S/H hydro disks - Magura or Avid

[garethrl]

Morning folks,
I'm in the process of upgrading a hardtail to hydraulic disk brakes, and have a pair of Magura Marta already. However, I've just had a note from a friend who's swapped out a set of Avid Juicy 7 from his hardtail, wondering if I'm interested.

So, which are the better/more reliable brakes? I already have the Maggies but could easily either keep them for another build or sell on for what I paid. The Avids are more of a known quantity since I know the guy and have a fair idea of how much use they've had (not excessive, he's a serial upgragder).

So, which set of brakes is the smart money on??

Cheers, Gareth.

 

[brocklanders023]

Don't know much about the Magura's but my pal has some Avid's and likes them a lot.

I'd cash 'em both in for some Hope's though.

 

[garethrl]

Had Hopes previously on a hardtail and would not go near them again!

Granted they were older models (Mini and Mono Mini) and I'm assured the new models are far better, but that's been my experience to date, and that's what shaped my opinion.

Don't know much about the Magura's but my pal has some Avid's and likes them a lot.

I'd cash 'em both in for some Hope's though.

 

[dyna-ti]

I had to pick brakes just recently.I talked to a lot of different mechanics,some of who i know well.to find out which they found easiest to service ,which were difficult to service, that kind of question.
They are from different shops,so as not to get the obvious bias.
they all hated avid and recommended i should avoid avid like the plague.difficult to service but mainly that they were coming in all the time for servicing
I was only interested in Hope[as i ran C2's for years and years and years],Avid and formula[as they've been around forever]
Recommendations are as follows

Hope - Mono Mini coming top choice for consistent performance and minimum servicing.

Formula-Nobody had much of an opinion on formual k24's but generally though them a good brake all round.If a little fragile

Avid- -Difficult to service-can't bleed them with the pads in and theyre not nice to fit/remove either,nobody liked them.


I opted for Hope and went for the tech X2's.They came in at about £110 each,they're bedding in nicely
But i still miss my C2's :cry:

 

[Scrat]

Honestly I hate my Avids - Both sets
They work brilliantly (when you ditch the stock pads that glaze in 8sec flat!!!)
but they need constant bleeding and general maintenance

Hopes seem to be very hit and miss

I would only drop money on Shimanos! Simple, Cheap, Reliable, set and forget. Any sets I've had have been awesome, as have anybody I know that have had/have them.
In no way bling but subtle functional

 

[letmetalktomark]

I have recently had the same sort of quandary.

I run Margura Louise BAT on two bikes but wanted something different. Looked at the Avids and read some reviews. Consensus seemed to be a pain in the ass to bleed and maintain.

Eventially bit the bullet and bought some second hand Hope M4's with floating rotors.

I think you should go the Hope route too

 

[jonnyboy666]

Recommendations are as follows

Hope - Mono Mini coming top choice for consistent performance and minimum servicing.

Formula-Nobody had much of an opinion on formual k24's but generally though them a good brake all round.If a little fragile

Avid- -Difficult to service-can't bleed them with the pads in and theyre not nice to fit/remove either,nobody liked them.

i think this is pretty much right. in the UK most mechanics like hope, mainly i think because we don't have extreme mountains and as such the fact that they are considered not as powerful as some other brands is not a problem and the availability of spares is great.

being ex trade i would never recommend avid, spongey feeling, pads wear out quickly and are an arse to fit and then set up for them to wear out again, fix and repeat, fix and repeat etc etc etc :roll: utter rubbish i think and then fishers, the importer, always ran out of spares and then took weeks to get them back in and they didn't make every part available so sometimes you ended up buying more than you actually needed just to get them working again!

magura, not as many spares available as hope and not always easy to get hold of here but they generally were reliable and some were just so powerful it was unbeleivable. my mate had marta brakes with 180/160 discs and sold them to buy hope because he felt the martas were too powerful!! also their customer service i have found to be fantastic.

so out of the choice that you have i would say avoid the avid brakes like the plague and stick with the maguras.


for the record i ride hope and have only ever defected twice before, tried formula and didn't like them, power was ok (xc bike with 160 rotors) but i didn't like the lever position and had a few issues with them having sticking brake levers. found hayes hfx9 ok, they worked with no issues but didn't make me want another set, they were dull.

have used C2, mini, mono mini, m4, mono m4, mono 6TI, tech x2 all with no issues and never had a failure including alps riding

my 2p

 

[Average Mark]

I have Avid Ultimates on my bike - top of the range ones.

when working - great.

keeping them working? not a chance, pain in the arse! Want to swap mine for some Maguras as the ones i have tried are alot nicer. Saying that the guy at the shop rides a trials bike and has an avid BB7 mech disc on the front. Tried it this afternoon and it's the most powerfull disc i've ever used! mental

 

[Splatter Paint]

I've ridden the Avid 7s on a mate's bike and I thought they were excellent. I personally ride XTR 965, which although not as powerful (160mm rotors) are fit and forget items. Bleeding was really easy when I fitted them and the sintered pads seem to last.

SP

 

[drcarlos]

The Hayes Stroker Trails on my Kula seem to be nice and powerful and have not needed anything apart from alignment since I got the bike last year.
They do get good reviews in general and better than the Avid equivalents, this is my only experience of disks though so is far from conclusive.

Carl.