shimano, in using a new 4 pot system have moved into the league usually dominated by Hope. the 4 pot system gives greater power than two pot systems and doesnt overheat easily. the shimano is better than the hopes because it uses two cylinders to drive the pads rather than the one cylinder ... Read review
Advantages: cheaper than contemporaries Disadvantages: difficult hoses
...and doesnt overheat easily. the shimano is better than the hopes because it uses two cylinders to drive the pads rather than the one cylinder that the hope uses to drive all 4 pads. the shimanos are also a lot cheaper than other systems with comparible performance, although they need expensive hubs, making them more expensive than the hope open 2s. the braided hoses are bombproof but need to be precut and the levers give superb modulation and good ... more
shimano, in using a new 4 pot system have moved into the league usually dominated by Hope. the 4 pot system gives greater power than two pot systems and doesnt overheat easily. the shimano is better than the hopes because it uses two cylinders to drive the pads rather than the one cylinder that the hope uses to drive all 4 pads. the shimanos are also a lot cheaper than other systems with comparible performance, although they need expensive hubs, making them more expensive than the hope open 2s. the braided hoses are bombproof but need to be precut and the levers give superb modulation and good feel.
Advantages: Excellent lever feel, stopping power, durability Disadvantages: when they squeel, they REALLY squeel
I've been mountain biking for many years now and over time I've tried a wide array of brakingsystems on my various bikes. I was always a huge fan of Avid's braking products and had test ridden a number of bikes with their Juicy discs on before deciding on the right bike for me and taking the plunge into speccing my own custom build. The bike was to be a Yeti 575 and the brake choice came down to the Hope Mono minis (as fitted to my Orange), Avid Juicys and the ShimanoXT. I chose Shimano for various reasons and the following review will hopefully outline why I took this course of action over the much hyped Hope and Avids.
Having tested various systems on demo bikes around the country, it seemed to me that there was little to choose between the braking characteristics of my shortlisted products. However, the Shimano just edged it ...
Advantages: Ride quality; Build Quality; Customer Service of Company Disadvantages: Can't ride it enough
. A reasonably light material, with the benefits of a bit of flex. This provides a comfortable ride, negating 'trail buzz', and appeals to the purists who don\'t like the harsh stiffness of an aluminium frame, or the 'cheat' of a full-suspension bike. The design is compact, with a sloping top tube meaning you'll need a long seatpost.
As this is a frame only you can spec up the bike exactly the way you want to (there are also some deals available through Cotic for things like forks and stems). I built mine up with a SRAM 9-Speed system (x.7 throughout, except the front mech which is ShimanoXT); Hope Mono Mini discbrakes; wide Easton riser bars; and some great wheels built on DMR Revolver hubs with bombproof Mavic rims.
The geometry of the frame as a whole is designed to put the rider slightly forward, putting more weight through the front wheel ...
blackpuddinonnabike 23.11.2007
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Cotic Soul
