$50 Shimano Hydraulic Disc Brake! Alivio MT200 Brakes Feature Review and Weight

[@LetsDiscoverMauritius]

The MT200 is a powerful budget hydraulic brake. I have it. It is also on many mid-end bikes with Deore drivetrain and few brands have it on their 11s bikes with SLX. Do not underestimate this brake.

[@victorgu5725]

Let's Discover Mauritius yea, I have a bike with a Slx drivetrain and mt200 brakes. They are powerful

[@senderbud6323]

I have these brakes and even with two fingers I can’t get my front wheel to lock up

[@victorgu5725]

Send er bud locking up the front wheel is wayyy harder than locking up the rear wheel, but ur def not gonna lock up the front wheel on these brakes

[@visrupt]

When I first got mine I can get my front lock up easily, then after a few rides, the power decreased. I can push the bike and the front wheel can still roll even when pulling the levers hard, and I’m not even on the bike. Also the levers started rusting even without scratches, it rusted from underneath the paint. I might just get a new set of mt501 levers and keep the calipers, and then upgrade the calipers when these runout of pads.

[@nomore25]

@@senderbud6323 try rim brake with good pads. That will sure lock your front wheel. I have them before, so powerful

[@Gabriela-jc4pt]

I'm pretty sure I have these on my 2019 GT Avalanche Comp 27,5 and as someone who has always used rim brakes in the past these are honestly..amazing. I take my bike on some pretty steep terrain, (downhill/enduro style trails) and if I need to stop these never fail me. But then of course I've never used any higher level brakes so I might be biased but these are amazing

[@Jamesthebikeguy]

Nice! They are good brakes for sure

[@headoverbars8750]

Man I love your videos! You answer all the questions a typical rider has as well the all important weight! It's hard to find info on many *entry-level(relative) parts, especially weight and I bought base model bike to purposefully be able to upgrade all but the frame and its awesome to see how much weight each upgrade saves! Update : I was able to successfully go tubeless my Bontrager Connection front wheel with some Gorilla tape and a Tubeless tire (Continental Trail King 2.2). 1 week no pressure loss. I almost had it working with the standard Bontrager Non-tubeless XR3 but was using a cut tube valve (didn't have tubeless valves yet) and couldn't remove the core to inflate fast enough... That would have been a great hack too. Maybe once the bead has been used tubeless a while and revisited it may inflate with a cut out tube valve. Sorry for the novel was excited to share! Brakes are next! I am trying the rear tubless today

[@Jamesthebikeguy]

Hope the tubeless worked out. Keep up the peddaling!

[@jaytothesun99]

Just got these from amazon pre-bled for $65. They’re a huge upgrade to my squeaky Tektro mechanical disc brakes I had on before. Insanely easy to install. Very quiet and have plenty of stopping power with more precision. The only thing I don’t like is the long 2-finger levers. All I had to do was slide the clamps over about an inch more so when I pull the levers in with one finger, it doesn’t hit my other fingers.

[@Jamesthebikeguy]

Nice!

[@nicksnicknet]

Thinking doing the same thing to my boys Cannondale Cujo's - are the mounting holes for brake calipers the same size? They have this adapter on the frame that makes the caliper mount about 75mm?

[@justlooking117]

the MT200 is the national cycling break system in the Philippines

[@r.i.a636]

Can this be converted with ice technology pads

[@Drago0900]

Nope. It doesn’t have the space

[@alexchene4064]

Is he talking about mt200 or mt201 i am kind of confused

[@Jamesthebikeguy]

Same brake. The last number is just a differential in fitment.

[@peterbaskind9872]

For budget brakes, the MT200 brakes are amazing. No; they are not suitable for hard core downhill, but for a commuter or a fitness hybrid, they are great value -- powerful enough with a nice lever feel. A lot of entry level bikes come with Tekto M275 brakes or equivalent. The Shimanos are a definite step up.

[@Jamesthebikeguy]

Definitely a good brake for the money

[@mikep277]

Can I use RT-CL800 Center Lock Rotors with the MT200 brakes and resin pads , Thanks for your help.

[@VietPho]

Did you figure this out? The shimano manual says they are not compatible but I'm curious if you've tried it?

[@elijahogolah1497]

I would love to change my Tektro brakes on Giant Escape 2 to this ones.

[@Jamesthebikeguy]

It would be a nice upgrade

[@meepcheep314]

when both bedded in the mt200's feel a significant step better than standard tektro hydraulic disc brakes

[@wuel4773]

My ended up after just few rides. Emergency break finished rotors and turned them into blue. Stopping power decreased drastically afterwards. Also they quite squishy even after bleeding. So the levers feels spongy for me if you compare to XT. For low speed rides they're okay, but above 40km/h you better invest for more efficient ones.

[@urieelSEptim]

its probably enough to change the brake pads and youre good to go. they’re really cheap the shimano resin pads. they’re obviously not made for serious downhill tracks but other than that…

[@Paulklampeeps]

Have you tried replacing the rotors and pads? I think that is the result of overbraking.

[@jkevinAH]

you mentioned around 1:20 that the bh59 hose can easily be upgrade to to bh90 hose, does that mean I can easily attach the caliper to a brake that uses a bh90? I am looking at this to mount with a grx lever

[@sajinsomarajan]

My bike also have MT200 Brakes... Do you know which brake pad(model nuber)will fit in it? I'm from India...

[@karimazgaguen6278]

B05S-RX

[@thedungeon1288]

I was suppose to have these brakes on my trek marlin 7 but they put a tektro M275 on it instead. These are the same one’s that is suppose to be on the Trek Marlin 6. So I basically paid a higher price and got the lower quality brake. They said it was global supply issues. They acted as though the tektro were Equivalent quality parts but when in Trek have the parts, they acted as though the Shimano was an upgrade. I truly do not know if I have inferior breaks or not.

[@Jamesthebikeguy]

The brakes are basically the same quality. The Tekro m275 is a perfectly good break and I'm sure you'll like it.

[@thedungeon1288]

@@Jamesthebikeguy I hope so. I just left the bike store. They store just told me that Shimano does not have them and that they have not had them for two years. But at the same time, they have them on their trek marlin 8 that are in their store currently. One guy in the store said that the Shimano was better before he knew I had a polite complaint, and the other guy said they were the same quality after I questioned why I did not have what was advertised for the bike on the trek website.

[@troypreiss6778]

I have these on my stance 29 2 but I cannot find replacement pads anywhere. All of the pads that I see don’t say they’re compatible with this

[@jakobl48]

Dont worry about pads. I have the same bike actually! Any resin pads will work.

[@Asthbendriel]

The MT200 and MT300 lineup are great for entry level and dry conditions, but the modulation is not very good for wet, mud and slippery environments. I had the BL-M355 in the past and the braking power was good in summer, but on winter I had to have special care with the modulation or the brake would lock the pads easily, resulting in not very good conditions because it rains a lot here and there's a lot moss and clay which makes some trails very slippery

[@Jamesthebikeguy]

👍

[@lattegmv]

Agree on that, although the resin pads tend to fade under heavy load. Upgrading rotors and pads make them more stable, but doesn't change anything about the modulation. Same problem on M615 - which I'm running atm.

[@Asthbendriel]

@@lattegmv if your LBS allows you to, you should try the M7000 brakes, I just bought them a month ago and once dialed and adjusted properly, the modulation is a whole different thing.

[@Sangram-IND]

Always love you videos reviews ❤️🔥👍 thankyou so much brooo😀

[@s14tat]

Altus mid level? On a mtb? I always thought mid level was slx and altus is for the road or hybrid bikes.

[@Asthbendriel]

SLX is on the high end, it's just a little heavier but has the same range and technologies than the other two. Altus is on the low-end, I had one and the derailleur spring is not strong enough, the chain bounces a lot and I had many chain drops as soon as the trail was a bit technical.

[@s14tat]

@@Asthbendriel which is why I said that I thought the altus groupo is not fit for actual trail riding. To me that hierarchy is deore, slx, xt and xtr

[@harrisis619]

Yes you are right. Altus not specially design for mountain bike. Shimano said the entry level set are DEORE for trail riding.

[@13ballom]

Well road bikes have their own groupsets. We have tourney, claris, sora, tiagra, 105, ultegra and dura ace. Altus to alivio are mtb derailleurs but are strictly meant for gravel like trails. For the technical stuff, deore is where we are at.

[@ahanafhossain3351]

Which rotor is best for mt 200

[@garenashe]

Up on this one.. same question here hehehe pls answer any1 guys... best rotors for mt200 pls... is it RT56? RT26? Etc..

[@Kekeboy100]

I got just mine cube analog 21 model with this brakes . The brakes are little to slow when i brake. The dealer said it was supossed to be like this and when you ride i while it will be better.. What you think?

[@r.i.a636]

But should you replace the rotors with ice tech if your going to convert it

[@chrisbalanda9368]

I have shimano mechanical disc brake very sharp Had 2 year never let me down

[@Jamesthebikeguy]

Yep, dead reliable

[@jonnieandalan8214]

Metal lever?

[@Jamesthebikeguy]

Yes indeed

[@leianrosacena4313]

Which is better shimano mt200 vs shimano deore m6100

[@headoverbars8750]

Thanks so much for bringing us info on the everyday man part! Highly informative! I think these are what came on my Trek Fuel Ex 5. I am finding the components on this bike are even cheaper / heavier than I first thought. They work good though and so much better than my last bike. I can upgrade stuff but finding information on things is proving hard, such as what I can do as far as tubeless with my rims and tires. Will I need to buy new TR tires first? I found the rear shock since using the full floater is only 52.5mm stroke vs the 50 or 55 offered by most suspension companies etc. I'm learning as I go and having a blast. Thanks again!

[@Jamesthebikeguy]

Depending on the year if you have an ex5 29, then you would need new wheels to go tubeless

[@headoverbars8750]

@@Jamesthebikeguy it's a 2019 bontrager connection rims. Taped these rims wouldn't work either? Edit NM. I think you mean tires. countless videos on using old rims with rubles bead tires and even non tubeless bread tires though not wasting money to try that one:) I'll wait until I get some rated tires. Thanks again!

[@Jamesthebikeguy]

No, the connection rim is not tubeless-ready. The bead and rim channel are not set up tubeless. So new wheels would be needed, and of course matching tires.

[@takitobutface6805]

i bought one of this, the front one is having an issue, the left caliper is getting stuck not retracting

[@hamSAH713]

you either didnt bleed them properly or have a compressed piston

[@icantgivecredit871]

Wow, these are lighter than SRAM Level T brakes and I'm sure less costly.

[@jounik8980]

if u have tektro brakes, can u replace levers with shimano

[@adobeadobe21]

does mt200 has barrel adjuster or reach adjustment? . pls let me know

[@Jamesthebikeguy]

No barrel, it's hydraulic

[@JorgeRuiz78]

yes.....

[@MartinTeerly]

My misses has them on her Boardman. Not bad at all

[@Jamesthebikeguy]

Awesome 👍

[@wagbanme9756]

What is better clarks clout 1 or mt200?

[@guinieroo]

Hi James! Do you know the difference between Mt200 and MT400?

[@vincentxie1]

same question here, MT400 is only $10-20 more for a whole set

[@jorgenavarro2177]

I would like to know where can I buy the pieces that you are showing at the video.

[@Jamesthebikeguy]

Local bike shop

[@elliottrichardson8213]

Can you adjust the position of the leaver? To have it closer to the handlebars?

[@ikawpipa]

yes, you need a 2mm allen

[@elliottrichardson8213]

@@ikawpipa nice one mate still hadn’t figured it out until you commented. Much appreciated.

[@robiveevee840]

good video James , your suggestion of upgrading hyd. hoses for increased power was exactly the info i was looking for , tks Rob V

[@Jamesthebikeguy]

Glad to help. Happy riding!

[@Cornel1001]

How many pistons has ?

[@joshe2420]

2

[@oparaskevas924]

I have mechanically brakes and i want to buy the shimano mt200. Should I change the disc brakes or not?

[@Jamesthebikeguy]

Hydraulic disc is a huge upgrade!

[@Drago0900]

I fucking wish it 50$ these days. Though Altus is far from mid range. I paid 80$ for my set. They are quite good though.

[@AntsTalk]

For me not strong enough. I will replace them with MT520. Can I use the old hoose? MT520 comes with the 90 hoose.

[@Jamesthebikeguy]

You want the new hose

[@AntsTalk]

@@Jamesthebikeguy Nah, I want to use the same hose. Should work with Mt520

[@joserios7046]

Can you run mt-501 Shimano deore brake levers with the mt-200 calipers?

[@Jamesthebikeguy]

I believe so

[@hai-hotranphotography1169]

Are both pads moving at the same time or just one pad?

[@Jamesthebikeguy]

Both

[@igormarinkovic1531]

my brake handle is walking up and down a bit more than supposed

[@Jamesthebikeguy]

Stop by your bike shop to figure out what is happening

[@TheUrzur]

MT200 is not Alivio its basic Tourney. They seem to brake well until you start really using them. Brake pads vanish before you ride 500 km. Bolts corrode in light rain. Paint peels off, etc. Thats the new wave of Shimano marketing. They make things LOOK good until you really use them. So 90% of people give good reviews.

[@Jamesthebikeguy]

There is no Tourney disc brake level yet.

[@TheUrzur]

@@Jamesthebikeguy My bad. It is Altus. Lowest possible even lower than Acera.

[@ttvDubGuns]

can i put these on a bmx/se bike?

[@awildsable]

always appreciate your reviews. Would have been better if you showed things like how many pistons, lever adjustment features etc. a good review should cover all the features. 2 finger? that is a no no in MTB...One finger braking always!

[@Jamesthebikeguy]

Doing it wrong for life I suppose.

[@awildsable]

@@Jamesthebikeguy I hope I did not come across as being critical. I just enjoy learning. I learn everyday..the thought is 1 finger breaking allows you the full use of the rest of your and and fingers on the grip to move the bike and stabilize yourself and the front wheel. Something very important when your cruising down some single track going over roots, rocks, and off drops etc. Keep up the great work! cheers.

[@matthewbrealey2026]

@@awildsable these are 'touring/trekking' levers. If you want smaller levers, Shimano makes them as 'MT401'. They are worse for some jobs, better for others.

[@DecemberGalaxy0]

thanks, answering our too afraid to ask questions, if I ask another guy they'll say put an additional 1 million and purchase the company

[@abhikrishna2235]

Nicely reviewed...

[@Jamesthebikeguy]

Thanks

[@mariozaggelis8557]

For the installation it needs venting?????

[@Jamesthebikeguy]

Venting? Do you mean Bleading? If so it depends o. How the brake hose is run for your frame and if you need to shorten cables

[@mariozaggelis8557]

@@Jamesthebikeguy yeahhhhh i mean bleading

[@r.i.a636]

Can mt200 brakes levers fit the deore calipers?

[@Jamesthebikeguy]

Yes

[@raideepu4]

Are these good enough for dh bikes?

[@Jamesthebikeguy]

No

[@caryljuntampipi4268]

I want that but icannot afford that is why i only watching here more power to you

[@r.i.a636]

Can i put ice tech rotors on this brakes?

[@Jamesthebikeguy]

Yes

[@ajat794]

Can u use this with one finger

[@krm83000]

I know I do on my Enduro bike, and that's weighing in at 200 lbs and going down some pretty technical rocky, rooty hiking trails. I made sure I purged these good though.

[@doinitbig]

Not $50 anymore i wonder what happened

[@dannyvisitacion8975]

I think it is very cool I’m still waiting for my h brake lol 😂

[@victorgu5725]

Does the brake lever have reach adjustment?

[@Jamesthebikeguy]

No

[@victorgu5725]

Jamesthebikeguy do the acera brakes have?(MT400)

[@mrifqib4266]

yes mt200 has the reach adjustment

[@Jamesthebikeguy]

Interested in Cars, Racing, and R/C Vehicles? Check out my 2nd Channel Jrs Gasoline Alley here: kzbin.info/door/pRReJABfwDGgsfSTYiItUg

[@purosbikersenbiciados3629]

Wow 261g. Front brake

[@ferhadmemmedli2234]

Is this product for 29 bikes?

[@Jamesthebikeguy]

Any disc brake bike.

[@ewanwoodward9863]

Does it come already bleeded

[@Jamesthebikeguy]

Yes. Keep in mind you might need to cut the housing to fit your specific bike.

[@ns671fr]

Why does people says its 50 bucks when I've only seen it for like 160 bucks

[@Jamesthebikeguy]

Because they are about $50. A quick Google search showed me that that's still what they're going for, don't know what you're looking at.

[@ns671fr]

@@Jamesthebikeguy Amazon brings me to expensive ones

[@Jamesthebikeguy]

Maybe shop at a local bike shop and you will get them for the correct price

[@ddororongmang]

does it work with any size brake disks???

[@jakubsteplewski6384]

It should ;)

[@larrytate1657]

Which pads work these MT 200s?

[@Jamesthebikeguy]

G04s

[@FlimFlamvanHam]

​@@Jamesthebikeguy sorry James, that is incorrect. B01S pads are the correct pads. Same pads used on pretty much all Shimano "M###" or "MT###" calipers beneath the "M####" (Deore and up) offerings. Also of note, Shimano only makes a resin pad in this style but metallics are available easily from many other pad makers

[@eljaibas16]

@@FlimFlamvanHam also ceramics are available from other pad makers

[@AlexxKovacs]

bs05 - 110% more wear resistant than the original bs01

[@adammtber5199]

Used these on a bike build. Great brakes.

[@Jamesthebikeguy]

Nice, good brakes for the money!

[@mortadhaabdul565]

I have the exact same brakes!

[@Jamesthebikeguy]

Sweet 👌

[@factsinhindi143M]

Purchase link Amazon

[@Jamesthebikeguy]

You can grab right from your local bike shop

[@factsinhindi143M]

@@Jamesthebikeguy hydrolic disc break

[@dkman2959]

M315 vs mt200 who win

[@Jamesthebikeguy]

M315?

[@rollsandthepajakeroz5]

Cool

[@Jamesthebikeguy]

Right on!

[@TJ-ev7wd]

Is it just me or are these brakes absolute garbage in wet because my brakes used to squeal very loudly until i switched to disco ceramic pads wich fixed the squeal but the grip is still bad

[@Jamesthebikeguy]

Squeal is contamination not the brakes fault. Your new ceramic pads just replaced the contaminated ones. More stopping power would come with metallic pads and resurfaced rotors

[@panzrwagn]

@@Jamesthebikeguy Exactly right, and exactly like a car!!!

[@venzcabang3963]

Bro thats to much for 50$ its just 32$ in the Philippines

[@vapeurdepisse]

Cool story bro and 0.58 cents in somalia

[@h4swell]

20€ in slovakia :D

[@rvski593]

Can I fit them on IS 160mm?

[@Jamesthebikeguy]

Sure

[@retardedbongo9681]

Drag c1 team edition comes with these:^)

[@Jamesthebikeguy]

Cool

[@robertdamora9205]

James: Your cutline (the text below the picture) reads MT200 Alivio, and in the video you are calling the brake Altus. Clarify, please.

[@Jon-nz3dm]

MT200's are Alivio's, not Altus.

[@markusm9260]

@@Jon-nz3dm 200 is altus, 300 is acera and 400 are alivios.

[@Jon-nz3dm]

@@markusm9260 it's funny because I can find 400's marked as alivio, 200's marked as alivio, and 200's marked as altus on shimano's website. they need to get their shit together lol edit: just found aceras that are "mt-400's" as well. what the hell, shimano?

[@markusm9260]

@@Jon-nz3dm There is some 200,s marked incorrectly as alivio that's all. Some altus seems to be 315.

[@Pedro_The_driver]

Caliper and brake handle are good but brake disc is shitty

[@Jamesthebikeguy]

Can always upgrade that.

[@Pedro_The_driver]

@@Jamesthebikeguy yeah i know, but i just complete what you say in the video

[@rodolfosoliman147]

philippines....

[@Jamesthebikeguy]

Nice

[@gianpaolo56]

😵😵😵😵😵💩💩💩

[@Jamesthebikeguy]

🤷‍♂️

[@AvionY]

First

[@Jamesthebikeguy]

Boooya!

[@r.i.a636]

Can this be converted with ice technology pads

[@Jamesthebikeguy]

I'm not sure that this caliper fits icetech pads