[def]

Alright, I've got a few questions.
I've stepped away from riding dh so much recently and I've been flogging the xc bike pretty hard. I've gotten to the point where the wheels are damn near trashed and the brakes have pretty much had it. I'm in the market for both and I'm looking for some opinions and preferances.

Brakes: I'm currently on a mutt set of hayes - hfx-9 levers mated to G1 calipers running on XT rotors. (I know, but they were ultra cheap to build) These guys are ok, but they are noisey and have some trouble w/ fading. I had the original hope mini's before and liked the feel, but there just wasn't enough power. They also required constant attention and that damn noise! I was running hfx-mags on the v10 and they were pretty good as far as power and reliablity, but I wasn't in love. I've got a list of brakes, but I'm still unsure because no one around here varries and tries new things out. So: El Caminos, Jucy 7's, Mono Mini's, XTR or XT? I really like the idea of a 7" rotor in the front and hayes is now doing that as well as avid and hope. I've goofed on a rep's bike w/ XTR and they felt nice, but do they really have enough power? Are the new mini's an improvement over the old ones? So many choices and so many questions! I like lots of power as well as decent modulation. The reviews and word on the street has me leading towards avid's, I just want to hear what others here are thinking.

Wheels: I'm pretty smooth on wheels so they can be lighter than what I have. I do know how to build them (and have built many), so they don't have to be prebuilt. I can't afford kings or 240's, but are there any hubs out there in the mid level price range that are reasonably light and reliable? That is one reason I've been thinking XTR because the hubs arn't too bad ($), but commit me to shimano brakes. Or is there a quality prebuilt wheelset out there that will not brake the bank? My bont race lite discs have pretty much run their course. I'm still thinking of replacing the freehub and relacing them to new rims, but I'm having difficulty finding 28hole disc rims and is the hub (rebadged dt onyx) worth trying to make into a high end wheel?

Sorry for the long-ish post, I just haven't been paying attention to the xc game as much recently. Everything else on the bike is spot on, I'm just looking for the best combination of weight/performanc/cost (and I know that is both subjective and hard to find). Thanks for any suggestions or advice.

 

[robdamanii]

I love my Juicy 7's, if that means anything.

 

[joelsman]

I would recomend juicy 7's and hope hubs, hope mono minis would be my second choice.

 

[Bicyclist]

Shimano XTR or XT brakes and DT or Shimano centerlock hubs would give you a light and reliable setup. I rode 8" F, 6" R XTR brakes w/ XT levers in Mammoth on a DH bike for a week and loved them. Great modulation and power.

 

[def]

Shimano XTR or XT brakes and DT or Shimano centerlock hubs would give you a light and reliable setup. I rode 8" F, 6" R XTR brakes w/ XT levers in Mammoth on a DH bike for a week and loved them. Great modulation and power.

I was thinking that too, but it kind of forces me to use shimano down the road and lessens my ability to experiment. If only they made xtr hubs in 6 bolt. I really like the idea of a larger (7") front rotor that the other guys are now offering. I don't think it would be too practical to put an 8" on an '02 fox. How strong is the shimano power in relation to the other guy's 6 inchers? Thanks

 

[jacksonpt]

I've been running DT Swiss Onyx hubs for 2 season now. They will need some attention this off-season, but have held up and performed pretty well considering the conditions I ride in in the northeast (lots of mud, especially in the spring/early summer, and I tend to ride through the winter). Weight is reasonble, price is reasonable. I don't think they are excpetional in any area (price, weight, performance, reliablility), but they are good in all areas. FWIW... I have them laced to DT Swiss 4.1d rims, which I couldn't be happier with. However, they are not UST, if that's something you care about.

As for brakes... I'm on mono minis and I'm pretty happy with them. They have more than enough power for me (I'm 180lbs and ride pretty hard) and feel great. They do squeel when dirty though, which gets annoying. Yes, I love them, but if I had to do it over again, I'd probably go with Avid mechs... the hopes are just so damn expensive. If you don't mind the price tag, the hopes are good stoppers.

Now, with all that said... I don't have much to compare either the hubs or the brakes to. My old bike had WTB disc hubs (don't know the model off the top of my head) which held up much better to the slop I ride in than have the Onyx... but the Onyx hubs are lighter and were cheaper than the WTB equivalent when I bought them. My old bike had vbrakes on it... so the Hopes are my first set of discs. I've had short stints with other brakes (test ridden bikes, tried friends bikes, etc), and the hopes clearly felt better than the hayes/avid mechs they were running, but the stopping power didn't seem significantly different.

HTH.

 

[Wumpus]

I was thinking that too, but it kind of forces me to use shimano down the road and lessens my ability to experiment. If only they made xtr hubs in 6 bolt.

Centerlock adapter

 

[def]

Centerlock adapter

hmmm I think that may have answered one of my questions. I've also been looking at the dt 4.1d rims, but I haven't heard much. But they do have a 28 hole options, where the 717D's only go down to 32 (my existing hubs are 28). Choices choices. It might be time to experiment. Cool, thanks for some feedback

 

[Bicyclist]

I've got Avids mechs on my XC bike right now, and I'm not too impressed with them. They don't have great power or modulation and they're heavy. The 6" XT or XTR brakes would have more than enough power for XC riding IMO. Plus the centerlock rotors are lighter than regular rotors and the brake system is too. I was really impressed with the XTR's modulation, which is really important to me. Super powerful brakes just tend to lock up your wheels and you lose control. Obviously you want good power but grabby brakes are not my favorite.

 

[Darkreaper]

Avid Juicy 5s. Cheap compared to the 7s and the same amount of power, all you lose is the bite point adjuster. Plenty powerful enough to stop my 15 stone (occasionally too powerful, endos hurt ) and they look nice too.