Mountain bike brake decisions 2 piston vs 4 piston

[@markmoscosa2371]

OK! Good content, it is always good to ask oneself what it is that you are buying that component for, and where are you going to use your new component.

[@dirtyforksmtb]

Exactly. It’s way too easy to get caught up in the upgrade hype. You can spend an inordinate amount of money on stuff you just really don’t need... thank you for watching and leaving your comments, it is always good to hear from you:)

[@cebruthius]

I'm considering a 4 piston setup for a recumbent. Rider + bike is about 100 kgs, not including luggage. I want to be ready for loooong descents from mountains.

[@dirtyforksmtb]

Definitely 4 piston…. Thank you for watching and leaving your comment!

[@kennethcampingdiary1976]

I just dont know if i need 4 piston i ride a heavy delivery bike fully loaded i rarley have to ride down hill

[@dirtyforksmtb]

If your bike is super heavy and you Ride constantly doing deliveries, four piston might be the better way to go even though it sounds like you ride roads. You’ll likely burn through pads quicker with two piston.

[@kennethcampingdiary1976]

@@dirtyforksmtb i see great advise i mostly ride on road do u know much about hope Mono 6 ti ? It one of the break i wanna get for my bike

[@dirtyforksmtb]

@@kennethcampingdiary1976 ummm yes… but, as if four wasn’t enough! Lol!! What will they come up with next?!!! I’m not convinced you need to go that extreme. And for the cost of those I’m not convinced. If you have a super heavy bike and maybe it’s an e-bike then you might be able to justify those brakes. But at the end of the day it’s likely very much overkill.

[@AlexMTBVLOG]

Another cost effective upgrade for very cheap is just get bigger brake discs/rotors with same hidraulic brakes.

[@dirtyforksmtb]

That is very true. The bigger the rotor the better the cooling effect thereby reducing brake fade!

[@Bored-G]

I normally ride on roads and climbs, 3-4 times a week 35-50 km average, so normally I have to decent back from climbs..im about 82KG at the moment plus my bike 10kg, should i go for XT dual piston or 4 piston?

[@dirtyforksmtb]

Hey thanks for the questions and for watching the vid! So the short answer is: based on your rider weight and bike weight being a combined 200ish pounds I would suggest two piston is fine. Now the longer answer: So I rode these two piston XT brakes for two seasons and they were more than acceptable for what I ride. At the time of this video my bike weight was 32lbs. I weigh 170lbs so that equates to about the same weights as your set up. The one thing I always noticed was that the front brake never really had the bite I was looking for. WAY more powerful than the mt200’s for sure but never really had crazy bite on the front. Otherwise definitely an excellent set of brakes. So then this year I got a new bike. This bike came with two piston Shimano SLX. Before I even rode it, I talked to the bike mechanic at the shop and he said the Shimano finned pads suck and recommended the ceramic Kool stop pads. So I picked up those Kool stop pads. Let me tell you, the difference was night and day. The bite of this pads is really really good. So then what happened very recently is I got a set of four piston SLX brakes for my bike and put on my two piston set on my sons bike as he really needed a brake upgrade. So the finned metal brake pads came with the SLX set and I have to say they’re good but definitely not the power I thought I was going to get with 4 piston…. At some point I’ll swap the pads but with the Shimano pads, they are exactly the same as the two piston with the ceramic pads. The only big difference I’ve noticed with the four piston is the lever modulation. The brake modulation is way better with the four piston brakes. So my suggestion for you is two piston. And go with SLX instead of the XT. Save yourself some coin as they are the same except you get lever dimples and stroke adjust on the XT which are both useless in my opinion. Thanks again for your question and come back some time and let me know what you went with! I can talk bikes all day!!!

[@Bored-G]

@@dirtyforksmtb Thank you for your feedback, keep making these videos as it will help us bikers specially beginners, I am actually planning to buy an SLX quad but also considering XT dual for it's looks..haha..I think I will go for SLX dual and upgrade the pads and rotor too..I'll late you know for sure sir..thank you again.

[@dirtyforksmtb]

@@Bored-Git’s no problem at all! And thank you for the good feedback! I will definitely continue these types of videos:). Love helping people, especially beginners and to give people non-elitist point of view! Btw, slx looks pretty too!!! Lol! They have a bluish sparkle to them in the right light:). Just sayin!!! Lol