid cable discs, HS33 | | Bike Setup: | Viper B52, Z1 Wedge, D521s etc | | Bottom Line: | When i first got this brake, I noticed how heavy it was out of the box, and this was only the 160mm version. They only took one ride to bed in, but it took me a while to realise this as the power is appaling! On downhills they fade away to nothing, althoughI dabble in trials and, once locked, they stay locked. On downhills. though, this can mean that on loose surfaces the front wheel locks and slides out.
Modulation isnt exactl enspiring. If you must have cable ops go for the avids, but get Hope O2s if you can. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Mister T.
a
from Canada
Date Reviewed: September 12, 2002 | | Duration Product Used: | Tested or demo'ed only | | Strengths: | Strengths??? | | Weaknesses: | They suck more than Sram 5.0 vee-type brakes that aren't even set up right with the pads revers... | | Similar Products Used: | none, this is too bad to compare... | | Bottom Line: | I read a review almost at the bottom and i quote "these rst are just as good as the new mechanical Avid..." WHERE YOU ON DRUGS WHEN YOU TRIED THEM??? Honestly the only mechanical disc brake you can compare the Avid is to the hayes mechanical. Which both are 100 times better than RST's. Damn RST and their spiral caliper suck, they can't even make the rear end go up...
But i LOVE RST disc for 1 reason and 1 reason only, it was only after i tried RST i realised how good Hayes Mechanical are... | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Leon R
a Weekend Warrior
from Kent, Rochester UK
Date Reviewed: August 31, 2002 | | Favorite Trail: | Bike Trials rider | | Duration Product Used: | 1 Year | | Price Paid: |
$150.00 | | Purchased At: | Shop sum where oh yeh cycle shop smart | | Strengths: | They r a well good looking colour, They r good in the wet, they r powerful wen they set up good, they dont rub and have no drag. Decent quality build. | | Weaknesses: | They are on the little heavy side but i only use it on the rear of my bike so not too bad. | | Similar Products Used: | formula hydrualic disc brake | | Bike Setup: | V brake front for light weight, trials frame, strong wheels etc trials stuff. | | Bottom Line: | Good quality component well worth the money, good stopping power and i use it for trials on the rear of my bike!
Work well wen combined with a hope xc hub which i have with the rst disc. Keep the cable well greased and u could b fooled to thinking it was a hydrualic brake! They r well worth it and not too good on the front as bit on the heavy side but go for one on the rear and they r well good!! | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Chris Yates
a Cross Country Rider
from Staffordshire UK
Date Reviewed: June 23, 2002 | | Favorite Trail: | Dimingsdale | | Duration Product Used: | 6 months | | Strengths: | Do not need new brake levers good when you have combined gear / brake levers. Disc brakes stop rim wear. | | Weaknesses: | Orginal RST pads. Change to EBC pads. Modify handlebar brake levers for more pull. | | Similar Products Used: | Rim brakes only. | | Bike Setup: | Jamis Durango Sport SX | | Bottom Line: | Great when setup, RST pads (green best, red high wear rate) | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
DD
a Cross Country Rider
from Leominster, MA USA
Date Reviewed: June 12, 2002 | | Favorite Trail: | state forest | | Duration Product Used: | 1 Year | | Purchased At: | Super | | Strengths: | Strengths? Hmm..They're painted fire engine red so people can see you coming and get out of the way? Or how about, "they look like disc brakes, and they sure look cool".. | | Weaknesses: | They don't brake the bike. Considering that these are
supposed to be BRAKES, I'd say that's a weakness, you think? | | Similar Products Used: | No other disc brakes (yet), just standard tire squeezers
before these | | Bike Setup: | Stock KHS Alite 3000 (brakes came with the bike). I'm very
happy with the rest of the bike.. | | Bottom Line: | These suck, period. I ignored the reviews here for the
first year I rode the bike with these brakes..The brakes
started bad, and got worse. I managed to get them properly adjusted to get rid of the squeel and intermittnt rubbind following the break-in procudures that were in the manual..But once broken in, performance immediately went from "no different than cheap tire squeezers" to marginal to bad to non-existant very quickly.. My wife has an entry level GT bike that came with standard brakes(that aren't even V-breaks), and she can lock her tires up (nice big fat 2.10 Velociraptor rear tire, she can still lock it up), I've never been able to lock mine with these. Heck, I can barely stop the bike with these, at times I've pondered unclipping and dragging my feet to assist them.
Bottom line is that these are dangerous brakes. If you got bought a bike with these, take everyone's advice here and replace them. If your looking at these (even used, since I guess RST is out of business?), don't..Seriously, these are a dangerous component..To paraphrase one of my compadres in another post, "they wouldn't perform any differently if you poured oil on the rotor"..Unfortunately, that's the truth..I gave them some time and benefit of the doubt, and now I agree with the majority of everyone else here..Avoid these like the plague.. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Chris
a Weekend Warrior
from Edison NJ
Date Reviewed: June 10, 2002 | | Favorite Trail: | All of Chimney Rock | | Duration Product Used: | 6 months | | Purchased At: | OEM equipment KHS Alite 3000 | | Strengths: | They look like real brakes. | | Weaknesses: | They aren't really brakes at all. | | Similar Products Used: | V-brakes. | | Bike Setup: | Stock KHS Alite 3000 | | Bottom Line: | After riding half a season on these, they are worthless. They worked as well as the cantilevers on my old Diamondback Sorrento Sport, which is what I upgraded from, and had better modulation, that is, until I actually started riding technical trails. They didn't last more than six days of Chimney Rock. Now, I can't even lock up the rear when riding on dirt, no matter how hard I pull! And the pads look fine. My friend rode my bike for a while, and he said he couldn't stop with them UPHILL.
Throw these away, before they endanger your life. I would be surprised if RST didn't have any lawsuits over these brakes. One more weekend for me would have likely been tragic. I was tempted to go hydro, but I'll get Avid based on the excellent reviews.
| | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
AM
a Weekend Warrior
from Cincinnati, OH
Date Reviewed: May 13, 2002 | | Duration Product Used: | 1 Year | | Purchased At: | OEM Part w/KHS Alite 3000 | | Strengths: | You get the bare minimum benefits of a disc brake but definitely at the lowest end of the spectrum. | | Weaknesses: | As with most of the other reviews, these brakes require constant adjustment. At first, I thought my equipment was defective. The rotor did appear slightly warped right out of the box. Regardless, the calipers require fine tuning to avoid rubbing before EVERY ride. Just taking off the wheel seems to throw these brakes out of adjustment. Carry an Allen wrench because you'll need it, often. The front is much worse than the rear, which surprisingly has not required much adjustment. The brakes tend to howl like a large farm animal in heat under heavy use. | | Bike Setup: | Stock '00 KHS Alite 3000 | | Bottom Line: | If you got these as standard equipment, upgrade. If you are considering a disc rake purchase, avoid them like the plague. Since I have never priced them separately, I can't assess their value relative to other products. Overall, they are more trouble than they are worth. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Brian
a Cross Country Rider
from Newcastle Australia
Date Reviewed: April 29, 2002 | | Favorite Trail: | Fast Single Trail | | Duration Product Used: | 6 months | | Purchased At: | With my Avanti Hurricane Disc | | Strengths: | Icredibly smooth | | Weaknesses: | Silky smooth acually.
No stopping power at all.
Tried cleaning with Metho, Sanding the Pads and Rotor.
LBS could do nothing to improve the silk feel to these brakes.
Replaced under warrenty with a pair of cable Tektro Disc's. Still cheap, much better | | Similar Products Used: | Tektro Discs
Avid Arch Rival V's
Tektro V's
Shimano V's
RSX cappliers | | Bike Setup: | It was on my Avanti Huricane Disc- Acera derailures, Alivio Shifters, mid range bike.
My Sintessi is Full XT | | Bottom Line: | Do go near them.
If you poured oil on them, you wouldn't notice the difference.
There are other cheap disc brakes | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Ryan
a Weekend Warrior
from Santa Cruz
Date Reviewed: April 20, 2002 | | Favorite Trail: | nisene marks | | Duration Product Used: | 1 Year | | Strengths: | look cool
work ok for flat ground | | Weaknesses: | no stopping power
major heat fade
they keep siezing | | Similar Products Used: | hayes hydros, mech and avids | | Bike Setup: | khs alite 3000 | | Bottom Line: | These brakes suck. They have horrible heat fade whenever you ride down any significant hill. when they get hot they don't work at all and they sieze up. replacement pads are hard to find and the only type they have are worse than the stock pads. These brakes scare the crap out of me. I am getting new brakes as sonn as i have the $$$. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Bob Henderson
a Weekend Warrior
from Bay Area
Date Reviewed: April 2, 2002 | | Duration Product Used: | 1 Year | | Purchased At: | Pricepoint | | Weaknesses: | -Hard to calibrate correctly
-Cable slips from clamp
-Spongy Feel
-Where's the stopping power?
-RST's?
| | Similar Products Used: | none | | Bike Setup: | KHS ST PRO (from Pricepoint.com) | | Bottom Line: | These brakes, in plain words, suck. There is absolutely NO stopping power. They can hardly slow you down on a small descent. On my latest ride, I took a nice spill because I could not slow down enough with these POS brakes. The brake levers were mashed against my grips. Unless you ride around in your garage, these brakes aren't worth a penny.
If you value your life in any kind of downhill situation, whether it be a bunny slope on at a ski resort, buy something that doesnt have RST stamped on it. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Lau CM
a Cross Country Rider
from Macau, China
Date Reviewed: March 5, 2002 | | Duration Product Used: | 1 Year | | Price Paid: |
$80.00 | | Purchased At: | bike shop | | Strengths: | It's cheap and the rotors look like Hope's | | Weaknesses: | Extremely weak in high-speed(from 10-50 km/h) | | Similar Products Used: | Diatech mechanical discs | | Bike Setup: | Parkpre mountain comp, Manitou Magnum R, LX groupset, RST disc hubs/stainess steel spokes/Mavic 238, Da Bomb finishing kits, Amoeba disc brake adaptor. | | Bottom Line: | I have say nothing of this. If you want to use a stronger Cable discs, Shimano Deore, Formula Activa and Tektro cable discs(Available in Taiwan). When I bought it, I have to re-build of the brake system and use a kind of pad that's less rubber material in it. It was very strong, similar like hydraulic discs but the rotors is going to thin. Anyway, just a good choice for entry-bikers. | Value Rating: Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Jibber Scott
a Downhiller
from Newcastle, England
Date Reviewed: February 12, 2002 | | Favorite Trail: | Innerlieten | | Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month | | Purchased At: | Came with bike | | Strengths: | Better than Nowt!! (just) | | Weaknesses: | Everthing!! The cables are pants and have frayed after 20 minutes riding, the pads don't bite making endo's impossible and the pads appear to keep melting. | | Similar Products Used: | Thankfully nothing comes close to being this bad. | | Bike Setup: | DDG shotter, Z1'S etc | | Bottom Line: | I would suggest keeping well clear of these disks because despite being cheap they come no way near even most bugget v-brakes for performance. It is a mystery to me how they were ever made. Was it designed by chimps? or maybe a 5 year old got board one play time and desided to knock up a proto-type? No wonder RST have gone under. My problem is though that now RST is no more then the parts i need have become impossible to get. If anybody is throwing away a set (like i should be) then a pair of pads and the clampy spherical thing that holds the brake cable in that silver part of the calliper would be appriciated.(God, what a good description, maybe a could have worked for RST!!)
If i could give minus stars then you know i would... | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Simon
a
from Trowbridge, UK
Date Reviewed: December 20, 2001 | | Favorite Trail: | Palletes and trialsy stuff | | Duration Product Used: | 1 Year | | Purchased At: | T.T. Cycles (Came with bike) | | Strengths: | It's a Disc brake.
Looks cool.
Comes with a kick ass front/rear hub. | | Weaknesses: | Pads stick after 3 months.
The brake cable bolt on the caliper cuts the cable in half if you tighten it up hard to stop the cable slipping out.
Oh and the cable can slip out of the bolt that holds it on to the caliper. | | Similar Products Used: | Grimeca (Cheap cable), Pro max cable and Textro cable disc's | | Bike Setup: | Jamis Durango SX 15" set up for Trails | | Bottom Line: | Disc can bend if the pads are red hot and this can be really irritating when cycling along normally.
Pads can get really f*ing hot on the smallest hill.
My caliper snapped in two when I tried to break hard to avoid being hit by a car. Thought cable had snapped again, but the caliper decided that it wanted to crack the metal and give. Very puzzled (and slightly frustrated) I returned to the bike shop. I told them my story and that I had been running a V-Brake for 4 months before hand. Rep for RST said that I would get a full replacement on 12/07/01.
I'm still waiting for my replacement...
The formula Hub though really does kick ass! | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Chris
a Cross Country Rider
from Trabuco Canyon, CA
Date Reviewed: November 23, 2001 | | Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month | | Purchased At: | Came on the bike | | Strengths: | They look kinda cool, but keep reading. | | Weaknesses: | Well, for the most part, its not a high quality piece. Mine came on my new bike, and I had a bike mechanic put it all together, including the brake. It was adjusted the best it could be, but there was still no stopping power. Also, from the start, the disk was ever-so-slightly bent, causing it to rub every rotation, which makes an annoying sound and just makes it harder to go up hills. | | Bike Setup: | Ironhorse Desperado 2001 | | Bottom Line: | They might work for some people, but they must be lucky. They don't stop very good, and they rub like crazy right out of the box. I would highly recommend going to a V-brake as soon as you can, which is what I'm doing. For now, I've re-adjusted the pads so they are as far from the disk as possible; its stopped the rubbing, but now I can't stop. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Mr. E
a Weekend Warrior
from Manila, Philippines
Date Reviewed: November 21, 2001 | | Duration Product Used: | 6 months | | Strengths: | Easy to adjust and good braking power. Easy to find replacement parts. Its also not that expensive so its disposable if you ruin it. | | Weaknesses: | After hard downhill riding on a speed course you will smell the pads burning plus the pads will tend to stick. Just flick the brake levers every now and then to eliminate the problem. | | Similar Products Used: | Avid Mechanical Disks, Deore Mechanical Disks | | Bike Setup: | Kona OB Hardtail | | Bottom Line: | You can eliminate the locking or sticking of the brakes by replacing the rubber tube at the bottom of the brake cable with a 3" or 4" return spring. I changed my rear brake pads with EBC Race pads (red color) and have found that it gives better handling. I still have to try it in the speed course if it will burn up like the old pads. Once you eliminate these problems they're pretty good. All you need is a little pinoy abilidad. If you're looking for brakes that will give you value for your money and are easy to service, give these a try. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
badge santos
a Weekend Warrior
from Philippines
Date Reviewed: September 14, 2001 | | Favorite Trail: | Banaue Ifugao | | Duration Product Used: | 1 Year | | Price Paid: |
$150.00 | | Purchased At: | Trixx | | Strengths: | good price for a set of disc brakes with hubs. good pads movement. | | Weaknesses: | cable stretch and rusty bolts on the rotor | | Similar Products Used: | none (wala eh) | | Bike Setup: | giant warp DS1, rock shox judy xl at iba pa | | Bottom Line: | good stopping power if tuned perfectly, never clean it with wd40. KAMIKAZE (bili kayo HA) | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
konoshox shox
a Downhiller
from alaska
Date Reviewed: September 10, 2001 | | Favorite Trail: | white house | | Duration Product Used: | 3 months | | Price Paid: |
$200.00 | | Purchased At: | gets outdoor | | Strengths: | there wear in quite fast.there awesome coz they're 2 opposed pistons and not loose caliper.loose caliper will make ur brake pads wear faster coz there contact .
get these they kick ass | | Weaknesses: | need good adjustment | | Similar Products Used: | xt | | Bike Setup: | gt idrive dh1 | | Bottom Line: | get these brake our you will regret coz these r good brake '
but when you buy pls ask whether they have replacement pads.
change them evry 50 hours of riding
| | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Marcello Malfanti
a
from Santiago, Chile
Date Reviewed: August 23, 2001 | | Favorite Trail: | Nido de Cóndores, Farellones | | Duration Product Used: | 1 Year | | Price Paid: |
$100.00 | | Purchased At: | San Diego stores | | Strengths: | Price, look | | Weaknesses: | Permanent tuning needed, easy loose braking properties. | | Similar Products Used: | Quad disk brakes......better than RST as far!!! | | Bike Setup: | Mongoose MGX grx 6.5, Acera shifters, f&r Quad disk brakes, Amoeba tee and sttering, LHR 2.3 tires, RST 381 AET fork and DNM shock | | Bottom Line: | Hello everybody | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
David
a Cross Country Rider
from Dallas, TX
Date Reviewed: August 2, 2001 | | Duration Product Used: | 3 months | | Purchased At: | Stock on KHS Alite 3000 (2000 model) | | Bottom Line: | I'm trying to find replacement pads, but to no avail. Can anyone help. If so, please email me, or post a reply (i'm sure others are having the same problem in finding pads)
I contrast to many other reviews, I have not had any problems with them stoping, locking up, etc. When I first got the bike the front didn't stop worth a damn, but I tweeked them a little and have found no problems other than some squeal.
The #1 problem is finding replacement pads. I have checked with numerous bike shops and on the internet, but again to no avail. I prefer to having to switch to Avid's or Hayes yet, as my better half feels I've spent enough on the bile already. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
lordy god
a Cross Country Rider
from sydney, australia
Date Reviewed: July 25, 2001 | | Favorite Trail: | anything that gets your heart racing | | Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month | | Purchased At: | came with bike, manly cycles | | Strengths: | reliable in hell conditions,great value for your silver | | Weaknesses: | slight cable stretch at first(to be expected though).can be alittle bit noisey when wet | | Similar Products Used: | none | | Bike Setup: | Rock Machine 'flash' frame, marzoochi Z5,Deore components throughout,except for brakes(rst disc on front and some cheap looking 'hardware' V-brake on rear)
| | Bottom Line: | I competed in my first XC race last weekend,25km firetrack - had a ball.I found the disc brakes very positive at all times,even in the tightest of corners and rough stuff. Regardless of the other unhappy users views these disc are definitely worth a look at,especially if you don't have much dough.Havagoodone!!!! | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
dave
a Cross Country Rider
from canada
Date Reviewed: July 6, 2001 | | Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month | | Strengths: | This is the biggest load of.... | | Weaknesses: | Just got them today with my new pro st, started biking, gripped the brake, no power, so thinking i at least have some kind of idea how to adjust them, the cable starts fraying, then somehow i break the clip holding the two pads, so now there's this annoying rubbing sound, what a p`i`ss off, i don't know what to do now, they don't even sell rst except for K mart, anyone that can help me out ? thanks | | Similar Products Used: | V brakes, cantilevers, all WORK WAY better then this | | Bike Setup: | khs, pro st, marzocchi z4, | | Bottom Line: | don't buy these unless...unless nothing ! Just don't buy them, they're not worth it. I just bought this bike and im really stuck on money, so i guess im gonna be using these for a month or two before i can afford anything else, but guys, they might look good...but they SUckkk !!!! stay away !!!!! u might even get killed by using garbage like this, take care | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
meg
a
from chico,ca
Date Reviewed: June 7, 2001 | | Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month | | Strengths: | mechanical disk system- no bleeding hydro lines. | | Weaknesses: | difficult setup | | Bike Setup: | khs pro soft-tail | | Bottom Line: | --Replace the levers with good quality cantilever brake levers. V-brake levers pull too much cable, and feel hard. The power-tool levers from KHS suck, I changed to old XT.
--Replace the return spring between the cable stop and the brake acutator arm with one of same length, but greater spring rate.
--Use the best teflon lined, compression resistant cables and housing possible. I've got avid flak jacket calbe set, but Gore Ride-on will work well.
--Do NOT get lube on disk or pads. Clean with alchohol prior to assembly. If squeaking persists, score/roughen disk and pads.
Overall, strong, but hard to keep adjusted. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
PJ
a Cross Country Rider
from Tallamadge, OH
Date Reviewed: June 3, 2001 | | Favorite Trail: | North East Ohio Tow Path | | Duration Product Used: | 3 months | | Purchased At: | came with bike | | Strengths: | Rear worked great without any adjustments. | | Weaknesses: | DONT EVER TAKE THESE APART. THEY DON'T GO TOGETHER LIKE THEY CAME OFF. Front sticks like superglue, without the lever pulled. All i have been doing for the last 3 months is adjusting the !@%^$@! thing. | | Similar Products Used: | no disc brakes | | Bike Setup: | stock khs alite 3000 | | Bottom Line: | Stay away from these. i have yet to get the front to work for one full ride. i resorted to leaving no tension in it so i can at least ride. thank god the rear actually works sometimes. They squeal like pigs when you put presure on the lever... hard as hell to adjust. just dont get these. i am going to get a set of shimano deore cable discs when i get the money together. AVOID THESE LIKE THEY ARE INFECTED WITH AIDS!!!! wish i could rate lower. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Luke
a Cross Country Rider
from Colorado
Date Reviewed: May 31, 2001 | | Duration Product Used: | 3 months | | Purchased At: | came on the bike | | Strengths: | Look good | | Weaknesses: | DON'T WORK!!!! | | Similar Products Used: | Lots | | Bike Setup: | KHS Alite 3000 | | Bottom Line: | Absolutely wretched. These brakes are so bad that I'd actually say that they're unsafe. They have no stopping power, they rub, and they make awful noises. Absolute crap. Might be appropriate to put on a K-Mark bike. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
meg
a
from chico
Date Reviewed: May 28, 2001 | | Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month | | Bottom Line: | Just a note from a long-time mechanic. Cable stretch is likely to occur for a short period of time on a new twisted-strand cable. Brainded cables, more expensive, stretch less. Understand that the cable does not actually stretch, the cables just bed more tightly together, effectively lengthening the cable.
All cables have a maximum length they stretch after a relatively short period. I would recommend tightening the brake as tightly as possible, then pulling the brake lever several times as far as possible to stretch the cable. If necessary, attach the cable end to something stationary and repeat. This will be sufficient to "stretch" the cable. After this process, any brake adjustment relates to the bedding and wear of the pads.
To reduce noise, first try sanding rotor in circluar, swirling motion with succesively rougher grit sand paper until noise disappears. Also, for wet weather noise, try scoring rotor on both sides in a diamond pattern, then sanding. Do not score too deeply.
Try levers which allow a range of leverage adjustments, as they will allow you to dial in the feel of these brakes.
My rating is neutral
| | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Joel
a
from BC
Date Reviewed: April 30, 2001 | | Favorite Trail: | Anything I don't have to pedal | | Duration Product Used: | 1 Year | | Purchased At: | Mountain City Cycle | | Strengths: | Good stopping power... Looks pretty good | | Weaknesses: | looses some stopping power after a while. | | Similar Products Used: | other cable disc brakes | | Bike Setup: | Devinci MAGMA | | Bottom Line: | good for the price | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
MIKE
a Cross Country Rider
from CALGARY, ALBERTA, CANADA
Date Reviewed: April 13, 2001 | | Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month | | Strengths: | LOOKS, DEFINATLY GET PEOPLES ATTENTION
CHEAP
THEY STAY CLEAN IN THE MUD
| | Weaknesses: | SQUEAL
WEAK STOPPING POWER
CAN BE DIFFICULT TO SET UP
CONSTANT ADJUSTMENTS
DISC WARPAGE DUE TO STEEP FAST DESENTS
WATCH OUT FOR PAD WEAR
NOT SO GOOD WHEN WET | | Similar Products Used: | NONE THIS IS THE FIRST SET OF DISC BRAKES I'VE HAD, THEY CAME WITH THE BIKE. | | Bike Setup: | 2001 NAKAMURA CROSSBOW, FULL SUSPENSION | | Bottom Line: | GOOD PRODUCT FOR SOMEONE WHO WANTS THE LOOK OF A DISC BRAKE, AND DECENT STOPPING POWER, FOR A FRACTION OF THE PRICE OF A HYDRO SYSTEM.
DEFINETLY NOT FOR THE HARD CORE BIKER.
PLANNING TO UPGRADE IN THE NEAR FUTURE, MAYBE SHIMANO XT'S | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Jason
a Weekend Warrior
from Eganville
Date Reviewed: March 3, 2001 | | Duration Product Used: | 6 months | | Strengths: | NONE AT ALL, but it's a disc so i guess it has some looks to it! | | Weaknesses: | Pads wear unevenly, clasp breaks the cable strands, roller bearings are chit, release spring is too weak, little or no breaking power, HANGS UP on the disc (very not cool on downhill) (if anyone knows how to avoid this please let me know), no braking when wet, actually never any braking power! | | Similar Products Used: | none are as poor of design as this one! | | Bike Setup: | Devinci Magma freeride. | | Bottom Line: | Brakes are chit! Stay away from these suckers. I spend about 3 hours cleaning and setting them up for every hour of riding.
DO NOT BUY RST DISC'S!!!
If anyone has any ideas to try on these please e-mail them to me at: lamar_air@hotmail.com | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
novocaine
a Downhiller
from england
Date Reviewed: February 18, 2001 | | Favorite Trail: | no brains (delamere forest ) | | Duration Product Used: | 1 Year | | Strengths: | good in the wet, stops like a disc would, smooth (you have to set em up right though) | | Weaknesses: | setup is fiddle but runs once done RIGHT !! | | Similar Products Used: | avid cable disc | | Bike Setup: | marzocchi z5 airs,stratos rear shock,tioga dh, plush full sus. | | Bottom Line: | smooth as hell once setup correctly using the right cables helps aswell i havn't experianced much cable stretch after the first 3 months. it runs every week at least 4 long rides most of which are downhill and it doesn't moan at all. it stops you in the wet and it takes little serviceing at all as long as you grease your bolts in. onceyou get the hang of the setup it takes you just a few minutes to setup unlike the avid which took me half and hour to setup. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Ed
a Racer
from San Bernardino
Date Reviewed: February 5, 2001 | | Duration Product Used: | 1 Year | | Strengths: | ABSOLUTELY NONE. Well....They look like disc brakes and I guess that's cool. Too bad they are the worst disc brakes in the world!!!!!!! Worse than the terrible Hayes HMX Mechanicals. | | Weaknesses: | The rotor came warped. RST USA no longer exists and MOZO (the new name for rst) will not replace the item. After using the brake for 2 weeks I think that I have spent more time adjusting it and tuning it than actually riding. When they are cold they howl like a banshee. Even after breaking them in for months. I tried the blue pads and they howl too. Let's see.... oh yeah they don't have any stopping power either. If you use them on even a short downhill they will overheat and the pads will melt onto the rotor and fuse there. The only option is to either not use the brake(not recommended) or only use them for short errands). What is the point of a brake if it doesn't work. The part where the cable is attached to the swing arm completely sheared off during one ride. After almost a year of headache I just ditched these and bought the new Avid Mechanicals. In 10 minutes I had the Avids installed and adjusted perfectly. After a week of bedding them in all I had to do was turn the red dial one notch to tighten the slack on the cable. I have not had one problem in the 2 months with the Avids. Incredible stopping power and for only $90. | | Similar Products Used: | Crap. Well.... I have never tried crap, but I am sure that this is similar. | | Bottom Line: | KEEP AWAY. Unless you into self torture or staying up late nights wondering how to fix the numerous broken parts and pieces, heed my warning or......YOU'LL BE SORRRRRRRRRRRY. Go with the Avids and you will see what real disc brakes are supposed to do. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Rigby
a Weekend Warrior
from Orillia, Ontario, Canada
Date Reviewed: January 28, 2001 | | Favorite Trail: | Bromont, Hardwood | | Duration Product Used: | 1 Year | | Strengths: | None. | | Weaknesses: | Everything. These are terrible brakes. Poor adjustment, poor quality, poor performance. | | Similar Products Used: | Various | | Bike Setup: | KHS FXT LT3 (aluminum, full suspension) | | Bottom Line: | I used these brakes exclusively in 2000, and can tell you that they are terrible. I tried different brands and compounds of pads, all with problems. Pads sticking to rotors. Brakes not stopping me. Brakes no good in wet or mud. Fiddly to adjust. I, too, had the problem with shearing the adjustment pin. What a nuisance - and just TRY to get parts for these. I had to play with these things enough that I am a flat-out expert on them - I could fix them in my sleep - and nothing should need that much attention. If you have these brakes, you're better off jammping your foot against the tread if you want to stop. These things gave me enough grief to turn my hair grey. Is there anything lower than 1 Flamin' Chili? | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Dwight Werren
a Weekend Warrior
from Amelia
Date Reviewed: October 16, 2000 | | Favorite Trail: | Sheltowee Trail, Daniel Boone National Forest | | Duration Product Used: | 6 months | | Strengths: | cheap price, neat look | | Weaknesses: | pad wear, brake squeal | | Bike Setup: | KHS Cromoly ProST, Marzocchi Z4 Flylight Air, Powertools brake levers | | Bottom Line: | Went from cantilever brakes directly to these mechanical disk brakes and my expectations were to have vbrake performance, wet stopping power, and low maintenance/adjustment time. In reality they are far short of vbrakes, decent in wet conditions, require frequent adjustment, and the pads wear rapidly and unevenly. About 1/16" of the upper pads don't come into contact with the rotor and cause the pads to wear unevenly. I had to remove the pads and file down the unworn sections to get them to contact properly. Also, another problem is the weak adjustment pin that is prone to shear by the locking nut that tightens around the pin. After shearing one, I replaced both with a slightly longer hex bolt that gives the locking bolt more thread to tighten around. My advice is to wait another year until mechanical disc brakes evolve. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Scott
a Cross Country Rider
from Edmonds
Date Reviewed: September 15, 2000 | | Duration Product Used: | 1 Year | | Strengths: | The key to this brake is to use the Light Blue Pads. If you are using the Dark Green Pads that RST originally put on the brakes, you NEED to email RST at info@rstusa.com and demand the light blue pads. The Green ones have little to no stopping power. To even slow down I had to grip the lever as hard as I could! After installing the Light Blue pads I went out to my driveway, sped up and then gripped the lever to slow down. Well... I flipped over the handlebars!!! With the Blue pads these brakes have the stopping power and feel equivalant to V-Brakes. If RST USA does not contact you, you can email RST Asia atannerst@ms35.hinet.net They notified me that RST USA is supposed to replace the pads free of charge because the green ones are a prototype and were never supposed to be distributed. Bad Bad Bad! I emailed RST USA and got very little help. One other strength of the brakes is that the Pads are only $7-$10 a set if you can find them.... Infact the entire setup is very inexpensive and when set up correctly they are as good as the new Avid Mechanical that I tested a few weeks ago.
| | Weaknesses: | VERY Poor Customer Service from RST USA and RST Europe. Great Customer service from RST Asia! Thank God! The brakes howl and vibrate very loud when they are wet. When Dry they work Awesome! | | Bottom Line: | Get the Light Blue Pads if you can. I was able to get a few sets for myself from RST Asia. If you are stuck with the Dark Green ones you might as well throw the entire thing in the trash because they are garbage. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Dallas Kirk
a Weekend Warrior
from North Vancouver, Canada
Date Reviewed: September 3, 2000 | | Favorite Trail: | any North Shore Trails | | Duration Product Used: | 3 months | | Strengths: | Nice braking power when set up right!
a mechanical disc at a reasonable price
little maintance if any | | Weaknesses: | some squeaking when applying brakes ( likely wearing in)
| | Similar Products Used: | Hayes mechanical | | Bike Setup: | 00 Devinci Magma, Judy XC fork, rock shox Deluxe shock, | | Bottom Line: | Devinci bikes (made in Quebec, Canada) seem to have but these on there bikes very well. They run great other than some irritating squeaking once in a while and I know I can count on them to get me down a trail nicely.
4 flamming doodoos instead of 5 because I want my brakes to stop squeaking. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Rodney
a Cross Country Rider
from Silverado, Ca, USA
Date Reviewed: August 4, 2000 | | Favorite Trail: | trabuco | | Duration Product Used: | 1 Year | | Strengths: | None | | Weaknesses: | Bolts siezed within one month, cable actuated lever not up to par, pads worthless. | | Similar Products Used: | None, this was my first disk brake setup that came w/ my DBR | | Bike Setup: | DBR X6, rockshox J100, vanilla rear | | Bottom Line: | Wow, what an experience! I have spent hours on these things and tweaking this and that and kinda got them to work but the pads wear excessively and reliability is not a characteristic of this brand. The bottom line is that these things perform poorly and V brakes work much better for the price. Avoid this setup and opt instead for a hydro system that actually works. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
sean
a Cross Country Rider
from Ottawa,Canada
Date Reviewed: July 15, 2000 | | Duration Product Used: | 3 months | | Strengths: | Disk Break dependability ( mud/water, it still stops you)
stoping power (when set up right) | | Weaknesses: | tweaking to set them up. i woulden't recomend them to a d/h rider, but for xc i find them good | | Bike Setup: | 2000 devinci chameleon DH | | Bottom Line: | I like them, and even more so when they have been tweaked "oh so right" i find they lock up less than my v-breaks which leaves the trails more intact in my aftermath (this is important because we all know they want to close them off to us)
mud before a big decent? no problem, unlike pads on my rims, i have complete confidence that they will stop me and wont fade half way down a hill.
if you ride DH get hydralic, if you ride xc get these | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
POPE
a Downhiller
from UK
Date Reviewed: July 9, 2000 | | Duration Product Used: | Tested or demo'ed only | | Strengths: | NON | | Weaknesses: | Brakes are there to stop you these don't | | Similar Products Used: | Hope sport/pro | | Bike Setup: | Kona manomano 99 | | Bottom Line: | they don't stop you very well the lever has a delay reaction from when you pull it to when you feel yourself slowing Down. Keep your Vs | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Macy Wessel
a Cross Country Rider
from Kamuela, HI
Date Reviewed: June 1, 2000 | | Favorite Trail: | Mud lane | | Duration Product Used: | 3 months | | Strengths: | Cheap | | Weaknesses: | What you buy brakes for:Stopping. | | Similar Products Used: | Most everything, U-brakes to shimano's 4 piston.(I'm a bike mechanic) | | Bike Setup: | KHS alite 3000 | | Bottom Line: | I could not get the front brake to stop me dead or do a nose wheelie with out any help. Also after a 5 minute decent the pads were stuck to the rotor (I must admit I lost about 500 vertical feet).
The rear brake worked better,for obvious reason(less weight on it), it locked up. Although it too is not entirely desirable, it would become stuck to the rotor after severe use and within the first month the rear rotor had warped.
Another draw back to the brake system is that the lever action was very heavy. This is due to the extraordinary length of casing necessary for cable actuated disc-brakes and RST put a relativly stiff spring in the noodle, so in order to actuate the brake you have alot of force's to overcome before your effert goes into stopping.
| | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
JOE THOMPSON
a Downhiller
from AUSTRALIA
Date Reviewed: May 17, 2000 | | Favorite Trail: | WATERFALL | | Duration Product Used: | 6 months | | Strengths: | LOOKS AND THATS IT | | Weaknesses: | SPENT AGES TRYING TO GET SOME POWER OUT OF THESE THINGS BUT FAILED MISERABLY.I THINK THE PROBLEM LIES IN THE CRAPPY R.S.T PADS BUT OVER HERE TRYING TO GET NEW PADS IS HARDER THAN FIGURING OUT THE MEANING OF LIFE. | | Similar Products Used: | XTR V'S, XT V'S | | Bike Setup: | FSR, X VERTS,AZONIC,XT,SDG | | Bottom Line: | I THINK ANYONE LOOKING AT THESE THINGS AS A POTENTIAL INVESTMENT SHOULD THINK AGAIN UNLESS YOU RIDE SLOWER THAN MY GRANDMA WHO,INCIDENTALLY, IS DEAD. STICK WITH YOUR V'S UNTILL YOU CAN AFFORD HYDRO POWER.IT WOULD HAVE BEEN NICE TO REVIEW THESE THINGS WITH DIFFERENT PADS BUT THAT SEEMS IMPOSSIBLE DUE TO LACK OF CHOICE. CHEERS | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Mike
a Downhiller
from Manila
Date Reviewed: April 20, 2000 | | Duration Product Used: | 6 months | | Strengths: | Price and parts availability. Get the Blue brake pads!! | | Weaknesses: | Tricky..ey | | Bottom Line: | If you have a $150 and wanted to get 2 sets of disc brakes with hubs. This is for you. You'll need extra $15 for the brake levers (dia-compe for Canti brakes) and another $5 for XTR cables set. The secret of this brakes set is in the levers. You should be able to get a pair for cantis. I use to have V-levers on it and a few extra power to sqeeze em when I want to stop. (Good exercise for your Grips!). Now I have a pair of Canti-levers and you'll get a :Full stops, modulation, No-drags and you should have an extra $10 for every 50Kms. ride.(for the brake pads). TAMA NA ANG PANAY REVIEW, MAG BIKE NAMAN TAYO. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
mike gregory
a Weekend Warrior
from england hampshir lymington
Date Reviewed: March 2, 2000 | | Favorite Trail: | landford | | Duration Product Used: | 3 months | | Strengths: | quite strong and chunky | | Weaknesses: | week front disk because of fulty disk pads | | Similar Products Used: | dia-tech disk lx v-brake xt v-brake stx rc v-brake magura racelines magura tomac | | Bike Setup: | riged forks, pashley frame,ga bash gard, power pro cranks, dmr v12s, azonic bars, road casset (for trials), extra small rear mech,22 teeth ring and rst disks!!. | | Bottom Line: | good brake if you like a front brake that does not work and a back brake that does work but not very well. It is a good brake set for a biginer!!. Dont get a front gust get a back. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Stewart proud
a Cross Country Rider
from england
Date Reviewed: February 18, 2000 | | Favorite Trail: | hm | | Duration Product Used: | 3 months | | Strengths: | Works well when set up right.
Looks cool and there is no lock ups.
For the money it is good value. | | Weaknesses: | needs to be ste up carefully | | Similar Products Used: | hope pro and hope sport | | Bike Setup: | Giant ATX 870 with rst mozo pro 4.5 forks, xt throughout tioga DH tires. | | Bottom Line: | This brake is good value for money and works well when set up right,of corse it is not going to be as good as a hydro disk but what cable disk is.Over all this brake is a sound product for the average rider and I think that RST have done well for there first disk brake. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Mike Anderson
a Weekend Warrior
from Newcastle
Date Reviewed: January 24, 2000 | | Favorite Trail: | Scottish Borders | | Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month | | Strengths: | Simple to install, robust, looks good | | Weaknesses: | Needs setting up carefully | | Similar Products Used: | Tried my sons Hope Pro's | | Bike Setup: | Dawes Edge LX, aluminium frame with RST 381 TL front shocks | | Bottom Line: | After careful setting up they seem to work fine, so yes there is a bit of noise, sometimes, they should bed in well. Maintenance is very easy. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Bob
a Downhiller
from New Zealand
Date Reviewed: January 2, 2000 | | Favorite Trail: |
hm | | Duration Product Used: |
less than 1 month | | Strengths: |
- smooth
- good in wet
- powerful | | Weaknesses: |
Cable strech | | Bottom Line: | They have to be set up right to work well | | Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Mike Mercado
a Downhiller
from QC
Date Reviewed: December 22, 1999 | | Duration Product Used: |
less than 1 month | | Bottom Line: | This is really an excellent brake set. It should only be installed correctly!. otherwise, you dont stop at all. | | Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Buddy Benavides
a Downhiller
from Makati, Philippines
Date Reviewed: December 13, 1999 | | Favorite Trail: |
Maarat,Rizal | | Duration Product Used: |
3 months | | Strengths: |
Looks cool, Pretty dependable on wet conditions and has no lock-ups. | | Weaknesses: |
Cable stretch | | Similar Products Used: |
LX V-brakes | | Bike Setup: |
UZZI-SL, DNM VTS90fork, RaceFace cranks&heads, Azonic Bars&stems, LX derailleurs& shifters, SDG Bigboy saddle & FireDHpro tires. | | Bottom Line: | THe discs r actually powerful and reliable, they can grab like V-brakes if u know how to tweak them. the part about the cale stretch is normal in cable type systems. So Overall its the best full-cable, mechanical disc brake available, but it could still use a little improvement.... | | Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
K2000
a Weekend Warrior
from Singapore
Date Reviewed: November 2, 1999 | | Duration Product Used: |
3 months | | Strengths: |
All weather dependability
fantastic looks
no lockups
univeral mounting | | Weaknesses: |
lacks braking force
heavy
cable stretch | | Similar Products Used: |
xt lx vbrakes | | Bike Setup: |
99 aggressor | | Bottom Line: | Had this thing for 3 mths its a real attention seeker never fails to make heads turn.
I had my cables changed to disc brake ones which are stretch proof but still it didn't give me the braking force experienced with my v brakes. I only had it on the back but I'm glad I didn't get the front. Not very confidence inspiring, RST really needs to redesign this thing. I'm going back to vees | | Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
SKIP
a Weekend Warrior
from DAYTONA FL.
Date Reviewed: August 19, 1999 | | Favorite Trail: |
none yet | | Duration Product Used: |
less than 1 month | | Strengths: |
looks-stainless,red &gold look impressive-catches everyones eyes | | Weaknesses: |
not as strong a performer as a looker | | Similar Products Used: |
no other discs-only v brakes etc | | Bike Setup: |
std.equipment on pacific yx 8500 | | Bottom Line: | won,t lock up the wheel like a v-brake but that may not be a bad thing.really works pretty good -would like to have one on the rear too.adjusted cable only initially due to slack and that made huge improvement.i wouldn,t recomend converting a non-disc bike to this brake,but i,m happy with it comming std. with it.i give it 5 stars for looks and 3 for performance.4 will do. | | Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Grant
a Downhiller
from Hong Kong
Date Reviewed: August 13, 1999 | | Duration Product Used: |
3 months | | Strengths: |
excellent service from RST Asia(Taiwan) | | Weaknesses: |
had to readjust the brakes after every ride (I guess due to cable stretch) Never ever got them better than XTR V brakes | | Similar Products Used: |
XTR brakes, Hope hydraulics | | Bike Setup: |
Hasa DH, RST 58 rear, DNM VTS fork, XTR shipset | | Bottom Line: | cant compare them with other cable actuated disk brakes but they stop no better than v brakes and are worse to use because of the cable stretch. I took them off and went back to my Vs. SDervice was great from RST. I emailed them about the probs and they gave me suggestions, and finally new pads (but still no good) Id give no starts if I could | | Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
mojoblues
a Weekend Warrior
from california
Date Reviewed: July 12, 1999 | | Duration Product Used: |
less than 1 month | | Strengths: |
the price
centering of caliper over the rotor | | Weaknesses: |
still not as strong as i would expect, even if broken in after 3 weeks of riding. | | Similar Products Used: |
none, except xtr vbrakes | | Bike Setup: |
marzocchi z-2
cannondale f1000 | | Bottom Line: | i think rst has to redesign this thing again! The caliper is not as beefy to handle the brake force needed to stop the rotor satisfactorily. The brake pad has to be bigger, if not dual caliper in design (twin piston), or the pad material has to be of better quality. Use the older type brake lever for the old canti, not v brake lever. | | Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
funky munky
a Downhiller
from blah blah
Date Reviewed: June 14, 1999 | | Duration Product Used: |
3 months | | Bottom Line: | So far so good...i'm like the guy before me who used it on a Pacific YX8500. It reminds me of the brakes on my Yamaha YZF-600...powerful but never locks up. I get the same cable stretch though. Kind of a pain in the ass to adjust. I tweaked it 2 or 3 times but found that you don't have to tweak it that much if you give it a little slack between the pads and the disk...the only draw back is you gotta pull the lever in a little further. i'll give it a 4 'cause I want to. | | Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Joe
a Racer
from Barberton, OH
Date Reviewed: May 22, 1999 | | Favorite Trail: |
Vulture's Knob | | Duration Product Used: |
tested or demo'ed only | | Strengths: |
*Smooooooth
*Powerful
*Disc brake dependability (i.e. stopping power in wet) | | Weaknesses: |
*Cable actuated, which means cable stretch so you have to adjust them more than you would with hydrolics.
*Weighs more than V's or Maguras (all discs do though) | | Similar Products Used: |
LX V brakes
Avid 1.0
Avid Arch Rival 40s
Hayes hydrolic discs | | Bike Setup: |
I demoed it on a Pacific Dual suspension bike $560) with a RST dual crown fork, and Tektro levers. | | Bottom Line: | These are nice. They don't feel as nice as Hayes Hydrolic discs but what do you expect for $100 less? You get a powerful brake that gaurantees wet weather stopping power and good modulation. Also no rim wear is a plus.What you don't get is light weight and a set-it-and-forget-it product, because you'll have to adjust for cable stretch every week or so (depending on how often you ride)
I don't trust RST's forks but it looks like they've made a good disc brake. | | Overall Rating: |
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