[newmusicplus]

Hi all ;-)
XTR or Avid Ti V brakes – (£60 or £29) should it really be a foregone conclusion ?
This is my dilemma… I currently have stock (although they seem to work well) V brakes on my MTB, and am definitely going to upgrade. I’ve never ridden on either Avid or Shimano’s! I’m pretty new to MTBs. However, I have only been looking at top of the range V’s as replacements, as I want to (eventually) kit my bike out with the best of what’s available – and hope reliability and longevity comes in to the bargain – I don’t want to have to replace anything for a very long while… Now, XTR’s are roughly £60 each, while I’ve seen the Ti’s for as little as £29 each – on offer of course (think Avid maybe doing away with the Ti’s, since the release of the latest range. So, do I go for the Ti’s or the XTR’s ? Anyone who’s used any of the above, I’d be happy to hear from… Also, I’d be interested to know what levers to go for, to suit each of the above V’s ?
Would I be mad to go for the XTR’s, bearing in mind the current offer price of the Ti’s ? One last thing… As I say above, briefly, I’m going to be doing many upgrades over the coming months, and feel myself going for XTR for both front and rear mechs, so does this automatically rule out the Ti’s ? I really need help! Btw, I’m not thinking of going for XTR cranks, as I rather fancy a set of Middleburn’s… Many thanks...

 

[AKBiker]

I have found that the XTR's bushings tend to get gummy after a year or two and don't rebound well after that. The best V-brake set up that I ever ran was a set of Avid brakes and levers (lasts longer than the XTR in my opinion too).

 

[Ratt]

Neither

I have found that the XTR's bushings tend to get gummy after a year or two and don't rebound well after that. The best V-brake set up that I ever ran was a set of Avid brakes and levers (lasts longer than the XTR in my opinion too).

If your current brakes are doing fine, I'd keep them and save money towards upgrading to disc brakes.

But if pressed i've always preferred Avid V-brakes. Not sure if you are gaining all that much by upgrading to the Ti brakes over the standard but if you go to the Ultimates, now we are talking.

 

[Bike Nazi]

The XTR V brake is a great brake

Hi all ;-)
XTR or Avid Ti V brakes - (£60 or £29) should it really be a foregone conclusion ?
This is my dilemma… I currently have stock (although they seem to work well) V brakes on my MTB, and am definitely going to upgrade. I've never ridden on either Avid or Shimano's! I'm pretty new to MTBs. However, I have only been looking at top of the range V's as replacements, as I want to (eventually) kit my bike out with the best of what's available - and hope reliability and longevity comes in to the bargain - I don't want to have to replace anything for a very long while… Now, XTR's are roughly £60 each, while I've seen the Ti's for as little as £29 each - on offer of course (think Avid maybe doing away with the Ti's, since the release of the latest range. So, do I go for the Ti's or the XTR's ? Anyone who's used any of the above, I'd be happy to hear from… Also, I'd be interested to know what levers to go for, to suit each of the above V's ?
Would I be mad to go for the XTR's, bearing in mind the current offer price of the Ti's ? One last thing… As I say above, briefly, I'm going to be doing many upgrades over the coming months, and feel myself going for XTR for both front and rear mechs, so does this automatically rule out the Ti's ? I really need help! Btw, I'm not thinking of going for XTR cranks, as I rather fancy a set of Middleburn's… Many thanks...

I don't know about the Avids but I highly recommend trying Ritchie (black) V brake pads in which ever brakes you decide on, they made the XTRs way better brakes, they don't heat up and fade as quickly as the XTR brake pads.

 

[What&son]

Agree....

I have found that the XTR's bushings tend to get gummy after a year or two and don't rebound well after that. The best V-brake set up that I ever ran was a set of Avid brakes and levers (lasts longer than the XTR in my opinion too).

Or even sooner than that...My friend´s ones were running dry of grease, so we had to put them appart in order to regrease the bearings. I actually think mines were missadjusted from the factory, they were far too rough. I had to open them too and adjust the thing, now they´re butterly smooth, but it´s not an easy operation for sure.
I would get the Avids if you get a good price, but think that these turn over bushings, not bearings as the xtr or the Ultimates, so they might develop play after a while and is not adjustable.Some people can live with it. Not me.
If I had to get a pair now I would go for the Ultimates.They turn on bearings,don´t have all the linkage parallelogram stuff of the xtr´s, and maybe better pads.

 

[uber-stupid]

Well... here's the thing. Avid SD7 adn Avid Ti are the same thing, only the Ti has titanium hardware. The brake caliper itself is the same. And the SD7 is perhaps the best V brake I've ever tried. The shimano BS with the parallel push is a marketing gimmick, adn it provides more moving parts to wear out. The SD7 is forged aluminum, which is stiffer than cast or billet aluminum, due to the effects of forging on the aluminum, so theoretically, the aluminum in the Ultimate is actually more flexible. And the SD7 is remarkably affordable when you compare it to the competition. A stiffer, cheaper component with fewer things to go wrong, and therefore less maintenance. I ran an SD7 with a ceramic rim for a while on one of my bikes. I currently run an avid 203 disc on a different bike. From my own experience, I think the two are roughly comparable in power.

The Avid SD Ultimate is a very, very nicely machined part. For the first month after I bought mine, I had it sitting on a shelf to admire. It's truly gorgeous.

But, for my money, not very much stronger than the SD-7. Very pretty, and when I'm done with it, I'll clean it, mount it, and put it on a coffee table or something, but it's really not strong enough to justify the price. It is stronger, I think, than the 7, but not much.

The Ultimate levers, on the other hand, have a ball bearing instead of a bushing in the pivot... so they'll never get sloppy. Now THAT is worth the money. The barrel adjusters are a little weird, but the clamp can be taken off the bar, without removing hand grips or anything like that. Which is also cool. The brake levers will undoubtedly be part of the display.

 

[E-Z11]

My brothers brakes

although i personnally dont own either type (i've got LX), My older brother has a pair of each. he says the XTR's have more power. i am a beliver in parrelel push! it makes so much sense. If your a "weight weenie" i'd say get the avids, otherwise go for the XTR.