2012 SLX brakes
- Thread starter Inclag
- Start date
rad, I love the radiator design. Think it's a fantastic application for mtb, since vented rotors are heavy/unrealistic and large calipers are heavy....throw a light, alloy radiator right on the pad and all the heat can move into that.
This could be the perfect brake for a lot of gravity riders. The whole set that are too light or don't ride long/steep enough hills to take advantage of the full potential power of saint-esque brakes and are too practical to spend a lot of money on top tier XC brakes.
I think, like the SLX cranks, these have potential to deliver the performance of higher end components at competitive weights and at just about half the price! Excited! Hopefully they release their stuff like SRAM does (2012 products delivered in early 2011).
I think, like the SLX cranks, these have potential to deliver the performance of higher end components at competitive weights and at just about half the price! Excited! Hopefully they release their stuff like SRAM does (2012 products delivered in early 2011).
But XT still uses the radial mount lever?
well then, I guess I'll just have to wait another year to upgrade my (still functionning very well) XT brakes from 2005. nice.
Pretty safe to assume XT will follow the new XTR design at some point as well. Overall really great to see shimano stepping up their brake game.
f*** slx and xt, i want new saints with that design!
that would be awesome. this design is so much nicer looking then the old one.
They probably feel better cuz the pivot is closer to the bar but the "old" radial levers, especially Saint, manage to look both cleaner and burlier. These look awkward and flimsy to me, so right at home on a 29" XC bike.
+ They seem to finally move to adjustable hosing end at caliper in all models.
- The brake lever body goes further. I'd rather brake the brake lever than damage the brake body.
- The brake lever body goes further. I'd rather brake the brake lever than damage the brake body.
it seems as if they finally offer a solution to remove the brake lever without having to remove the grips, shifters etc....
Hell yes. The current generation of Saint has been around for a couple of years now, I wouldn't be surprised if they unveil an all new lineup fairly soon. Hopefully they keep the brakes stupidly powerful AND increase heat dissipation.
I think unex makes pads with some radiating surface for all brakes if you dig that kind of thing.
I took a look...not a bad idea but not nearly the same. These are almost like computer heatsinks...those are a "special pad" between the friction material and backing surface.
Why's that? Maybe Poland is different, but most places I've been, Shimano everything is readily available, and I've liked their brake pads so far.
Eh, shimano is almost as ubiquitous as avid parts or old hayes stuff from what I've seen.
The radiator pads will be harder to copy, but I'm sure somebody will eventually, especially if the market speaks.
Shy of smearing it with thermal paste, there's no way to replicate the thermal transfer quite as efficiently as one piece....although, liquid cooled brakes would be kind of cool if nothing else...
ha, forgot about those. They remind me of a combo of HOEP DH-4s and HR geiger.
I suppose these new crop of brakes are like an evolution of that design, kind of? I would think water cooling is way too heavy to be realistic in a bike application.
I suppose these new crop of brakes are like an evolution of that design, kind of? I would think water cooling is way too heavy to be realistic in a bike application.
didnt they actually make those? i swear i remember a old system with 3 pads back in the dayLike this old Shimano prototype?
Yeah that's what you're looking at in that photo, there was a double sided pad between the two rotors. I reckon that was an awesome idea, but it's obviously gotta be heavy.
Heavy was not the issue. They where way too powerful even with oil on the pads and disc.
Right. They made a few prototypes and gave'em to a few sponsored racers who found them to be too strong and grabby. They put oil on the pads to reduce bite.
I love turning a thread about new product into a nostalgia fest
I love turning a thread about new product into a nostalgia fest
Yeah back in like 1998. I bet you anything you like that people coming off current model Saints would not find them unrideable!
"too powerful" is so god damn funny to me.
Like there's a little roid rage pixie on your finger making you slam it against your handlebar.
I'm a buck sixty and the newer incarnation saints are are the best thing I've ever ridden......bought from a guy who weighs over 30lbs more than me who said they were too strong. It's all about the lazy. More energy for yelling at bltches and tucking your shirt tail in on your runs!
Like there's a little roid rage pixie on your finger making you slam it against your handlebar.
I'm a buck sixty and the newer incarnation saints are are the best thing I've ever ridden......bought from a guy who weighs over 30lbs more than me who said they were too strong. It's all about the lazy. More energy for yelling at bltches and tucking your shirt tail in on your runs!
lol
i love my saints, easy bleed, non-stripping mineral oil, power to boot. if only shimano can make them lighter.
i'm not as fast as some of you, so i use my brakes alot more. and the biggest difference i noticed with the increased power is much less hand fatigue at the end of a long run.
are they cheaper in poland or why you dont order them online if they are not avaiable?
You misunderstood me. Before trips I can get them fine. The prices will be pretty normal too but a couple of times Ive been in a sitiation when I needed a last minute pad buy and I was in some remote locations in the mountains with 1 small bike shop.
stock up then 
i had like 8 pairs of swissstop saint pads with me on my whistler trip, never needed them all in the end, but i could sell them with a little profit as the prices there a ridiculous.
i had like 8 pairs of swissstop saint pads with me on my whistler trip, never needed them all in the end, but i could sell them with a little profit as the prices there a ridiculous.
When I switched from XTs to The Ones (8" rotors on a DH bike with 2.7" tires) they were too powerful. I kept accidentally locking the tire (front and rear). Very little pressure at the lever caused amazing braking power and there was no squishiness. I let a little oil out of each lever (basically turning a perfect bleed into a flawed bleed) and now they have a bit less initial power and a softer lever. I can more easily control speed without over-braking or losing traction.
Riding around a parking lot they felt perfect at first and if you have really weak fingers the initial bleed would have been good, but when you're bouncing over terrain with limited traction and trying to go as fast as possible (already at the limits of traction) too powerful a brake that requires a very light touch hurts your speed.
okay, thought so. the pic said proto but i remember them in our store
Am I hauling on them as hard as I can most of the time? No. Is it nice to have that extra mega power on reserve when I do something dumb and need it? Hell yes.
Any rider reviews on these? $200 ebay'ed a set sounds pretty good.
I did a heat transfer project on disc brakes once (seeing how much heat went to the hub bearings was the goal). The rotors transfered heat so much better than the pad material that I could effectively ignore the heat lost to the caliper through the pads. Venti rotor is much better at shedding degrees.
what rotors, pads, and calipers did you use? I'd love to know, for science.
I know that my hopeless DH04s had great performance in a parking lot, but the second I got into a steep section, they were useless...I attributed that largely to the incredibly small pad size, and that's how the power dropped off.
I know that my hopeless DH04s had great performance in a parking lot, but the second I got into a steep section, they were useless...I attributed that largely to the incredibly small pad size, and that's how the power dropped off.
ha you bastard, i just saw this.
i said they were too powerful for a 5" travel trail bike with fast rolling pinned xc tires.
and i weight much more than 30lbs more than you. i am betting 45-50
in retrospect the problem was the crapshack tires, not the brakes, but lesson learned
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