[sumayasol]

Looking to upgrade the mechanical disc brakes on my wife's (Giant-made) Costco fat bike

I have two 180mm SRAM Centerline rotors, a bulk roll of BH90 hose + dozens of olives and inserts; one 4 piston MT420 caliper for the front; and one 2 piston Deore M615 caliper for the rear. But I don't have levers

Since this is slow moving winter alpine cycling on studded 4.3" tires, absolute power is less important than gentle modulation

Which brings me to the levers I am considering, Deore M4100 or non-series MT401

Anyone have experience with both these? Do one of these levers perform better than the other?

Despite the lever blades looking long compared to servo wave levers, Shimano classifies these as "2 finger" brake levers, the same as all their servo wave levers also being 2 finger levers. But despite being "2 finger", the lever overall is long compared to servo wave

Personally I believe these are functionally identical levers, despite Shimano marketing bull****

First the entry-level rider MT401 lever

Then the intuitive and powerful Deore M4100 lever

As best as I can tell the only difference is the I-Spec clamp and additional bar support on the Deore-branded version

Here are the two levers overlayed on each other

If I get the more expensive M4100 levers because Shimano tells me they are better, did I just get smoke blown up my a$$?

 

[thisnameisvalid]

The servo wave levers are definitely far better imo; these will work just fine but I always found them a bit wooden. Get a BL-M6000 or BL-MT500 used on ebay on you'll be set (MT500 is identical but non series)

 

[rete]

The servo wave levers are definitely far better imo; these will work just fine but I always found them a bit wooden. Get a BL-M6000 or BL-MT500 used on ebay on you'll be set (MT500 is identical but non series)

While fat bikes can be ridden anywhere, "winter alpine" fat biking in Canada on studded tires implies Rocky Mountains to BC coastal mountains and usually involves lots of ice. Shimano Servo Wave, especially with stiff BH90 hose and a 4 piston front caliper, can be a bit abrupt for some riders in those conditions. My wife, for example, has a hard time on my RSD Mayor's XT 8120 brakes, even with very grippy 45NRTH Wrathchild studded front and back - but she has no issues with her Guide R's.

OP, I couldn't say which of these two are better but I will say the M4100's bar brace means you probably can't run your shifter outboard of the brake lever to get better lever blade ergonomics.

 

[thisnameisvalid]

While fat bikes can be ridden anywhere, "winter alpine" fat biking in Canada on studded tires implies Rocky Mountains to BC coastal mountains and usually involves lots of ice. Shimano Servo Wave, especially with stiff BH90 hose and a 4 piston front caliper, can be a bit abrupt for some riders in those conditions. My wife, for example, has a hard time on my RSD Mayor's XT 8120 brakes, even with very grippy 45NRTH Wrathchild studded front and back - but she has no issues with her Guide R's.

OP, I couldn't say which of these two are better but I will say the M4100's bar brace means you probably can't run your shifter outboard of the brake lever to get better lever blade ergonomics.

Ah thanks for letting me know. I always found the modulation good but I've never ridden a fat bike on ice!

 

[sumayasol]

Thanks for the replies yes, I should have clarified (1) a linear lever leverage ratio is preferable exactly because this is being ridden on mountain freeze/thaw ice and (2) I'm not looking to spend a ton of extra money on this, I have most of the components I need lying around except the levers

 

[sumayasol]

OP, I couldn't say which of these two are better but I will say the M4100's bar brace means you probably can't run your shifter outboard of the brake lever to get better lever blade ergonomics.

I don't think the shifter position will be limited on the outboard side with either lever if you look at the final overlay I made the 4100's brace is in the same position as the 401's clamp, it looks like the cheaper 401 lever has more shifter position flexibility overall if you use a bar clamp shifter instead of I-Spec

 

[funks]

Difference is in ISPEC-EV.. Nevertheless, not having servo wave might mean no wandering bite point.

 

[TheOtherOne]

OP, I couldn't say which of these two are better but I will say the M4100's bar brace means you probably can't run your shifter outboard of the brake lever to get better lever blade ergonomics.

My bike came with the M4100 levers stock and the first thing I did was move the shifter and dropper remote outboard of the brake levers. No issues. There is plenty of room between the clamp and brace to move the shifter outboard.

I was going to upgrade the brakes (M4100/M420) soon after I got the bike but have found them to work well enough for me that I've kept them and spent the money in other areas. At some point I'm sure I'll upgrade them but for now they are fine.

 

[funks]

My bike came with the M4100 levers stock and the first thing I did was move the shifter and dropper remote outboard of the brake levers. No issues. There is plenty of room between the clamp and brace to move the shifter outboard.

I was going to upgrade the brakes (M4100/M420) soon after I got the bike but have found them to work well enough for me that I've kept them and spent the money in other areas. At some point I'm sure I'll upgrade them but for now they are fine.

You can also replace the calipers with the BR-MT520, or the BR-M6120 (those two are the same calipers,different branding) - ceramic pistons instead of plastic for pretty much the same price as the BR-MT420.

 

[TheOtherOne]

You can also replace the calipers with the BR-MT520, or the BR-M6120 (those two are the same calipers,different branding) - ceramic pistons instead of plastic.

Good to know. Like I mentioned I was going to do a brake upgrade first thing when I got the bike but found they worked fine for me and my riding style so I bought a new set of wheels & dropper instead But the brakes are still on the to-do list.

 

[Dharmabum]

Good to know. Like I mentioned I was going to do a brake upgrade first thing when I got the bike but found they worked fine for me and my riding style so I bought a new set of wheels & dropper instead But the brakes are still on the to-do list.

I bought a set of BR-M355 brakes from Ali for $72 and then swapped out the front caliper for a 520 @ $65. They work great!

 

[BurnieM]

You can also use the MT501 lever. This has an I-SPEC II clamp, is servo wave, has adjustable lever (but not bite point). Supposedly it does not suffer from a wandering bite point.