Avid Sintered brake pads (Gold)

Advantages: Last for ages and easy to fit
Disadvantages: None

...I've used the Avid BB7 mechanical for over three years now & have been satisfied using these sintered (Gold) pads. The setup was both the stock 160mm rotor & 185mm rotor. Even in pouring rain the 160mm plus these Avid pads stop the bike with great modulation. Now I have one installed for the front for my XC bike which stops like a dream. Occasionally dirt and oil may require you to clean them by either soaking the pads in alcohol & sanding a thin layer. In either case, the pads last a long time and the break-in period is fast! (Just pour water on the rotor, go down the hill and brake hard couple times) These brake pads can vary from dealer to dealer but mainly the retail for around £15, there are various online stores that they can pe purchased from including "Evanscycles.com" and "chainreactioncycles.com"...

helix1250 28.08.2007 · Read review
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Review of Avid Pads Avid - All Disc Brakes

Avid BB7 Mechanical Disc Brakes

Advantages: Easy to fit and maintain plus great price
Disadvantages: Will need adjusting from time to time

...Overall: The Avid BB7 mechanical disc brake is a good option if you're looking for an aftermarket mechanical disc brake that's both affordable and adjustable. By most accounts (including mine), the Tri-Align Caliper Positioning System is the easiest way to mount a disc brake on a mountain bike, and it allows you to spend less time cursing tiny shims and stomping around your shop or garage. While I wouldn't argue that the long-term performance of the Avid mechanical brakes trumps that of most hydraulic brake systems on the market, they're far and above the best mechanical disc brakes that I've tried. If you have the choice between a set of Avid mechanicals and pretty much any other mechanical disc brake available today, go with the Avid and save yourself a bunch of headaches and many days of sore hands. If you're considering a set...

helix1250 29.08.2007 · Read review
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Review of Avid BB7

A Slice of Retro Chic

Advantages: Well made. Well finished. Excellent durabilty. Quality piece of kit
Disadvantages: Come equipped with Rim Wranglers Brake Pads

...A bit of History V-brakes were originally developed by Shimano, and were an improvement on the older centre pull cantilever brakes. By lengthening the arms the amount of force applied to the rim could be increased, so improving braking performance. V-brakes are now being superseded by disc brakes. Disc brakes offer vastly superior wet weather braking performance, and are the brake of choice where extreme performance is required i.e. freeride and downhill. And the Avids? The single digit 7's feature Force Vector Alignment, and stainless hardware. Build quality and finish is excellent. I know because I have some Deore's and Tektro's to compare them against. Durability is good too - paint and fittings have lasted extremely well despite 2 years worth of being sprayed with mud and then hosed down by yours truly...

fred_redwood 26.05.2008 · Read review
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Review of Avid Single Digit 7 Brake

Stopping power from Japan

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 braking systems 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 Shimano XT. 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...

HokaHey 05.11.2007 (08.11.2007) · Read review
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Review of Shimano XT Disc Brake System

Brake the mould!!

Advantages: A nice mix of songs for any mood and great to sing to in the car/shower!
Disadvantages: An album that I found difficult to get in to... despite being a Turin Brakes fan.

...I bought this album along with their first album, The Optimist, a few months ago. I already had their second album, Ether Song, so I was very exited to have another two cd's at once! At first I preferred The Optimist over Jackinabox as it was more instantly likeable but three months down the line this is definitely the best album they have produced?. Here's why?. Turin Brakes consist of Olly Knights, lead vocals and guitar and Gale Paridjanian, guitar and vocals. They are guitar based indie type music something akin to Coldplay but Olly Knights having a voice like Jeff Bukley. They are different to Coldplay in that they have a more folk sound which makes it sound a bit more timeless. Most of their songs are very simple but with good lyrics, songwriting and harmonies it comes as a surprise to me that every song is very easy to...

jamie_curtis69 01.12.2005 (02.12.2005) · Read review
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Review of JackInABox - Turin Brakes

At last a V-brake pad for mudlovers

Advantages: Excellent performance in wet/muddy conditions, rim friendly, good wear rates
Disadvantages: Pricier than the competition

...This review is for the dual compound cartridge pads. They are black/salmon in colour. A bit of History The real secret of the Kool Stop's superior braking power is the salmon compound. Originally it was developed by Scott-Mathauser, and was recognised as the finest brake pads available, both for it's superior stopping power and durable compound. Kool Stop was under contract to Scott-Mathauser to manufacture their pads.Kool Stop obtained the rights to manufacture the salmon pads when Scott-Mathauser went out of business. The secret of the pads is that they contain iron oxide (i.e. rust), and work on the same principle as sintering does for disc brake pads. They dramatically improve wet weather braking performance as well as wear. Features of the Kool Stop Pads Along with the salmon compound, the pads also feature...

fred_redwood 02.05.2008 · Read review
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Review of Kool Stop Pads - All Cartridge V Brakes

Special Specialized Rockhopper Comp Disc 2007

Advantages: Top quality kit
Disadvantages: Nothing at all

...and no flex are a great bonus. The one thing I will talk about is the brakes. One of my reasons for a new bike was to get disc brakes. If your wanting to stop well in the rain and like cycling in the hills and mud then get discs. The bike comes with AVID Juicy hydraulic disc brakes. These are way better than the standard cable pull ones. Whilst they may not be top of the peg ones they offer excellent good all round breaking power for the normal user. It took me a few rides to break in the discs and pads (rather like getting new brakes on a car). But once this was one they stop like nothing on earth. The AVID brakes just look great on the bike, less cumbersome than the Shimano ones you get on other bikes. Anyways, combine the brakes with the specialized tyres and you have some great control. OTHER BITS FRAME New for 07 M4 manipulated alloy...

skrg28 23.03.2007 · Read review
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Review of Specialized Rockhopper Comp Disc

Specialized Rockhopper Disc

Advantages: Fantastic bike for the money
Disadvantages: Forks and tyre

...A super bike for the money. The M4 frame is top notch and is very responsive through the corners and when you put the power down no power is lost. The Avid Juicy 3 brakes are good to as you would hope although they have a fair bit of travel on the leavers before they bite. The only components that let the bike down are the RockShox Tora 302 SL forks due to them not being so smooth in the travel, and the other problem I found are the tyres that are rubbish in damp off road conditions. They tyres are ok for dry conditions but in the UK when do we get those (very rarely). All in all a very good fun bike for the money....

wb01 01.10.2007 · Read review
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Review of Specialized Rockhopper Disc

Happy as long as they don't BRAKE up

Advantages: unique vocals, good lyrics and beautiful guitar
Disadvantages: none I can think of - not enough gigs!

...I first heard of this band a few years ago when they released 'Underdog - save me'. The guitar solo grabbed me and the unique voice left me wanting to hear the song over and over again. Catching it on radio one I managed to hear the name Turin Brakes. This band come from the London area and are comprised of 2 people. The lead singer, who also plays guitar and another guy who also plays guitar and does backing vocals. I got hold of their first album, called "The Optimist". After listening to it I became hooked on the band. Each song seems to have it's own individuality. Some songs I found enticed me straight away, whilst others stuck out at you after a few listens, but each one is good in it's own right. What I like about Turin Brakes is the singer's voice. It's so distinct and unique. He has...

ljb234 02.08.2004 · Read review
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Review of Turin Brakes

Turin Brakes in concert

Advantages: Great Music, Great Band
Disadvantages: none

...A few months ago Turin Brakes came to perform in Birmingham at the Academy and I went along to see them. The Academy is quite a small venue, so the perfomances there can feel really personal. I already really liked the bands last album (The Optimist) and the day after the concert their new album was launched. Therefore the band played alot of old an new stuff. Music wise i really loved it, they played all my favourites from the Optimist and the new songs were even better. However, the reason why I wanted to write a review on this concert was not mainly because their music and songs were brilliant (which they were). What i wanted to say is that a few days before this concert the whole band had got a bug and it was quite nasty. Olly (the lead singer) said that they had been puking all day because of the bug, and it was so bad...

Suewan 10.05.2003 · Read review
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Review of Turin Brakes