Disc Brakes 4 dummies

mely75

Fishing for a little advice,
I've recently changed my riding terrain from Texas to Utah, and wow there really are mountains up here. Ofcourse the first thing I had to do was hit the downhills. I managed to get through the ride a few times, however I could have used a little more stopping power in some cases.
I know this topic is played on all the time. I'm looking for something that will bolt up to Mavic Crossride. I'm thinking mechanical to start with. couple questions though.

1. Is there a quality mechanical brand out there that won't require an organ or limb, or first born for a down payment?
2. what type of maintanence is required for up keep, will i need a degree to disasemble and clean?

I've read some of the disc brake topics here and seen alot of rave about the avid mechanicals, can anyone tell me if this set-up will bolt to the 06 Mavic Crossrides? Or is there something newer and/or better on the market for the money?

Thanks

markw83

your crossrides will accept pretty much any brake these days, the 6 bolt pattern is pretty much standard these days, with the shimano lock rings as exception. if you don;t have the money to go high end with hydro's i would suggest avid mechanical, as they beat the snot out of most cheap hydros (hayes sole, hfx9 etc) in my opinion. they are worry free and reasonably cheap. you'll have no problem setting them up and they are easy to adjust and virtually maintainence free, and relyable! you can read the manual, or ask someone at the shop to help you. they are pretty powerfull, and a piece of cake to rig up and use. ebay is another option. the bb5's are nice, and they are semi adjustable, while the bb7 takes the cake for best mechanical brake out there and is fully adjustable.

go out, get them in your hands and see what they are all about.

davebee

If you think you may be tempted to go hydro later on, you may as well get them now as ultimately it works out cheaper.

As the above poster said, if you want mechanicals get avid.

RubberSideDown

http://www.pricepoint.com/detail.htm?stylepkey=13298

BB7s for $70. I put those on my bike and I love them. Very little maintenance. Make sure you get levers too. I got the Speed Dial 7s to go with them. Great set of breaks.

I used to run with hydro brakes. Too much maintenance involved. It seemed I had them bled every other week to keep them going. I had a stick go up in my spokes once and rip the line right out of my front breaks. Fluid drained out and I was left with no breaks. I had more problems with my hydro brakes that I could not go back. They could have been a cheaper set, but still, more headache than I wanted. The mechanicals work great!

Ny Cykel

I keep hearing this, I usually ride alone, went with a group around the White Rim(Moab), Hydraulics broke on a guys bike, it was a real nasty hill, he was packing parts so that tells me, well, I will keep listeneing.

I am prejudice, I have been wrenching for almost 40 years, I have learned, if it has oil, it will leak.

szucchi

I got Avids bb7 cable brakes and they are awsome. The only problem I have is the disk seems to be worped in the back. Its not to bad but the rear tire will stop in the same place on the disk when spun freely. They stop alot better then my old rim jobs though.....

Ny Cykel

OK now I gotta question, on these BB7s, If a guy buys a couple and hangs on the bike, do you need to replace the levers as well?