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Submitted by
Gary
a Weekend Warrior
from San Jose, CA
Date Reviewed: August 16, 2004 | | Favorite Trail: | Mt. Hamilton | | Duration Product Used: | 2 Years | | Purchased At: | OEM | | Strengths: | Came with bike | | Weaknesses: | These brakes are better than old fashioned caliper breaks, but they have not lasted well. | | Bike Setup: | 2001 Jamis Dakar Sport | | Bottom Line: | I have these because they came with the bike, but I would not go out and buy these. I also tried to get them replaced under warranty, but the dealer said they had to "fail" - not just be a poor product. I'd also add that I got tossed from my bike on a steep hill because the rear brakes failed prematurely. It wasn't a bad spill, but I just replaced them with Avid breaks that have received much better reviews on this site. If you have these Formula breaks, keep an eye on them for your safety!!! | Value Rating: Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
tim burton
a Weekend Warrior
from bristol
Date Reviewed: April 12, 2004 | | Duration Product Used: | 6 months | | Strengths: | brilliant stopping power easy to setup | | Weaknesses: | back needs tuning every wk | | Bike Setup: | kona stab frame, jr-t, race face cranks and bb | | Bottom Line: | this is a very good mech brake the best i have ever used in fact and is also cheap, and for all of you who have also had the adjuster thingy fall off all you need is a 3mm allen key which does the job. | Value Rating: Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Jonathan
a Weekend Warrior
from St Helens UK
Date Reviewed: February 21, 2004 | | Duration Product Used: | 2 Years | | Strengths: | Price, set up, durability | | Weaknesses: | Adjusters | | Similar Products Used: | Formula B4 | | Bottom Line: | This is a follow on reveiw from my earlier one from 2002. I'm still impressed with this brake for its price, durability, and stopping. My bike set up has chnaged (OK, its a different bike) with the Activa as my front brake, and it works. Pads take an age to bed in, but are then pretty durable, stopping power is excellent. Not been phased by any weather, so this set up is staying put for the moment.
I've downloaded the manual from the formula website, and one correction I'll make is that no special tools are needed to change the pads. As for sourcing pads, I've found some Hope pads to fit for £5 (about $8 or so) but I'm not going to say where so the shop doesn't get sold out....... | Value Rating: Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Nigel
a Weekend Warrior
from Westwood MA
Date Reviewed: December 10, 2003 | | Favorite Trail: | Lowell Woods | | Duration Product Used: | 2 Years | | Purchased At: | 25 per brake | | Strengths: | modulation, modulation and modulation. | | Weaknesses: | check previous reviews | | Bike Setup: | C'dale 500 SRAM 9.0 drivechain, XT disc hubs | | Bottom Line: | This is a follow on from my previous two reviews. I've replaced my LX brake levers with Avid 2.0s -a nice improvement.
Just to say that the more I use these brakes, the more I like them. The biggest problems with them are still the lack of power, adjusters that drop off and the need for almost constant adjustment -but at the price I paid, they were a bargain. These brakes can only be recommended for light xc, but once bedded in, you really do seem to feel when the wheel is about to lock. The "feel" is really nice.
If you can get these at a good price, definitely a nice addition for your rear brake -more questionable for a front brake but still usable. | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Mike T.
a
from Ontario Canada
Date Reviewed: October 18, 2003 | | Duration Product Used: | 1 Year | | Purchased At: | ThorUSA,com | | Strengths: | Ease of installation. Simplicity. Price. | | Weaknesses: | There really haven't been any. | | Similar Products Used: | Formula B4, 4R and B4SL. All Magura's XC brakes. | | Bottom Line: | This is a followup to my Review of the Formula Activa cable disc brake on 3/14/2002. It's now nineteen months after my first review and after I'd tested these brakes for 6 weeks I donated them to an Expert lady racer in town who I mechanic for. She's used them ever since and is still using them. I get to tune her bike every week.
The brakes are still going strong and the only thing that I've done to them apart from tweaking the adjusters every couple of weeks is to replace one set of rear pads.
She loves these brakes and has never complained about them once. In fact she never even mentions them. I just look at the pad wear and feel the levers for need of adjustment.
I ride with her on training rides occasionally and she sure doesn't have any problem stopping. We were both in a recent very muddy, hilly race and she won her age category - as usual. Her brakes worked perfectly - as did my Formula B4SL.
The Activa is one under-rated brake. Get 'em at ThorUSA.com | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
woolpainter
a Weekend Warrior
from san francisco, ca
Date Reviewed: October 17, 2003 | | Duration Product Used: | 1 Year | | Purchased At: | OEM | | Strengths: | None, they are not even recycleable. | | Weaknesses: | Everything | | Similar Products Used: | Hayes, Avid | | Bike Setup: | Giant XTC SE1 | | Bottom Line: | They can't stop a beginner, 120lb female on a rail-to-trail (e.g. the flattest trail you can imagine) Parts can not be found, they use a uncommon four bolt hub, no-one can figure out how to make them come close to working.
Just removed these from my girlfriends bike after spending weeks trying to get them to stop her. Formula brakes are to stopping as surfborads are to space travel. Avoid these at all costs. This site needs to have negative chili's just for this product. | Value Rating: Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Doug Brummett
a Weekend Warrior
from Santa Cruz, CA
Date Reviewed: June 12, 2003 | | Favorite Trail: | ucsc trails | | Duration Product Used: | 3 months | | Price Paid: |
$55.00 | | Purchased At: | e-bay | | Strengths: | lighter than avids, good power, good modulation | | Weaknesses: | rotor issues, cable stop, cable routing | | Similar Products Used: | avid and grimmeca mechanicals | | Bike Setup: | used these on a couple of my bikes for short durations | | Bottom Line: | These are a good substitute for the avids. At about half the price if you look around. They are lighter. Power is almost as strong as the avids. Pads adjust independently. They are very easy to set up.
I did have a problem with one of the rotors not being perfectly flat. I am not sure if it was warped, had build up, or just poorly machined at the factory. I was able to minimize the effect of this by sanding the rotor. The other rotor never gave me any problems.
I rode these for a few months and then sold the bike they were on. Bottom line is that they are not as nice as avidS, but for the budget conscious they are the next best thing. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Jacob O'Neall
a Downhiller
from Eubank,Kentucky, USA
Date Reviewed: February 25, 2003 | | Favorite Trail: | any thats rough and technical | | Duration Product Used: | 1 Year | | Price Paid: |
$25.00 | | Purchased At: | JensonUSA | | Strengths: | Wieght, power, adjustability, price, anything else? | | Weaknesses: | because of the light weight, they're not comletely bulletproof | | Similar Products Used: | promax disk, hayes semi-hydrolic disks | | Bike Setup: | 2001 Mongoose Pro Valient, Rockshox Psylo, WTB Motoraptor 2.4's, Sun Mammoth rims | | Bottom Line: | If you can get a set of these, buy them! I don't know about the people who had bad results with these brakes, because they work, period. They're lighter than some v-brakes (shimano) and stop better, in any condition. I free-ride, down-hill, dirtjump and ride urban stunts with these, with absolutely no problems. I originaly paid $25.00 per brake from jenson, then I tried to buy more, and I got the last one they had at $17.00. These brakes have more than enough power for absolutely any situation besides downhill racing. I let a friend ride my bike, and he wrecked, landing on a cement wall, smashing only the rear disk. Even after that, it still worked! I couldn't get it to quit rubbing, so I installed the extra brake I had, with no problems. These brakes are (very)easy to install, and easier to maintain. These are great brakes that stand toe-to-toe with any disk brake out there, cable or hydro. Buy four. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Tim
a Cross Country Rider
from Michigan
Date Reviewed: October 8, 2002 | | Duration Product Used: | 6 months | | Price Paid: |
$25.00 | | Purchased At: | jensonusa.com | | Strengths: | stopping power
price
easy adjustments
Cool looking rotor | | Weaknesses: | cheap plastic adjusters
finding replacement pads | | Similar Products Used: | avid mech | | Bike Setup: | GT Avalanche | | Bottom Line: | I only have the rear brake installed (Avid Mech on front) and the rear works great. For the price you can't beat it. Stops better than V's. Easy to install and easy to adjust, although I find myself constantly adjusting it since the adjustment knobs have no detented positions like my Avid Mech. The power seems close to my Avid Mech, but it's not as smooth and it's difficult finding replacement pads, so I went ahead and bought a spare brake while Jenson was throwing these out the door at $17. That's cheaper than just set of replacement pads. If I was to pay full price, I would buy Avid Mech. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Rob
a Cross Country Rider
from Middletown, CT
Date Reviewed: August 5, 2002 | | Favorite Trail: | Somewhere in the birkshires | | Duration Product Used: | 1 Year | | Price Paid: |
$50.00 | | Purchased At: | jensonusa.com | | Strengths: | You can't beat the price. My first set of disc brakes were shimano deore and both rotors ended up warping in less than a month and stopping power was horrible.
The formula's have been good to me, relatively low maintenance, decent stopping power, cool looking.
For cross country riding this is all you need.
My next set of brakes will be avid's for sure. I've ridden a few bikes with them and they are great! | | Weaknesses: | Need constant adjusting and ummmmmmmm no one seems to sell replacement pads for these things! | | Similar Products Used: | shimano, avid, hayes | | Bike Setup: | gt i-drive 2.0 | | Bottom Line: | Can't complain for the price... | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Nigel
a Weekend Warrior
from Westwood, MA
Date Reviewed: July 15, 2002 | | Favorite Trail: | Lowell Woods | | Duration Product Used: | 3 months | | Price Paid: |
$25.00 | | Purchased At: | JensonUSA | | Strengths: | Cheap, easily adjustable, really good rear brake performance. | | Weaknesses: | adjusters fall off (it's all been said already)
lack of power for front brake
front brake needs frequent adjustment
the JensonUSA stuff might have a quality control issue (sticking calipers or contaminated brake pads)
Sensitive to setup | | Similar Products Used: | LX v-brakes | | Bike Setup: | C'dale 500 SRAM drivechain | | Bottom Line: | I'd reviewed these previously -and because of the issue with the front brake I decided to just go for it and purchase another brake from JensonUSA at $17. It was in actual fact a rear brake, but you can easily swap out the mounting bracket to the front one. Worse case situation I thought was that I'd end up with quite a few spares for my perfectly good rear brake -all for $17 -so I went for it.
My setup is LX brake levers with your average everyday cables and housing. LX brake levers are set to "maximum" power settings.
First, the improvement is considerable -the front brake, though still not immensely powerful, is considerably better. It really does the job for x-country purposes. Goodness knows what was wrong with my original brake, but I estimate it was 50% less powerful than the one I have now. Additionally, a lot of my constant adjustment woes are gone..... but you notice I use the words "a lot" -alas I still have to mess around with adjustment at least every fifth or sixth ride -and that's not having removed the front wheel either. You could argue it's no big deal, but it's still very frustrating. I could go weeks and weeks without v-brake adjustment.
So if you get these brakes, here's what you should do:
i. apply gooey stuff to the inner adjuster threads to prevent the adjuster working loose and falling off....
ii. use velcrose to ensure the outer adjusters stay in place.
iii. be patient. Assume you'll have adjustment issues.
iv. be patient and read carefully to install correctly.
All said and done I still recommend the rear brake (I haven't adjusted it once since I put it on by the way !!!???) but the front brake seems to be far more picky -I just can't recommend the front brake. I do have concerns that the calipers might be prone to sticking -based on my first front brake experience and my guess this was an issue, as well as the stock pads. Unfortunately the directions are less than clear on how or where to exactly lube the pistons. We'll see.
Ratings are 3 for value (would be five for the rear, but the front brings it down). Overall I would give a 3.5 but no half points so I give 3 (would be four for the rear, but again that need to adjust the front brake brings it down).
| | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Chenz
a Racer
from Colorado Springs
Date Reviewed: July 15, 2002 | | Favorite Trail: | Palmer Park | | Duration Product Used: | 6 months | | Price Paid: |
$25.00 | | Purchased At: | Distributor | | Strengths: | No strengths! | | Weaknesses: | Poorly made product. The adjuster knobs fell off. The calipers freeze up. The rotors are warped. I was left riding 10 miles without a front brake. | | Similar Products Used: | Formula MD-1, Avid Mech. | | Bike Setup: | Giant SE1 Hardtail, Raceface Next LP Crank, XTR Der. Titec post and handle bars | | Bottom Line: | Save up your money and buy the Avid Mech. They are the best mech. disk brake on the market. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
CAlum
a Downhiller
from Scotland, UK
Date Reviewed: July 13, 2002 | | Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month | | Purchased At: | wiggle.co.uk | | Strengths: | Cheap
Light
Powerful
Easy to set up
Great modulation and plenty of bite. | | Weaknesses: | Plastic adjuster for outer pad comes off easily - luckily i noticed this when adjusting the brakes while fitting, and glued them on properly - seems to have sorted the problem. | | Similar Products Used: | Cheap V's, Shimano XT v's, Magura HS11/33 hydraulics. | | Bike Setup: | Saracen x-tort, cheap zokes, lx/xt. | | Bottom Line: | Very good stopping power, but still with great modulation and plenty of bite when needed. Very quick and easy to set up. Look better than rim brakes, and less expensive in the long run (no need to replace worn out rims). Great value. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Kam
a Cross Country Rider
from Los Angeles, CA
Date Reviewed: July 3, 2002 | | Favorite Trail: | Whiting Ranch to Santiago Truck Trail | | Duration Product Used: | 3 months | | Price Paid: |
$50.00 | | Purchased At: | JensonUSA.com | | Strengths: | Price-$50 for a full pair.
Ease of installation-took me 40 mins. with adding new cables and all.
Modulation-something not found on alot of disc brakes.
Power-great power for XC riding. These are NOT brakes for freeriders or light downhillers.
Sweet rotors.
Light weight
| | Weaknesses: | The ultra cheesy adjustment knobs-they really need to be beefed up.
The crappy rotor bolts the sets came with-really soft allan heads that are easy to strip.
Calipers aren't nicely finish like Avids or even HMX-1 or Deore Mechs.
I hear of people havinf problems installing these on their disc mounts-some have to gring away material on the calipers mount(watch out RS Duke riders,you may have to do this). | | Similar Products Used: | Alot of Avid V's, Deore Hydros, Magura Claras, Avid Mechs. | | Bike Setup: | DEAN Private set up SS with a Z2 Atom 80, X3.1 UST rims with XT disc hubs. | | Bottom Line: | These are great brakes if you a XC rider looking for non-hydro disc brakes. They are super easy to set up and adjust and they are relatively quiet. Every now and then, they'll let out an occasional squeal. Enough power to do 1 finger lock-ups. I've let a few of my friend ride my bike an they love the brakes. As for the adjuster knobs, take out the knobs and dab some silicon in them and slap 'em right back on. Also, for thos eof you having problems with these brakes, check out ThorUSA.com, and then go to the Formula Owners Group (FOG) forums, it's pretty cool. Anyways, these are a great set of brakes for $25 each ends. Even $70 thru Thor ain't bad. They've been reliable, relatively quiet, and powerful enough for XC riding. I'm gonna keep mine for awhile or until I find a good deal on some Formula B4s. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Trevor
a Weekend Warrior
from Greenhurst, NY USA
Date Reviewed: June 29, 2002 | | Favorite Trail: | sled trails... and anything with mud | | Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month | | Purchased At: | Came Stock on Bike | | Strengths: | Umm... its a disc brake..? It doesn't weigh much..? | | Weaknesses: | hmm... where to begin...
They got hotter than hell (to be expected with discs, but this was overkill)
The adjustment knob came off my bike...
Front brake squeals like hell, and doesnt stop... I think it just may need soem wearing on the brand new pads, but damn is it annoying.
Low power... Brake doesn't endo me... (180lbs.) | | Similar Products Used: | a tree...
rocks...
my foot...
a stick in the spokes...
a car...
side pull brakes (worked quite a bit better actually...) | | Bike Setup: | Stock 2001 Jamis Dakar Sport | | Bottom Line: | Junk... don't get them... you'd be better off taking your money outside and burning it... The only way I would take them again if they came stock on my bike... | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Economatic
a Weekend Warrior
from Moscow, Idaho
Date Reviewed: June 27, 2002 | | Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month | | Price Paid: |
$17.00 | | Purchased At: | JensonUSA.com | | Strengths: | Extremely Inexpensive, powerful | | Weaknesses: | Many...see below | | Similar Products Used: | Avid 160mm Mechanical Disc | | Bike Setup: | 2000 Stumpjumper w/Manitou Mars fork, all XTR, Sun-Ringle Disc Jockey, Thomson Elite stem, Answer Pro-taper Carbon Bar, Avid Mechanical Disc on the front, Formula Activa on the rear | | Bottom Line: | First off, for $17 + shipping from JensonUSA I thought this was a deal I could not pass up--I was wrong. Straight out of the box the rotor was extremely warped causing drag on both pads (yes, it was that warped). I attempted to straighten it with an adjustable wrench and did make a massive improvement. Going beyond pads dragging on the rotor, the brakes have a dangerous pulse to them, which isn't much of a surprise with a warped rotor. Aside from the problems with the rotor was the difficulty mounting the caliper. I had to file down part of the caliper mount to get it straight onto the frame (I couldn't use spacers because the adjustment peg for the caliper would rub on the rotor). Lastly, when I finally had them to a point where they worked in a tolerable manner they picked up a terrible squeal after riding for about 15 miles.
Comparison: I mounted a 160mm Avid Mechanical Disc on the front at the same time the Activa was put on my bike. It took a total of about 45 minutes the get the Avid mounted and adjusted perfectly. This is in contrast with the 20 hours and counting that I have spent on the Activa.
Bottom line: If you want to put disc brakes on your bike just because they look cool and don't care if your previous V-brakes worked far better--go for the Activas. On the other hand, if you want a quality, easy to install disc brake then go for the Avids. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Nigel
a Weekend Warrior
from Westwood MA USA
Date Reviewed: June 16, 2002 | | Duration Product Used: | 3 months | | Price Paid: |
$25.00 | | Purchased At: | JensonUSA | | Strengths: | cheap | | Weaknesses: | fiddly cheap plastic adjustment knob on inner side (nearest to spokes) that falls off.
Brakes continually rub or seem to fall out of adjustment
Poor front brake power | | Similar Products Used: | various other v-brakes | | Bike Setup: | Cannondale Jekyll 500 with SRAM 9.0 drivechain, LX cranks, levers | | Bottom Line: | I bought these based on the reviews already submitted -though I got them for $25 from JensonUSA, I don't believe they are vastly different from the "regular" Activa brakes sold. I used the brakes with Shimano LX levers and Shimano brake cables.
First I've got say the rear brake works like a charm -powerful, got a good feel. However:
Front Brake
Yep, they are incredibly easy to adjust -but the biggest problem I had was that the front brake constantly needed adjustment; no matter what I did (gooey stuff on the thread of the inner adjuster to keep the plastic knob in place, velcrose fasteners on the outer adjuster knob, etc) and though the adjuster knobs stayed in place I would always get a "shrrrrapppp shrrrappp" noise after just one ride. It just annoyed the heck out of me. I checked the front disc for trueness -it was off a tad -and attempted to straighten the disc out. It worked and I believe the disc is reasonably true (within a couple of tenths of a millimetre at least I'd say), but then after a couple of rides.... you guessed it, that noise was back. I tried reisntalling the disc and brake caliper on the bike, meticulously following instructions, but still the same result. I came round to the conclusion that a caliper might be the issue here rather than adjustment or disc trueness. Maybe one of the pads was being forced onto the disc? Strangely, whenever I tested the brake the pads always seemed to move away no problem, but once out on the trail that infernal dragging noise always came back.
The other big, big issue for me was the brake power. Even with the adjustment of the pads very close and the disc dragging, power seemed to be wanting -especially when compared to my old LX v-brakes. And to help alleviate the problem of disc drag I had to run the pads very wide open.
Rear Brake
The rear brake hardly needed any adjustment at all but even with the circlip and gooey stuff on the threads I got back from my very first ride and found the plastic inner adjuster knob was gone.... oh well, the brake didn't actually need it anyway so no big loss (at the moment). But compared to the front brake, I found the rear brake more than powerful enough and had very nice modulation, and had no disc drag.
Summary
The bottom line? This is my only foray into disc brakes so far, so it's tough for me to compare... and assuming these brakes are representative of Activas in general, I would say take a pass on these brakes, particularly the front -maybe I would recommend the rear brake only. I've got to assume the Avid brakes are better; maybe the LX levers and cables I used didn't help, but the most off putting issue was the persistent running out of adjustment and lack of power on the front brake -hey, I thought disc brakes meant less maintenance, not more! I've already spent more time messing around with adjustment with the front brake in one month than a couple of years with v-brakes.
Having said all this, and being very fed up with the time I've put into the front brake, I went with buying another brake for $17 from JensonUSA. What you say??? Well I figured for $17 I haven't got too much to lose (plus I get a spare rotor and pads I can at least use on the rear brake). The plan is to try this new brake on the front and see if I get similar results. I'm hoping for better!
I gave 3 flaming chilis -it was 2 for the front brake, and 4 for the rear brake -this averages out to 3 chilis. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Kevin Dennis
a Weekend Warrior
from Goshen, New Hampshire, United States
Date Reviewed: June 5, 2002 | | Favorite Trail: | snowmobile trails | | Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month | | Price Paid: |
$50.00 | | Purchased At: | Jenson USA | | Strengths: | Easy to set up. Good enough power to stop me. Better than my old cheap v's. No need to buy new levers. No hydrolics. They work for me a light (120), but agressive rider. | | Weaknesses: | Hard to find a Manitou adaptor. | | Similar Products Used: | Shimano v's. | | Bike Setup: | Jamis Durango | | Bottom Line: | Buy the brakes if you can get them cheap. For what I payed it was a great value. If your willing to pay more, you can get more. But these are good enough for me. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Lothar of the Hill People
a Racer
from Ocomukowonowaukesha, WI
Date Reviewed: June 2, 2002 | | Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month | | Price Paid: |
$50.00 | | Purchased At: | JensonUSA.com | | Strengths: | Cheap | | Weaknesses: | Cheap-you get what you pay for, low power, cheesy plastic adjuster knob falls off, did I mention low power | | Similar Products Used: | Avid disc, Hayes disc, Avid V's, Shimano V's, cantilevers, a stick in the spokes, big oak trees | | Bike Setup: | SC Superlight, Marz Marathon | | Bottom Line: | Not happy at all with the performance, or lack there of. I have no confidence in my stopping ability when using these brakes. The power was never on-par with my XTR V's.
I thought I'd give them a shot since Jenson was closing them out for $25/brake. I guess you get what you pay for. Maybe my expectations were too high, but really any respectable disc should be able to stop my 155# with 1 finger. I could lock the rear with 1 finger, but could barely slow the bike down with the front using 2 fingers. Not acceptable in my opinion. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Jonathan
a Weekend Warrior
from St helens, England
Date Reviewed: May 1, 2002 | | Duration Product Used: | 6 months | | Price Paid: |
$50.00 | | Purchased At: | Merlin Cycles | | Strengths: | Price, set up, weight | | Weaknesses: | Difficulty in obtaining a manitou fork adaptor, changing pads looks tricky and needs a special tool | | Bottom Line: | I've got this as a rear brake on my Spesh FSR, the front is a B4 because of problems obtaing a Manitou adaptor from the LBS and importers. But it works. Power is at least equal to a very good V brake set up, ample for a rear brake, and has quite good modulation, it isn't grabby or on/off. Plus in mud etc, it is less compromised than rim brakes, and rim wear is now zero.
Squeal has been tuned out by careful shimming to enusre the caliper is in line with the disc, and the only other niggle concerns the black adjuster. I found it often loosened, moving the inner pad onto the disc. The fix I have done is to fasten a zip tie over the adjuster and around the body of the caliper. Stops the adjuster loosening, helps keep the brake adjustment. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
dan parrett
a Weekend Warrior
from socorro, nm, usa
Date Reviewed: April 30, 2002 | | Favorite Trail: | what ever is good at the time | | Duration Product Used: | 3 months | | Price Paid: |
$25.00 | | Purchased At: | jenson usa | | Strengths: | like the other people have said
it is light
very little noise
easier than hell to setup
very little maintance | | Weaknesses: | a little low on the power side but not bad
long break in time for me | | Similar Products Used: | none. excapted a couple of test rides | | Bike Setup: | a lot of free ride / ds stuff | | Bottom Line: | i have not had a chance to use these brakes in the wet yet but i shore that they well do fine. the biggest change that i felt in the ride is the higher speed breaking. it is far better than any v brake will be.
if you want to get an ease disk beark to setup that has good power i would say to get them. but if you are going the torcher them dont get them they are not designed for that.
have fun and ride on. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Formidable Adversary
a Weekend Warrior
from Guelph Ont, Canada
Date Reviewed: April 27, 2002 | | Favorite Trail: | Little Tract | | Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month | | Purchased At: | Braun's bike | | Strengths: | Everthing a disc brake should be. Unbelievable modulation, I weigh nearly 200 and I can skid the back tire with my middle figner from a good clip, no problem. These things will stop you on a dime. | | Weaknesses: | As with any disc brake, watch that you don't get any lubricant on the rotor (oil, teflon based, etc) which is pretty easy to do, since the rotor is just opposite the rear cogset. If you do, the manual recommends isopropyl alcohol. This won't always work (as you chemists know) since a polar solvent won't take off your nonpolar lubricants too easily. Use dishsoap (don't get ANY on the caliper) then hose the rotor down well, and wipe dry. This should bring your stopping power right back. | | Similar Products Used: | none like this one. I have read many reviews that put this disc brake over the Coda hydraulic! | | Bike Setup: | Jamis Dakar Sport 2001 stock (Judy TT 88mm, Fox vanilla coil over, rear) | | Bottom Line: | Awesome brakes. They came stock on my bike, and I wouldn't dream of replacing them. very very low maintenance. Takes about 50 km to wear off initial brake pad gloss, then they start to really bite (watch out!) one simple adjuster knob to change your mech. advantage. Slow wear on the brake shoes. The whole assembly only weighs 275 grams. If you're in the market for a cable disc, get these, just get them! | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Big Al
a Weekend Warrior
from Georgia
Date Reviewed: March 24, 2002 | | Duration Product Used: | 3 months | | Bike Setup: | '01 Jekyll | | Bottom Line: | This is a follow-up to my original post(s) on this brake.
I've had 4 months of winter riding on it now.
The brake stops as good as it did initially. The squeal has finally gone away. The rear stops better than the front, which means I may have some pad contamination on the front. I have cleaned the rotors with alcohol, but the rear is still stronger. Should be opposite since the front cable is shorter.
My first impressions still stand. I'm surprised at how easy this brake is to live with; adjustments are very quick and easy, and I have not lost an adjustment knob yet, but I am always sure they're locked down. Pad wear is minimal, even in semi-wet conditions.
The rotors have a tiny bit of warp to them, which may be due to excessive heating as I tried to get them to stop squealing by riding down a 1 mile hill with the brakes on.
The squealing has stopped. Rotor variation is nothing that I can't adjust out easily.
Disc brakes sure do help your riding style. I can go deeper into turns before braking.
These are very light brakes too. The weight I posted originally was directly from my gram scale.
No drag, no maintenance to date, no problems.
At the current Jenson price of $25.00 each, these brakes are a steal.
I highly recommend them! | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
R Iwamiya
a Weekend Warrior
from Del Mar, CA
Date Reviewed: March 23, 2002 | | Duration Product Used: | 3 months | | Price Paid: |
$25.00 | | Purchased At: | jenson | | Strengths: | Easy setup, adjustment and brake power | | Weaknesses: | bland looking | | Similar Products Used: | avids, v-brakes. | | Bike Setup: | trek | | Bottom Line: | I have been using these brakes for over three months now and they have been excellent. Setup was easy and the adjustments are also very easy. I use them with speedial 7 and this is a nice setup. The power to me equals the avids and the modulation is much better than my old v-brakes. There is no squeal or noise. Thorsten has been very responsive with the few questions I did have. A very underated brake in my opinion. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Al Hounos
a Weekend Warrior
from Knoxvegas, TN
Date Reviewed: March 17, 2002 | | Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month | | Price Paid: |
$25.00 | | Purchased At: | jenson | | Strengths: | powerful, good modulation, cool lookin rotor | | Weaknesses: | cheap lookin caliper | | Similar Products Used: | Vs, quad mechanical disc (terrible | | Bike Setup: | diamondback reactor dual | | Bottom Line: | great, as mike t. said, quite underrated brake when avid mech gets all the attention and is barely any better.
deserves 10 chilis for value if you get it for 25$.
4.5 for performance. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Mike T.
a Cross Country Rider
from Ontario Canada
Date Reviewed: March 14, 2002 | | Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month | | Price Paid: |
$72.00 | |
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$ 66.00
