Mountain Bikers - Hydros versus mechs

yesiamtom — Fri, 14 Aug 2009 04:59:12 -0400

Ive heard if you spend up to £30 on cables the mech discs can feel really nice. Shimano and some others do the full system (inner and outer cables) at that price and its meant to be excellent.

Ive never experienced it myself though.

Thanks

Hugh_Johnson — Thu, 13 Aug 2009 08:27:08 -0400

Thanks for the responses. I've run Juicy 7s as well, had good luck with them. In my downhill days in Alaska I ran 8" Saints. Now, on my Moots, I have the Hayes Stroker Carbons, and I like them. I do agree that modulation is key, but I've never had mechs to compare.

It just seemed to me that maybe there was something to all this business with the Avid BB7 being "just like" hydros, without the wet system. Dudes on MTBR rave about them. I'm an XC adventure racer/24hr guy, I rarely need the stopping power anymore that I needed back in my "sick" days.

You guys tried Avid BB7s?

from a clydesdale

dcgruber — Wed, 12 Aug 2009 17:51:36 -0400

I have hydro now and it is a no contest for me. On technical trails or zoomin' down a hill I just feel in ccontrol and know they are there for me. When I had the mechs it was a squeeze and pray feel.

Hydros vs. Mechs

SingleTrackMind — Tue, 11 Aug 2009 11:29:25 -0400

Hydros, to me, have better modulation/feel and power compared to mechs. Mechs, to me, always feel like they're either on or off. As for power for a clyde, what kind of trails do you ride? Smooth XC, not a lot of sustained DH? Mechs are probably fine. If you have a lot of climbing with a lot of descending or do a lot of shuttling, you'd probably want a more powerful hydro, since you can get more power to the brakes without using a lot of energy pulling on the lever.

I've ridden Juicy 7s for 3 years now with no problems at all. Pad changes are easy and bleeding's not too bad once you get the hang of it. Hope this helps.