Jamie East Posted November 23, 2008 Report Share Posted November 23, 2008 Hi all, recenetly I havent been getting on with my front maggy, due to the stupidly loud honk everytime i touch the lever! So im now looking to get a front disc, but dont really know which one to get. So what do people reccommend, looking for something that offers good modulation, but still has power. Currently have my eyes on the Hope mini and Louise FR, but wondered what else is out there. But are there other disc brakes out there suitable for trials? (would prefer hydraulic)Avid juicy's, Hayes, Formula, Shimano etc. anything considered.Thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
monkeyseemonkeydo Posted November 23, 2008 Report Share Posted November 23, 2008 Hope Trial. Only one purely designed for trials. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sidehop Stuart Posted November 23, 2008 Report Share Posted November 23, 2008 I have a Hayes 9 on the front of my echo lites it feels really sharp and the lever is 2 finger. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jamie East Posted November 23, 2008 Author Report Share Posted November 23, 2008 Hope Trial. Only one purely designed for trials.Thats what id like, too expensive though Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
N.Wood Posted November 23, 2008 Report Share Posted November 23, 2008 Don't bother with the new (black) BB7 caliper if thats the way you were headed. I couldn't get mine to work for shit, felt so spongey and horrible. The older silver ones however are awesome. I now have a Mono Trial, and its really good. Avid Juicys are pretty good, though not as powerful as BB7s/Mono trials. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Captain Scarlet Posted November 23, 2008 Report Share Posted November 23, 2008 Mono trials have a real nice lever feel to them, and I easily prefer a disc on the front to a Magura.But time after time I have considered going for an Avid BB7.I've had times where my Hope will work amazingly well, and times where it just doesn't want to know, just varies in hold whenever it wants to.Okay this may be down to maintaining the brake, but even when I file down the pads after they have been glazed, I bed it back in, its good for a week and then it doesn't hold as well again.Another fact to consider is setting up the brake, from what I have heard BB7's are a lot easier to set-up, Hopes are difficult as to centralise the rotor you have to shim the calliper (okay this isn't much of a job but its hassle compared with the BB7), and you have the variable of Hydraulic, which such nusances I've had in the past such as sticky pistons etc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joe_Elding Posted November 23, 2008 Report Share Posted November 23, 2008 The two best Discs i've had have been my old school magura louise and a BB7...My Juicy 7 was wack and when i ran a hope mono trial i found it so sensitive to contamination id be boiling it up every week or two, more hassle than its worth. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt Burrows Posted November 24, 2008 Report Share Posted November 24, 2008 Don't bother with the new (black) BB7 caliper if thats the way you were headed. I couldn't get mine to work for shit, felt so spongey and horrible. The older silver ones however are awesome.Whats so different between the old and new ones, not a lot in it really? I've heard quite a few people say the new ones are spongey but as a bike mechanic I'm convinced its all in the set-up. I didn't notice much difference going straight from old to new BB7 on my bike. I've tried a few paired with Ultimate levers on other bikes and they felt super stiff. I wouldn't say the new one is a big improvement, but I do think the new adjuster dials are more robust after hitting mine a few times.To the OP, if you can't afford a Mono trial I'd say BB7. No other hydraulic disc has the same bite that is so crucial for front wheel trials moves, and if you're used to a powerfull maggie I doubt you'd be happy with a Juicy 7. Also I think any disc brake will have more modulation than a front maggie. The BB7 bites sharply compared to other brakes but it still has plenty of modulation for trials moves.If you'd prefer loads of modulation over bite for streety moves and are set on a hydro, the Juicy 7s are good for the money. Others I'd consider looking at are Magura Martas (very powerful), also the new Avid Elixirs are really nice but might be a bit expensive.Whatever you get though I can't stress how much the set-up can affect the brake performance. Discs can be fussy bastards to get perfect especially hydraulics. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greetings Posted November 24, 2008 Report Share Posted November 24, 2008 I'd recommend a BB5, coupled with an SD7 lever it's really one of the best front brakes around. I've had both the 5 and 7 and really don't understand why one would want to pay double for an extra adjuster knob which is fairly useless (unless you're a lazy sod). Neither of these brakes offer as much modulation as a Hope and are very aggressive, but you can easily adjust to that. Anyway, money no object I'd still have a BB over a Hope as a front brake. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grant_hundley Posted November 24, 2008 Report Share Posted November 24, 2008 I'd recommend a BB5, coupled with an SD7 lever it's really one of the best front brakes around. I've had both the 5 and 7 and really don't understand why one would want to pay double for an extra adjuster knob which is fairly useless (unless you're a lazy sod). Neither of these brakes offer as much modulation as a Hope and are very aggressive, but you can easily adjust to that. Anyway, money no object I'd still have a BB over a Hope as a front brake.Aren't the pads bigger on the bb7? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greetings Posted November 24, 2008 Report Share Posted November 24, 2008 Aren't the pads bigger on the bb7?Yeah, they're much bigger. But from my experience, both those brakes have very similar performance, I actually found the BB5 to have much more bite. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grant_hundley Posted November 24, 2008 Report Share Posted November 24, 2008 Pads will wear quicker too though..Not too sure how the pad size would affect performance.. bit confused to be honest Kinda just think bigger pad = more power.But if you press a pencil into your hand it won't press in half as much as a pin would, so I guess with a smaller pad the pressure will be increased? Confused... Probably wrong Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
weirdoku Posted November 24, 2008 Report Share Posted November 24, 2008 (edited) Pads will wear quicker too though..Not too sure how the pad size would affect performance.. bit confused to be honest Kinda just think bigger pad = more power.But if you press a pencil into your hand it won't press in half as much as a pin would, so I guess with a smaller pad the pressure will be increased? Confused... Probably wrong But what if you think of it this way? Bigger pads means bigger surface area so more friction on the rotors, therefore a better hold on the rotors.Jamie, did you try my mod with the mini mono on it? Next time have a try and see which you like more, if you remember how my BB5 feels. But from my opinion, the mono mini doesn't feel much better than my BB5. With a rotor with more holes I think my BB5 would have been just as good as my mini mono setup at the moment. Next time Luke comes out ask to see if you can try his stock, he has a bb7 on the front and he finds that has more bite than his hope monos. Edited November 24, 2008 by weirdoku Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ross McArthur Posted November 24, 2008 Report Share Posted November 24, 2008 (edited) You should always look in the For Sale threads on here if your after a front brake. There is always one on the go. Or alternativly, put up a wanted thread for a disc brake once you have came to the decision on what you would like. You should get one rather cheap. Its always good to buy from a bike mechanic or someone you know will have maintained the brake well. The mono trials are really good but the pistons need to be moist(giggedy) ....to keep the performance up. I also must stress, most other disc brakes will be good for slowing you down on a big hill, but just watch with the mono trial. The pads will loose their grippy nature if burnt out down a slope.I like the feel of hydraulic discs, mechanicals feel strange to me. But most BB7s ive felt have very good bite.Hope that helps. Edited November 24, 2008 by Ross McArthur Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
N.Wood Posted November 24, 2008 Report Share Posted November 24, 2008 Whats so different between the old and new ones, not a lot in it really? I've heard quite a few people say the new ones are spongey but as a bike mechanic I'm convinced its all in the set-up. I didn't notice much difference going straight from old to new BB7 on my bike. I've tried a few paired with Ultimate levers on other bikes and they felt super stiff. I wouldn't say the new one is a big improvement, but I do think the new adjuster dials are more robust after hitting mine a few times.I have both calipers here in front of me, the new one is 2 piece and bolted through, the older one appears to be cast in one piece then bolted.The new one has a lack of material around the top of the pad area along with lack of material on the inboard side of the caliper, compared to the old one.I too have been a bike mechanic in the past, and I've used BB7s for around 4 years now, using multiples of both Avid SD7 and XTR levers. I have gone through 3 different older silver calipers (all of them snapped) and obviously replaced cables/pads/rotors more than once per caliper. All of this meaning the brake had to be re-set up.I can assure you the same skill was used setting up the new caliper compared to the old ones.However I agree the new adjustment dials are both more hand-friendly and more robust. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alex Dark Posted November 24, 2008 Report Share Posted November 24, 2008 im using a mono mini and im not impressed with it at all......no real power and virtually no bite, should be changing to a juicy 5 or a bb7 asap Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jamie East Posted November 24, 2008 Author Report Share Posted November 24, 2008 Cheers guys Decided to go down the BB7 route, just a few questions...N Wood: Are you saying that the old caliper is better than the new one?? Im kinda persuaded by the 08 version, anyone else notice any differences to the new caliper?Oh, and what cables do people run with their BB's?Thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
N.Wood Posted November 24, 2008 Report Share Posted November 24, 2008 N Wood: Are you saying that the old caliper is better than the new one??In my experience, definately.I ran a linear cable outer and a Clarks inner on my last BB7, though have run XTR outer/inner, linear slic, clarks, jagwire etc etc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jake Beach Posted November 24, 2008 Report Share Posted November 24, 2008 Hope mono trial. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sapu Posted November 25, 2008 Report Share Posted November 25, 2008 necanical-hayes mx2: best mecanical brake(fact )ive tested the bb5(crap) and the bb7 is good enough but the mx2 has mor bike steefer fell and mor simple design. and its cheap here (30 quid)hydraulical:hayes stroker trail:best brake for this price(60 quid) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bonzojim Posted November 25, 2008 Report Share Posted November 25, 2008 hii use hope front and rear they have never let me down never give me any problems they work well in all conditions, in my opinion they are the best but if your not sure give tartybikes a ring and they will be happy to advise you on the right brake for your needs , if it were me i would buy new .james s. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alex Dark Posted November 26, 2008 Report Share Posted November 26, 2008 i would personally say, in my experience....go for an avid bb7...im going to try a juicy 5 shortly so ill see how that performs Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nathie wafie Posted November 26, 2008 Report Share Posted November 26, 2008 Jamie!!mate get a bb7! 180mm even powerful enough on 26inch, i have a 203mm 2008 version on my Gu, and works great with abit of tuning!!!!nath Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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