Sram Guide RE vs Shimano XT 4Pot’s - Which are better?

[EMTBRAD]

Hi, new here! Just picked up my ‘19 Levo Comp Carbon this week. Got a sweet deal from my LBS with it being preowned, decided to spend the extra cash on upgrades. I agreed to £300 (with them buying my Guide RE’s from me) for Shimano XT 4Pots with IceTech discs (Won’t be getting them until they reopen after Covid19) and now I’m wondering how much better they are over the Guide RE’s? Thanks

 

[salko]

Set of XT brakes are quite cheaper than Guide RE, it looks like rip-off to me ... You should be getting better Shimano Saints brakes for shuch money instead...

 

[EMTBRAD]

Set of XT brakes are quite cheaper than Guide RE, it looks like rip-off to me ... You should be getting better Shimano Saints brakes for shuch money instead...

Interesting, thanks for that! I’ll look into the saints and put it to them when they reopen!

 

[Gary]

They're not better. They're just different. and a lot of the differences come down to personal taste anyway.
If you haven't used either what makes you think they need upgraded?
I have plenty experience using/fitting/maintaining both BTW.

Personally I'd just ask the shop to fit new pads to the bike's REs and keep the £300

if in the future you find you don't like the REs and want to switch to 4 pot shimanos. you can do as salko says easily for less than £300. but you'll need to fit them yourself. and find them on offer online

Set of XT brakes are quite cheaper than Guide RE, it looks like rip-off to me

No they're not.
Guide REs retail price incl 200mm disc rotors is £320.
XT 8020 retail price incl 203mm rotors is £320
But it doesn't really work like that anyway.
OP reads like his bike shop has made an offer to buy the used set of brakes off the bike he's buying from them and fit a brand new set of XTs for £300. a used set of brakes is generally worth very little (if anything) to a bike shop.

so the brakes themselves costing £320 with fitting cost being anything from around £40-80 depending on workshop pricing. I'd def be charging more on any E-bike brake swap due to more complex routing + labour
Some shops may be prepared to waive the labour charge when fitting parts to a bike they are selling (but possibly not an already heavily discounted model)

he's being offered a saving somewhere in the region of £60-100 rather than being "ripped off"

don't be that guy who thinks he's due internet prices in a proper bike shop

 

[davarello]

Guide RE's on my 19 Comp are the first SRAM discs I've used and I think they're fine - good power and modulation and no noise to note, even stopping 150kg of bike and rider in the wet. I'd give them a good go before "upgrading".

 

[EMTBRAD]

They're not better. They're just different. and a lot of the differences come down to personal taste anyway.
If you haven't used either what makes you think they need upgraded?
I have plenty experience using/fitting/maintaining both BTW.

Personally I'd just ask the shop to fit new pads to the bike's REs and keep the £300

if in the future you find you don't like the REs and want to switch to 4 pot shimanos. you can do as salko says easily for less than £300. but you'll need to fit them yourself. and find them on offer online


No they're not.
Guide REs retail price incl 200mm disc rotors is £320.
XT 8020 retail price incl 203mm rotors is £320
But it doesn't really work like that anyway.
OP reads like his bike shop has made an offer to buy the used set of brakes off the bike he's buying from them and fit a brand new set of XTs for £300. a used set of brakes is generally worth very little (if anything) to a bike shop.

so the brakes themselves costing £320 with fitting cost being anything from around £40-80 depending on workshop pricing. I'd def be charging more on any E-bike brake swap due to more complex routing + labour
Some shops may be prepared to waive the labour charge when fitting parts to a bike they are selling (but possibly not an already heavily discounted model)

he's being offered a saving somewhere in the region of £60-100 rather than being "ripped off"

don't be that guy who thinks he's due internet prices in a proper bike shop

Thanks, yeah after I’ve done some digging on prices I’ve realised they seem to be the competitor to guides and not an upgrade. Internet prices show a difference of about £30 (£60 in total) for saint M820 and they’re definitely an upgrade so will look into that. The reason for upgrade is due to having guide R on my last two stuntjumpers and not liking them at all so wanted to move away from them on my new ‘big’ purchase. I understand I could be financially better off buying online and fitting myself but I don’t mind helping keep my LBS above water in these uncertain times, they’re always good to me. Thanks

 

[Deleted member 7464]

I'm very pleasantly surprised with the guide re on my levo. I would say that they are close to my saints on my dh bike and better than my hope e4s on my enduro bike. Definitely give them a go before changing. ?

 

[Gary]

The reason for upgrade is due to having guide R on my last two stuntjumpers and not liking them at all so wanted to move away from them on my new ‘big’ purchase.

Fair enough. But be aware your Guide Rs don't share the same caliper as the guide RE and aren't nearly as powerful.

 

[Flatslide]

@EMTBSEAN My Remedy had the REs from new. I used them for a year then replaced them with M820 Saints 203mm all Ice Tech. Awesome. I've just swapped them over to my PowerPlay, which came with Deore M520s. The 520's are a powerful, budget 4 pot, certainly up to controlling a 25kg rig on long, steep trails, pretty good really. You won't regret buying Saints.

 

[EMTBRAD]

Fair enough. But be aware your Guide Rs don't share the same caliper as the guide RE and aren't nearly as powerful.

Yeah I understand they’re the Code calliper with guide lever? Thanks

 

[Bartbeemer]

I was sceptical to about the guide brakes but now After 150 km of riding I find them better than the xt brakes or magura mt 8 on my previous bike. But that’s a personal feeling of course. Shimano brakes are very agressif and magura’s to spongy feeling.

 

[salko]

Yeah I understand they’re the Code calliper with guide lever? Thanks

Yes, Guide RE = Old code calipers + Guide R levers

 

[GOSBTS]

I changed to Shimano 4 pots (I had SRAM Guide R). My gripe was i couldn't adjust the lever reach to the desired personal preference for me.

 

[dobbyhasfriends]

I was out of the MTB world for a long time and when I got my carbon comp I couldnt believe that there was so much SRAM on it. back in the day SRAM stuff was for roadies and weirdos that liked grip shift..
but, was well impressed with the guide RE's, im 100kg+ when riding and they stop great! go through a lot of pads though

 

[Gary]

I was out of the MTB world for a long time

im 100kg+

go through a lot of pads

These facts are not unconnected

 

[dobbyhasfriends]

im 100kg+

cos i was playing rugby and this part was useful for that but I am trying to lose a bit of weight now because I cant afford a 700w battery

 

[Jdog]

The best performance upgrade I have ever made in the breaking department are brake pads.


*disclaimer* based on correctly bled brakes that are already running 200mm rotors

 

[galaga187]

Guide REs are quite cheap to replace too. I’ve only had problems once on a very long descent in the Quantocks towards the end of a days riding, slight brake fade.

 

[jsharpe]

Guide RE's on my 19 Comp are the first SRAM discs I've used and I think they're fine - good power and modulation and no noise to note, even stopping 150kg of bike and rider in the wet. I'd give them a good go before "upgrading".

+1. And if you do still want a bit more, swapping to a 220mm rotor up front is a relatively cheap upgrade.

 

[Gary]

Has someone extended the hills in the Qs higher or dug the coombes deeper since I lived down that way?
Awesome News! (if i ever get to ride there again)

 

[galaga187]

Interesting review on MBR too SRAM Guide RE disc brake - MBR

 

[Gary]

cos i was playing rugby

I gave up rugby because it was taking up too much drinking time.
(True story)

 

[dobbyhasfriends]

I gave up rugby because it was taking up too much drinking time.
(True story)

position ?
like many I started on the wing cos I was quick and big then I dislocated my left hip and surprise surprise.... ended up in the back row, then the second row...
I scored loads of tries as a winger and very few as a forward but loved playing in the forwards more, if I wasnt riding the bike I would still be playing.
the downside is the drinking, I lost a lot of time on sundays because of it

 

[Gary]

No8 & 2nd row. I was fast but strong. and not afraid of bigger guys. I was actually faster than one of our wingers. (all 3 of us did athletics too) I was decent enough to get a trial for Scotland at 16 but gave it up soon after. Drinking was part of the reason. But maybe not the way you think. I simply loved going out drinking and pulling girls. so why cripple my chances with another 14 guys hanging around me. plus I was far too vain to want to end up looking like the older rugby players.
I scored way more than all the guys chasing balls on a Saturday moring.

 

[Mavik]

Hi, new here! Just picked up my ‘19 Levo Comp Carbon this week. Got a sweet deal from my LBS with it being preowned, decided to spend the extra cash on upgrades. I agreed to £300 (with them buying my Guide RE’s from me) for Shimano XT 4Pots with IceTech discs (Won’t be getting them until they reopen after Covid19) and now I’m wondering how much better they are over the Guide RE’s? Thanks

The Guide RE runs with Code callipers and I always had issues with it mostly on the biting point getting too close to the bars. Constantly had to bleed and rebleed it so I did swap them out for the XT. I prefer the Shimano feel so I swapped my other bike's brake from Code R's to the Saints.

At the end of the day, as mentioned above, it's all about personal preference when it comes to braking. Both offer good stopping power, if you want better braking power, swap out the stock pads or go with a larger rotor. For my Levo, the Saints helped a lot for stopping power.

 

[Gary]

I always had issues with it mostly on the biting point getting too close to the bars. Constantly had to bleed and rebleed it so I did swap them out for the XT. I prefer the Shimano feel so I swapped my other bike's brake from Code R's to the Saints.

Shimanos do this too. The issue is when the pads wear down and it creates too much free stroke at the lever, a quick fix/hack for it is to remove your wheel, pump the lever until the pistons advance further and then re-insert the wheel.
if your lever wasn't spongy there wasn't air in the system and they didn't really need bleeding.
With shimanos is you can just do a quick and easy lever bleed with the bleeding cup to return firmness to your lever. Folk don't realise you can actually also do this with many brakes. guides included.

Saints/Zees do have greater power but at the expense of feel. some folk hate that with guides though and many confuse it with sponginess. Again it's all personal pref.

New Codes are more powerful than REs. REs use the old code caliper/pads. comparible to Saint/Zee but new Codes still have more feel than Saint/Zee IMO

 

[seamarsh]

Just swapped code r to xt 4 pot xt8020 huge huge upgrade. Codes are mush.. weird feel, when pads wear down a bit there too much free stroke, not true on xt. crazy how much better xt are. im Using the xt with the sram 200mm rotors.. straight swap. Some people like the sram feel, I really don’t.. I’d recommend xt8020 for sure.

 

[Gary]

Just swapped

So you're running a shimano brake with brand new barely worn pads?

Codes are mush.. weird feel, when pads wear down a bit there too much free stroke

maybe wait until your brand new XT brake pads actually wear down before heralding them as the new purple?
clue: lever throw also increases with pad wear with your new Shimano brakes too.
As said. Feel is different though.

if you truely want a fair comparison you need to be comparing Code RS with XT (not code R). as both have a linkage in the levers to reduce throw/increase leverage at bite point. (servo wavefor shimano, swing link for SRAM)

 

[seamarsh]

So you're running a shimano brake with brand new barely worn pads?

maybe wait until your brand new XT brake pads actually wear down before heralding them as the new purple?
clue: lever throw also increases with pad wear with your new Shimano brakes too.
As said. Feel is different though.

if you truely want a fair comparison you need to be comparing Code RS with XT (not code R). as both have a linkage in the levers to reduce throw/increase leverage at bite point. (servo wavefor shimano, swing link for SRAM)

I’ve had them for over a year.. they came off pedal bike I sold, been through multiple pads, so far so good. And yes you are correct with R versions although even with swing link i prefer shimano, specifically these 8020. My post was in regard to the guide RE referenced in beginning. The 8020 walk all over the guide RE’s imo.

Everyone is different though... some people like brakes that don’t work! I kid...

 

[Gary]

You've clearly never had the bite point randomly changing to behind your grip feature Shimano are famed for.
I'm not kidding.

Yeah.Everyone's different.
I have Shimano on some bikes, SRAM on others.
I'm neither a fan or a rival supporter of either