Mountain Biking

Ive got a Vitus Sentier 29 that I got a few months back when they dropped to sub £500. Great bike and loving weekly MTB trips.

So far I've converted it to tubeless and fitted a dropper post. The bike isnt lacking anywhere really but the brakes are pretty dire.

They havent given up on me but they are a stand out weak point of the bike.

Clarks M2 with 180mm Front & Rear rotors.

I was looking at changing them out but not really sure what to. One of my buddies I ride with has suggested the Shimano SLX M7100 set front and rear as it should be a direct fit to what I have on the bike but I'm concerned it would be changing a single piston brake for effectively the same thing from a better brand?

I can see the top spec Sentier from Vitus has the same brakes albeit with the four piston brake on the front.

is there a better suggestion I could look at or should I just deal with it and stop considering upgrades which are worth half the bikes value
 
rjk said:
Ive got a Vitus Sentier 29 that I got a few months back when they dropped to sub £500. Great bike and loving weekly MTB trips.

So far I've converted it to tubeless and fitted a dropper post. The bike isnt lacking anywhere really but the brakes are pretty dire.

They havent given up on me but they are a stand out weak point of the bike.

Clarks M2 with 180mm Front & Rear rotors.

I was looking at changing them out but not really sure what to. One of my buddies I ride with has suggested the Shimano SLX M7100 set front and rear as it should be a direct fit to what I have on the bike but I'm concerned it would be changing a single piston brake for effectively the same thing from a better brand?

I can see the top spec Sentier from Vitus has the same brakes albeit with the four piston brake on the front.

is there a better suggestion I could look at or should I just deal with it and stop considering upgrades which are worth half the bikes value
Click to expand...
I run budget Shimano MT200's on my Vitus Sommet and they have enough stopping power to send you over the bars with a 203mm front and 180mm rear rotor, 2 piston calipers are not bad.
 
Just did my first ride clipless and wasn't expecting to improve as much as i did, PR'd pretty much every climb and high speed rough descent, definitely a lot more confidence hitting the rough stuff at speed now.
 
rjk said:
Ive got a Vitus Sentier 29 that I got a few months back when they dropped to sub £500. Great bike and loving weekly MTB trips.

So far I've converted it to tubeless and fitted a dropper post. The bike isnt lacking anywhere really but the brakes are pretty dire.

They havent given up on me but they are a stand out weak point of the bike.

Clarks M2 with 180mm Front & Rear rotors.

I was looking at changing them out but not really sure what to. One of my buddies I ride with has suggested the Shimano SLX M7100 set front and rear as it should be a direct fit to what I have on the bike but I'm concerned it would be changing a single piston brake for effectively the same thing from a better brand?

I can see the top spec Sentier from Vitus has the same brakes albeit with the four piston brake on the front.

is there a better suggestion I could look at or should I just deal with it and stop considering upgrades which are worth half the bikes value
Click to expand...

Magura MT Trail Sport Hydraulic Disc Brake Set

<p>The MT Trail Sport is the newest addition to the Magura brake family. With design and performance features taken from the higher spec. MT Trail Carbon, you g
winstanleysbikes.co.uk winstanleysbikes.co.uk

Something like this is where I'd be looking, also consider swapping the front rotor our for a 200/203mm if you're still feeling its lacking.
 
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I have two questions.

My old Drift HD helmet cam has seen better days and is holding on by a thread. I don't need anything fancy, it's mostly there for small road sections I have to take to get to trails. The only feature I have to have is a replacable battery. My drift is years old and I've easily been able to replace the battery when needed. New cam will be kept just as long, so replacable battery is 100% a must. The gopro hero 9 black is only £199, gets good reviews and has removable battery. Anything else to consider or just get that? £200 is pretty much my limit.

Second thing, I'm having an annoying issue with my brake, and I'm all out of ideas.

I have a Vitus Sentier 2021, it came with Tektro HD-M290 brakes. Since I've had the bike, it's been fine, 0 issues, 0 noise from the brakes.

That was until I changed pads earlier this year. Since changing them, once they are bed in and gripping, there's an annoying squeak when braking. It's not all the time, it seems to only do it at a certain pressure & speed, occasionally you can feel a slight vibration from it, but it's mostly just the noise. It seems to shut up for a while, when it's used a lot/warm. For example you drag it at the bottom of a hill to kill your speed, it will squeal a bit when you first put it on, then shut up. Then it will be silent for X amount of time before coming back.

Caliper is aligned fine. Disc doesn't rub and is centred. Allinged the same way I always do it. Caliper slightly loose, squeeze lever a couple of times, let it bite and centre, then do up.
Tried 3rd party pads and official Tektro ones. The Tektro ones are the same pads/compound as when it was not squealing.
Tried a brand new disc as well.
Was 100% fine, until the pad swap.
Both pistons are moving fine, I also gave a bleed and general clean.
Power is fine, it's just the noise.
Brand new disc and pads were tried at the same time, so not contamination.

I'm out of ideas. I even tried just leaving it be over summer as it's just an annoyance, see if sorted itself, but nope. I did read someone having similar issues and dropping to a 160 at the rear instead of 180 sorted it, but the bike came with a 180 and was perfectly fine until the pad change. I've never had this issue before when changing pads, so bit stumped.
 
If you can pick one up for the discounted £2300 it's an absolute bargain! I was seriously considering getting one a few weeks back as a spare bike along side my stereo hybrid.

The fork and shock on the LT aren't the best but they can be upgraded at a later date if desired. The Bafang motor is supposed to be decent with spare parts readily available.
As an entry into EMTB it would be really hard to beat.
 
robj20 said:
Actually tempted by a Virus E-Mythique LT seems such great value for money to get into emtb.
Click to expand...

Same. Incredible vfm, and with the issues I've seen with shimano motors. The bafang doesn't bother me in the slightest.

Could even get the cheapest one and upgrade the forks, and still have an insanely cheap ebike. I'll probably pick one up feb/march.
 
Armadillo said:
Caliper is aligned fine. Disc doesn't rub and is centred. Allinged the same way I always do it. Caliper slightly loose, squeeze lever a couple of times, let it bite and centre, then do up.
Tried 3rd party pads and official Tektro ones. The Tektro ones are the same pads/compound as when it was not squealing.
Tried a brand new disc as well.
Was 100% fine, until the pad swap.
Both pistons are moving fine, I also gave a bleed and general clean.
Power is fine, it's just the noise.
Brand new disc and pads were tried at the same time, so not contamination.

I'm out of ideas. I even tried just leaving it be over summer as it's just an annoyance, see if sorted itself, but nope. I did read someone having similar issues and dropping to a 160 at the rear instead of 180 sorted it, but the bike came with a 180 and was perfectly fine until the pad change. I've never had this issue before when changing pads, so bit stumped.
Click to expand...


What aftermarket pads did you try?
I saw a video on something similar and it suggested the brake pad backing plate was machined slightly incorrectly which caused the backing plate to vibrate against the calliper body when braking causing a noise. the fix was to simply file a small amount from the edge of the backing plate.

I'll see if I can find the video.

Found it. Not saying this is your issue but might be worth a look.

 
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Begbie said:
Same. Incredible vfm, and with the issues I've seen with shimano motors. The bafang doesn't bother me in the slightest.

Could even get the cheapest one and upgrade the forks, and still have an insanely cheap ebike. I'll probably pick one up feb/march.
Click to expand...
I wouldn't change anything expect the brakes until it broke.
Already got some Hope Tech that I could fit.
 
New saddle for tomorrows ride, finally getting rid of the fizik that came on my Orbea Rise, horrible saddle. Got a specialized bridge comp with mimic, feels nice on a spin around the block!

Been a bit of an update month for the bike, just put some Raceface 35mm rise bars and shorter stem on, new chain and some renthal super tacky grips. Got some 160mm XT cranks and Nukeproof DH flats to go on, but my mates away and got the parktool crank remover I need to get the old cranks off.

Next month will be some Hope Tech 4 levers to replace the Tech 3 I’ve currently got on my V4 brakes.

Triggers broom!… :D
 
NightSt@lk3r said:
Thanks, it's been a fun project but i can't think of anything else it needs now, so just ordered a Ragley Marley frame to build up :D
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If I was you I would probably move your fork to the ragley and change your fork on the vitus to either a cheap Yari (upgrade it's damper to charger 2.1 for £150 making it effectively a lyrik) or look out for a good second hand fork.

Charger for your revelation is on offer at tredz here

RockShox Damper Upgrade Kit CHARGER2 RCT3 Crown - Out of Stock | Tredz Bikes

RockShox Damper Upgrade Kit CHARGER2 RCT3 Crown. Out of Stock. All Spares are delivered free to the UK mainland*, 365 day returns & Price Match.
www.tredz.co.uk www.tredz.co.uk
 
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Hedge said:
If I was you I would probably move your fork to the ragley and change your fork on the vitus to either a cheap Yari (upgrade it's damper to charger 2.1 for £150 making it effectively a lyrik) or look out for a good second hand fork.

Charger for your revelation is on offer at tredz here

RockShox Damper Upgrade Kit CHARGER2 RCT3 Crown - Out of Stock | Tredz Bikes

RockShox Damper Upgrade Kit CHARGER2 RCT3 Crown. Out of Stock. All Spares are delivered free to the UK mainland*, 365 day returns & Price Match.
www.tredz.co.uk www.tredz.co.uk
Click to expand...
I'll be keeping the Revelation's on the Vitus, i've got a set of 150mm Recon's that i'll put on the Ragley.

The Charger damper is an upgrade i have planned but it will not be until the new year.
 
NightSt@lk3r said:
I'll be keeping the Revelation's on the Vitus, i've got a set of 150mm Recon's that i'll put on the Ragley.

The Charger damper is an upgrade i have planned but it will not be until the new year.
Click to expand...

Ah right fair enough. The Charger upgrade is significant mind. I've done it twice now and always been impressed.

I'd seen the ragley Marley build for £800 with bomber z2 rail forks which I think was difficult to beat but I suppose there's loads of cheap 27.5 wheelsets and tyres about now which helps.

Was tempted to build similar for my nephew but in end I bought him an Orbea occam on ebay for £830.

So many bargains on second hand bikes now. A grand gets brilliant stuff.
 
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Hedge said:
Ah right fair enough. The Charger upgrade is significant mind. I've done it twice now and always been impressed.

I'd seen the ragley Marley build for £800 with bomber z2 rail forks which I think was difficult to beat but I suppose there's loads of cheap 27.5 wheelsets and tyres about now which helps.

Was tempted to build similar for my nephew but in end I bought him an Orbea occam on ebay for £830.

So many bargains on second hand bikes now. A grand gets brilliant stuff.
Click to expand...
Yeah it's a good time to buy into MTB, only reason i bought the Ragley frame is because i have most of the parts i need to build it already that i've taken off my Vitus as i've upgraded it, and CRC currently selling Ragley frames for £170 didn't help the decision :D
 
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