Tell me what you think.

I have used many brakes, my favourite so far have been xtr. I have just got a bike which has juicy 5's on, wondered what y'all thought of 'em. Should i be thinking of taking the plunge and upgrading to xtr or somethng better?
My riding is general xc with occasional steeper rougher bits. I am heavy and not as athletic as I once was, so good stopping on the long downhills is vital!

Thanks for your help, I can't really afford to spend too much more, but i need to have confidence in my brakes.

see what they run like, juicy 5's are moar powerfull than xtr's but if it was power you're looking for get some elixers.
lotsa peeps on this forum will bag juicy brakes but i've never had a problem with them

shmoodiver wrote:see what they run like, juicy 5's are moar powerfull than xtr's but if it was power you're looking for get some elixers.
lotsa peeps on this forum will bag juicy brakes but i've never had a problem with them

Elixirs ftw. Taperbore technology makes up for the 2 extra pots saint has. I'm running carbon ones on my DH bike and have some standar "Elixir R" ones for my other fr/am rig. They're awesome! I've had Juicy 3's and 7's and I rate the Elixir Rs higher than both.

juicy brakes are unreliable from my experience.
i owned a set of xts for about 2 years they didnt need any maintenance
now i have got a bike which came with basically new brakes (juicy 7s) and they crapped out on my first race..even though they were feeling mean and were working amazingly before hand.
i'd say xt's they're the complete package.

Ive got 3 bikes with discs... hayes on a Scott, juicey 5's on a Scott and shimano on a Merida...Im no light weight at 95-100kgs. Never had any problems with any of them reliability wise but have found a big difference in pads and performance. Some bed in quickly from new, some dont. After changing pads on any of the disc brakes I find they work best after giving them a decent bedding in by running them pretty hard on a long road down hill...acouple of stops from 60km hr with my weight behind it gets them pretty hot and they seem to work primo then on.

Thanks for your good advice all, will see how they go but if I am not 100% i'll be back here asking "what brakes should i get?" cheers!!

easy answer is xc-modulation-set and forget = xt
all mountain-power-modulation = elixers

I found Juicy 5s finicky - when working they are cool. good feel and power. The thing that eventually drove me nuts was having to constantly adjust them to stop them from rubbing, and changing pads is a pain in the arse compared to Shimano. Went for Shimano Deore M595s instead and haven't looked back (although I'm still running Juicy 5s on the rear of the bike until they start annoying me)

never really like Juicy 5's but loved Juicy 7's and Elixirs in any flavors rock my world

most people that dont like juicys dont get them bled properly. had juicys for 2 years and they were sick! awsome brakes!. elixirs then came out! they are even better. Had elixir Rs with carbon levers on my last bike which were very impressive! now running CRs. both are awsome brakes! highly recomended.

i do like shimano brakes, and they dont need to be bled as often which is always good. However with the extra power of the elixirs they are well worth it! go for the Elixir Rs or CRs if u get annoyed if the levers dont pull in to the same point.

Another vote for Elixirs - got Elixir 5's and CR's they are both great. Awesome stopping power