Disk brakes - Are they all rubbish?

spengos

spengos

spengos

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I'm quite sensitive to sounds coming from my bike. I like it to be quiet and any rubbing, tapping, whining really irritates me. It also makes me feel like the bike isn't working as it should and I lose confidence in it.

Every single bike I've owned with disk brakes has had problems. The brakes themselves seem to serve their primary purpose and provide sufficient stopping power, but they're always making some kind of noise, and no matter how much tinkering you do, the problems remain.

Most of the bikes I've owned have used Avid brakes, so I'm wondering if its just this make or do all disk brakes suffer from these issues?

My current bike is a Canyon and cost me a hefty amount of dosh, so you'd think it would come with decent brakes. It seems to have one of the best brakes made by Avid, but they're still ****. Ive had it for about 4 months and the bike has been flawless apart from the brakes. No matter how many times I fiddle with the alignment and clean everything up, the pads rub on the disk, and both brakes suffer from the common brake squeal when the brakes are applied. My previous bike was a Spesh Stumpjumper. This also had Avid brakes and eventually they got so noisy I sold it.

Is it just a case of spending hundreds to get the very best brakes(whatever they are - Formula, Hope, XTR?). Am I just unlucky and always get bikes with faulty brakes? Or do I just except the fact that they're all the same and live with it?

Please fully star out all swearing in future. Thank you.
 
They aren't faulty, they are Avids! Some people have a 'mare with them. Some people never have a problem. The newer Avid brakes are meant to be better. Everyone has a different opinion on what brake is best, be it Formula or Hope or whatever.
 
My hopes dont rub at all, unless some **** gets lodged in there, the pads retract plenty when you release the lever a good mm or more each side of the disc.
 
weescott is right, some people seem to have nothing but praise for Avid, others have nothing but scorn. I have BB7s on my commuter and I have found them to be good as long as I keep them properly adjusted.
 
All brakes squeel under the right circumstaces, they aren;t faulty.
Which pads are you using as this makes the biggest difference?

Avids can have the Avid warble Turkey noise, but again - personally found that it was the pads I was using at the time and some vibration - that was rectified by putting a decent pad retainer on.

For example - rubbish pads did this to my Formula The Ones


I had the same happen on Avids, same on hope (for the short time I owned a pair). Not had Shimano brakes but im sure the same applies.

Bottom line - buy the Manufacturer's brand pads, everything else is a false economy in my opinion
 
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Supercow said:
All brakes squeel under the right circumstaces, they aren;t faulty.
Which pads are you using as this makes the biggest difference?
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My current brakes are Avid Elixir 7. I'm just using the pads that came with the bike. Only had the bike a few months so haven't had the need to replace them yet. Are these not the right pads then?

Previous bike had Avid Elixir R, which is a custom brake made for the Stumpy I think. Never replaced the pads on these either, but they squealed pretty much the whole time I had the bike.

The rubbing seems to be caused by not enough space between the pads for the disk to move freely. Despite pushing the pistons right in, the pads still rub. Maybe I need to let some oil out to reduce the pressure a bit? I dunno.. Bit nervous about messing with the inside of the brakes as don't want to make it worse.

Supercow said:
For example - rubbish pads did this to my Formula The Ones
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But did they ever work well or did they only start squealing after you replaced them with a 3rd party pad or something?
 
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I think it might just be an Avid issue.

On my Downhill bike I've had the same set of Hayes disc brakes since 2004 and they are fine and only squeal when really working, which is more than acceptable.

On my XC bike, it originally came with a set of carbon Hayes brakes, I got fed up with them though because I hate the reservoirs on them and its really easy to break the pistons.

I decided to switch them for Avid Elixir CR a few years back because they offered much better stopping power, look really nice and were brand new at the time and supposed to be good with lots of customisation.

The one thing I like is that they are very easy to bleed.
What I don't like though is that no matter how hard I try to adjust them, they always seem to rub on the discs a little, which results in noise and likely unnecessary wear. The brakes also seem to quite quickly go spongy, meaning I'm forever having to re-bleed them.

Would I buy Avid brakes again? Nope.
 
Think I'm going to invest in a new brake set then. Looking at a few reviews it seems Hope are popular and seem good quality. Anyone have these?

Although, I already have the XTR group set so it might make sense to get the XTR brakes too.
 
OP, I'm exactly like you. I got my new Marin Point Reyes which had Hayes crappy MX which no matter how much i tinkered, gave me a slight rub. I even took it into a pro shop who charged me 1/2 hr labor and managed to get it to go-away.. However it quickly came back.. Nowadays, I've learned to just live with it.. I actually have an ipod on most of the time. I thought it was just cos i had a lower spec set, but as you've learned and as I did, its something people either don't notice or learn to live with..
 
Ordered a set of Shimano XT M785 last night, so will see how I get on with those. £180 for the front and back is quite pricey so it better work. :/

I'm hoping if they're ok I can sell the Avid 7's on ebay to offset the cost of the new ones a bit.
 
spengos said:
£180 for the front and back is quite pricey
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Unfortunately, it's not. Thats quite cheap for a set of brakes. :(

spengos said:
I'm hoping if they're ok I can sell the Avid 7's on ebay to offset the cost of the new ones a bit.
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Yes, stick them on ebay. Even if they are not ok, be honest about the description and somebody will buy them. Even if you sell them as spares/repair, they'll still go for a reasonable price.
 
booyaka said:
Save yourself £180, buy some earplugs to stop you hearing the noise!:p:p
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I'm tempted with this!

Recently put some Elixir 9's on my Enduro, and oh god the noise! Every time I touch the lever I get a horribly high pitched squeeling! But, I've no problems with Avid brakes even if they are louder than anything I've ever heard before, because they keep working.

I am tempted to try out some Hope's on my Hardtail when it comes though.
 
I have the same issues with my avids and I've been planning on replacing them with the XT's for a while. I'll maybe wait until end of summer sales now.
 
It's a flaw in the Avid design where air gets trapped somewhere in the brake lever/res requiring a careful 2 stage bleed.
 
I find with my formula oro's that sintered pads will tend to do this, especially when it's wet.

I find the best pads are the disco pads 3x life ceramic, decent stopping power with no squeal and good longevity.

Though saying that, many sear by ebc golds, but i've never used them, would like to try kool stop mind.
 
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