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Submitted by
jack_demo
a Cross Country Rider
from UK
Date Reviewed: June 9, 2008 | | Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month | | Price Paid: |
$15.00 | | Purchased At: | birkenhead cycles | | Strengths: | strong stopping power, cheap, reliable. | | Weaknesses: | none really. | | Similar Products Used: | cheapo crap shimano things, scott comps | | Bike Setup: | marin pioneer trail 08, mainly stock apart from brakes and tyres (DMR motoR's) | | Bottom Line: | buy them if you're after a good quality set of brakes at a good price, but if you're an enthusiastic and skillful rider buy something a bit better. | Value Rating: Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Harry Hall
a Cross Country Rider
from England
Date Reviewed: October 8, 2006 | | Favoriate Trail: | Quantocks | | Duration Product Used: | 6 months | | Purchased At: | 15.00 | | Strengths: | Good value for money, decent XC stopping power | | Weaknesses: | Dodgy screws, occasional problems with alignment | | Similar Products Used: | Avid SD5, Shimano XT | | Bike Setup: | 2006 Specialized Rockhopper, stock (mostly) | | Bottom Line: | ne of the adjuster screws gave out on the front brake after about 6 months of riding, and I couldn't get another screw so in the end I bought some Single Digit 5's, which are the same, just a bbit better. Even so, I partly blame myself for the screw, as I adjusted it using a multitool philips screwdriver, not a proper one. | Value Rating: Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Paul
a Cross Country Rider
from Denver
Date Reviewed: August 27, 2006 | | Favoriate Trail: | Chimney Gulch to Apex to Sluicebox | | Duration Product Used: | 2 Years | | Purchased At: | on new bike | | Strengths: | Seemed to work ok for first few months of riding. Stopping was ok in most situations. | | Weaknesses: | After part of the first season their power began to wear out and I was clenching harder and harder to get the bike to stop. Now the spit brake pad material all over the rims and my hands hurt after only short downhills. Just ordered some Avid SD 7s that I am sure will be a big improvement over these. Sheesh, call me a fool for waiting so long. | | Similar Products Used: | Other older Avid V-brakes that seemed to work better on my old bike. | | Bike Setup: | Stumpjumper hardtail with Fox Float, Thudbuster, Candy SL, soon-to-be new brakes. | | Bottom Line: | If you are shopping for V-brakes then look beyond these. For $15 to $20 more per brake you can get huge performance improvements. If they come on a new bike then swap them out as soon as you come accross another $75 or $100 for some better Avids or Shimano. | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
el ray
a
from the midwest
Date Reviewed: March 1, 2006 | | Duration Product Used: | 2 Years | | Strengths: | Mega strong stopping power like all Avids. Immeditate grab. | | Weaknesses: | Not as much modulation as weaker brakes (they're simply so strong they often lock up immediately) I try not to ever use the back for this reason. They go out of alignment sometimes (I can't figure this out) | | Similar Products Used: | dozens | | Bottom Line: | I don't see what everyone's problem is with these brakes. For cheap rim brakes they are absolutely unmatched. They even compete with SD-7's in my opinion. With the exception of the odd alignment issues, the actual performance of these brakes is among the best I've ever used (and I'm a disc brake user). They simply STOP. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Niklaus Hartmann
a Weekend Warrior
from Cochabamba, Bolivia
Date Reviewed: March 25, 2005 | | Favoriate Trail: | Escalarani, Cochabamba | | Duration Product Used: | 6 months | | Purchased At: | Stock on bike | | Strengths: | Simplistic design, above average braking power in its price range. | | Weaknesses: | I don't know maybe its just me but I nearly end up in a mental institution everytime I take them apart and try to adjust again. Once you setup the brakes correctly they work very well, but the setup takes me forever... as I mentioned earlier maybe its just me... | | Similar Products Used: | Shimano Deore and XT's | | Bike Setup: | Scwinn Mesa SL '03, RD: Deore, FD: XT, Michelin X-Sport Tires (I highly recommend these)... blah blah blah... | | Bottom Line: | If you're not planning on doing anything on the Xtreme side these will cut it... If you set them up correctly they work very well... | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Matt
a Cross Country Rider
from Omaha
Date Reviewed: January 13, 2005 | | Favoriate Trail: | Whateva | | Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month | | Price Paid: |
$10.00 | | Purchased At: | Buddy | | Strengths: | Easy To install, Light action, Cheap | | Weaknesses: | HAvnt had um long enough to find one. But don't worry I will Everything has flaws. | | Similar Products Used: | Just the stock brakes that came w/the bike. | | Bike Setup: | Raleigh M60 | | Bottom Line: | Well this is just preliminary Findings but here we go. My friend had them on an 02 Giant NRS3 and they worked fine for him. I now have them on my bike. They were so simple to adjust and center. I am very pleased. They have a very good amount of stopping power if you arn't stupid. They are good for light riding not racing. Ive been round the block a few times and I trust pretty much anything avid puts out. On the trail these work, around campus they work, in the snow...well I'd much rather have discs for that but lets just forget about that. Bottom Line, they work plain and simple. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Joe
a Cross Country Rider
from canada
Date Reviewed: September 16, 2004 | | Duration Product Used: | More than 3 years | | Purchased At: | with bike | | Strengths: | Well, I've ridden these for 7 years. The ones I have don't even have the little adjuster screws. They might even be SD 1s! My front pair finally died. Guess I didn't get all the salt out from winter riding before going away for 6 months. Came back to seized brakes. No problem, disasemble, clean, regrease, just like the last 6 years. Well, this time the spring part that's pressure fitted to the bushing came off, leaving the bushing inside. "Well s..t". Just can't get it out. These brakes have,until now (due to neglect), held up wonderfully. The front still has the ORIGINAL PADS, and I've done A SICK amount of riding. I even did couriering on this bike for a year (90+km/day). I didn't think I'd ever replace these. Yes, they could have better braking power and better modulation. But they're so simple and so easy to setup, and if you know how to ride, scrub speed on terrain, use arms and leg movement, then you don't need rediculous destroy the trail stopping power. | | Weaknesses: | If you let them sit with salt for 6 months, the bushings will seize. More power would be safer in the wet. More modulation would be sweet (I miss my cantis). | | Similar Products Used: | xt V, lots of cantis, SRAM 9 | | Bike Setup: | Thin Blue Line '97 steel hard tail, fully rigid, 8spd xt shifter/levers, avid 1s(?), lx rear d, xt 8 cogset, stx front, ugly green wildgrippers, raceface chainrings, sugino cranks, raceface lowrise bar, blue oury grips, specialized balls happy saddle -it's a frankenbike! | | Bottom Line: | These brakes have lasted for over 7 years (even the pads!), the rear brakes are still going. I am very very demanding on my bike, ride it all year in very cruddy winter conditions (ottawa!), ride it A LOT, sometimes haul a heavy cargo trailer, love technical single track. These brakes have served me well, may they rest in peace. Next brakes I think will be Avid 7s. Anyone looking for long lasting, reliable, easy to adjust, can take abuse brakes, Avid has you covered. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Patrice Monroe
a Cross Country Rider
from Ljubljana, Slovenia
Date Reviewed: August 26, 2004 | | Favoriate Trail: | up to 15% on ascent, up to 50% on descent with some obstacles such as roots, stones, no 50 cm drops | | Duration Product Used: | 3 months | | Purchased At: | came with bike setup | | Strengths: | Well... maybe, it is accuracy of braking, but nothing is really special in this brake. It is just to weak. | | Weaknesses: | lack of braking power. I cannot do endo even with my | | Similar Products Used: | brakes on Felt FS-250. Did the same job much better. | | Bike Setup: | Avid SD3, deore brake levers. | | Bottom Line: | Good for descents up to 15%. Inefficient as a MTB brake, but good enough for city biker. Might serve good for lighter bikers - my weight is over 90kg + 10 kg for a bike. | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Justin
a Cross Country Rider
from Christchurch
Date Reviewed: April 28, 2004 | | Favoriate Trail: | Faff'n round the forrest | | Duration Product Used: | 1 Year | | Price Paid: |
$25.00 | | Purchased At: | LBS | | Strengths: | Do the job they were designed to do if you bother to set them up properly
Cheap enough for Avid
Look good in black
| | Weaknesses: | Require a little bit of patience to set up (but nothing a monkey couldn't do) | | Similar Products Used: | SD7's, SD Mag | | Bike Setup: | Kona Unit Singlespeed | | Bottom Line: | You get what you pay for. These aren't the strongest stoppers on the planet, but they work well if you take the time to install and set them up properly. I laugh when I read complaints that they don't centre properly after you take your wheel out etc. Even the best V brakes won't centre if you are too cheap or stupid to do some basic bike maintenance. You need to grease the bosses and get the centering / tension adjustment screws adjusted properly. It also helps if you cut the cable to the appropriate length so that it doesn't induce a sideload.
Don't forget that these things are designed for your average XC rider doing average XC trails, and they do fine in that environment. If you ride lots of steep stuff or in the wet and mud, do yourself a favour and buy some discs. I run these on my singlespeed and they work great zipping about the trails in the forrest. I run '04 XT discs on my trailbike because they work great for that kind of riding. Only a Bozo would expect these things to be flawless at this price-point. If you want super-dupa brakes, get out your wallet and go buy some top-end models from Hope, Avid, or Shimano. Otherwise get on and enjoy the ride. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Matt Brennan
a Cross Country Rider
from T.O.,Canada
Date Reviewed: April 19, 2004 | | Favoriate Trail: | toxic forest | | Duration Product Used: | 1 Year | | Purchased At: | LBS | | Strengths: | * They work well
* Easy to adjust
* Stop bike | | Weaknesses: | * None (maybe not cool enough for some) | | Similar Products Used: | cantilevers
SD-7 | | Bike Setup: | 03 lava dome, raceface prodigy crank, marz Mx comp, Sun subIV w/ xtr hubs, xt drivetrain. | | Bottom Line: | Most people dont need to spend more. These work well on most everything, except maybe muddy downhills. Great value. Simple to adjust.
Or pay twice as much for sd-7 and get no discernible benefits. Probably the last thing I will replace on my bike, unless they break. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
heine
a Racer
from St.L,MO,USA
Date Reviewed: April 14, 2004 | | Favoriate Trail: | Everywhere | | Duration Product Used: | 2 Years | | Price Paid: |
$20.00 | | Purchased At: | LBS | | Strengths: | Cheap. Effective. | | Weaknesses: | Arms flex under heavy loads making the stopping power of the brakes less predictable and just plain less. stock pads will wear quickly and changing the pads does help performance a bit. I'm finding that I'd like more tire clearance. | | Similar Products Used: | Avid disc mechanicals, Avid 10, Tektro, various no-names. | | Bike Setup: | Single speed full rigid | | Bottom Line: | There are two mentalities for creating a good component: Create a expensive high quality piece to stand against all or create a cheap effective piece that can be easily replaced. I used these brakes on my single speed cause it takes a lot of abuse and I expect things break. When they break, I don't want to shell out $$$ to fix them again. This brake works great that. So far, I've bent one arm (polo mallet), but it bent back and it's been fine. Would I cringe if a polo mallet hit an expensive brake-- yes, cause it probably break and then I'm left with the same problem as the cheap brake. 5 chilis for value. These are great brakes for the money. 3 chilis for overall rating: there not high performance brakes but are good enough for most occaisions. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Sam
a
from Bend OR
Date Reviewed: April 9, 2004 | | Favoriate Trail: | Flagline | | Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month | | Similar Products Used: | Avid 2.0, Avid 7.0, Hayes Disk | | Bike Setup: | Klein Palomino V | | Bottom Line: | The Avid line of V-brakes are very similiar - whether they be the 3, 5, or 7. I improved the stopping power by 1) getting good brake levers. I switched to the Avid 7s. And 2)getting good brake pads. I put on the top of the line Avid pads with metal support. The benefit of the Avid 7 over the 5s, and the 5s over the 3s is weight. They all use the same leverage, materials, and pivot points. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Benn Jamieson
a Cross Country Rider
from Brighton
Date Reviewed: February 10, 2004 | | Favoriate Trail: | Ditchling Beacon to Buckland Bank | | Duration Product Used: | 1 Year | | Price Paid: |
$40.00 | | Purchased At: | EBay | | Strengths: | They're in black. | | Weaknesses: | Brake pads wear out too quickly. Fiddly to align. Too weak. Rusts! | | Similar Products Used: | Stock cantilevers on me Cannondale. | | Bike Setup: | Cannondale with SRAM and Raceface | | Bottom Line: | Dont buy them unless you only trundle around the park. Not good for XC as they have limited stopping power and you really have to squeeze the brake to get it to grip the wheel. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
peter
a Weekend Warrior
from perth
Date Reviewed: February 5, 2004 | | Duration Product Used: | 1 Year | | Price Paid: |
$1.00 | | Purchased At: | came stock | | Strengths: | they allow me to stop when i need to (most of the time), they look kind of cool. Braking is fine with these. | | Weaknesses: | used to require frequent adjusting (think that was due to my old fork's flexing). could do with a bit more power. | | Similar Products Used: | xt's, cheapo shimano's (altus or something) | | Bike Setup: | stock giant XTC 2, but with manitou black elite fork | | Bottom Line: | i think these brakes are fine. however on long steep descents they can be a little scary and i have missed a corner once or twice. a little more braking power would be nice. but honestly i think for most people they are fine. too many people have component snobbery. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Scott
a Weekend Warrior
from Lakewood, Colo.
Date Reviewed: January 5, 2004 | | Favoriate Trail: | Buffalo Creek | | Duration Product Used: | 3 months | | Purchased At: | Arvada Bicycle Co. | | Strengths: | Weight, looks, ease of tire removal with these brakes,
Adjustability. | | Weaknesses: | Avid 3's lack feel and power! | | Similar Products Used: | Avid single digit 7's | | Bike Setup: | Stock 04 Specialized Stumpjumper. | | Bottom Line: | I had Avid 7's on my last bike and REALLY NOTICED THE DIFFERENCE on my new bike. The stopping power and ability
to modulate the braking force was just not evident on these 3's! Rim Wrangler pads would help but with Price Point and Performance price match I'd be a fool not to
upgrade to another upper-end Avid brake system with goretex
cables. I know how good Avid brakes can get and these stock
3's just "ain't cuttin it." | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Jord
a Cross Country Rider
from Rayong, Thailand
Date Reviewed: August 22, 2003 | | Duration Product Used: | 1 Year | | Purchased At: | Probike | | Strengths: | rather light (isn't this a prime reason to opt for the V-brake?) but other good v-brakes are as light, if not lighter. Look simple enough for a V brake. | | Weaknesses: | Flex and friction causes poor modulation and poor stoping power. An on-off switch feel. Definitely not a set-and-forget component in my bike. Steel part get rusty in my riding environment (close to the sea). | | Similar Products Used: | Avid Ultimate | | Bike Setup: | stock 2001 Klein Adept Race | | Bottom Line: | If these brakes come with your stock bike (check out Trek, Klein, and Garry Fisher), I recommend to trade them with other models and get some discount for the new ones. This is, for me, the way to optimize the value from these brakes.
This brake shouldn't be used if you want to try some agressive technical rides, or even a long downhill road with some turns. New rider pay special attention to this message as I learn it the hard way.
I replace these brakes to Avid Utimate and have changed my attitude towards the V-brake system. V-brake can be so good (light wieght, great modulation, low maintenance, and plenty of power in one-WOW) and I know why I used to feel bad about it.
Don't buy this SD3 model unless you commute in a slow speed on a bike. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
A D
a Cross Country Rider
from Halifax, NS, Canada
Date Reviewed: July 12, 2003 | | Duration Product Used: | 3 months | | Purchased At: | Stock with Giant XtC 2 | | Strengths: | Cheap, nice looking, easily adjustable | | Weaknesses: | Very poor braking power. Requires frequent adjustments and centering. Very poor control at speeds above 25 km/hr | | Bike Setup: | Giant XtC 2 stock | | Bottom Line: | Average to below averge brake. Mostly intended for infrequent and slow x-country riding | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
John Catts
a Weekend Warrior
from Spring Branch
Date Reviewed: April 18, 2003 | | Favoriate Trail: | McAllister Park/Rocyhill Ranch | | Duration Product Used: | 3 months | | Price Paid: |
$20.00 | | Purchased At: | Supergo | | Strengths: | None | | Weaknesses: | They blow...don't stop worth a crap.. | | Similar Products Used: | Avid SD 2.0 Shimano LX | | Bike Setup: | 2003 Trek Fuel 80 w/XTR kit | | Bottom Line: | I bought these because I have used Avids before and the SD 2.0 worked great..but these Sd 3r'S BLOW BIG TIME..THEY DON'T STOP WORTH A CRAP..I am taking these off and putting my 2.0 back on..dont buy them..I guess for a recreational bike path rider..but for reliable stopping power they suck.. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
K
a Weekend Warrior
from HK
Date Reviewed: April 4, 2003 | | Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month | | Purchased At: | Came wif bike | | Strengths: | Good Braking Power at first | | Weaknesses: | Wear out fast .. releases alot of powder from pads......... | | Similar Products Used: | Dia-Compe | | Bike Setup: | GT Avalanche | | Bottom Line: | Good Brake at first... Good Braking Power.. Not so good in Wet.. Fast wear out so u must change pads | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
chris
a Cross Country Rider
from winnipeg, manitoba
Date Reviewed: February 17, 2003 | | Duration Product Used: | 1 Year | | Strengths: | looks good, stops the bike most of the time | | Weaknesses: | weak when wet, require frequent adjustment, take a lot of force to slow the bike on declines | | Bike Setup: | specialized stump m4 2002 | | Bottom Line: | Not bad, but not great. I put up with these brakes for one season, as they came stock on my bike. Stopping power is just not that great though, and the frequent need for tuning (half the time on the trails) was getting annoying. I just purchased some avid mag brakes off of ebay, which hopefully will be a big improvement. It's minus 25 degrees in winnipeg right now though, so you'll have to wait a couple months before i review the new stoppers! | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
marc
a Weekend Warrior
from Maastricht, Holland
Date Reviewed: January 23, 2003 | | Favoriate Trail: | Zuid - Limburg | | Duration Product Used: | 3 months | | Strengths: | Works fine when brand new. Came stock on my new bike. | | Weaknesses: | After one ride in the wet with a lot of mud: very slippery, fast wear. Rear brake is very weak now. Mechanism pulls to one side, needs adjustment frequently. | | Similar Products Used: | Tektro V-brakes | | Bike Setup: | Stumpjumper '03 stock, continental escape tires | | Bottom Line: | I'm not convinced. I'll change the pads to Kool Stops. If there's no improvement, I'll upgrade to Avid SD 7 or Magura HS 33 (nice reviews). I'm only 70 kg's and I think that V-brakes will do for me. Maybe the Magura's are a little bit to much for the hills in Zuid Limburg? | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Jerry
a Cross Country Rider
from Austin
Date Reviewed: December 11, 2002 | | Duration Product Used: | 3 months | | Purchased At: | came on new bike | | Strengths: | Decent power once you swap out the stock pads and put something else on (like Koolstops). | | Weaknesses: | Have to recenter and adjust every time I take the front wheel off. Not the best build quality. Lotsa play. | | Similar Products Used: | XTR v's, canti's, XT's | | Bike Setup: | Stumpjumper | | Bottom Line: | Got tired of adjusting them all the time so I bought some XTR's for the front. They had a little more stopping power, and much better modulation, but they were so LOUD I couldn't stand it and put these cheapo Avids back on.
They work pretty well with the Koolstop pads. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Benny juice
a
from Bristol UK
Date Reviewed: November 15, 2002 | | Favoriate Trail: | all | | Duration Product Used: | 1 Year | | Purchased At: | Bike | | Strengths: | They get in the way of trees and bend easily | | Weaknesses: | weak and for new starters in riding | | Similar Products Used: | ad7's promax brakes | | Bike Setup: | cindercone 2002 | | Bottom Line: | They are ok for n00bers who are slow downhill or on the roads but show them some mud and they will fail.
My friend is a n00ber who is going to get an Evo02 which has these on but he is lame so he'll be ok.
Good entry level brakes though I suppose. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Mtb Master
a Weekend Warrior
from Aust
Date Reviewed: September 10, 2002 | | Favoriate Trail: | 10 foot drops | | Duration Product Used: | 6 months | | Price Paid: |
$100.00 | | Purchased At: | Came with bike | | Strengths: | Strengths? what strengths | | Weaknesses: | No modulation. No rear braking power at all. | | Similar Products Used: | Hayes Hydro and xtr. | | Bike Setup: | norco 250cc | | Bottom Line: | This brakes have potential as long you get the right adjustment. Good newbe's brakes and not good for inclines. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Mtb Master
a Weekend Warrior
from Aust
Date Reviewed: September 10, 2002 | | Favoriate Trail: | 10 foot drops | | Duration Product Used: | 6 months | | Price Paid: |
$100.00 | | Purchased At: | Came with bike | | Strengths: | Strengths? what strengths | | Weaknesses: | No modulation. No rear braking power at all. | | Similar Products Used: | Hayes Hydro and xtr. | | Bike Setup: | norco 250cc | | Bottom Line: | This brakes have potential as long you get the right adjustment. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Stephen Metherell
a Cross Country Rider
from Carson City, Nevada
Date Reviewed: August 14, 2002 | | Duration Product Used: | 6 months | | Purchased At: | Came on a Fuel 90 | | Strengths: | None | | Weaknesses: | These brakes are garbage. They do not float because the centering adjusting screws interfere with the springs. | | Similar Products Used: | Switched to Shimano LX, a 100% improvement. | | Bike Setup: | Fuel 90, mostly stock | | Bottom Line: | Don't buy them. If they come stock on the bike, change them out before leaving the shop. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
BIgRed
a Weekend Warrior
from Cleveland, OH
Date Reviewed: July 22, 2002 | | Duration Product Used: | 3 months | | Purchased At: | Stock on Bike | | Strengths: | Wait... I'll think of one... uh... they... uh... Well, they stop a bike. Does that count? | | Weaknesses: | 1) Every time I take a wheel off, they need to be adjusted.
2) The pads work well for about a week (on road!), then blow.
3) The brakes flex.
4) When wet, they suck pretty bad (granted, my rims suck too). | | Similar Products Used: | XTR V when they first came out (and those still kick butt). | | Bike Setup: | Flyin Monkey | | Bottom Line: | Not bad if they cost you $10, but no more. Definitely look for a better V when you want rim brakes. I am a big dude who likes to do tricks and could always count on vice-like performance from the XTRs. These have slipped a lot. The good thing was they didn't lock on some hairy trails, the bad thing was they didn't lock on a wheel stand. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
RYan
a Weekend Warrior
from Edmonton AB Canada
Date Reviewed: July 20, 2002 | | Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month | | Purchased At: | Hardcore MTB store | | Strengths: | well they are avid, so they have a brand name going for them, I would expact braking like this on a lower end bike, but i payed a reasonable amount of money for my bike, and to be spec'd w/ breaks that can be found on bikes half the price is attrocious, wise up with the parts selection gary fisher! | | Weaknesses: | Flexy, ugly, cheap | | Similar Products Used: | deore v, hayes hydro, alvio v | | Bike Setup: | Sugar 3+ with no bontrager parts | | Bottom Line: | They suck, Im gonna try a brake boster and dual compound pads, and if that doesnt work im gonna buy some xtr's | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
chad
a Cross Country Rider
from brooklyn
Date Reviewed: July 10, 2002 | | Favoriate Trail: | all | | Duration Product Used: | 1 Year | | Purchased At: | stock on bike | | Strengths: | they're cheap. | | Weaknesses: | these brakes suck. they came stock on my bike and they have very little if any control going downhill, all they do is lock up the wheels. i didn't buy the klein for the components but i wish they stocked better brakes. spend the extra money on the better avids, you'll thank yourself later. when tubeless disc wheels become cheaper i'll switch to discs, but until then better avids will have to do. | | Similar Products Used: | various | | Bike Setup: | 02 klein attitude comp, mostly stock | | Bottom Line: | these brakes have no control going downhill, they either lock up or they lock up. they work great on most terrain, but not when you need em most. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
trekkiller
a Cross Country Rider
from Roseburg or, douglas
Date Reviewed: June 18, 2002 | | Favoriate Trail: | too many | | Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month | | Purchased At: | The Bicycle Shop | | Strengths: | Good stopping when dry only, excelant stopping power when at moderate speeds on slanted ground. | | Weaknesses: | problems grabbing when wet, primarily when muddy, does not grab consistantly feels kinda jerky. | | Similar Products Used: | deore lx | | Bike Setup: | k2 attack 4.0, noleen mega air fork, noleen rear spring, xtr de-railors, WTB wheels, stock setup. | | Bottom Line: | it is an excellant lite offroad brake for the beginer to moderate MTB'er, but when things get tuff these brakes take a hike. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Sprocketeer
a Cross Country Rider
from Narashino, Chiba, Japan (native of New York)
Date Reviewed: May 27, 2002 | | Favoriate Trail: | I like it rough and dirty, baby! | | Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month | | Purchased At: | Seo Cycle, LalaPort Tokyo Bay shopping mall, Minami-Funabashi, Chiba, Japan | | Strengths: | For most riders, this is an excellent brake set. Especially if you're putting a bike together and you're wondering where to cut costs, this is an excellent performer for the money.
They perform much better than I expected.
They don't make noise--this is with a Bontrager Select wheelset.
Stopping power is excellent, however . . . (see weaknesses) | | Weaknesses: | . . . they also seem kind of jerky when engaged, like they're really meant exclusively for locking up the wheels; so they're not as smooth as could be in braking for control versus stopping--like when decending down a hill through the trees where there is no trail and hense I need much smoother control (though this is like comparing a Ferrari to a Ford). I think this might have to do with the lack of rigidity in the brake arms.
They seem kind of flimsy, particular |
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