What's up with Avid hydraulics? Everyone who owns them seems to have a complaint about them, usually about the constant need for re-bleeding. I have a pair of Avid Elixir 5s. I found out the hard way that you can't store your bike hanging it front-wheel up, or you will get air in your line. What kind of crappy design is this? I've used other hydraulic brake systems for over 12 years (Hayes, Shimano) and never encountered any of this crap before.
Do all Avid Hydraulic Brakes Suck?
2012 Codes are awesome.
Yes.
I heard that Avid cable brakes work really well. Never tried them myself. I'm on old Shimano hydros. Easy bleedin' and rarely needin'.
Let it flow, let yourself go
Slow and low, that is the tempo
Back in like 2005, they were the best out there, but now they've fallen behind and suck compared to other offerings such as Shimano, Hope, and Formula (the only 3 brake companies in my opinion worth running).
Hate to say this as I'll probably have my brakes fail horribly tomorrow now, but I've been running XO's with absolutely no issues on both my park and AM bike for a couple of years now. Really happy with them and would definitely buy them again.
jesus
i'm still running juicy5's with no issues!
I like Me formulas
I heard that Avid cable brakes work really well. Never tried them myself.
They do.
For cable brakes. I happily ran BB7s on my hardtail in 2001/2002ish. These days I think a cheap Shimano hydro is a better bet though.
And to expand on my earlier post a bit. The juicy 5s I had were passable. Good power and okay lever feel but they often squealed and pulsed(cheap rotors with poor thickness precision IMO). The Elixirs that I had were awful, the same squealing and pulsing but combined with less power and a squishy lever feel.
I'm on Shimano SLXs now (a relatively "cheap" brake) and they're an absolute dream by comparison.
I've had Elixir R, Elixir 5 and now Elixir CR with zero complaints or excessive bleeding needed. I always hang my bike by the front wheel as well. Not sure why others have problems and I don't.
I have had the same elixir CR brakes for 4 years and multiple sets of pads and have had absolutely no one issues. Zero issues with my two sets of Elixir Real brakes too. They have good power and are reliable.
They take some patience to bleed properly, but I only do it once a week year.
They take some patience to bleed properly, but I only do it once a week year.
Uhhh this line does not instill confidence. You mean once a year, right?
Not sure about the hanging stuff. The brand new brakes lost their pressure after a couple of weeks. One mechanic told me that if you laid the bike upside down and squeezed the brakes you could get air into the lines (I don't think I ever did this, but it seemed plausible). After a bleed and a few weeks of upright storage with the same almost-new new pair of Elixir 5s (I was injured), I lost my brake pressure on my first ride back at the WBP. Another mechanic told me to store the bike with both wheels flat.
people use brakes that arent from shimano? ?
hmm go figure..
I'm a bit of a Shimano fanboy but my Elixir CRs have been fine since new (maybe 3 years ago, can't remember) with just a quick bleed during the winter months. If you can't put the bike up on it's back wheel then there's an issue with your particular brake, not the brakes in general.
I've recently put my CRs on my DH bike and thrown some new BB7s I had lying around on my Chromag. I'm surprised by how powerful they are. A bit noisy at times but not enough for me to bother shelling out for the latest greatest hydros. They also sort of match the steel frame, old school XTR derailleur, Rollamajig and Shark Fin….
Edit - LOL find another mechanic! The levers are specifically designed to run either way around so why would putting the bike upside down make any difference?! This 'issue' with Avid brakes is normally (but not always) down to crappy bleeds, including factory ones.
treezz
wow you are a ass
When you hang the bike its not actually allowing air into the system per-say, it's allowing the air to rise to the lever which is why they pull in and can often be pumped back.
Avid uses cheap o-rings in with DOT fluid, which is a bad call and is often why when you bleed avid brakes the fluid is thick and black, sometimes even metallic as it has corroded the metal in the system. That being said, my biggest issue with avid's is their inconsistency. Some people have rad luck, others don't. They also definitely don't have the most power in their various classes. I run Shimano because they are consistently rad, powerful, easy to work on….and they don't suck.
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