[Incubus]

...Juicy seven 14, Ditka 13.

These arrived today. I picked them up from Alfred E. Bike for $159 an end. 203mm rotors. Great price, ok service. I ordered them on a Friday, they shipped on Wednesday.

Installation: Couldn't have been simpler. Between CPS and the ambidextrous, split-perch levers where you don't have to eye-ball the gap when tightening the levers to the bars. The rotatable banjo bolt makes routing the cables a snap. The directions are decent too. Install time was about a Corona an set.

The ride: I only pedaled them around a bit. They're strong. I haven't touched the reach or the pad contact adjustment thing (red dial) yet, but I'm looking forward trying something other than the Hayes I've been running forever.

Here are some pics.

 

[kidwoo]

Yeah AEbike is good because they are the QBP catalog. They sell stuff cheap because they accecpt a smaller margin for a guaranteed order. BUT they have to order it after you order it.

So get some vertical on those things and get back!!

 

[Incubus]

I forgot the one potential flaw: that the banjo bolt enters the caliper on the outside. Looks like it could get damaged in a crash.

 

[Shmoe]

Im really thinking about picking up a set of these.. Just waiting on a few more reviews.

 

[Tully]

What's the Ditka? I remember hearing about it, but I don't recall what it is.

 

[Broken_Spoke]

The Ditka is a reference to Mike Ditka a former football player for the Chicago Bears and the whole score thign comes from a Saturday Night Live skit where a bunch of Bears fans would always get together and choose something to play against Dikta and he would always win by a huge margin or lose by a very very small margin if the compition was super hard

 

[Tully]

Oh yeah... But I thought there was a product called the "Ditka"?

 

[Broken_Spoke]

Oh yeah... But I thought there was a product called the "Ditka"?

Not that I know of but Mike Ditka was advertising for an incontenence med

 

[Silver]

Not that I know of but Mike Ditka was advertising for an incontenence med

Impotence. For a guy, it's the same area, but a different problem.

 

[spincrazy]

I had some very limited time on a couple of pairs with 6" rotors. They felt and looked really good. If they're anything like their predecessors in terms of reliability, quality and feel then I'm pretty much sold. It's between those and the mono minis.

 

[Shmoe]

Who would win: Coach ditka cs. a huricane
"Ohhhh Coach dikta easy"
"Whats if the huricane was names coach ditka?"
"ohhhhh i dunnno"

the product called the ditka was a joke on here a few weeks ago.

 

[Incubus]

I'm running 8" front & rear, coming off of 8"fr/6"rr with my Hayes. I strongly considered the mono-4s but ended up picking up the J7s simply because of the post mount. The ease of simply changing brackets and rotors was enough to overcome the bling of the Hopes. Not to mention the decent number of Hope set-up complaints on this board.

My dilema now is whether to keep the avid mechs on my hardtail/commuter and stay an Avid-only guy, or move the Hayes over to that bike and be a hydro-only guy.

 

[Matt D]

Oh yeah... But I thought there was a product called the "Ditka"?

Are you thinking of the Nixon? It's a new fork from manitou btw.

Ditka would beat Nixon any day of the week.

 

[Matt D]

Do you like those levers? They look like they'd feel aweful. I guess I can wait until my roommate gets his and make my own decisions though!

 

[Incubus]

Do you like those levers? They look like they'd feel aweful. I guess I can wait until my roommate gets his and make my own decisions though!

I have enormous hands (long fingers too) and they feel alright. They have a really light lever feel too. One finger breaking will be a reality for me me thinks. Won't get on the trail with them until Monday though.

 

[thaflyinfatman]

Do you like those levers? They look like they'd feel aweful. I guess I can wait until my roommate gets his and make my own decisions though!

The levers are actually superawesome, they're designed to engage when they're not quite parallel with the bars (for maximum power), and the pivot location is nearly identical to that of Avid's v-brake levers (and therefore very similar to most v-brake levers). IMO the levers are the best part of the whole thing (and I really like everything else too, in case you're wondering )

 

[oly]

Ive had some extended time on a 6" set on my trail bike. They work really well. The red dial actually works well too. If im riding real steep stuff i dial them out to get the most power from the lever, but if im doing mellower trail i dial them in for a lighter feel on the hands. Like you said setup was a breeze, and the rotating banjo bolt is a cool thing....even if it can get damaged in a crash. Ive yet to bleed them, but i hear its easy and the bleed kit has great instructions. I can see air in the resivor thanks to the removable window, but even with the air in there it doesnt feel too bad.....unlike how some other systems feel when they have air in them.

Also you should see the fit of the lever with a sram trigger...... looks like they were designed for each other.......

 

[Kornphlake]

Do the juicies not need to be broken in? Incubus keeps saying how powerful they feel and such. My brakes needed a good couple of days before achieving maximum power. I just wonder how you can provide an opinion when they haven't even broken in yet, or maybe they are broken in and I'm just missing something.

 

[Zark]

What's the Ditka? I remember hearing about it, but I don't recall what it is.

You remember my Ditka fork I posted up here?
It was the most hyped internet product of the week!

 

[Incubus]

The instructions say they'll require break-in. They say 20 stops or something. My pads had a light coat of dust on them. I did several stops while tightening down the caliper, but nothing where they needed to bring a significant amount of weight to a halt, and when I took the bike off of my stand and pedaled around, they bit hard.

Like I said earlier, I haven't taken them out on the trail yet. But based on a 'parking lot' test, they feel more powerful than my Hayes. If proves to be the case AND if they get more powerful after a bit, I'll no-doubt move to 7" rotors.