Brake issues

[Coopz]

Hey I have a new set of Sram Avid Elixir 1's on my mtb. I know they are entry level hydraulic brakes but the front discs are lousy. I have to squeeze the lever almost to the handle to have any decent stopping power and even then they are a lot worse than my road bikes V brakes. I had a bike tech bleed and repressure them and then put some brand name pads on it but it has barely made much difference. They just have no bite.

The rear brakes are fine but not important..

Any tips before I take them off and send them back?

[markus]

Hey I have a new set of Sram Avid Elixir 1's on my mtb. I know they are entry level hydraulic brakes but the front discs are lousy. I have to squeeze the lever almost to the handle to have any decent stopping power and even then they are a lot worse than my road bikes V brakes. I had a bike tech bleed and repressure them and then put some brand name pads on it but it has barely made much difference. They just have no bite.

The rear brakes are fine but not important..

Any tips before I take them off and send them back?

Have another shop have a look at them.

I have the same brakes, with the stock pads and no problems with stopping power or lever hitting the handle. The horrible howling they - especially the rear brake - make when there is the tiniest bit of anything damp nearby is another issue altogether though.

[Shonky]

Sounds like a crap bleeding effort to me, but I'll ask anyway, how do the rotors look Coopz? Does the front look any different to the rear one, any oily substance on it, or does the rotor look glazed?

Discs when working offer great stopping power, but if there is any oil on the rotors they will be next to useless, not to mention it will also contaminate the new brake pads as well if the bike shop wasn't smart enough to clean the rotors with some alcohol or solvent when fitting them up.

[9ra55h0ppaH]

Ive just replaced the Elixir 1's on my MTB... same problems as you, not particularly powerful, lever often pulls to the bar before you get any decent braking force.

Shop tried bleeding them several times to no avail, you can try to pump the lever a bit to get some more resistance in the lever travel, but it soon disappears, pretty cheap brakes it seems (you can even see the caliper's flex when you apply braking pressure) I just Switched to Shimano XT's & couldn't be happier

[Coopz]

Yeah I've heard some people day they are the best bang for your buck but a lot of others have said they are cheap and nasty (they do look good tho).
The rear brake is excellent however.
I tried cleaning the discs as well but it didn't help.