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GR4s have been some of the biggest dissapointments recently.
Much harder lever pull, deadstroke longer than V4 with bearing mod, pad clearance way worse.
V4 much preferred and more solid.
In your review you mention they are weaker in power. How do you compare it to other brakes and what do you mean by that specifically? require you to squeeze more or slow you down less?
I mean that they require more finger power to deliver the same stopping power. To compare it to other brakes, the Advocate has by far the shortest free stroke I have tested, and also the overall stiffest feel to the system (meaning that there is hardly any movement of the lever when you squeeze it past the bite point, the hoses are super stiff and will not allow for any kind of lever sponginess). They have good initial bite and are easy to modulate. When you really need get braking heavily, I would put their power above the Code RSC, but below Hope, Maven, and Dominions. They have more than enough power to slow you down in any circumstance, they just require a bit more finger power to do so compared to the most powerful options out there.
Weird. I wonder if the perceived difference in power could be entirely due to the hose material then :O
Yeah I'm looking for shortish firm throw but also as little power required. I am still missing the 2nd gen old Magura Gustav from 20 years ago feel. M810 saints (when they worked) too. I hate how Code R's feel, never tried RSC.
How close to the bar do you run your brakes?
Just curious, how do you know when to change out brake rotors? I have a set on an ebike that i've had 3 good seasons on TRP Evos and looking to keep the brake performance optimal but have no idea if changing rotors will help. I don't think I've contaminated them but I don't feel like I'm getting the same performance.
I found this in https://www.tektro.com/upload/Product/EVO%20PRO%20%28HD-M9040%29%20Installation%20Instruction%20-%20Final.pdf
Pretty neato that they use a wear indicator, can also use a caliper to see how thick the rotor is.
Not sure since I haven’t ridden any v4 with standard hoses
I tried my friend ones in the parking lot with the Kevlar hoses and felt a tad spongier but still good
Compared to mines as the time both just bled and with the 9mm bearings but his set up was on 2mm rotors vs 2.3mm on mine
Apologies for the pedantry but you should use a micrometer, not a caliper as many worn rotors have a bit of lip above the brake track and caliper arms will rest on that giving an inaccurate reading.
You can also use a dental tool called a Boley Gauge which are often cheaper than micrometers
I've seen the topic of hose flex come up a few times, and how it affects the sharpness of the bite point feel. The claim I keep seeing is that a very stiff braided hose will have less flex, and this will be more pronounced especially on the rear brake (where the hose is longer). Is there a braided hose that is normal diameter that is compatible with SRAM banjos & hose barbs? I'd be curious to try running a braided hose on my rear brake only to try and balance the bite feel better.
My personal experience is that making sure pistons are well lubed/sliding freely and the caliper is perfectly centered is more influential on bite point feel than braided hose. That being said, I have seen a few bikes roll through the shop using this (SRAM Compatible Hydraulic Stainless Steel Braid Brake Hose Kit) style of hose and they all felt solid. It should be the same ID/OD as standard SRAM hoses and comes in a couple fancy dancy colours!!!
Edit: This depends frame to frame but I have noticed that the braided hoses love to chew into frames both externally and internally so be prepared to brake out the foam sheathing and ridewrap to keep everything safe
you should read the fine print:
Not compatible with the following SRAM 11 speed road levers - Red 22, Force 22, Rival 22, Force 1, Force CX1, Apex 1, HRD, S700, Rival 1 and Maven.
Didn't see anything in OP's question that mentioned Maven's specifically
Yeah, I guess I should have mentioned I'm looking to use it on Mavens. I agree that having the caliper nicely centered over the rotor and pistons moving freely helps with a sharper bite point, but on every freshly bled brake I've run, I always run the contact adjuster more out (sharper) on the rear. Could be my brain, could be right hand vs. left hand strength, or it could be greater system flex. Fiddling with the contact adjuster works to address the difference in feel, but I'd still like to try a braided hose sometime to figure out whether it's me or the brake hose that causes that feeling.
Hose flex is real. Multiple companies have gone the stiffer rear hose route at points in time.
Fair enough, it wouldn't shock me if they release a Maven specific line sooner than later (hopefully). I've had similar debates with myself regarding hand strength/hose material as well, but I've never been able to notice it outside of the shop/parking lot. I wonder if just an extra reinforced kevlar hose is something worth trying out then?
I notice it too; Hope V3s and Dominions; standard (non-braided) lines.
You can use a caliper.
The trick is to make sure that the opening at the inside of the jaws clears any high spots on outer edge of the disc. I guess some calipers might not have this opening, but I have a few different calipers and they all have this opening.
You could also use the pokey depth gauge part.
Well that's neat, thank you!
Has anyone here moved to the new Shimano brakes from Shigura? If so can you share your experience?
I've been rocking Shiguras for the past few years to get the great Shimano ergonomics without worry of the caliper leaking (which might contribute to WBP). The extra power wasn't unwelcome, but that wasn't really my a goal. I'd trade that for better pad retraction.
The new Shimano brakes are supposed to address the caliper issues, so maybe I can now live on easy-mode by using "Pure Shimano Guts".
There’s a guy on Instagram
Omakasecycles
He put some Goodrige lines on the Mavens
I had T4V4’s on my Enduro with standard lines, my friend had T4V4 with braided on his Patrol. Same pads and rotors.
They basically felt the same, the only real upside is durability. Hope even says the same thing themselves.
The steel braid isn’t tensioned, it isn’t going to do anything significant to resist expansion.
Goodridge 5mm braided hose might work. It's the same as what Hope uses in their stainless braided line kit.
The OD is 5mm, so the olive should not be an issue.
The ID is 2.4mm. I measured the SRAM stealthamajig barb at 2.38mm, so it's not ideal, but it might work?
If you have maven bronze or base, it's an olive at both ends so you don't have to worry about banjo compatibility.
Almost all hoses and bards are compatible
Yep, that's been my experience too, the Hope braided lines do nothing for lever feel, the external steel braiding is just there for additional protection. Additionally, installing them is a huge faff, the steel braiding splits open real easy and then getting it all into the olive is a royal pain. They are also thicker and thus may not play nice will every frame out there in regards to cable ports and internal guide hoses. TL/DR "these are not the hoses you are looking for."
I'd be very intrigued by running HEL lines on other brakes to see what difference they make in stiffness/bite point feel. Don't know if they are available to purchase separately.
Disagree about the braided lines. Maybe placebo but I think they are firmer
I've see several first hand accounts of the silver calipers swapping directly for Shimano calipers. I have not done it personally, but I wouldn't worry about trying it. If I were to swap I would use the bronze calipers just because its easy to get a big roll of bulk hose and add the ends.
I'm very interested to feel these brakes but I'm so happy with the TRP's I'm currently running that I just can't bring myself to pull them off. I just really enjoy them.
I have swapped TRP calipers in place of Shimanos and not had a problem. I think alot of the banjo diameters are the same. I just wonder if the caliper comes with the banjo bolt.
RE: braided lines, I'm working with Maven Ultimates, so I'll need a version that deals with banjos unfortunately. I mean I guess I could buy a Bronze caliper but that adds quite a bit to the whole experiment. I'd consider trying some variation of a Kevlar line too, if someone else could point to a kit that was compatible with Maven banjos and was actually stiffer.
On the other hand, when I ran Dominions, I know they had a braided line that was actually slightly larger (to the point of being an issue on certain frames like gen 3 Levo), but it actually visibly flexed when I squeezed the lever.
if you think the Hope ones is a huge faff and they split open try to install the raw Goodridge on Trickstuff good luck
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