Technical > Wheels, Tyres and Brakes
AVID Ultimate reversible Noodle
freddered:
Has anyone bought the very expensive Avid Ultimate V-Brakes?
I am considering one for the front because it has a reversible Noodle and will allow better cable routing from my drop bars (Raven Tour).
My front brake needs all the help it can get (Dia Compe 287V levers, poor cable routing)
geocycle:
I've got a pair on order from chain reaction £54 each. Silly money I know relative to deore or avid single digits which will probably do 90% of the job. However, I do like the simple lines, the reversability and the fact they get excellent reviews. I considered XTRs (a similar price to ultimates) but reviews are more mixed regarding the parallelogram design and noise. I also thought about magura hydraulics. In fact I nearly went for maguras as they are excellent at stopping but have found them hard to modulate when slowing down -they seem to be either on or off and I found I was locking the wheel.
I did draw the line at buying avid ultimate levers though, a mere £119 for a pair of levers, no thanks! Will let you know how I get on.
stutho:
Hi Freddered,
I have got Ultimates on my bike. Being able to reverse the noodle is VERY helpful, especially on the rear brake. Without a doubt they are a very well designed and manufactured to a high standard.
Are they worth £60?
When I built up my bike I decided on a "no holds bared" approach to the breaking system. I fitted ceramic rims, Ultimates and Koolstop salmons. A few months back I narrowly avoided a crash that I am SURE I would of had on any of my other bikes. (It was a very close call.) By avoiding that one crash I reckon that they have paid for themselves.
The only other brake I considered fitting to my bike was the Arch Rivals. They are a lot cheaper than the XTC's and get better reviews however parallelogram designs have more to go wrong and I like to keep it simple.
I have had one bad experience with the Ultimates. There is a pin and circlip that is used to attach the noodle hanger. Somehow I lost the circlip - I suspect after transporting the bike on a car carrier. I spotted the fault mid ride and by the grace of God I didn't loss the pin. (No pin = NO front braking.) Anyway I now have a bag of stainless circlips in spares box if you ever need one!
One final point I have attached mine to the frame with Security Torx bolts - they are too expensive (and nickable) to just uses an Allen bolt.
PS
Dia Compe 287V levers, I have got these too. I agree there are very poor if there was a better lever I would swap them out tomorrow.
stutho:
One other thing just came to mind the Avid noodle fits my frame better than the 287V adjustable noodle so I swapped the adjuster onto the Avid noodle.
freddered:
Stutho, I couldn't figure out why reversible noodle would help at the back so I went to check.
You're right, I didn't realise how poor the routng was into the rear noodle, worse than the front really.
Gulp....>£100 on 2 small bits of alloy. I think I'll try one at the front first.
XTRs are too complex for something as simple as linear-pull. I currently get a lot of 'stiction' on my brakes and have bent the return springs in order to get cleaner centering.
I hear that the bearings in the Ultimates are much smoother and should help this.
Are there any recommended cables? Teflon lined...or whatever, I may as well do the whole lot in one go.
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