Levo Gen 3 New brakes... What does everyone run?

[RebornRider]

OTOH, I've been running Magura MT7 with their 220mm rotors for almost 4 years. I've only had to bleed them twice, one of those times because a stick got caught in my rear wheel and really messed up the brake hose. The hose didn't leak, but I replaced it just to be safe.

I've had no trouble bleeding them. Very solid lever feel.

I've also had no trouble with pad alignment in all those years, maybe because I do the routine maintenance of cleaning the pistons twice a year.

My opinion is that all of the name brands produce quality brakes that can stop an ebike. If you can lock the wheel, your brakes are more than strong enough. I replaced my SRAM Codes with Magura, not because the SRAMs were too weak, or had poor modulation, or anything like that. The issue was that they were overheating. They would be howling and would require a lot of lever squeeze at the bottom of my long descent. The beefy Maguras feel about the same as the SRAMs, but they don't howl or fade.

 

[Renton]

If you have to keep bleeding SRAM Code brakes every 100 miles, you are doing something wrong. Just saying.

Yep the bike is 4 rides and 100 miles old.

So far the front brake has been fine.

The rear brake however has one side of sticky pistons, gone through a set of SRAM sintered pads and now comes to the bar unless pumped. The lever feel is vague and not consistent.

It’s in the shop and had a bleed however I’m going to move them on when I get the bike back.

In this day and age when disc brake tech has been around for a while now we should have to put up with shit products. I’m certainly not the only one that has these issues, just going and type SRAM code sticky pistons into Google.

I want a fit and forget disc brake where the only maintenance required is a wash and a pad change.

 

[E Bob]

OTOH, I've been running Magura MT7 with their 220mm rotors for almost 4 years. I've only had to bleed them twice, one of those times because a stick got caught in my rear wheel and really messed up the brake hose. The hose didn't leak, but I replaced it just to be safe.

I've had no trouble bleeding them. Very solid lever feel.

I've also had no trouble with pad alignment in all those years, maybe because I do the routine maintenance of cleaning the pistons twice a year.

My opinion is that all of the name brands produce quality brakes that can stop an ebike. If you can lock the wheel, your brakes are more than strong enough. I replaced my SRAM Codes with Magura, not because the SRAMs were too weak, or had poor modulation, or anything like that. The issue was that they were overheating. They would be howling and would require a lot of lever squeeze at the bottom of my long descent. The beefy Maguras feel about the same as the SRAMs, but they don't howl or fade.

i Changed from code rsc to magura as i prefered the grab of the magura, as you say you can get the codes to lock the wheel even when hot or wet, but after a long day of long runs, arm pump etc, the magura were just better, i can see peoples point re modulation, but i prefer a good bite, My fingers thank me too.. And they was definately quieter...

 

[irie]

What rotors did you install?

Swissstop Catalyst Pro 220mm 6 bolt.

 

[kawamaha]

Isn't it a bit depending where you ride? Maybe I could have lived with the Code R at our low mountain ranges, but in Italy and Swiss they were a nightmare.
On longer descents they are fading and squeaking like hell, mainly the rear breaks...

 

[Chem1st]

Hi everyone, I am torn between Hayes A4 and TRP DH-R Evo. For Hayes is lighter lever feel and easier alignment, for TRP thicker rotors and looks like better reliability/less maintenance. Also mineral oil vs Dot 5.1. Which one to choose if I ride a lot in winter with snow and below freezing temps?

 

[Utah Rider]

If you are smoking the rear brake and not the front, that means that you are just like me. You rely too much on the rear brake. Also, my personal experience has always been, with SRAM, to use sintered up front, organic in the back. They also have different rotors and thickness. They are putting 203mm on 29rs up front and 200mm in the back. Maybe need a bigger rotor in the back. Attached photo of the different rotors. The code are also super easy to bleed the "bleeding edge tool".

 

[dumpy]

Hi everyone, I am torn between Hayes A4 and TRP DH-R Evo. For Hayes is lighter lever feel and easier alignment, for TRP thicker rotors and looks like better reliability/less maintenance. Also mineral oil vs Dot 5.1. Which one to choose if I ride a lot in winter with snow and below freezing temps?

i dont think temperature is a real factor with either. in theory dot is better but in practice its never cold enough to matter.

now on dh evo vs dominion a4/t4, i have all 3 (yeh..) and they're all good (as in id be happy enough with any), with that order of preference: t4, a4, dh evo.

thats why:

-t4 vs a4, they just feel a tad better, not a big difference. nicer materials and slightly more refined. performance is identical.

- you can run 2.3mm rotors with the dominions (including trp rotors, but i like the sram hs2 myself)

- its not just lever feel which is better, modulation is far easier on dominions. this means that if you arent a pro and you drag your front brake on steep switch backs, you have noticeably more traction on dominions. huge deal in my eyes. when you use them back to back in the same bike the difference is stark.

- bleeding dot is not worse than mineral oil in my eyes. i dont like dot for the same reason everyone else doesnt.. however, its takes 2min to flush and bleed properly. mineral oil is more viscous (i used finish line, shimano and trp so far) and it takes a lot of back and forth to clean the lines really well, which is painful. dont get me started in the lever cup.. supposedly easier.. but isnt past day 1 bleed because of this. its far easier to use 2 syringes (which you can do on mineral oil of course). in fact, TRP's own video manual indicate that to finish the bleed you can strap a lever blade to the bar and leave it overnight just to get the rest of the bubbles out. absolutely crazy imo. for both i ride weekly and i barely need to bleed them yearly. i comparison i would need to bleed sram codes every other month. i bleed my 2 yo a4 in dec and the fluid was still pristine. i was surprised. really really good seals and a bit of luck perhaps.

-while both are good, dominions don't heat up as fast as the dh evo on the same rotors. dominion calipers are noticeably thicker.

- finally alignement isn't a problem on dh evo in my experience. the dominion alignement screws are nice but if you know what you're doing its a bit superfluous. make sure you true your rotors and balance or reset your pistons mainly and you'll probably be aligned first try.

hope this helps.

 

[Chem1st]

i dont think temperature is a real factor with either. in theory dot is better but in practice its never cold enough to matter.

now on dh evo vs dominion a4/t4, i have all 3 (yeh..) and they're all good (as in id be happy enough with any), with that order of preference: t4, a4, dh evo.

thats why:

-t4 vs a4, they just feel a tad better, not a big difference. nicer materials and slightly more refined. performance is identical.

- you can run 2.3mm rotors with the dominions (including trp rotors, but i like the sram hs2 myself)

- its not just lever feel which is better, modulation is far easier on dominions. this means that if you arent a pro and you drag your front brake on steep switch backs, you have noticeably more traction on dominions. huge deal in my eyes. when you use them back to back in the same bike the difference is stark.

- bleeding dot is not worse than mineral oil in my eyes. i dont like dot for the same reason everyone else doesnt.. however, its takes 2min to flush and bleed properly. mineral oil is more viscous (i used finish line, shimano and trp so far) and it takes a lot of back and forth to clean the lines really well, which is painful. dont get me started in the lever cup.. supposedly easier.. but isnt past day 1 bleed because of this. its far easier to use 2 syringes (which you can do on mineral oil of course). in fact, TRP's own video manual indicate that to finish the bleed you can strap a lever blade to the bar and leave it overnight just to get the rest of the bubbles out. absolutely crazy imo. for both i ride weekly and i barely need to bleed them yearly. i comparison i would need to bleed sram codes every other month. i bleed my 2 yo a4 in dec and the fluid was still pristine. i was surprised. really really good seals and a bit of luck perhaps.

-while both are good, dominions don't heat up as fast as the dh evo on the same rotors. dominion calipers are noticeably thicker.

- finally alignement isn't a problem on dh evo in my experience. the dominion alignement screws are nice but if you know what you're doing its a bit superfluous. make sure you true your rotors and balance or reset your pistons mainly and you'll probably be aligned first try.

hope this helps.

Wow what a bunch of useful info, that definitely helps! Thanks! What about general reliability, which one of them would require less maintenance?

 

[whwv]

Hi all,

Looking at replacing the Code R on my Levo and to be honest Im not sure what to go for.

The reason for wanting to replce the Codes is down to the fact they seem to be high maintenance, requiring a bleed after less then 100 miles and worn through a set of rear pads already. I have to keep pumping them to get a decent feel which isn't always ideal when barreling down a trail.

In the past I have run Magura MT7 which were good but constantly rubbed, Shimano XT no issues, Saints really good and older stuff like hayes 9, hope mini etc.

I could easily settle on another set of saints but after reading some more recent reviews it seems they have been caught up in power terms by the like of hope, hayes and formula.

Quite like the look of Hope Tech 4 v4 but seem very expensive
The Hayes Dominion A4 sound good too but I've heard its a faff to get the larger diameter hose through the frame.
Apparently the Formula Cura are meant to be good but not seen many reviews.
Then there is the Lewis brake that has recently popped up, apparently super powerful but unknown reliability?

Im a heavier rider so need all the power I can get to be honest. Used to like the on/off feel of previous shimano brakes but could get past that if the new brakes are good.

What are you guys running and how do they compare to the Code R?

Am I better off sticking to saints or should I consider one of the above at the extra expense?

I was able to make the stock code brakes work by going with Magura 220mm rotors front and back. I also changed to MTX gold pads which work great, even wet. The only downside to the huge two piece rotors is they get bent really easy. I finally got tired of dealing with it and went with the new thicker SRAM rotors. They seem to be close to the Magura and the biggest difference is how they handle heat. My main trail has a 3k’ continuous descent and the SRAM rotors have a bit more fade than the Maguras.

 

[dumpy]

Wow what a bunch of useful info, that definitely helps! Thanks! What about general reliability, which one of them would require less maintenance?

Honestly it seems to be about the same so far for me between dh evo and domions, which is to say very little maintenance. If properly bled and setup these last forever vs .. sram and even shimano stuff. I keep wondering if its the piston seals or just the fact that they're very hard to heat up "too far" so seals just last longer. Most of the issues I see on brakes are rubber seals in the calipers (around the pistons) going bad and you can find bits of it in the lines when you re-bleed (all the black stuff).

Some of the brakes i've never really tried to so far: hope, trickstuff, cascade code modified caliper mainly. i'd love to give em a real try, but they're all quite expensive while the dominion have been great for me anyway. atm i've the a4 on my relay pnw, the t4 on a spicy, the dh evo on a beefed up high tower.

A note on 2 piece rotors: i hate them personally. they're indeed never true, and they're also quite hard to true! I dont see a diff in performance in practice with them either, though they supposedly shed heat better. The first thing I do when I get new rotors is to true them with my truing stand, it makes a huge difference. They rarely ever come really true from factory (regardless of brand) - my wheels (from factory) have always come .. "tru-er" than the rotors. The pads have enough clearance to accomodate usually but it leads to harder adjustments and slightly degraded braking performance. Truing with a stand is easy and last until you hit your rotors against a rock

 

[stumpydumpy]

Hi Renton,

To answer your question about what we all out there in the fields are using, I have had:
1 Formula the one: light, good modulation, medium stopping-power. Liked them.
2 Sram guide Rsc: good modulation, medium stopping-power, loudest², hottest²
3 Sram Code R, Rs & Rsc: good modulation, good (although not the best) stopping-power, very loud, in my experiance best to combine with rotor Sram 180 or 200
4 Sram Code Stealth Ultimate: more ore less the same as Code Rsc only different looks
5 Shimano Zee & Saint: no modulation (it's digital off/on), good clearance to the rotors and with that nothing in the first part, brutal stopping power; chunky
6 Magura mt5 & mt7: finest modulation, reasonable braking power, most silent of all I had, MT 7 preferable over the -5mt for the better adjustments

I like to ride enduro, semi DH-trails etc.
My preferences lay by the modulation and the lack of noise.
Maximum stopping-power that will totally stop the wheels turning even slowly displaces the matter to questioning tires and underground; I could influence only half of those aspects ;-)

As for your problems with your Sram Code R:
If you worked through the bleeding-proces correctly, as I asume you did, I would be suspicious about a leakage. The Code R's are fine brakes and the only difference with the Rs and RSC is the ease of adjusment. All the things you can do with knobs and screws, on the R's you have to do that during the bleeding-process.

Suggestions for you, if you're on the heavier side: follow your own suggested choice and go for the simple to maintain Saints.
Perhaps a small reconsideration could be along my rule of thumb: good modulation is the connection between bike and ground.

Happy trails and don't wait for summer because you'll miss 180 days of joy

 

[MNTurboLevo]

I just upgraded the brake setup on my 2022 Turbo Levo Expert. Went with Code RSC Levers, HS2 rotors front and back and new stock Code Sintered pads. Very happy with the results. Good feel and engagement and great stopping power. Also much better heat dissipation on HS2 rotors on long descents. Like the added leverage and adjustability of the RSC levers.

 

[Hicksy 92]

Hope v4’s for me

 

[MNTurboLevo]

Those Hope V4’s look pretty heavy duty. Almost look like motor cycle brakes. Very nice looking as well.

 

[Weeksy]

SRAM Code RSCs. On most bikes, apart from the Rise, but only because i've not had a chance to take off the Shimanos and fit a set of RSCs yet. My lad uses them on his DH and Enduro bikes, I have them on the Status 160.

 

[Dave_B]

Hope Tech 4 E4 they are bloody brilliant

 

[Renton]

I went with some TRP DH EVO in the end with 220 rotors front and rear. I’ve read so much about all makes of brakes and the TRP get some good reviews and a lot of positive feedback for fit and forget reliability.

Only just fitted them so need to get out and bed them in before a proper ride but so far the lever feel is great and there seems to be ample stopping power.

I’ve got a full set of codes for sale now with 220/200 rotors and all fittings cheep if anyone is interested.

 

[JayGoodrich]

I run Shimano XTR with Hope rotors. This gives me the stopping power with a bit more modulation. I used to run the entire Hope package but felt like the Hope E4s required a bit more grip strength. Love the adjustability of the Hopes though. Haven’t tried their latest version of the brake yet. I personally can’t stand any of the SRAM brake products. They are heavy, seem to always make noise, and are a pain in the butt to work on.

 

[micku7zu]

Magura MT7 220/203mm on my eMTB:

SRAM G2 RSC 200/200mm on my MTB:

I know people don't like SRAM brakes, but I honestly didn't have problems with my G2 RSC. I've correctly setup them and they work great. They might have a little fade on downhill runs, but nothing too bad. I'm also a lightweight rider, so maybe that's why I don't see any problems with them. I really like the feel of them on normal descends.

I like the SRAM G2 RSC, but I love the Magura MT7. They are great. Exceptional power. I didn't have the chance to test them enough yet, but after 5 rides, I love them.

 

[TQFreak]

If you are looking for low maintenance and longevity you have to use the biggest diameter rotors (220mm or 223mm?) and calipers with biggest contact area brake pads with sintered metal compound. Magura quad piston calipers offer probably the biggest brake pads.

 

[Mrj35]

shimano br mt420s they came on the bike. I'd say they stop well but the levers are kinda meh. I've had an issue with the rear brake lever, currently its stick and not returning, Im guessing it needs a bleed. I switched to mtx gold pads so that helped too.

Also the rear brake seized on me a few times on really long descents. The lever basically jacked up and the rear brake would make loud vibrating noises and the lever wouldnt pull in much at all. Maybe it was getting overheated?

 

[Andeh]

I'm running Dominion A4s. Over the years I've tried XTs (wandering bite point), Maguras (fucking impossible to keep the 4 independent pads from rubbing, can't service the pistons), and Code RSCs (liked the adjust and bleed but lacked bite and the amount of force required to brake hard was fatiguing). I considered TRPs but passed due to the lack of lever adjustment range (I run mine very close to the bar). Passed on Hopes due to the bleed procedure being a mess.

In terms of performance, the A4s are great. They might not have a pretty finish or the same awesome bleed procedure of SRAM, but on the trail they're fantastic. Oh, and as someone obsessed with not having pad rub, the Crosshair system is brilliant.

 

[Dax]

Anyone tried XTR? 9120?

 

[Ribinrobin]

The new hope V4s are outstanding, best brakes ive ever had.

 

[BangorPootsy]

I was running Shimano Zees front and back until a rear piston seal decided to stop doing its job over Christmas. That was a fun few moments let me tell you. Swapped over to a Megura v5 Caliper and have no issues since though the Megura caliper is awkward to get the pads into compared with the Shimano. I prefer the feel of the Zee levers over the Megura too.

 

[Semmelrocc]

That's why "Shigura" is said to be one of the best combinations.

 

[Jase]

Loving the Hope V4’s, running them with the purple Ebike pads and heavy duty 2.3 discs, 220 & 200. Nice feel and great adjustment for reach and bite point.

 

[Bigmike]

Running hope tech 4 v4 on this talaria sting emoto x with 223 discs front and rear. Can't fault them will put a set them on my e bike soon. And you cannot beat the spare parts available from hope

 

[Haveland]

Those running the Hope V4s, did you go with the branded lines? And did you just cut the factory cables at the caliper, attach the new cable, and feed it through?