[Stoutbeard]

So I bought a 2010 U.S. made RZ120 4 and I love it! I took it out yesterday right after I bought it and it climbed amazingly! However, when I was going downhill, my brakes felt like they couldn't stop me if I needed to quickly stop. It was hard to brake on turns and it felt like these things were as bad as my crappy walmart bikes brakes. Am I doing something wrong? Or do the brakes suck? They're Shimano BR-M486's. Would an upgrade be a good idea?

 

[Buzzaro]

So I bought a 2010 U.S. made RZ120 4 and I love it! I took it out yesterday right after I bought it and it climbed amazingly! However, when I was going downhill, my brakes felt like they couldn't stop me if I needed to quickly stop. It was hard to brake on turns and it felt like these things were as bad as my crappy walmart bikes brakes. Am I doing something wrong? Or do the brakes suck? They're Shimano BR-M486's. Would an upgrade be a good idea?

They should have plenty out power. What do the levers feel like when you squeeze them? Can you pull them almost to the grips? Do they ever hit a firm spot or always feel a little spongy? They probably need to be bled or you may have gotten some lube or other contaminate on the rotors.

 

[cdalemaniac]

What Buzzaro said.
Wipe the rotors off with some rubbing alcohol...do it a couple of times always using a new paper/shop towel.
Also, give them a bit time to break in.....when the rotors and pads are new it might take a couple of hours until they really start to bite.

 

[ASI CA]

What Buzzaro said.
Wipe the rotors off with some rubbing alcohol...do it a couple of times always using a new paper/shop towel.
Also, give them a bit time to break in.....when the rotors and pads are new it might take a couple of hours until they really start to bite.

+ 1 especially on the break in. As for what does that mean?

In my experience it means several "heat cycles". Meaning going down that 4 mile single track 2 or 3 times using the brakes each time until they are hot, as in you touch them and get a 2nd or 3rd degree burn hot.

Following that this allows the brake pads to mate or "bed in" with the disc.

Of course this assumes that they are installed correctly and that there are no mechanical failures.

 

[Stoutbeard]

Alright, I did let them bed in, and they work great now! Thanks for all the responses!

Also.. I have a rize 3 (lefty), not 4.. that was a typo lol

 

[cdalemaniac]

Alright, I did let them bed in, and they work great now! Thanks for all the responses!

Also.. I have a rize 3 (lefty), not 4.. that was a typo lol

:thumbsup: Glad everything worked out!

 

[A-Ray]

Hey Stoutbeard:
I am a little confused. I have a 2010 US Made RZ120-3 as well, but all of them are supposed to have Hayes Stroker Ryde Brakes on them, not the Shimano's, the Shimano's were on the 4, but you are saying you have a Lefty so it must be a 3. I ditched the Hayes for Juicy Sevens anyway, but was curious why yours would have different brakes???
Is your bike black or red? Those were the only 2 colors available in 2010 in that model.

 

[Stoutbeard]

Actually, this is what happened: I originally bought a Rize 4 and it came with the shimanos and I posted about the brakes. Then a few days later, I went back to my LBS and upgraded to RZ120 3 because it just seemed like a better deal with all the upgraded components. To eliminate confusion, I just talked like the Rize 3 had shimanos and not the Hayes. The Rize 3 DOES have the Hayes, and my Rize 3 does too.

Sounds stupid, but yea, I figured this thread was dieing soon anyway so I just appeared to be happy with the shimanos (which btw, they DID bed in and I WAS happy with them, still wanted to upgrade to Rize 3 though).

Now that you know whats up with my situation and that I DO have the RZ120 3, can I ask you a few questions about it? Also, I have black version, USA made 2010.

 

[A-Ray]

Very cool Stoutbeard, looks like you have the same one as I do. Hopefully you will enjoy yours as much as I am so far!
Upgrades include recently swapping out the Hayes Stroker Ryde brakes for a set of Juicy Sevens, and just went with a new SRAM X-9 Rear derailleur(Medium cage) and SRAM X-9 Shifters. The Shimano long cage rear der was fine but I destroyed it last week, so I went this route. Front Bars are Carbon FSA K-Force,Seatpost is Bontrager Racelite. Removed the outer ring up front and put on a nice lightweight bash guard.
Also ditched the Racing Ralph's for a Kenda Nevegal 2.35 up front, and a Panaracer Fire XC Pro 2.10 in the back. I did have to get all of the pivot points re-torqued after a few rides, but have nothing but good things to say about it otherwise.

 

[Stoutbeard]

Oh wow! How awesome, nice lookin bike there! I really dig the rear tire!! Also, thanks for telling me some of your upgrades because I've actually been very disappointed in my rear derailleur and brakes. For the brakes, I was considering just going crazy and getting some Avid Elixer CR's 180F/160R. The Hayes make so much noise with just a LITTLE bit of water on them! Very annoying. As for the derailleur, I was in fact considering the x.9. Seems like a worthy upgrade for the price. If I may ask though: Why did you upgrade the tires? I think the stock tires perform rather well in most situations, and how do you like the Monarch 3.3 rear shock? To me, the open and closed floodgates seem almost useless. Even when its "locked" theres still a bit of bounce. It feels inefficient while climbing. Is this normal? (I'm still new to all the biking components)

Thanks

 

[A-Ray]

Although many love the Racing Ralph's, and they are extremely light and fast rolling, I ride very rocky, muddy, slippery terrain and the Ralph's just do not cut it, for me anyway, especially in the front. The stock bars and seat post are pretty heavy, and I had the parts, so I swapped them out with some lighter stuff. I hated the Hayes Brakes. Turkey Gobble in the rear, and very twitchy. I went with the best brakes I could afford, which were the Juicy Sevens. My son's RZ120-2 has the Elixers and honestly they feel about the same as mine. I am very happy with the Monarch 3.3. In the Stiff setting I honestly have no problem with pedal bob climbing, and opened up for the downs it feels great. If you make sure your shock is set properly with air/rebound you should be very happy with it. Again comparing to the RP2 on my son's bike, I would much rather stick with the Monarch, or a Fox RPL, which was on my Rush. My rear derailleur did have its moments of ghost shifting, and when it wrapped itself around my cassette and destructed last week, I went with the X-9 Set up. They were on sale at Pricepoint, so I went with the medium cage and shifter combo. Before I put the big front tire on the bike I was at 27lbs. with Panaracer Fire XC Pro's front and rear.

 

[Stoutbeard]

Thanks for the detailed response! For now, I think I'll stick with the Racing Ralph's and stock seatpost/bars. Those will be upgraded after I get better brakes, shifters/derailleur.(Which now I'm considering the x.9 setup from pricepoint too. I guess they're still on sale for $150) Speaking of, how do you like your trigger shfiters? I've heard they're hard getting use to. What do you think about em?

Yea, the monarch 3.3 is nice. I'm getting use to the small bob when climbing the more I use it. I'm 170lbs and I have 150psi set. Maybe I should make it a little higher considering when the shock is open and I sit on it, it comes down to about 30-35.

My bike comes in at 28.5lbs. I probably wont be able to get that down for a while

 

[Stoutbeard]

Here's the first picture of my bike on it's first trail run

https://i.imgur.com/K5Byo.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/P8tjX.jpg

 

[JEM2]

I have the same bike!! I love it, I HATE the brakes but have learned to live with them until I need to replace them! I set my rear shock at 200psi and I am 180-187, i get almost zero bob and smooth climbing.. I blew through the stock tires in a 1/2 season and now im running some velcoraptors that I love!! I pooched the XTR on a stick a month into owning the bike but had a XT laying around.. i put that on for now.. when im due for replacing the drive train I will go with a 2x10..
JEM

 

[Stoutbeard]

Yea, the brakes are terribad. I really just wanna make the plunge on some high end Avid brakes (either Elixir CR's or Code R's) but off principal I think I need to wear these Hayes out first. I'm going to set my psi higher on the monarch, hopefully that will help me out I'm surprised your tires are already worn.. I've taken mine on 4 rough rides already within the week and they seem great! As for the drive train, I've never understood why people would want 2x10 as apposed to 3x9? 3x9 is more multi-purpose no?

 

[A-Ray]

Well I am running 2x9 with a bashguard and couldn't be happier, but by the looks of your trails compared to what I ride in PA, I think what you have will work just fine, as well as having the Ralph's on there. I think the terrain I ride is a little different than yours, just by comparing your photo to mine. The SRAM X-9 Triggers are great. Also the air in my rear shock is in the 170-ish range and works perfect for me (I am right around 175 lbs.)
NOTE: When and if you decide to ditch the Hayes brakes, the rear brake will need to have the hose removed. The folk's at C-Dale routed the brake cable between the fork and the Head tube, and both the lever, and the caliper are too big to fit through the hole, unless of course you take the fork off to do it, which i did not have the tool for. I am not saying it was a bad thing, just a bit of a hassle to remove.
One other thing: You wanna lose a ton of weight on that thing? Lose the reflectors

 

[Stoutbeard]

Oh wow, yea.. theres a giant difference between your trails and mine! Yours looks like WAY more fun! I've never put on brakes before so thanks for the tip. If I can't figure it out, I'll probably be forced to go to my lbs Yea, the reflectors, haha.. I guess you're not pro unless they're off, I'll get on that immediately lol

 

[JEM2]

Yea, the brakes are terribad. I really just wanna make the plunge on some high end Avid brakes (either Elixir CR's or Code R's) but off principal I think I need to wear these Hayes out first. I'm going to set my psi higher on the monarch, hopefully that will help me out I'm surprised your tires are already worn.. I've taken mine on 4 rough rides already within the week and they seem great! As for the drive train, I've never understood why people would want 2x10 as apposed to 3x9? 3x9 is more multi-purpose no?

I got my bike on a pro deal in 2009 so I had it for half the season plus last season.. I replaced my tires when i started to slid around the corners and no hook up when taking off.. I also did a 40 mile race where the ST was mostly crushed slate and rocks and that chewed through the tires pretty quick.. im hoping my brakes are shot soon so I can upgrade!
2x10 seems to give me the range of gears I need for here in VT.. I was thinking about switching to a bash guard on the big ring but I find myself in big ring more and more.
JEM

 

[Stoutbeard]

Hey Jem, what tires are you running? After today's ride in a much much more technical area, I am considering new tires because I plan on doing more technical rides like loose dirt/mud/stream-crossings/etc. The tires A-ray has are actually on sale right now at Pricepoint

http://www.pricepoint.com/detail/11...ot-Buys/Panaracer-Fire-XC-Pro-Tire-26x2.1.htm

http://www.pricepoint.com/detail/13...Hot-Buys/Kenda-Nevegal-Tire-26x1.95---2.5.htm

 

[JEM2]

Stoutbeard- im running velcoraptors in my shoulder seasons.. (aka mud season).. I like those Kendals you posted.. I may pick some of those up!! the raptors that I have are on the heavy side.
I have a light knobby set of WTB's (forgot the model) that I run when its dry out for a few days...
JEM