All Arround MTB

THIS COMBINATION OF Avid's last-generation Elixir lever and four-piston Code calliper has been around for a while but it's got plenty of loyal fans.

TRICKLE-DOWN OF technology is a wonderful thing when it means you can now buy a brake 95 per cent as good as the excellent Avid X0 Trail for almost half the price. The only real differences are that the lever is alloy, not carbon, and sits on a bushing rather than a cartridge bearing, so the feel isn’t as luxurious. There’s no bite point adjust and you get a utilitarian grey finish but the brake is only 12g heavier.

AVID’S COMBINATION OF XC lever and DH brake has become a cult hero among gravity addicts, and for good reason. The pivot geometry of the Elixir lever gives it great feel and communication, as well as a genuine boost in perceived power. There’s no bite point adjust but reach adjust is tool-free and shared mount syncing with shifters/remotes is seamless.

THE ULTRA NEAT design of Avid’s four-pot brake family means the extra pair of cylinders and longer pads only add a handful of grams over conventional X0, yet the increase in sketchy conditions control and reduction in arm pump on long techy descents is dramatic.