mr.tattoo Posted December 10, 2011 Report Share Posted December 10, 2011 whats the word on the street for the best rear v brake setup? will be goin on a zoot no grind, cheers Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Endohopper Posted December 11, 2011 Report Share Posted December 11, 2011 Largely personal preference , but I'm very satisfied with Avid SD 7 leversOddesey Linear slick cableShimano XT armsGeneric clear pads a la Trialtech etc Lightly ground Onza Ronnie rim Stiff booster Beyond that it's all about careful setup ,cutting the cable cleanly and ensuring that the cable / noodle don't exert force on the brake arms . In my case running a full length cable seems better than interrupting the outer at the frame's stops . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Le @ Tnn Engineering Posted December 11, 2011 Report Share Posted December 11, 2011 Big fan of the avid ultimate arms they have bearings instead of bushing. I can't say for sure but in a head to head test with non bearing arms they do "feel" like they perform better. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Borneo Posted December 12, 2011 Report Share Posted December 12, 2011 Yes, Avid Ultimate are the lick! Wish I hadn't sold mine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J Trials 31 Posted December 12, 2011 Report Share Posted December 12, 2011 (edited) Ultimates are a bit pricey, and I've never really tried them because of it. And I've not seen where they are THAT much better than standard calipers Right now I'm running SD5 calipers SD Magnesium lever Shimano XT cable TNN Belaeys on a medium grind and they are great! Though this is on a front brake... just noticed you were talking about rears Edited December 12, 2011 by J Trials 31 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Borneo Posted December 12, 2011 Report Share Posted December 12, 2011 Sold my ultimate v on eBay for £27 in mint condition so it didn't break the bank for someone. They are so stiff, nothing else compares when it comes to vs. Like I say I regret selling mine now. Gonna have to make do with a magura for my new build. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J.KYDD Posted December 13, 2011 Report Share Posted December 13, 2011 My old V-brake set up: Avid SD5 caliper Avid SD7 lever Odessy liniar outer with pre-stretched clarks cable Viz! Rim CNC backed Heatsink cousts Was an awesome brake set up - despite the Viz! rim Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ali C Posted December 13, 2011 Report Share Posted December 13, 2011 not a fan of Ultimate calipers (or levers). They are wider than Shimano's offerings plus I found the bearings couldn't cope very well with the fore/aft movement trials dishes out. My bearings always ended up notchy making the brake impossible to set the brake up so both pads hit at the same time. At the time of press, my fave combo is: Avid SD7 levers Shimano LX/XT calipers TNN LGV pads Shimano linear cable Shimano carbon booster. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aener Posted December 13, 2011 Report Share Posted December 13, 2011 (edited) It was a long time ago now, and I've since been on other people's bikes with Vees and would change the arms, but I had: SD7 lever. SD7 arms. Shimano Carbon Booster. Heatsink CNC backings with Yellows. Ed Potts made me some 4bolt-v adaptors. Wilkos cable. Was pretty good, but I think I'd follow the herd with XT arms if I were to get one now. Edited December 13, 2011 by aener Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ben_travis Posted December 13, 2011 Report Share Posted December 13, 2011 not a fan of Ultimate calipers (or levers). They are wider than Shimano's offerings plus I found the bearings couldn't cope very well with the fore/aft movement trials dishes out. My bearings always ended up notchy making the brake impossible to set the brake up so both pads hit at the same time. very much agreed. shimano arms for the win. i always found the avid levers more comfortable though (bar the ultimate) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Luke Rainbird Posted December 13, 2011 Report Share Posted December 13, 2011 I can kind of see why people might not like the Ultimate's bearings for trials, but in all the time I've used them I've been nothing but happy with them. I bought a set with notchy bearings once but it cost me £4 for a new set and took me 20 minutes to replace them, hardly a deal breaker for an excellent feeling brake for another year or two. The levers aren't a particularly nice profile though, so grab yourself either some SD7s or XTRs and you're onto an absolute winner. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Borneo Posted December 13, 2011 Report Share Posted December 13, 2011 Yeah, I know what people are saying about the bearings having a short life span. Bearings are a bit overkill anyway if you ask me. If I had a set now, I'd probably replace the bearings with brass bushing. On the plus side though, they look hella rad and they're stiff as! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jambo Posted December 14, 2011 Report Share Posted December 14, 2011 xtr lever phat backings heatsink yellows (on grey d521) sd5/7 calipers xtr booster primo linear cable I find the slimmer profile of the xtr lever comfier than the avid sd7 but the sd7 to be a better quality lever and much better value for money. On the 521 the yellow pads had no modualtion for manuals etc but was a crazy powerful brake when twined with the xtr booster. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
manuel Posted December 15, 2011 Report Share Posted December 15, 2011 My ultimate arms are about 5 years old and still pretty darn smooth. The stiffness is awesome and as I don't run a wide rim the profile doesn't matter much either. I've always run a smooth rim, so maybe it's the vibration from a grind that does them in? Anyway for a smooth rim run the standard pads a decent cable and an xtr lever (they feel awesome) and it is a win. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ghostrider88 Posted December 15, 2011 Report Share Posted December 15, 2011 My ultimate arms are about 5 years old and still pretty darn smooth. The stiffness is awesome and as I don't run a wide rim the profile doesn't matter much either. I've always run a smooth rim, so maybe it's the vibration from a grind that does them in? Anyway for a smooth rim run the standard pads a decent cable and an xtr lever (they feel awesome) and it is a win. Older ones were better in terms of durbility of bearings that´s why Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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