Avid BB7 Mountain S vs regular BB7

[Scoox]

I'm putting together a new bike. I'm a big fan of mech discs and I was all set to grab a nice pair of BB7s but then the BB7 Mountain S came up on Google which looks very similar to the regular BB7s except for the finish and colours. I wonder if anyone here uses it here. I don't care much for colours but I live in China where there are way too many fake Avid products and buying a rare variant usually means I don't get shafted.

The SRAM website says:

• Regular BB7 intended use: XC/TRAIL/AM/FR/DH
• BB7 Mountain S intended use: Cross Country, Trekking, Comfort, Mountain

That kinda suggests the regular BB7 is beefier but SRAM couldn't be bothered to even give any details about the differences or even the obvious product comparison table, which is quite embarrassing for a company of their size...

 

 

Edited June 12, 2016 by Scoox

[gage-mann]

Isn't it just a little less beefy/lighter and made to look nice for light bikes and fit in with a more aerodynamic spec'd bike?

If it takes the same pads I think the only difference is the appearance and a tiny amount of weight saved with them, they only do a 140mm and 160mm rotor option too don't they? And with lighter sram rotor? 

If your putting them on something that you actually use the brakes harshly on I'd go with normal bb7s

[Scoox]

Yeah I just don't know where the weight savings come from, which is dumb of them not to state. The description says it supports 160/180/200mm rotors. BTW  sorry I had posted the wrong pic in my original post, fixed now.

I love the regular BB7 but in China you get a fake one 9 out of 10 times, so I was hoping these would be the ticket for me. Keep the replies coming, thanks!

Edited June 12, 2016 by Scoox

[gage-mann]

Alright that's strange, the black caliper looks pretty much the same as the normal bb7 which is confusing. Maybe a solution would be to order from an official dealer or get some near new ones off eBay? Depends how much the xc ones actually cost I mean if they're cheap enough you may as well try them as they look pretty similar and support big rotors.

 

was that silver caliper the one the black ones replacing or the SL caliper? Confused as to wether they're are 2 or 3 versions now lol

[Scoox]

Gray = Regular BB7, Black = BB7 Mountain S and BB7 Road S (not SL), Shiny silver = BB7 Road SL only, Matte silver = BB7 Road.

The difference between regular, Mountain and Road (based on what I've read) is that regular and Mountain both have greater mechanical advantage than Road, which means on the Roads the brake pads move more distance for the same amount of brake lever travel, but the downside is less braking power, so the Road variant is off my shopping list.

[niconj]

The only difference is titanium bolts, organic (vs. sintered) pads and the rotors that come with the brake. Take an "non s" BB7, put organic pads in there and buy some titanium bolts and you got an "s" version.

The road version is supposed to be used with road bike shift-brake levers. That's why the mechanical advantage is different. Road levers have a different lever pull than MTB levers.

Edited June 12, 2016 by niconj

[Scoox]

I emailed SRAM and here's what they said:

The only difference between BB7 and BB7s is finish, and hardware. The hardware on BB7 is painted steel, while the hardware on the BB7s is stainless. Performance-wise, they are identical.

which is very confusing, because the BB7 and BB7 Mountain S callipers are both made of forged aluminium, so I'm not sure which "hardware" (which bit that is I have no clue) is steel or stainless steel. The claim that "performance-wise they are identical" is hard to believe, otherwise they wouldn't have bothered to list different intended uses for each model, plus each model comes with different pads (regular vs organic) which means the performance will necessarily be different. I assume they were just talking about the mechanical advantage. I'm emailing them again.

[niconj]

It is the same brake with different materials used. I have taken apart both and the inner parts are interchangeable. Hardware = bolts. The use is due to the different brake pads used for the mountain (sintered) and the mountain s (organic).

Edited June 14, 2016 by niconj

[Scoox]

SRAM replied again, it's basically what niconj says:

Hardware refers to bolts of the brake unit. The caliper made in two halves- the halves are held together with two main caliper bolts. Also, the caliper requires two long bolts (paired with conical washers) to hold the unit to the caliper adapter, or disc post mount. There is an additional cable retention bolt that secures the cable to the brake unit, so the brake will function. We refer to these bolts collectively as “hardware”. The BB7 do come with steel backed Organic brake compound, which do wear slightly faster but are significantly quieter under braking. The BB7 come with metal sintered pads. They are designed for the same application.