Avid Juicy 5 Hydraulic disc brakes

[Serottarider]

Hi Gals,

I bought a Trek Fuel EX 8 WSD in June....I love the bike, but I hate the brakes! (Avid Juicy 5's)
I've had problems with the pads (they've since been replaced) but now I'm having problems with the front caliper/rotor rubbing and it's driving me crazy! I've tried adjusting the caliper, truing the wheel but the rotor still rubs. I don't think the rotor is bent; I've only had the bike about 2 months. I'm taking it to my LBS tomorrow for an adjustment.

Any thoughts on this particular braking system? I've been told the Avid Elixir's are very good and also Shimano XT's......You'd think for the $$$ I dropped on the bike that I could get a decent set of brakes!

Wondering if I should just upgrade?

Thanks for any and all input........

Beth

[MtnBikerChk]

I'm sorry to hear that. I LOVE my juicy 7s.

Maybe the rotor is bent - or they weren't adjusted properly. They are very easy to adjust.

I hope they get em fixed for you.

(ALSO SHIMANO = EVIL) LOL

[tzvia]

My brother bought the Trek Fuel EX 8 about 3 months ago and the only thing he grumbles about is the Avid Juicy 5 brakes. They are a pain to setup. I gave him some tips and they worked great so here they are, I hope they help you.

First, don't squeeze the brakes with the wheel out of the dropouts- it extends the pistons with no resistance and they don't retract back equally to put the rotor in the gap in the middle. If you do, or if you need to 'reset' it to center the calipers, remove the wheels, and using a 10mm wrench, carefully compress both pistons all the way, then reinstall the wheel and squeeze the brakes.

The brake rub issue may also be due to the brake pads not being parallel to the rotor. To adjust them after loosening the two bolts, use a feeler gauge (sorry I don't know the proper gap off of the top of my noggin). They can be had from an auto parts store (not the little wire gappers good for sparkplugs, but gauges that look like Popsicle sticks of varying thickness). Insert one in the gap between the outer brake and rotor, push the brake body against it, then tighten the bolts. (I would do this after centering the pistons as mentioned in paragraph 2)

The bolts that secure the brakes have concave and convex washers installed in them in order to provide some movement for adjustment but the problem is if the brakes are not held in a stable way (with a gauge), they can pivot and move as you tighten them and that can cause all kinds of grief until the brakes are held in place.

[kenyonchris]

Hi Gals,

I bought a Trek Fuel EX 8 WSD in June....I love the bike, but I hate the brakes! (Avid Juicy 5's)
I've had problems with the pads (they've since been replaced) but now I'm having problems with the front caliper/rotor rubbing and it's driving me crazy! I've tried adjusting the caliper, truing the wheel but the rotor still rubs. I don't think the rotor is bent; I've only had the bike about 2 months. I'm taking it to my LBS tomorrow for an adjustment.

Any thoughts on this particular braking system? I've been told the Avid Elixir's are very good and also Shimano XT's......You'd think for the $$$ I dropped on the bike that I could get a decent set of brakes!

Wondering if I should just upgrade?

Thanks for any and all input........

Beth

I have these on my Specialized. I like em ok, but I battle the same problems. My LBS tells me the rotor is bent just ever so slightly, they tried to adjust it, but I live with a little bit of rub.
And +1 on being careful not to squeeze the brake if the wheel is not in the dropout. I did it accidentally while we were out of town and SO had to pry the thingiemabobbers apart with his knife to reset them. Uh, maybe THAT is what is wrong with the things...

[fatbottomedgurl]

I have the EX 9.0 with the Juicy 7s and they squeak and squeal. I put up with it but my friend got so disgusted with hers she sold them on CL. She was at the Avid booth at Sea otter last year and they swapped out pads, rotors, to no avail. Gobble gobble and rotors always seemed to be...off. I quieted mine some by sanding the pads with super fine paper to take off some of the sheen.

[Aggie_Ama]

I have Juicy 5's on my new Gary Fisher Hifi and they were so freaking loud! The LBS switched my pads to organic ones and said they all run them on their Juicy Brakes because they are much quieter. And I have a great relationship with the wrenches at my LBS so I got them free. I haven't ridden them yet but I hope to soon.

DH has Juiy 5's for a year and has replaced the rotors but he is: 1. a bigger guy (180-190) 2. a hard rider 3. a racer 4. has had some spectactular wrecks this year 5. dinged the back wheel within the first 2 months where they could not completely true it. Meaning? I can't compare him to me on anything!

[SadieKate]

For those of you with noise, did you break in the pads per Avid's instructions? Have you kept all contaminants away from the pads (Simple Green, cleaners, etc.)? Cleaning the rotors with alcohol regularly? Even fingerprints on the rotors when removing the front wheel can cause noise.