BB7's

Noticed a few peeps ride BB7's.
Why?
Cheaper than hydraulic...yes
But are they any good?
Your experiences are most appreciated.
Carl

I ride meachanical Deore and they are great .

I have heard good comments on the BB7

Got some mech Avid's can't remember which ones, BB5 maybe? ANyway - stunning, Lovely feel. I find hydro discs to feel a bit numb, kind of like boggo modern power steering compared with correctly weighted versions, where as these are just great. and work really well.

shame they're on my road bike not my mtb,

Avid BB7's are widely regarded as the best mechanical disc brake there is. Plenty of power, good feel to them too.

They have dual piston adjustment, unlike most mech disc brakes which only have one piston adjustment, which is quite a bonus as it makes setting them up piss easy

I've got them on one of my bikes and they are very good, as good as my Hopes. The only thing to do with them is the occasional adjustment of the pads as the pistons are not self adjusting and don't creep out like hydraulic brake pistons, more adjustment needed in Winter as the pads suffer and wear more in the gloop.

The pads are a doddle to change, you don't even need any tools. I recommend these brakes.

i sold a bb5 mech disc brake to south bound and he loves it
my avid 3 hydros had a numb lever feel (still stopped well enough tho) but the hope,s i now have feel much more +ve (how i like)


rob

(Modern) Hydraulics can vary greatly in feel, Avid can feel a bit vague, almost mushy sometimes but still pretty powerful, Hope mono mini's feel very good especially with the braided hoses, Hayes (nines) are very 'wooden' as in they're on or they're off.

Having tried the above I've found the Hope mono minis with braided hoses to be the best in 'feel' and power, they are spot on for what I want.

im running a hope mono m4 up front and a m4 (non mono) rear both on stock hose,s
braided is to come when i have sorted the wife a bike out :?

rob

Harryburgundy":2zbzsfp8 said:

Noticed a few peeps ride BB7's.
Why?
Cheaper than hydraulic...yes
But are they any good?
Your experiences are most appreciated.
Carl

Click to expand...

Cheaper.
You can use your existing V-brake levers (or STI units if your bike is fitted with them) when you upgrade from V-brakes to discs.

Yes they are good. I have swapped all my modern mountainbikes (and the retrobikes that have disc brake mounts on their forks) to BB7s from hydraulic brakes. They are as powerful as just about any hydraulics I've used, and the feel can be tuned by altering the cable leverage ratio at the lever (XTR levers, Avid levers, etc).

For me, the most important thing is they are easily "field servicable" - ie if you get hooked up on a branch, or crash and pull the actuating mechanism (cable in BB7s case) apart, you can fix it. If you pull a hydraulic hose out, and lose fluid, you have little hope of making a good repair. I guide each summer in the Rockies, and this repairability has led all the ride guides I work with to swap to BB7s.

Summary - I think they are great.

Thanks everyone...kinda always thought that mechanical disc was always the poor cousin to hydraulic...clearly I am wrong.
Thanks again
Carl