THE XTRS GIVE you fantastic control in a feature-rich brake, but at a price. The hinged clamp makes the polished double-barrel body easy to fit. Power is decent if not dramatic, with the leverage-changing Servo Wave cam giving brilliant control and feedback through the one-finger lever. Finned pads and optional Ice Tech rotors really do reduce heat build-up on long descents. Reliability is excellent and bleeding easy.
AVID’S ELIXIR 3 is low on features but high on control for its cost. It uses the most basic ‘humpback’ Elixir lever body and a fixed-hose calliper that has to be aligned using pain-in-the-arse cup and cone washers. It runs on less heat tolerant DOT 4 fluid too, though you can upgrade to DOT 5 easily enough.
CLARKS HAVE BUILT budget brakes for years, but this is their best yet. As you’d expect for 9 4 S, the finishing is basic. The closed bar clamp can be awkward to fit, the reach-adjust knob is a simple bottom-out screw and the hose exits the calliper at a fixed angle.
FORMULA’S ‘THE ONE’ set new standards when it arrived and while it’s not as user friendly as some, it’s still a super-powerful lightweight option at a newly reduced price.
GUSSET’S CHUTE HAS been around for a while and bears a strong resemblance to the original Avid Juicy. That’s no bad thing, as the Juicy was always a reliable brake – and so is the Chute – plus it means it’s easy to find spares for.
FORMULA’S MOST POWERFUL brake is a serious DH stopper at an XC weight and it’s come down a chunk in price too. It’s more careintensive than most though.
MAGURA’S MTS IS the odd one out in an otherwise numerical brake line-up. For 30$ more than the MT4, you get a composite master cylinder and lightweight Storm SL rotor, producing a race-weight brake at a reasonable price.