All Arround MTB

1. If your brake is rubbing, first check that the calliper is aligned with the rotor. Loosen the calliper bolts just enough to allow you to move it from side to side. Spin the wheel, then adjust the position of the calliper by hand until it no longer rubs, or only rubs at one point of the rotor. 2. Rotor still rubbing at one point? It’ll need straightening. If it’s the back wheel that’s a 3. Spin the wheel and listen out for a rubbing sound. Stop the wheel at the point where the rotor contacts the pads. Look down through the calliper to see which pad the rotor is touching. If it’s the right pad you’ll need to bend the rotor left, and vice versa. 4. Note which part of the rotor is rubbing, then rotate the wheel until the bent section is free of the calliper. With a rotor truing tool, adjustable spanner or clean hands, pull the rotor a few millimetres in the opposite direction to the pad it was touching. 5. Rotate the bent section of rotor back into the calliper and l...

SRAM’s high-powered Code brakes used to be aimed exclusively at downhillers, but with enduro riders tackling mega-steep descents and 20kg+ e-mtbs needing to be slowed down, we can see the new version transcending multiple disciplines. The all-new lever is based on their popular Guide brake but bigger (with a 30 per cent higher positive fluid volume), while the once chunky calliper is more refined and bears a striking resemblance to the ‘S4’ unit used on the Guide Ultimate. The main difference is that the Code has a larger pair of leading pistons (they’re 15mm, while the second pair remain 16mm). It also gets SRAM’s nifty ‘Bleeding Edge’ port, which limits faff when bleeding. All of these changes boost power by 15 per cent over the Guide RSC. The top-end Code RSC brakes gets reach and contact point adjust, the Swinglink, lighter hardware and phenolic pistons. Price $345 (per end, including rotor)

Follow these 16 simple steps to get your SRAM Guide R, RS, RSC or DB5 disc brakes working at their best.

ZEE IS BASICALLY a cheaper version of Shimano’s pro-level Saint downhill groupset, and these bombproof and vastly powerful yet subtly controlled brakes are a brilliant bargain.

IT’S HARD TO believe, but Clarks really do offer a fully hydraulic, adequately controlled brake for less than 30$ an end.

WHILE SOME BRANDS just add a carbon lever and some Ti bolts to create their flagship brakes, the Guide Ultimate also gets subtle but significant internal changes to create a performance and control difference when riding at full gas.

IN A WORLD of mass produced brakes, Hope’s meticulously machined anchors are a standout feature on any bike. Their performance – particularly in the longer term – is equally outstanding too.

FORMULA’S OVAL-PISTON RO brake has been an outstanding lightweight performer for those with plenty of cash for a while, and the Racing version takes performance and price to new extremes.

THE MT5’S PLASTICKY feel and blunt power won’t suit everyone, but this distinctive German anchor is massively powerful and well priced.

THE CHEAPEST BRAKE in SRAM’s Guide family gets a simplified design that’s not quite as rich in feel but it’s still a consistent, user friendly performer with great syncing options.

FSA INTRODUCED THEIR disc brake range last year and the Afterburner is the more affordable brother of the K-Force, which offers a carbon lever and titanium bolts for 120$ more. Both use the same angular mid-size lever body with twin-bolt clamp and ambidextrous design. Reach and bite point are adjustable without tools, though the latter only gives a subtle change.

THESE FOUR-PISTON all-rounders from budget brake mega brand Tektro’s top-end line are keenly priced, but don’t feel as keen through the levers.

SHIMANO’S FLAGSHIP TRAIL brake looks beautiful and potentially has stunning control and modulation but we’ve struggled to get consistent performance on several sets we’ve used.

People say that you know something's good when you don’t notice it–that is, whatever it is works so well that it doesn’t distract from the riding experience or bring attention to itself. This wasn’t the case on my first ride testing the Guide RSC brakes in March 2014, when they made themselves known on my very first descent down the Captain Ahab trail in Moab, Utah. No brake since the first time I slapped a pair of discs on a bike in 2001 has made such a massive improvement in braking performance.

The release of the new Guide brakes could not have come at a better time for SRAM. Although products like the PIKE fork and XO-1 drivetrain have been killing it lately, the brand has been in desperate need of a high performing brake system to compete with the likes of Shimano's popular Ice Tech models.

Badly set up brakes can be a real drag (groan). They can slow you down when you don't want them to, or fail to stop you properly when you do.

Over a couple of decades ago, Magura was the go-to brand when it came to hydraulic MTB brakes. While they remain a well-recognised brake brand, the market has been dominated by SRAM and Shimano stoppers in recent times. Of late Magura has introduced some really neat features, and most of these are present on the MT4.

Avid’s last brake, the Elixir, was so unreliable that the brand’s reputation to make quality brakes slid downhill like a runaway truck without, um … brakes. The Elixir’s Achilles heel was that it required a perfect bleed.

The MT7 Next boasts serious stop with its beefy, four-piston caliper, featuring four independent pads. Most four-piston calipers use two long pads to cover both pistons, but Magura claims that four pads increase modulation and heat management. A lightweight, fip-fop composite lever body and long, two-fnger blade tie it all together.

For its frst mineral fuid-flled brake, Hayes has hit it out of the park. These bargain brakes offer incredibly easy setup and a robust build. Even though the hardware is simple – just a bolt with a single washer – the calipers didn’t migrate at all when I was cinching them down. This is due in part to the side-mounted setscrews that Hayes calls the ‘Crosshair Alignment System.’ Adjusting the setscrews is easy and cuts down signifcantly on time spent tuning out rotor rub.