The best eMTB disc brake you can buy

[Thomas]

The best eMTB disc brake you can buy | E-MOUNTAINBIKE Magazine

 

[Donnie797]

whoa, it's looking like mine on that horrific steep downhill trail this weekend ^^

Shimano Zee = "best in value". Totally agree!

 

[Kernow]

I think shimano is generally best value for everything. And it works well too

 

[highpeakrider]

Mine just came with Deore and at this point I can’t find a reason to change them, they meet the demands of my riding style and speed, I’m no down hill monster.

Surprised at the Hope results with so many U.K. fanboys ripping off good brakes to put Hope bling on.

 

[Thomas]

Considering getting Magura MT7. Couldn't find if anyone is using Sram centerline rotors with Magura Calipers?
Yes, the rotors are thinner, Magura 2.0mm vs Sram-Shimano 1.7-1.8mm, but I could find, that some people are using Shimano Rotors with Magura Calipers, with no problems.

 

[Dax]

Surprised at the Hope results with so many U.K. fanboys ripping off good brakes to put Hope bling on.

The hopes are genuinely good brakes, the modulation is so much better than all the other brakes I've tried. Personally I can't justify the price difference between hopes and shimanos unfortunately.

 

[R120]

I really like Zee's, but tbh i can't find fault with the Guide RE's that came on the Vitus, been faultless on the Sommett

 

[EbikeTom]

If you go for something aimed at downhill or enduro, it’ll definitely be up to the job, zee, saint, code or guide re etc. I did a demo weekend earlier in the year and rode just about everything, there’s definitely differences in modulation, lever shape etc, but they all stopped well, I think you’re hard pressed to find a bad brake from the main brands. Shimano and magura use mineral oil, SRAM and hope use dot, interesting article here if you want to geek out DOT Brake Fluid vs. Mineral Oil - and the Winner is... I’ve Sram Codes, they work well, good modulation, easy to bleed, everywhere sells pads, but they’re certainly not a cool looking as the Hopes.

 

[SteveS]

I replaced the resin pads on my XT with J04C metallic pads on the rear only (the originals were contaminated with oil) and it seems like the metallic pads stood up better with less fade from some extended downhill action. Anecdotal for certain, but I'd like to think the cooling fins do something productive. I'm planning to swap a set into the front as well.

 

[Al Boneta]

There are so many good brakes on the market and some just suit some riders better than others. I have never liked Magura’s lever shape for example, but like the modulation much better than Shimano. DOT brake fluid vs Mineral oil isn’t a deciding factor for me at the end of the day either, because I just want the brakes to perform well regardless of what’s in the hose. Also what kind of moron would someone have to be to get DOT fluid all over their paintwork and not neutralize it? Of all of the brakes tested, I don’t use any of them.

 

[R120]

There are so many good brakes on the market and some just suit some riders better than others. I have never liked Magura’s lever shape for example, but like the modulation much better than Shimano. DOT brake fluid vs Mineral oil isn’t a deciding factor for me at the end of the day either, because I just want the brakes to perform well regardless of what’s in the hose. Also what kind of moron would someone have to be to get DOT fluid all over their paintwork and not neutralize it? Of all of the brakes tested, I don’t use any of them.

How are your Dominions holding up? Must have put a few miles on them by now

 

[Al Boneta]

R

How are your Dominions holding up? Must have put a few miles on them by now

Right now they are quite excellent. Just ordered another set for my SJ EVO.

 

[Tim29]

Considering getting Magura MT7. Couldn't find if anyone is using Sram centerline rotors with Magura Calipers?
Yes, the rotors are thinner, Magura 2.0mm vs Sram-Shimano 1.7-1.8mm, but I could find, that some people are using Shimano Rotors with Magura Calipers, with no problems.

I have the magura on my bulls with SRAM rotors works fine.
I had the 203 off my Fantic so installed on my bulls to replace the weak 180’s

 

[Swissrob]

The best eMTB disc brake you can buy | E-MOUNTAINBIKE Magazine

Definitely worth a read, whilst "best" is often not an absolute, best for your circumstances is. The most interesting facts were I could increase my braking 20% changing to a different brand of pads and having the characteristics of different brands/models explained so you can make an informed choice.

 

[dreads6]

Nice read shame the sram guide re was not included in the review as i personally really can't fault them at all, for me they are very powerful with great feel and modulation at the lever.

 

[More-read-than-ride]

I really like Zee's, but tbh i can't find fault with the Guide RE's that came on the Vitus, been faultless on the Sommett

I rode a bike with Guide RE just after riding a bike with Saints. In the beginning the Guide RE felt great and perhaps even more powerful to me, but after a few hours I realized that part of the reason for the sensation was that they are harder to modulate. If I had to choose between the two I would go for the Saints (Very different price), but the Guides are great and I would not bother changing them if they were on my bike.

 

[More-read-than-ride]

so my XT's suck ass. i would need to "downgrade" to the Zee.

Are they 4 pot? (In the above test, it is the 2 piston version, these days almost all XT equiped bikes use 4 piston M8020). The difference in performance on a heavy bike with a heavy rider is significant

 

[More-read-than-ride]

By the way, the same magazine gave Guide RE "best value" in 2017
Ultimate Force! Eight of the best E-MTB disc brakes in comparison | E-MOUNTAINBIKE Magazine

 

[R120]

Theres a lot of talk on the internet about Sram brakes, but cant say I have found any mechanical or maintenance issues with my two sets of RE's over the last year, and through the recent winter.

I have never noticed any significant fade with them under heavy downhill use on the 200mm rotors, and they have held up well in terms of life of pads etc.

I did have a noise issue with one set, but that was down to Vitus's installation and not Sram.

I still class myself as a Shimano fan, but haven't even thought about changing the brakes on my Vitus's in a long time.

 

[All Mountain Coaching]

Same r120. Nothing but love for SRAM brakes. Modulation is far better than any others I've tried.

 

[Dax]

I've had nothing but junk from sram and they're such a pita to bleed. The codes on my kenevo are going in the bin when they need a bleed, the levels on my Patrol came off before I rode the bike.

 

[Kernow]

All our bikes have moved over to sram brakes in the last year . I have to say we all feel they have the best feel /modulation , even in preference to hopes . Power is enough for anyone and maintenance requirements have been lower . I do miss the mineral oil in shimano , for its ease of use .

 

[All Mountain Coaching]

I've had nothing but junk from sram and they're such a pita to bleed. The codes on my kenevo are going in the bin when they need a bleed, the levels on my Patrol came off before I rode the bike.

Don't put them in the bin, I'll have them.

 

[Kernow]

I've had nothing but junk from sram and they're such a pita to bleed. The codes on my kenevo are going in the bin when they need a bleed, the levels on my Patrol came off before I rode the bike.

If you have the bleed tool codes have to be the easiest and cleanest ever to bleed, I dunno what you’ll find that’s easier .

 

[All Mountain Coaching]

I've had nothing but junk from sram and they're such a pita to bleed. The codes on my kenevo are going in the bin when they need a bleed, the levels on my Patrol came off before I rode the bike.

If you have the bleed tool codes have to be the easiest and cleanest ever to bleed, I dunno what you’ll find that’s easier .

Don't tell him that. I've got free codes coming my way.

 

[Benson]

Had nothing but joy with SRAM .... put Code RSCs on my 2019 Levo and put the original Guide REs on my 2019 Epic Evo. If you find bleeding them hard it’s because you don’t know how to do it properly.

 

[Dax]

If you have the bleed tool codes have to be the easiest and cleanest ever to bleed, I dunno what you’ll find that’s easier .

XTs, Saints, Zees.

I had codes when they first came out, never had a good lever feel so spent hours messing around pulling and pushing syringes and tapping bubbles, got through loads of fluid but never managed to get a decent lever feel. Particularly didn't help that the sram syringes were such low quality that when you pulled the syringe like the instructions told you, the seal collapsed and let in a whole bunch more air.

After an afternoon of messing around, the lever feel was still shite, but they just about worked so I let them be, tried a few times over the years with them and other sram brakes but never managed to get a decent lever feel out of them. The best were the codes on my DH bike, which would be locked on solid if you got the bike out of the shed on a hot day, but oddly didn't pump up when riding.

Compare that to the shimano bleed process - screw on cup to the lever, set lever flat, baste with a syringe of mineral oil, adjust lever angle, baste a little more, tap lever, perfect lever feel.

Shimanos also last a lot longer between bleeds, my XTs lasted a couple of weeks of Canadian DH and still worked perfectly, the Guides on the rental bikes we had on a different whistler trip needed bleeding everyday. The codes on my kenevo have been working OK so far, but you feel it running out of brake on long descents, when I bought the bike I decided that as soon as the Codes needed a bleed they'd be coming off because Saints are so much better and more reliable.

 

[Kernow]

XTs, Saints, Zees.

I had codes when they first came out, never had a good lever feel so spent hours messing around pulling and pushing syringes and tapping bubbles, got through loads of fluid but never managed to get a decent lever feel. Particularly didn't help that the sram syringes were such low quality that when you pulled the syringe like the instructions told you, the seal collapsed and let in a whole bunch more air.

After an afternoon of messing around, the lever feel was still shite, but they just about worked so I let them be, tried a few times over the years with them and other sram brakes but never managed to get a decent lever feel out of them. The best were the codes on my DH bike, which would be locked on solid if you got the bike out of the shed on a hot day, but oddly didn't pump up when riding.

Compare that to the shimano bleed process - screw on cup to the lever, set lever flat, baste with a syringe of mineral oil, adjust lever angle, baste a little more, tap lever, perfect lever feel.

Shimanos also last a lot longer between bleeds, my XTs lasted a couple of weeks of Canadian DH and still worked perfectly, the Guides on the rental bikes we had on a different whistler trip needed bleeding everyday. The codes on my kenevo have been working OK so far, but you feel it running out of brake on long descents, when I bought the bike I decided that as soon as the Codes needed a bleed they'd be coming off because Saints are so much better and more reliable.

Not being derogatory , but your description of the bleed process is where your going wrong . If you’ve managed to bleed shimano with just the cup then they weren’t really in need of a full bleed. To be fair they are all about the same to bleed , and better done with 2 syringes, push fluid through More than pull it and remove the caliper and push the pistons right back and wedge them in place before you start I find the trick with 4 pot calipers is to turn the pads around right to left when they are half worn , they all wear On the leading edge of the pad which can lead to spongy lever feel or more travel as they wear unevenly .
There’s lots of little tricks to bleeding brakes etc that can really make it easy and effective , like using a long tube on the caliper end to raise the head of oil for bubbles to rise etc .

 

[Dax]

Not being derogatory , but your description of the bleed process is where your going wrong . If you’ve managed to bleed shimano with just the cup then they weren’t really in need of a full bleed.

So I'm simplifying slightly, but at the time I followed the instructions for both brands at the time. To summarise based on how I remember it:

Sram:
1. Lever pulls to bar
2. Hours of messing around
3. Lever almost pulls to bar

Shimano:
1. Lever almost pulls to bar
2. Baste with mineral oil
3. Perfect lever feel

I'm fairly sure they needed a bleed..

 

[Kernow]

So I'm simplifying slightly, but at the time I followed the instructions for both brands at the time. To summarise based on how I remember it:
Keep basting if it works you ?
Sram:
1. Lever pulls to bar
2. Hours of messing around
3. Lever almost pulls to bar

Shimano:
1. Lever almost pulls to bar
2. Baste with mineral oil
3. Perfect lever feel

I'm fairly sure they needed a bleed..
View attachment 12625