I love the feel of shimano brakes but during covid I ended up installing 4 sets of shimano brakes. 2 of them work perfectly, but the other two are just giving constant problems. I installed 2 sets of slx 4-piston and 2 sets of saints (all on different bikes). One set of SLX and one set of Saints don't work right. The symptom is the same: Brake bleed is good, very firm levers, but no stopping power. It feels like the brakes are contaminated or not broken in yet. I've taken them to 2 separate shops and they insist nothing is wrong, the brakes just need to be re-bedded (after cleaning and sanding, of course). But I shouldn't have to re-bed them every ride!
To get them working perfectly, I take out the pads, and either clean & burn them with a torch, or completely replace them. I then use both brake cleaner and iso 91% to clean the rotors perfectly. Then I do the bed-in procedure and they work perfectly! For a ride, or 2 or 3 if I ride them on consecutive days. But if they sit for a week or two, they are back to no stopping power. Repeat the above process and they work again, but I'm sick of having to work on the brakes every few rides. Like I said, my other two sets work perfectly no matter how long they sit.
I have read that some shimano brakes leak at the seals very slowly. I have checked the back of the pads a few times and never saw anything, but over the winter I ordered a new set of (sram \*gasp\* db8s) to replace the messed up SLX on my hardtail and when I went out to replace them this spring I did notice the back of 1 pad had a wet spot on it. The others seemed dry, though.
So I guess I got screwed with some leaky caliper seals on 2 sets of brakes (maybe lack of quality during covid? I dunno). It would have been nice if the shops could have alerted me to the possibility of a leaky seal while the brakes were still under warranty. But I'm soured on shimano brakes.
The DB8s I put on my hardtail seem fine after 3 rides. They bedded quickly and feel like... sram brakes. Powerful enough for the stuff I do on my hardtail but require more force to get to that power.
I bought a set of TRP DHR-Evos to replace the messed up Saints. But I'm really sad because when the saints and slx brakes work, I really really like them.
March 27, 2024, 10:09 p.m. - dirtslurper
I love the feel of shimano brakes but during covid I ended up installing 4 sets of shimano brakes. 2 of them work perfectly, but the other two are just giving constant problems. I installed 2 sets of slx 4-piston and 2 sets of saints (all on different bikes). One set of SLX and one set of Saints don't work right. The symptom is the same: Brake bleed is good, very firm levers, but no stopping power. It feels like the brakes are contaminated or not broken in yet. I've taken them to 2 separate shops and they insist nothing is wrong, the brakes just need to be re-bedded (after cleaning and sanding, of course). But I shouldn't have to re-bed them every ride! To get them working perfectly, I take out the pads, and either clean & burn them with a torch, or completely replace them. I then use both brake cleaner and iso 91% to clean the rotors perfectly. Then I do the bed-in procedure and they work perfectly! For a ride, or 2 or 3 if I ride them on consecutive days. But if they sit for a week or two, they are back to no stopping power. Repeat the above process and they work again, but I'm sick of having to work on the brakes every few rides. Like I said, my other two sets work perfectly no matter how long they sit. I have read that some shimano brakes leak at the seals very slowly. I have checked the back of the pads a few times and never saw anything, but over the winter I ordered a new set of (sram \*gasp\* db8s) to replace the messed up SLX on my hardtail and when I went out to replace them this spring I did notice the back of 1 pad had a wet spot on it. The others seemed dry, though. So I guess I got screwed with some leaky caliper seals on 2 sets of brakes (maybe lack of quality during covid? I dunno). It would have been nice if the shops could have alerted me to the possibility of a leaky seal while the brakes were still under warranty. But I'm soured on shimano brakes. The DB8s I put on my hardtail seem fine after 3 rides. They bedded quickly and feel like... sram brakes. Powerful enough for the stuff I do on my hardtail but require more force to get to that power. I bought a set of TRP DHR-Evos to replace the messed up Saints. But I'm really sad because when the saints and slx brakes work, I really really like them.