| |
Submitted by
Jason Brozic
a
from Bristol, NY
Date Reviewed: August 4, 2006 | | Favorite Trail: | ANything along the Finger Lakes Region. | | Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month | | Price Paid: |
$190.00 | | Purchased At: | Park Ave Bike Shop. (Rochester, NY) | | Strengths: | Very light. Very strong. Adjustable in many different ways. You can customize your braking ability no matter what you are going to be riding on. It can also be adjusted on the go. No real need to stop to adjust anything. | | Weaknesses: | None as far as useage.
They are a wee bit pricey. | | Similar Products Used: | Avid 2.0 Brake Triggers.
Schimano XTR Brake triggers. | | Bike Setup: | 1999 Gary Fisher Paragon.
| | Bottom Line: | These Speed Dail Ultimate triggers are incredible. I paid out the ass for them, but it was well worth it. I do now want disc brakes, they are too heavy. I have these triggers setup with the Avid Single Digit Ultimate V Brakes. The setup is just crazy. These triggers with the Ultimates make my brakes way better than most moderatley priced disc brakes.
The adjustability is amazing as well. On the road, downhill, or just some XC.... you can adjust your cable tension, trigger strength, and clamping force with ease. I have never felt v brakes this nice before. If you have the means, and want very good, well working, and extremely nice looking brake triggers, I stongly reccomend picking them up. You will be amazed. | Value Rating: Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Tom
a Weekend Warrior
from White Plains, NY
Date Reviewed: June 23, 2006 | | Duration Product Used: | 3 months | | Price Paid: |
$150.00 | | Purchased At: | pricepoint | | Strengths: | Lightweight, good looking, simple design, works extremely well. | | Weaknesses: | Price? I think they were worth every penny. | | Similar Products Used: | Avid SD7 | | Bike Setup: | On-One Inbred steel hardtail with White Bros 100mm fork, Mavic 819 rims, XT hubs, SRAM X9, Easton carbon bar, Continental vertical pro tubeless, SD7 brakes. | | Bottom Line: | I put together a bike for my sister using a cheap frame and parts I had lying around. The brakes sucked, some Tektro v-brakes with some really crappy old levers I had. I took my SD7 levers off my Inbred and couldn't believe the improvement the levers made. I decided to plunk down $150 dollars for these levers to see if they were worth it. I don't really know why, but I just needed to know. These levers with SD7 brakes were an excellent combination. I did not note my braking to be particular inferior to discs. I decided I needed a longer fork on my Inbred. I put on a Talas with an Avid BB7 disc, and am still using these levers. They continue to be excellent. The only real difference with the discs that I notice is that my forearms don't get as tired from long downhills. I am still using the V-brake on the back, and it is fully adequate. I suspect that these levers will work well with any cable actuated braking system, but I was most impressed by how well they worked with Avid v-brakes. If your wheels are true and you adjust these levers properly, you have a powerful and lightweight braking system. The high price of these levers is easily offset by the money saved on the rest of your braking system compared to a hydraulic disc system. An excellent upgrade if you are staying with v-brakes. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
mike
a Cross Country Rider
from Iittsburgh pennsylvania
Date Reviewed: February 13, 2004 | | Duration Product Used: | 3 months | | Price Paid: |
$120.00 | | Purchased At: | Denali cycles | | Strengths: | very adjustable light and maintainable. cool cnc machining. great feel. | | Weaknesses: | pricey but worth it | | Bike Setup: | cannondale f500 with all kinds of up grades (two originall parts and one of them is the frame | | Bottom Line: | this is cool a great lever for a xc rim brake rig. on a entry level bike i would recomend spending the extra money else were like wheels | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Mike
a Cross Country Rider
from NY, USA
Date Reviewed: July 13, 2003 | | Duration Product Used: | More than 3 years | | Purchased At: | eBay | | Strengths: | Super smooth action; absolutely zero play; crash replacement policy (can replace blade and bearing for a nominal fee); easy to use and effective speed dial; speed dial view ports; beautiful machining; light weight (150 grams/pair); ergonomic lever blade; easy installation; | | Weaknesses: | reach adjustment not infinite (only a couple positions); barrel adjuster design is bad (IMHO), must have slack in cable for it to work | | Similar Products Used: | LX, XT, XTR, Speed Dial 7, Speed Dial 5, other lower end Dia Compes, hayes hydro, mag. marta, | | Bike Setup: | nokon housing, gore rideon cable, XTR brakes | | Bottom Line: | Top notch feel; and increased power. better power than any other lever I've ever used. try it yourself, keep all the setup exactly the same, then change JUST the lever.
All other levers that I have tried (except XTR) develop play quickly, and b/c they pivot on bushings, there's not much you can do about it. These levers last forever and even in the event that your bearings die (hasn't happened to me yet), you can get them replaced for a nominal fee from avid.
Giving them a high value rating b/c:
1) you can get one off eBay (or other classifieds) for a decent price and sell it back for pretty much the same price. In other words, low depreciation. See if you can sell your LX, XT, or other speed dial levers for a good price...
2) slop does not develop quickly and even if it does, you can fix it.
3) crash replacement policy
| | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Captain Phun
a Cross Country Rider
from Superfund, NJ
Date Reviewed: July 11, 2003 | | Favorite Trail: | Waywayanda | | Duration Product Used: | 3 months | | Price Paid: |
$120.00 | | Purchased At: | Jenson | | Strengths: | Holy poop like butter! So sweet I'm getting a chub typing this at work! Light weight, speed dial leverage for the exact feel you want. CNC machined so they look great. Light weight. You can take the brakes off without having to remove your grips. | | Weaknesses: | The fact that I'm typing this at work and not squeezing these levers. My pud is jealous cause I play with these levers more than it now! | | Similar Products Used: | Shimano xt, avid sd3, magura marta hydros. | | Bike Setup: | Yeti F.R.O., light weight parts, blah blah blah | | Bottom Line: | WHen I read the other reviews and everyone says they are like butter, they were not kidding. The price has me debating between these and the avid ti levers but I said what the hell and spurlged for these. Well let me tell you, after i set them up and used them, I spurlged in my shorts! One finger braking with rims brakes. Feel soft as my magura hydros. Infintite speed dial settings. The reach setting is kinda useless for me, but can see how it could be beneficial. These brake levers are awesome! Buy these levers you will not be dissapointed!!!!!!!!!!!! | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Matt z
a Weekend Warrior
from Rochester, NY USA
Date Reviewed: March 13, 2003 | | Favorite Trail: | Tryon or FLT | | Duration Product Used: | 1 Year | | Price Paid: |
$75.00 | | Purchased At: | friend | | Strengths: | Lightweight, looks great, works like butter, adjustable leverage | | Weaknesses: | nonya | | Similar Products Used: | single digit, xt, lx, xtr, | | Bike Setup: | 2002.5 SC Heckler, King HS, Avid Mechs., Ultimate levers, Thomson sp and stem, drivetrain mix XTR and XT, Mavic 317 XT Disc hubs | | Bottom Line: | I have used these levers with XTR V brakes and now with Avid Mech discs and I have really never felt a better lever, from the shape, to the finish(brushed silver) they are absolutely the best levers out there. I even chose mechanical discs over hydros just so I could keep using these levers. If you can afford them I definitly recommend them to anyone wanting to upgrade your braking performance!!! | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Derek
a Cross Country Rider
from Edmonds, WA
Date Reviewed: November 6, 2002 | | Duration Product Used: | 6 months | | Purchased At: | Work at bike shop | | Strengths: | Feels better than ANYTHING
Super-smooth, light action
Gorgeous machinework
Highest-quality bike part I've ever seen, seriously
Although they are expensive, these levers will be the last ones you'll buy for a while. | | Weaknesses: | Reach adjustment is really funky, doesn't stay exactly where you put it, hard to adjust accurately and precisely. | | Similar Products Used: | Avid Mags and Avid 1.0's used on my bikes, have also tried pretty much everything else (work at a shop) | | Bike Setup: | '01 Stumpjumper Pro with Avid Mag brakes | | Bottom Line: | If you're thinking twice (like I did) about spending the considerable fee to attain these levers, just do it. You'll be happy with them rather than replacing lever after lever, they hold their value, they look pimp, and most of all they work beautifully. They are like sculpture, the machining is so good. Each edge is so precise. Buy them now, before it's too late! | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
XXLT
a
from Western US
Date Reviewed: September 11, 2002 | | Favorite Trail: | Anywhere with dirt | | Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month | | Price Paid: |
$115.00 | | Purchased At: | PricePoint.com | | Strengths: | -Can you say butter? Butter smooth that is.
-Amazing response
-Cool factor
-Removable without removing everything else (2 peice clamp design)
-Solid as a rock | | Weaknesses: | -Price? Kinda steep for levers, but when considering they are CNC'd they are actually rather cheep | | Similar Products Used: | All of em | | Bike Setup: | Custom Ti frame with all the goodies | | Bottom Line: | If you've got the cash for a sweet upgrade, you can't go wrong with these. They truly have changed the way my bike "feels" when slowing benith me. I swear they are more responsive too, but that could just be because they are super stiff.
If your a fan of that "American" block beefy look and you want a lever that will simply change your approach to braking, these are for you. If you prefer a more polished slimmer design, you'll want to avoid these.
NOTE: the reach adjustment could be very nice for those of you with smaller hands. However, again, you can find these on other Avid levers at about half the price. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Tony
a Cross Country Rider
from York, Pa.
Date Reviewed: February 17, 2002 | | Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month | | Price Paid: |
$90.00 | | Purchased At: | LBS | | Strengths: | Huge range of adjustability, way cool design, awesome feel, makes your riding buddies envious. No "buyer's regret" here! | | Weaknesses: | Hmmmmmmmm...maybe price. I still don't regret paying the $$ for these babies! | | Similar Products Used: | Nothing even comes close. | | Bike Setup: | Nothing but Treks in this house, baby! | | Bottom Line: | Yes, you can get by with "lesser" levers, but why?? Drop the cash and pick a set of these babies up...that is if you like to have the best feeling and best looking brake levers on the face of the planet! | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Jim Hack
a Cross Country Rider
from Central Wa.
Date Reviewed: January 31, 2002 | | Favorite Trail: | otter falls | | Duration Product Used: | 3 months | | Purchased At: | Universal cycle | | Strengths: | The whole package | | Weaknesses: | cost | | Similar Products Used: | LX XT | | Bike Setup: | Rocky Mountian element with Avid Mech Disc and 2.4motoraptors | | Bottom Line: | Un matched quality and adjustability. Expensive but worth it depending upon your needs. Used with Mechanical disc brakes they make the setup better the the Hayes Hydraulics I have on my sugar3
Worth over 100 bucks??? not sure you decide what you can afford. I like them a whole lot and don't regret the purchase. My stopping ability is quite important to me and these have only improved that part of my ride. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Joe Adnan
a Cross Country Rider
from Malaysia
Date Reviewed: January 25, 2002 | | Favorite Trail: | Bukit Kiara | | Duration Product Used: | More than 3 years | | Purchased At: | Soon Watt & Co | | Strengths: | Very good design and construction. High snob appeal value. | | Weaknesses: | Expensive, poor value. | | Similar Products Used: | Shimano XTR levers | | Bike Setup: | Sevencycles Sola, mish-mash of current and obsolete parts. Check the bike out at http://www.bikehash.freeservers.com/seven.html | | Bottom Line: | I've done a full review of the Ultimate L here: http://www.bikehash.freeservers.com/avid.html
It's indeed the "Ultimate", but a wiser and less reckless me would now be happy with Shimano XTR levers... | Value Rating: Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
chris castanzo
a Racer
from akron, ohio
Date Reviewed: December 17, 2001 | | Favorite Trail: | just about anything | | Duration Product Used: | 3 months | | Price Paid: |
$100.00 | | Purchased At: | a local shop | | Strengths: | they look nice, and they are not that common yet so there is an oohhh ahhh factor. chicks dig 100 dollar brake levers | | Weaknesses: | they stick, and the barrel adjuster design flat oput sucks | | Similar Products Used: | avid single digit ti's, 2.0's xt's, xtr's, pauls, kooka, and just about anything else worth trying | | Bike Setup: | profile racer xl, xtr v brake, answer, chris king, crupi atomlab | | Bottom Line: | they are not worth the hundred bones, xtr levers are far better and cost half as much, xt are better for even less. not to mention that there are a few levers that work almost as well that are very inexpensive. i think the best i got from them were a few ooohh's and ahh's, and that seems to be what is blinding most of the people doing reviews on here. i think i would only recomend them to the park path warriors looking to land the high maintenence girl they see walking thier highbrids up the hills. the people who i would not recomend them to is anyone who is more interrested in getting the best working part for thier bikes. rather than the people we all know who think it is uncool to have a part that was not made in someone's grage, and have some kind of militant hatered towards shimano. if you don't know a person like that you probably are that person by the way | Value Rating: Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
mike
a Weekend Warrior
from avon lake,ohio,usa
Date Reviewed: September 8, 2001 | | Duration Product Used: | 3 months | | Price Paid: |
$100.00 | | Purchased At: | internet | | Strengths: | CNC'd, beautiful, strong, good looks, MODULATION, ADJUSTABILITY, 1 finger control | | Weaknesses: | price - "if you have to ask you just don't get it"! | | Similar Products Used: | Avid mag dial, Avid 5's, Avid 3's | | Bike Setup: | 00 stumpy | | Bottom Line: | They ROCK soooo much better than the Mags, 5's & 3's nuff said cause those all blow away XT and XTR!!!!!!!!!! | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Mark Bishop
a Cross Country Rider
from San Jose, CA USA
Date Reviewed: July 30, 2001 | | Favorite Trail: | Downieville Downhill | | Duration Product Used: | 3 months | | Price Paid: |
$115.00 | | Strengths: | Light weight, Excellent construction and design, Awesome functionality, Way-cool adjustability, Nice looking | | Weaknesses: | Ha ha ha. That's funny. Weakness, yeah right. | | Similar Products Used: | Avid SD Ultimate (From around '95) (Pre-"v" brake) | | Bike Setup: | Santa Cruz Superlight, custom built, | | Bottom Line: | I have long been a fan of Avid brakes and levers, and these are an improvement to an already excellent lever. I love the look and feel. They're light. I love the speed dial feature. I love the fact that I can install and uninstall them without removing anything from the bar. What more can I say? These things rock. They cost a little more, but sometimes you gotta pay a little more for quality. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
UberClyde
a Weekend Warrior
from Manila, Philippines
Date Reviewed: June 14, 2001 | | Favorite Trail: | Ridge 2 | | Duration Product Used: | 6 months | | Purchased At: | Speedgoat | | Strengths: | Tough, great modulation, easily adjusted, cake to work on, etc. | | Weaknesses: | The friggin' price | | Similar Products Used: | LX and XT levers | | Bike Setup: | Isis, Z1, Thompson Elite, MonkeyLite, Race Face, XTR | | Bottom Line: | The price is steep. Not because these aren't great, but because they are not that much greater than great Avids that cost less. I have had multiple rolling endos in rocks and dirt and these levers came through without a bend or even a scratch, unlike my body. They work perfectly with Avid mech disc brakes - in a one second adjustment you can go for more cable actuation / less leverage or less cable pull / more modulation and power. I love how easy the barrel adjuster works - think of all those times you had some mud or oil on your fingers and couldn't get a decent grip on the cable adjuster on your LX or XT levers. Best of all, no tools needed to adjust anything. Oh, and did I mention you don't take your grips off to install? Or that there is no cheesey pre-formed plastic junk? Simple, effective, light, durable - that gets five white-hot dog poops for overall, and a 4 for value 'cause they're profiteering on this one. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
CMC
a Cross Country Rider
from Raleigh, NC
Date Reviewed: May 1, 2001 | | Duration Product Used: | 1 Year | | Price Paid: |
$75.00 | | Purchased At: | MTBR Marketplace | | Strengths: | MODULATION!!!! and easy to adjust. | | Weaknesses: | I had to file the lead cable ends to get them to fit in these levers. | | Similar Products Used: | XTR | | Bike Setup: | Always changing but with Arch Supremes | | Bottom Line: | These levers blow XTR away. The modulation and adjustablity is much better. The increase in modulation is very noticeable even with the same brakes. I really didn't think it would make much of a difference. I bought them because I wanted to get the lever to match the brakes that came on my bike. They ARE the "Ultimate"! I rated them a bit lower on the value because you could probably get some Avid SD7 levers for a comparable feel for a lot less money. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Sean Gilligan
a Racer
from Keystone CO 80435
Date Reviewed: April 24, 2001 | | Duration Product Used: | 1 Year | | Price Paid: |
$1.00 | | Strengths: | They are very nice looking levers. The look mean and are very light. They are adjustable and relatively easy to use. | | Weaknesses: | They do not pull well. Mine are sticky. The contraption that connects the cable to the lever and the adjuster barrells is terrible. if you ever take the cable out, the barrel adjuster will fall out as well. | | Similar Products Used: | XTR, Avid 2.0, Avid Mag, Avid Single digit ti. | | Bike Setup: | not important for this product | | Bottom Line: | I would not recommend this product. The best levers I have ever used are the Avid Single Digit Ti. For about $100 more you can have the ultimate which does not work as well. The adjustability is a bonus buy all levers are fairly well adjustable. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Cook
a Weekend Warrior
from London, ON
Date Reviewed: April 10, 2001 | | Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month | | Price Paid: |
$85.00 | | Strengths: | Look tough and act tough. I love it when a product works as advertised. You can feel the difference in leverage with just a couple turns of the knob. I bought these to go with the Avid Mech disk I installed on my front, but the biggest improvement is to my LX v-brake in back. It has brough new life to a normall mundane product. An impatient technician (namely...ME) accidentally stripped the thread on the barrel-adjuster on the weekend (where the screw clamps onto the bolt)...I left a voice mail at Avid on Saturday and Tuesday morning Dennis at Avid calls me up to get my address so he can mail me a new one. That's amazing service. | | Weaknesses: | Come on, get real. | | Similar Products Used: | Avid 1.0, Koski Direct-Pull | | Bike Setup: | Schwinn Moab 1 with lots of upgrades, of which these Ultimate are the best. | | Bottom Line: | A little expensive unless you can get a deal, but knowing how good these are, if I had to pay full retail the next time, I would without hesitation. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
BRET YOUNG
a Weekend Warrior
from CORINTH,NY USA
Date Reviewed: March 12, 2001 | | Favorite Trail: | SKIDMORE TRAILS | | Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month | | Price Paid: |
$105.00 | | Purchased At: | JENSONUSA | | Strengths: | AWSOME FEEL & POWER | | Weaknesses: | PRICE | | Similar Products Used: | REAL X LEVERS, AVID ULTIMATE NON-L | | Bike Setup: | SANTA CRUZ SUPERLIGHT,PSYLO RACE, SRAM 9.0SL/XTR DERAILLEURS, MAVIC CROSS ROC TUBELESS DISC WHEELS, AVID MECHANICAL DISC BRAKES, EASTON MONKEY LITE 3/4" RISER BAR,HUTCHINSON MOSQUITO TUBLESS TIRES | | Bottom Line: | AWESOME LEVERS, GREAT FEEL, GREAT POWER, EXCELLENT MODULATION, BEST OF THE BEST! | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
tim
a Weekend Warrior
from cincinnati
Date Reviewed: February 11, 2001 | | Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month | | Strengths: | super smooth cart bearings at the pivot
easy adjustment
awesome machining
rebuildable
light
look cool
great customer service | | Weaknesses: | expensive
barrel adjuster (see text)
wacky reach adjuster | | Similar Products Used: | paul, xtr | | Bike Setup: | arch supreme front, paul motolite z rear, standard cables and housing. i ride trials. | | Bottom Line: | these are the smoothest levers i've ever used. they're very nearly as comfortable as the paul levers i had been using, but it's way easier to adjust the brakes' feel and the pivot is sealed way better. you can set them up with little cable pull and pads close to the rim, with lotsa power, or you can set the pads far from the rim and with little cable pull and lotsa modulation.
i lost one of the lever fastening bolts, and i called avid and they sent me two brand new ones fedex- that's customer service.
my complaints: i don't like the indexed barrel adjuster too much, but it's nice that the the clamp body doesn't have any threads in it, so if you screw some threads you just replace a barrel adjuster and a threaded screw, not the biggest, most expensive part of the lever. i also am not a huge fan of the indexed reach adjustment, i prefer the standard reach adjuster of the older levers. obviously, they're pretty expensive, but that goes with the territory.
to tell the truth, the lx levers i had were more powerful than these, they locked up the wheel immediately and without question. but unless you ride trials, you probably shouldn't want abrupt lockup anyway.
the best XC levers i've used yet, i plan on holding on to them.
| | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Sean
a Cross Country Rider
from Kansas
Date Reviewed: January 7, 2001 | | Favorite Trail: | any that aren't in KS | | Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month | | Price Paid: |
$80.00 | | Purchased At: | mtbr marketplace | | Strengths: | Beautiful! Smooth as butter! I love these things!! | | Weaknesses: | Not a one! | | Similar Products Used: | Avid 2.0, Shimano XT, STX | | Bike Setup: | Hardtail...not really relevant | | Bottom Line: | I bought a set of these that were "lightly used" on MTBR's marketplace (Ultimate L's). I can't believe that brake levers could ever be this nice. I was pretty happy with my 2.0's, but they developed play. I made the decision to purchase these after reading reviews about them here. It is safe to say that I probably won't ever use another lever again (that is, until Avid comes out with something nicer....I don't see how they could, though!). | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Kevin Jones
a Cross Country Rider
from Pacific Grove, CA (formerly from Boulder,CO)
Date Reviewed: August 19, 2000 | | Favorite Trail: | Too many to mention. | | Duration Product Used: | 3 months | | Price Paid: |
$110.00 | | Purchased At: | pricepoint | | Strengths: | The levers are like artwork. They're beautiful and functional. Avid advertises a 150gram weight, and mine were within a tenth of a gram. I love the modular clamp mechanism Avid employs, letting me swap out levers without removing my shifter, grip and barend. The new indexing cable-adjuster is simple and functional. | | Weaknesses: | Not a big deal, but the cable-end was a pretty tight fit in the lever's cable holder. I had to file off all the flashing on the cable-end to get it in. On the bright side, the cable doesn't rattle around or fall out.;-) While the Live Action View Ports look keen, I think the reduction in lever-weight they offer is most likely a poor trade for the loss in strength. The levers are not cheap. | | Similar Products Used: | First generation Avid levers, Maguras and countless other Shimano and Dia-comp products. | | Bike Setup: | Merlin mountain with a 2x8 drivetrain and minimal s-company parts. | | Bottom Line: | If you have money to blow on cool bike parts, these levers go pretty high on the list. The machining is incredible, and the Look & Feel of the levers is perfect. I doubt you can find a better lever anywhere, so if price isn't a concern, these are the levers for you.
I have read a few reviews that claimed these levers didn't work well with GripShifts. I use them with X-ray 8-speed gripshifts, and they work great. I scoot them out flush up against the inside edge of the shifters, and this leaves me with enough room to get one finger on the lever without having my hand on the shift barrel (one finger is easily enough with these levers and my Avid 2.5s). With my hand on the shift barrel, I can comfortable get two fingers on the lever.
Several other reviewers complained of the clamp bolt stripping out. I've used the older Avid levers, with the same clamp mechanism, for 5 years, and I've never had the lever come loose, and the bolt has never stripped. I suspect the users that strip this bolt are using bars that are undersize. The Avid clamp requires a fairly accurate bar diameter to function correctly. If their bar is undersize the clamp may not close enough, and no amount of tightening will make them hold. I've used them on a Titus Ti bar/stem and on an older Zoom 150, and the levers work great on both bars. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Tom Doyle
a Cross Country Rider
from Hayward, California, U.S.A.
Date Reviewed: July 30, 2000 | | Favorite Trail: | Lake Chabot Loop | | Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month | | Strengths: | (light) Weight, lever shape is very ergonomic. Ti construction can take a beating | | Weaknesses: | Brake setup is more difficult with this lever system. You can easily be fooled into thinking that the brakes are overly sensitive at first. New owners/users of this product should refrain from trying to make immeadiate adjustments. Let your dealer/mechanic dial the brakes for you. | | Similar Products Used: | Avid 1.9, Shimano LX | | Bike Setup: | 1999 Gary Fisher Paragon. Stock, execpt for Race Face Turbine LP crankset, Easton CT-2 seatpost, Easton CT-2 carbon flat bar, Avid Ultimate 'L' brake levers, Selle Italia Flight Gel saddle, Easton EA-70 stem, T.H.E. Moto XC front fender. | | Bottom Line: | These levers are not for everyone. My only reason for purchasing them was as a weight-shaving measure. I bought them on a reccomendation of my mechanic, and I was not expecting the increase in pereformance that I got for my money. This is a wicked set of levers, if you can afford 'em. There a bit pricy, but if you enjoy long, technical off road trips, your hands will thank you! Braking action is much more plush then with the Avid 1.9s. The shape of the lever itself is much more comfortable to grip, although you might not notice any difference by just looking at them. Overall, I am pleasantly surprised. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
ParadoX
a Cross Country Rider
from Vancouver, BC, Canada
Date Reviewed: June 6, 2000 | | Duration Product Used: | 1 Year | | Strengths: | -Looks great and 'feels right'
-Light weight
-Excellent construction and ingenius design
-Strong, durable, stiff and solid
-Easily adjustable
-Smooth pivoting because of bearings instead of Teflon
-'Bend zone' so the levers bend instead of breaking (so you can still ride home with break levers intact)
-Avid's non-hassle customer service (will also replace any bent levers for $15.00 CND) | | Weaknesses: | -Price, but you get what you pay for, and they are worth every penny
-I'm not sure if they are compatible with gripshifts or not | | Similar Products Used: | -Avid AD-1.0L
-Avid Speed Dial 2.0 L (still in good working order on my other bike)
-Shimano LX & XTs | | Bike Setup: | -2000 Kona Pahoehoe
-Crossmax wheelset
-Marzocchi Z1 X-Fly
-Avid Arch Supremes and Speed Dial Ultimate Ls | | Bottom Line: | First of all, let me say that if you have the Avid Arch Supremes and the Speed Dial Ultimate Ls, you have THE best v-brake system, bar none. Every single aspect of these levers is well designed, excellent job Avid!
*Note to 'Zachy': Firstly, these levers weigh 150g which is 20g lighter then the Shimano XTRs, but are still tough as nails. Secondly, if you can't adjust your own brake levers...get someone who knows how before you start bashing the finest levers known to MTBing. Do some f*cking homework before you make an @ss of yourself next time.
5 flaming Chilis, and worth every damn one. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Zacky
a Cross Country Rider
from Champtown
Date Reviewed: April 20, 2000 | | Favorite Trail: | Minnesota River Bottoms | | Duration Product Used: | 2 Years | | Bottom Line: | They are expensive and not that light. I am not a big shimano guy, infact I only have a shimano front D and cassette but I am going to replace these levers with XTR's ASAP. I have stripped the torx screws that attach the levers to the shell on both levers and they are still loose. No matter how hard I try I can't get these levers to stop rotating on my new TITEC 118 bar. XTR's just feel better. I do not recommed these levers to anyone...Arch Supremes are the bomb though, buy them at any cost. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Martijn Scheffer
a Racer
from Belgium
Date Reviewed: February 2, 2000 | | Favorite Trail: | Houfalize | | Duration Product Used: | 6 months | | Strengths: | Build quality,durability,look and functionality | | Weaknesses: | none | | Similar Products Used: | XT,Real X Levers and Kooka | |
|
$ 129.95
