THEY WORK WELL IF U KNOW HOW TO ADJUST HTME

SMALLER PADS YES BUT THEN AGAIN THE COMPLETE UNIT IS LESS $$

Been riding with the BB5 for over 6 months ( 3 25 mile rides each time) with no problems.. My take on some of the criticisms is that they do not know how to properly adjust the BB5s, Yes the pads are smaller but then again the complete unit is also less $$. I find the inner big ring is easy to adjust the pads if needed. Great brakes for the price.. Google online how to adjust many good ideas to get great results

Brake well when properly adjusted. Cheap.

Require frequent adjustment.

I have used these brakes on my commuter bike for four years and have never been happy with them. When not precisely adjusted they have little braking power and they go out of adjustment quickly. I had a close call where both brakes where out of adjustment and I had to stop by scraping my feet on the ground. They also rub constantly. I am currently upgrading to Shimano brakes and will never again purchase Avid brakes.

When the pads are new they work great... but it is all downhill (pun) after the first few rides.

These do not work in the rain... period.

Do not buy these brakes if you ride in wet weather, they will get you killed.

a lot of power, great feel, cheap, look good,easy to set up.

Haven't found any yet

I bought just the calipers from Ebay and it took 5 minutes for me to replace my old ones and set the BB5s up. Straight away I felt a huge difference between them and my old ones (but my old ones were awful) and I could lock up both wheels with out bedding in the pads whatsoever. Locking the wheels is easy but not too easy. I have been riding all day and I am so happy with them, I don't see why they have such a bad rep.

cheap in advance/

They dont work when in rain, brake pads wear down VERY fast (also with rain) Very expensive brake pads.

Got these brakes on my recumbent bike. I wanted mechanical disc brakes, I didn't want a hydraulical system to leak during a vacation. A broken cable is repaired easier. First impression was good. (summer, dry weather). After the first emergency stop (went well) I noticed that braking wasn't that good compared before the emergency stop. Adjusted and everything went well. Then the fall began, and the rain began (Netherlands). I had to re-adjust the brakes two times a day, it seems that the brakes wear down faster when in a wet condition? When replacing the brake pads I noticed that the braking surface of the brakepads are very small. I can imagine that if the surface is bigger, braking works better and they don't wear down fast.
At this moment i have my bike a year and a half, and i ordered the fourth pair of brake pads. (in the Netherlands they cost 38 Euro (front and back) that is about $51. My advise is NOT to buy these very poor brakes.

No strengths I can think of

Endless adjusting...once adjusted, they work fairly well briefly. As mentioned in other reviews, breaking power deteriorates during ride. Pads are TOO small to provide effective grip on the disks. Back brake is almost useless.

I hate these brakes...unfortunately there are not a lot of options for disk brakes compatible with shift levers. Was going to order the Shimano version but they were recalled.... probably would be happy with the BB7 but i hate mine so much i want to try a different brand.

lighter then my Shimano M416s, easy setup, nice looking, compatibility, so far good stopping power

have to wait and see they don't have the pad area as the BB7 and other Shimano models

After learning to setup the Shimano m416s these are not too difficult. Be careful with the articulating washers when installing. I was happy to find that these work fine with my Shimano disks and levers.
These feel definitely lighter in the hand than the Shimano m416s. Here is how I set them up: turn the pad adjuster all the way out to give lots of clearance, put on the adapter first and screw that tight to the frame you can put the caliper on the disk to make sure the orientation is right. If the orientation is wrong the disk won't turn freely. Put the caliper on making sure that the articulating washers are put on correctly (they mirror each other on each side of the caliper. once the brake is on loosely tighten the pad adjuster as much as you can. Now leave those screws loose and hand actuate the brake holding it tight to the disk then cinch up the screws that hold calipers on. Let brakes open now and then back off the pad adjustment and see if the wheel spins freely. You can really move the install bolts and washers to get the perfect fit. So far the brakes work fine for my city riding. So far the stopping power is good even going downhill.