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Impaler 58
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Avid BB7
10/24/16 at 2:36pm
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One of my bikes came with bb5. They are not that great. I saw some bb7 copies on eBay. In the photo, they look just like Avids
Am I in for a world of hurt if I decided to try them?
« Last Edit: 10/25/16 at 10:29am by Impaler 58 »  
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flynbryan19
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Re: Avid BB7
Reply #1 - 10/24/16 at 3:16pm
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Mechanical die-hards on the interwebs say the BB7's are the best mech disk brakes.  I too had bb5's but have no experience w/ 7's.  I will say even my Avid Elixir1's were a BIG improvement over my BB5's though if you're even remotely interested in going hydro....
  
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Re: Avid BB7
Reply #2 - 10/24/16 at 6:17pm
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Good hydro's are sooooo cheap now...my fingers hurt just thinking about mechs...

I will say though when I rode on mech's years ago my favorite were the bb7's, I had 5's and the 7's were better. Tongue
« Last Edit: 10/24/16 at 6:19pm by OoHoO »  
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Re: Avid BB7
Reply #3 - 10/24/16 at 9:33pm
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I loved my BB7s.  Super easy to tune and great braking.  The only issue is they aren't self adjusting so every hundred or so miles you'll need to dial-in the calipers. 

Cheap hydros are cheap.  I love my Hope's... my Elixers not so much... I would take the BB7s over the Elixers if those were my only two choices.
  
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Impaler 58
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Re: Avid BB7
Reply #4 - 10/25/16 at 10:35am
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It's for a cross bike, and right now. Hydro's are kinda pricy for the STI shifters. A couple of years ago, they were using a mix of cable/hydro with the master cylinder on the caliper. Then you could use the old shifters
  
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traildog
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Re: Avid BB7
Reply #5 - 10/26/16 at 12:01am
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I've had hydraulic and BB7's.  Nothing but BB7's on my bikes now.  Super simple, no bleeding, easy setup and adjustment, cheap to maintain and powerful.  BB5's are no comparison.
  
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Skaufma0
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Re: Avid BB7
Reply #6 - 10/26/16 at 12:45am
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I just upgraded to discs and went with the BB7s, best decision I ever made on a bike. Easy to adjust, easy to maintain, supple and comfortable but they still have feel to them. And the price isn't bad at all either.
  
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Ridefour15
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Re: Avid BB7
Reply #7 - 10/29/16 at 2:40am
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Impaler 58 wrote on 10/25/16 at 10:35am:
It's for a cross bike, and right now. Hydro's are kinda pricy for the STI shifters. A couple of years ago, they were using a mix of cable/hydro with the master cylinder on the caliper. Then you could use the old shifters


Don't use the regular BB7 on a CX bike with road shifters/brake levers...the cable pull is different than mountain bike brake levers. Sram makes a road specific version of the BB7 for this purpose.

If you're not stuck on Avid/Sram, check out the TRP Spyre, which has pistons that move on both sides (not just one like the BB7).   

With a road setup if you wanted to go hydraulic you'll have to either replace the shifters AND brake calipers together, or use the TRP HY/RD converter which is a hydraulic caliper that is cable actuated.
  
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Impaler 58
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Re: Avid BB7
Reply #8 - 10/29/16 at 1:07pm
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Ridefour15 wrote on 10/29/16 at 2:40am:


Don't use the regular BB7 on a CX bike with road shifters/brake levers...the cable pull is different than mountain bike brake levers. Sram makes a road specific version of the BB7 for this purpose.

If you're not stuck on Avid/Sram, check out the TRP Spyre, which has pistons that move on both sides (not just one like the BB7).  

With a road setup if you wanted to go hydraulic you'll have to either replace the shifters AND brake calipers together, or use the TRP HY/RD converter which is a hydraulic caliper that is cable actuated.
Right now all those options are fairly pricy. I like the TRP Spyre. I'll do my best with BB5 for now. It's just when your a heavier rider, BB5 doesn't have that much grab going downhill. But they will slow me down enough to put a foot down Wink
  
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Re: Avid BB7
Reply #9 - 10/30/16 at 6:56pm
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Skaufma0 wrote on 10/26/16 at 12:45am:
I just upgraded to discs and went with the BB7s, best decision I ever made on a bike. Easy to adjust, easy to maintain, supple and comfortable but they still have feel to them. And the price isn't bad at all either.



How on earth can brakes be supple?   Grin



I've used bb5, bb7s on mountain and cross bikes, and a couple of brands of hydro on mountain.  No comparison in my opinion, hydros are superior.  I'd stay away from eBay replica stuff, would be much more confident in second hand name brand stuff.
  
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Re: Avid BB7
Reply #10 - 10/31/16 at 7:37am
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rob1035 wrote on 10/30/16 at 6:56pm:



How on earth can brakes be supple?   Grin

I've used bb5, bb7s on mountain and cross bikes, and a couple of brands of hydro on mountain.  No comparison in my opinion, hydros are superior.  I'd stay away from eBay replica stuff, would be much more confident in second hand name brand stuff.


Huh The feel of them; a nice, steady, consistent pull? I don't know. Maybe it's the wrong word.  Embarrassed

Of course hydros are superior, but I will always choose mechs for the ease of use and maintenance. If I'm gonna bleed brakes I'm going to do it on my car. In the end it's personal preference.
  
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Re: Avid BB7
Reply #11 - 10/31/16 at 12:16pm
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Skaufma0 wrote on 10/31/16 at 7:37am:


If I'm gonna bleed brakes I'm going to do it on my car. In the end it's personal preference.


I prefer BB7's on my car, because I don't like bleeding car brakes. Cheesy
  
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Re: Avid BB7
Reply #12 - 10/31/16 at 12:34pm
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With the motive power bleeder, car brakes are easier than a lot of bike brakes (i'm looking at you Magura...)   Cheesy

For the original poster, I bet a little bit of dialing in of the BB5s will help, and there are plenty of BB7s out there that would be an inexpensive swap.
« Last Edit: 10/31/16 at 12:35pm by rob1035 »  
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Re: Avid BB7
Reply #13 - 10/31/16 at 2:39pm
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Perhaps it has to do w/ the brand/model of brakes, but I had zero problems bleeding my Shimano XT's when I had to shorten my hoses.  All I did was buy the bleed kit Shimano recommends, followed the directions, and had no issues.  Also have not had to touch them since the initial bleed.  

Had Avid Elixir1's before that (Avid's most entry level hydro they sold) and had no problems with them either.  My BB5's on the other hand had to be adjusted every 4-5 rides because of pad wear and the need to adjust the pistons to match.  As was said, personal preference I guess but I find no maintenance issues w/ hydros.  Even the cheap entry level ones.
« Last Edit: 10/31/16 at 2:40pm by flynbryan19 »  
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Re: Avid BB7
Reply #14 - 11/01/16 at 4:32pm
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flynbryan19 wrote on 10/31/16 at 2:39pm:
Perhaps it has to do w/ the brand/model of brakes, but I had zero problems bleeding my Shimano XT's when I had to shorten my hoses.  All I did was buy the bleed kit Shimano recommends, followed the directions, and had no issues.  Also have not had to touch them since the initial bleed.  

Had Avid Elixir1's before that (Avid's most entry level hydro they sold) and had no problems with them either.  My BB5's on the other hand had to be adjusted every 4-5 rides because of pad wear and the need to adjust the pistons to match.  As was said, personal preference I guess but I find no maintenance issues w/ hydros.  Even the cheap entry level ones.


Stated earlier in the thread that BB5s are $hit.  BB7s are far superior to the BB5 and in my opinion as good if not better than Avid Elixers.

If I was putting together a low to mid range bike and didn't want to bother with making custom length hydro lines etc., I would look at something like BB7.  I doubt you can even purchase a bike off the shelf w/ BB7s today... so I wouldn't replace a reasonably decent hydro that comes on most new bikes and I wouldn't be in any hurry to replace BB7s if they were on any of my current bikes.
  
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Re: Avid BB7
Reply #15 - 11/01/16 at 7:48pm
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OoHoO wrote on 10/31/16 at 12:16pm:


I prefer BB7's on my car, because I don't like bleeding car brakes. Cheesy


Grin i would do it if they'd work!
  
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Re: Avid BB7
Reply #16 - 12/24/16 at 4:47am
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I have a 2013 Specialized Tri-cross elite with stock BB5's.  If I were to upgrade to BB7's, am I able to just switch out the brake set or must I get the whole BB7 pkg?  Thanks for the education!
  
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Re: Avid BB7
Reply #17 - 12/24/16 at 7:06am
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2020mike wrote on 12/24/16 at 4:47am:
I have a 2013 Specialized Tri-cross elite with stock BB5's.  If I were to upgrade to BB7's, am I able to just switch out the brake set or must I get the whole BB7 pkg?  Thanks for the education!


You just need the calipers and pads, nothing else. Disconnect the BB5's, replace with BB7's, enjoy going fast and being able to stop.
  
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Re: Avid BB7
Reply #18 - 12/24/16 at 11:44am
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Would you know if I need to change the mounts as well or are they interchangeable from bb5 to bb7?  Thank you!
« Last Edit: 12/24/16 at 1:22pm by 2020mike »  
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Re: Avid BB7
Reply #19 - 12/24/16 at 6:24pm
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2020mike wrote on 12/24/16 at 11:44am:
Would you know if I need to change the mounts as well or are they interchangeable from bb5 to bb7?  Thank you!


Same mounts, should be able to use the same hardware.
  
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