I've recently upgraded from a dated hardtail to a 2010 GT Sensor 2.0. I love the bike but the brakes are *terrible*. Worse than the v-brakes on my old hardtail. Factory Avid Juicy 3 setup (180f 160r). Have had them bled by LBS, scuffed the pads in an effort to de-glaze them, but they just refuse to grip and it's putting quite a damper on rides. Most reviews I've read for them seem to be pretty poor, and advise binning them for something better. I'm a heavier rider (pushing 100kg), can anyone make any recommendations for an upgrade? XC trail riding - Riverhead and Woodhill for the most part. Thanks!

Shimano SLX from Wiggle

At 100kgs rider weight, irrespective of what you do for brakes I would be upgrading the brake rotors to at least 180/180 preferably 200/180 (if your fork is rated to take a 200mm front rotor)

Astoria Paranoia wrote:Shimano SLX from Wiggle

Are the better than Deore's?

Based on a few weeks testing, SLX = a good brake.

SLX is better than deore because you can change it to say SEX.

For the relatively small jump in price, I'm leaning towards the Deore (M785) gear over the SLX (M675). Is it worth spending the extra? I know it's kinda one of those 'how long is a piece of string' questions, but hopefully there's someone around that has compared the two.

I'd spend the extra few clams just because it says "XT" level. It is a nominal number of clams. Like, 20 or 30 bucks I imagine.

AgrAde wrote:SLX is better than deore because you can change it to say SEX.

It better be better, cos the Deores I had were awful.

Kims XT's are good though, maybe cos teh calipers are one piece not two, or sommat.

Lycanthrope wrote:For the relatively small jump in price, I'm leaning towards the Deore (M785) gear over the SLX (M675). Is it worth spending the extra? I know it's kinda one of those 'how long is a piece of string' questions, but hopefully there's someone around that has compared the two.

bolts not split pins for pads so totally worth it

wrong people may disagree with this

its all about teh chrome lever caps...

Percy Pig wrote:

AgrAde wrote:SLX is better than deore because you can change it to say SEX.

It better be better, cos the Deores I had were awful.

Kims XT's are good though, maybe cos teh calipers are one piece not two, or sommat.

Must be the old ones as the new ones are 2-piece.
But yes, the Deore and XT/SLX calipers are much different.

SLX seem to have more annoying pad slop, irrespective or whether you're using the split pin or bolt. Not sure why.

AgrAde wrote:SLX seem to have more annoying pad slop, irrespective or whether you're using the split pin or bolt. Not sure why.

Same make/model of pad between comparisons?

Shimano heatsink pads came out of 2x XTs and went into 2x SLXs using bolts. Same size rotors and wheel size on both bikes so arc length ratio between pad and tire was the same.

I would have thought the caliper was exactly the same, but maybe not. Maybe they are and it was just variance between batches. Seemed worth mentioning though.