Gravel / Gravé / Gnarmac / Groad / ATB

I've got some really cheap ones on my SSCX, Spyres on my commuter, and Shimano hydros on my road bike - they all feel different but not bad by any stretch. Definitely recommend compressionless housing on them.

+1 for spyres, I have them on my tank of a surly. They managed a mixed terrain ride w 2200m of elevation (in about 90km, so steep) loaded up the other weekend, no bother.
The pads saw some wear, and as lf says, adjustment to tighten them up a bit was super easy.
Pic here: https://www.lfgss.com/comments/15466048/

JuinTech cable-actuated hydro calipers are v good compromise.

I like mechanical discs but have recently gone to hydro and there is a huge difference.

I’ve used spyres, BB7s, juintech cable actuated hydro. The Juin *were the best, the spyres great when set up, then quickly depreciate and require a regular faff. BB7 are almost binary but reliable.

• *I have a set for sale
  

Post mount?

Of cables discs, only Spyres are okay, but the modulation of hydro discs is far superior in my experience. BB7s are awful, needed constant adjustments to keep working and even then don’t stop well.

I’d go hydro every time.

BB7s are awful, needed constant adjustments to keep working and even then don’t stop well.

Perhaps your BB7s are like that but my experience is almost the opposite.

Once you have the technique sorted they are pretty easy to set up, easy to adjust when it’s needed - or wanted, it’s nice to be able to dial the pads in/out using the red knobs to adjust lever feel/rotor clearance. This is a feature that a lot of hydros don’t have - and are plenty powerful enough to over come the grip on 26 x 2.8 knobblies.

I will admit that I have owned one BB7 caliper that was horrendous. It came from eBay, arrived sans packaging and even replacing the pads didn’t help. I figured it was a fake. Looked real good, just didn’t work. I’ve probably owned 6-8 others that have all worked real nice.

Oh, I have noticed that often the tab on the outboard pad (nearest the IS adapter if you run one) hits the adapter and thus, the pad can’t sit flat in the caliper. I have taken to trimming the tab off and just grab the stump that’s left with pliers to remove it.

Oh yeah I forgot to mention if you didn't already know, Hy/Rd are cable actuated hydraulic same as Juin Tech R1. My experience with full cable disc brakes has been pretty terrible although I've not tried Spyres.

I’d go hydro every time.

So would hippy.

Fuck cables. Di2 + hydro stoppers forever.

I really do want to get rid of the functional but noisy Maguras off my Inbred and swap them for newer Shimano hydro so I've got Shimano across the board. Is there any market for old hydro disc brakes?

Another vote for Spyres here, I have sram dropbar hydro's on another bike and whilst they are good, well set up spyres are more than sufficent for most riding. I've toured over 10,000km on mine and the only 'oh shit' moment I had with them were some ludicrously steep mountain descents in Japan. Also you can't beat them for ease of dismantling the bike and home repair etc.

I have mechanical discs (TRP Spryes) on my cross bike and hydro (Deore) on my commuter. The hydros are a leaky fucking mess, and the mechanical work perfectly well. Hydro are a pita to maintain, as also evidenced by my would-be mtb which I've still not completed building because I've run into a hydro brake related issue and I can't be fucked with the faff.

real high incidence of people in my club having leaking 105/ultegra hydro callipers - which apparently are so fiddly to repair, the recommended course of action is warranty replacement... I've been OK so far with the 105s on my arkose but would def be a shiter if the seals failed outwith warranty

For me, hydro has been super reliable and easy to maintain, on Apex1, Ultegra and TRP on the cargo bike. No leaks, nothing. Did you set them up yourself? Did you do the olives etc correctly? Where's the leak?

Bought second hand, leaking already I guess. Took to a bike shop for a service, 'nah they just need a bleed' so they bled them. Leak continued, took to a second bike shop after putting the first bike shop on my long list of incompetents, 'your caliper is leaking' they told me so they replaced it, lo and behold the fucker still leaks. So I guess the second bike shop cheaped out on me (they also go on the incompetents list) and reused the olive and that's the source of the problem and I could fix that myself and bleed the brakes and maybe everything would be fine, but I instead decided to give up all hope of a functioning front brake and rely mostly on my rear to brake which I guess is fine because it's not like I'm going fast on that bike anyway.

Which is to say, had this been a mechanical brake this entire saga would have not happened and I wouldn't have sunk cash into still not having a fully functioning front brake.

Completely forgot I have hydros on my Bullitt. It's been rock solid, zero issues and zero maintenance since new 3 years ago. Should prob check the pads for wear...

Shimano CX70s were always ok to me, but you cannot beat hydro.

+1 for Di2 and hydro.

The only way of making your hydro brifter bike look normal.

I still can’t get my head around Sram hoods on their AXS HRD stuff....

+1 for Di2 and hydro.

That reminds me....

I had cheap Hayes CX brakes with cheap levers and compressionless housing. They were just as good as the Rival hydro I've got now but a fraction of the price. I reckon "modulation" is snake oil, just keep your cables in good condition and get decent levers and you'll have more "modulation" than you can actually utilise as an amateur cyclist. Brake power is irrelevant because even puny human forearms are strong enough to overcome the traction of your tyres.

Now that I've "upgraded" I have to pay people to deal with my stupid poisonous brake fluid and worry about boiling fluid. Instead of good old cables and Allen keys that I can sort myself in 10 minutes.

Would not recommend the upgrade unless you actively want to spend extra money on bikes for no practical reason (applies to half of the forum in fairness)

Indeed, I was going to poke you, either that or just use them on the next ridiculous idea which is starting to materialise and hope you forgot in the meantime.....

Lolz-only joking-obvz ordered a brand new set cos I’m a complete fucking moron.....

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Ehrm ... yes. Maybe also check that the rotors don't have shit melted onto them if you went through to the backing plate.

The amount of money you could have saved over the years from hanging on to bits rather than selling them and then buying more full price....

Got anything else nice to sell me?

Plz.... don’t remind me...... 💸

That ENVE G Gravel fork is likely to hit the sales thread - would be perfect for your new grav rig you’re building....

hydro vs cables seems to be largely psychological. Some people find the faff of cables fine, others the faff of hydros fine. They're two different types of faff so just go with whichever image of faff appeals to you more.

Agree, but IME changing a cable takes longer than changing fluid nowerdays...

Steerer looks a bit short for you