[Closed] Avid Elixir......problematic or OK?

I had Juicy 7's for many years and they were great, until it came to service and bleed. Just could'nt get them to feel right again. Took the bike to my LBS who cringed when saw they were Avids.
I have servied many friends bike since then fitted with Elixirs and always had problems bleeding them. Back to the LBS and a cringy mechanic. Still, if they were easy I would do them myself.
Fitting is easy enough, though I prefer the Hope method of lining things up than the Avid's,'fit caliper loose and apply brake, then tighten' which I have found to be a bit of a bodge.

In my experience, Avid brakes are great when they are working fine, a pain in the rear to get the feel right once the system has been opened.

avid disc brakes get slated on here regularly, regardless of model. i run a hopes on the dh bike and hayes/formula on the hardtail....
shimano's seem to be very popular and from personal experience i cant fault them.

Avids = inconsistency, I personally would not put them on any bike. Hope for me.....but lots swear by shimano and formula (like he said^^)

What Jef said.

I love elixirs I love their bite and they way they feel, I've got them on all my Mountain bikes, but they are a pain in the arse to bleed. You definitely need the proper bleed kit and it's a faff but when you get the knack it's actually quite easy.

Har far far better than I Hope they Fit, I Hope they don't break I Hope I stop

I love the self centre type thing on the caliper..piece of cake!

Jef Wachowchow - Member

In my experience, Avid brakes are great when they are working fine, a pain in the rear to get the feel right once the system has been opened.

In full agreement with this comment and sums them up in good fashion imo.

Av(o)id. Cheap for a reason.
Formulas, hope, shimano are all vastly superior.
You can get XTs from rosebikes for less than the 7's on CRC,

In contrast to what most of the replies will say I'm sure, I've got Avids on both the bikes in our household and find them fine. Excellent power and feel and no real reliablilty issues. I've had to rebuild the rear brake lever and fit new seals on both bikes after about 2 years in both cases, not a difficult job using a readily available kit of seals. If you get the Avid bleed kit and carefully do what they tell you then bleeding is fine. Lever feel wise you do need to line the calipers up by eye as per Hope's instuctions if you want them to feel right, the squeeze the lever and do the bolts up trick doesn't get it close enough.

Av(o)id. Cheap for a reason.

I think the number of world cup XC wins goes against that judgement.

Thanks, I'm glad I didnt press the buy button, I suppose that they're half price for a reason, shame as they sound good brakes when working, just a pain to get them working!

I'm used to servicing and bleeding Hayes Stroker, happy with them when working so I guess I should go for pair of them.

Thanks again for saving me hours of fustration!

I have Elixer 1,s on my 29er. Bought them new a year ago from someone upgrading a new bike! The rear needed bleeding after a few months which i did with an ebay kit of 2 syringes. Its been really firm since and locks up easily. The front is still as fitted with no issues. Quite happy with mine so far.

I think the number of world cup XC wins goes against that judgement.

Good job they have full time mechanics, eh?

...............and now a few positive posts for Elixir, decisions decisions!

I had Elixr 3's and hated them, they never had the right feel for me so i've replaced them with XT's from Rose Bikes. My friend had Avid CR carbons on her bike and loves them so I do think it's a very subjective thing. One thing we both agree on is that they are a PITA to bleed as are the juicy's on my commuter)

I've had a good go on the new style deore and they are really good value for money and are only a bit more on/off than XT's are

I've got them on both my MTB's and I seem to have been lucky as I've never had the issues others describe. I've never found bleeding them a problem either, but you do have to follow the instructions to the letter. I actually just fitted braided hoses this morning and the bleeding only took 15 mins. Great brakes (for me anyway)

My elixir levers have gone at the reach adjust lever, it no longer adjusts and they wobble about alot

Good job they have full time mechanics, eh?

But it's only when bleeding them they become an arse, which is what 2/3 times a year?

It's not even that much of a pain you just have to watch the video/instructions as you do them.

I've got two sets of the Elixir R brakes, no problems at all and i've had them for at least three years. It seems fashionable to dislike them on here some times and some folk love a bandwagon to jump on.

Had Elixir 3's on my old bike. They were a right PITA to get right, but when they worked they worked well, then needed bleeding again.
Current bike came with Elixir R's which got sacked off in favour of Formula RX's, which I am incredibly happy with.

I've run Elixir R's on two of my bikes for over three years and they've been excellent, no issues whatsoever. This includes some proper riding in all conditions at home and in the alps. Good power, good modulation.

Once you are used to bleeding them its easy, but you have to follow the instructions to the word as there is a set order that things need to be done in, otherwise it all falls apart. I also dont find they need to be bled frequently, just once a year for peace of mind before a decent trip.

You'll read bad stuff about all brakes, sometimes you just get unlucky with the set you buy.

two people I ride with have had avids, juicys then elixirs. The juicys were just as bad as you would expect from reading this thread. They both had the LBS 'oh god no!' experience when asking for assistance in bleeding. One moved to elixirs which are better, eg they do work most of the time. However there is rarely a ride when we don;t stop to fiddle with his brakes, usually to loosen the caliper bolts and recentre to stop hideous binding noises. The other guy went to formula and hasn't mentioned brakes since. I use shimano and have only had one problem on the trail which required a bleed when I got home but this was after 3 years of use.

Elixir CR Mags on my bike - love them!
I bought the bleed kit and I've never had a problem doing it. Just RTFM!!!
They're better than the XTR brakes I have on my other bike as they seem to have more initial bite and better feel. I love the way you can adjust the pad contact point plus lever reach and now I've updated my discs to 203mm front AND rear I only use one finger braking. Nice.
The new rotors have been upgraded (last year) as people were having them warp on "Alpine descents", but they have obviously identified a problem and fixed it. I would need a bit of convincing to go back to Shimano...

PS my wife has Juicys and changing the pads is a pain and if I'm honest they're not particularly powerful, but I'm also comparing her rotors too, which are only 160mm front and rear...

I think there's a good spread of positive and negative experiences on here, but I've got the general gist that the most problems are with the lower end Elixr's.
I think that's because Elixr 3's are specced on a lot of new bikes by OEM's (as mine were)and tbh they are not as good as the higher end like the 7's/R's/CR's

I like the shimano's but my friend swears blind by formulas. I'd def suggest buying the best set you can afford as you do get more for your money in performance and reliability

I've had Juicy's, Elixir's and Hope M4's..

Juicy's = Rubbish, constantly needed servicing.

Elixir's are pretty damn good.. Been running them on my AM for 5 months and they have been damn impressive. That includes a week in the Alps, they didn't overheat or fade despite running normal rotors. (no warping as they are the newer rotors that don't warp like the ole ones)

My current choice would be the Elixir's, I've had the M4 Evo Race for a couple of months longer on my HT and they need bleeding. Elixir's have been used more and they feel a lot better.

Run what you like. But my experience is...
I have had a set of deores, worked faultlessly for the whole time I had them until I sold the bike.

I used to have Avid Elixir 5’s on my FS, totally unreliable, bled them four times myself, had two different bike shops did it thrice, they would work then suddenly mid ride one or the other would totally fail, resulted in one big crash, and a few near misses, lost confidence in them.

I fitted Hope M4’s to the FS and I have a set of SLX on the hardtail...

The M4’s are better

If I needed new brakes I would get m4’s again unless I felt poor then I would buy shimano’s

In my experience, if you are having the randomly pulls to the bars problem you need to rebuild the lever, not just bleed it. Bleeding will fix it for a while but the real issue is that you are getting air into the fluid in the reservoir via a leaky seal or the wee bladder thing that forms the reservoir. Because of the way the taperbore system works, if you get air in there and then tip the bike on it's side you can get a master cylinder completely full of air and no brakes. Rebuilding the lever and then bleeding will properly fix it.

I've been running Elixir R for two years and about 4000km and had little problems other than pad changes and one calliper service which I did myself with ease. I would recommend them to anyone.

Elixir 5 on my Heckler and Elixir R on the hardtail. The 5's are 18 months old and get used about once a week, had to bleed the rear once with a kit off eBay and been fine since. No problems with the R's in 12 months of occasional use. Pads are easy to change. Really quick and easy to align. Once I centre them on the rotors, they don't need doing again until the next pad change. Maybe I've been lucky.

But it's only when bleeding them they become an arse, which is what 2/3 times a year?

That's 2/3 times too many.

My Elixir R's were a right pain. Inconsistent lever feel and sticking pistons causing pads to constantly rub and wear sintered pads out stupid quick. They went back to SRAM to be fixed but weren't so eventually I got my money back in vouchers and bought Shimano SLX M675 which are totally awesomesauce. Ridiculously easy to set up, loads of pad retraction so no rubbing, great feel and looooooads of power...so much so I'm downsizing my front rotor.

elixir 5's, simple powerful easy to maintain best brakes I've ever had, got three pairs, never had an issue.

Had Elixirs on my last 2 bikes, never had any problems, better than the crappy Shitmanos they replaced. Never had the need to bleed them though

Avid - Juicy 3 / Elixir R fine if you only ride in sunny weather. Really good feel and modulation but high maintenance in foul weather. The DOT fluid absorbs water causing corrosion and the resulting increase in fluid volume causes them to drag. Many posts on here about how to bleed them because they are a PITA to get right. By contrast I have some antique Shimano Deore 555 that have been out all winter for many winters and never needed touching but they feel wooden. Get modern Shimano and you should get feel and reliability.

I wouldn't touch Elixir 1's if you can. Every other bike rental place in Morzine and Les Gets removed theirs before renting out, we didn't (I think they had experienced them before). I probably bled each one over 20 times in the summer, 2 or 3 broke completely and replaced with elixir 3's which were faultless and never needed bleeding.

Elixir 7's should do you well.

Had a set on my Alpine. They've worked flawlessly for a year including the Alpes. The GF nicked them recently as she prefers them to the SLX she had on her little bike and loves the Elixxer CRs on her DH bike. No problems their either. Personally I preferred the SLX as I have bigger hands, but that's the only reason we swapped (girls can be so fussy sometimes).

Wouldn't hesitate to have another pair

I've recently replaced my SLX with Elixir 3's and I'm much happier with the avids. Hate the lever feel of shimano, the blades are thin and the bite point is too far in. Plus i actually find the bleed fiddlier than avids. Had no confidence in the shimano after a piston cracked when i was installing them despite taking it easy with the screwdriver (which was inbetween the pads, not directly on the piston). Lack of replacement parts made me want to get rid tbh, awful. The absolutely shite customer service i received from rose bikes on the matter didn't help either..

I've also had no real issue with my old Juicy 5s other than a slightly fiddly bleed (til you get the technique right) and a sticky piston which was easily replaceable.

Avid Juicy 3's and most of the reviews I've read on Avid's have put me right off.
The Juciy 3's feel ok when they're working but they constantly need re-adjusting. Easy to bleed and only had to do it once though.

I much prefer the feel of SLX's. I like an on/off brake rather a squeezy feel.

I have elixir 5s... New they were really really good. 1 & 1/2 years later they are still going but not as sharp as they were. never had to bleed them till last week when I changed frame......I spent longer bleeding the brake than building the entire bike. the problem in my opinion (and ever a- hole has one) is that the calibre holds air. it would bleed perfectly then after a few pulls back spongy again. if I turned the bike upside down the brake would immediately need bleeding again. I finally followed the instruction to the letter and tapped the calliper with the end of a screwdriver and it got that air bubble out that I just couldn't remove with just syringe. they are also starting to corrode now so they won't last year's. Good brakes, good bite, pain in the backside to work on.

I have the 5s I get on ok with them but they do go spongey and need a bleed far to often but after a few goes bleeding isn't a faff.

They are a bit inconsistent but I have them on my single speed and xc hard tail. I don't think I would buy again but i'm no rush to get rid.

I like the elixirs. Like the 5's there's a knack to bleeding but once you've got it you're sorted. Only problem I have encountered is pushing cylinders right back when changing pads

I had Avid Elixir on my bike for almost 2 years. An absolute pain when changing the pads because they would clamp onto the disc and have to be faffed with repeatedly. I've just switched to Hope.

I've had a really positive experience with my CRs - have had them for almost 2 years, and haven't needed to bleed them yet, including two weekends in the alps. I think they were very well set up in the first place (factory fitted by Rose).

Have ridden bikes with Formula Rx's (I think) and hated them.... far too on-off for me. The modulation on the CRs is excellent. I'm building up a hardtail at the moment and am tempted to try out the XTs because of so many positive comments on here, but am wondering if should stick to something I know I like.

Having said that, by mates Canyon came with 1s or 5s or something similarly low end - and they completely crapped-out. We think a leaky seal in the lever (as somebody has mentioned).

The price of the full sets inc disks is tempting.....

Thanks for all your opinions, a good split of love them or hate them.....no use in making my mind up but appreciated comments.

Thing is... At best, they're alright. At worst they're a pain in the 'arris. And they're not even generally all that cheap. If they came on a bike i bought I'd probably stick with them but I reckon you have to be a bit weird to choose them, it'd be like speccing your own bike and choosing Suntour forks.

Thing is... At best, they're alright. At worst they're a pain in the 'arris. And they're not even generally all that cheap. If they came on a bike i bought I'd probably stick with them but I reckon you have to be a bit weird to choose them, it'd be like speccing your own bike and choosing Suntour forks.

Conversly I think they are the best brakes you can buy. I had shimano 4 pot servowave brakes (saint m810) on my DH bike 2 years ago and they needed bleeding every other week, I bought my first set of elixir 5's as an emergency replacement and was blown away by the power (compared to the best dh brakes shimano has to offer) and they have not needed bleeding once. Merlin have elixir fives at 130 a pair including discs. Pretty cheap when the shimano's were 125 just for a lever and caliper for one end.

edit: in fact the elixirs have proven to be so powerful that on my covert I have downsized my rotors to 160/160 from 203/180 - orginally as an experiment, but there has been no issue with power. I'm 14 stone in my socks..

Thing is... At best, they're alright. At worst they're a pain in the 'arris. And they're not even generally all that cheap. If they came on a bike i bought I'd probably stick with them but I reckon you have to be a bit weird to choose them, it'd be like speccing your own bike and choosing Suntour forks.

Wrecker...you're not convincing me that even pretty cheap pair are worth it, but thanks anyway.....but how much is cheap??!! Thing is I'm building my first build and in no hurry so when offers/bargains come along on web I might be tempted, elixirs were half price yesterday on crc, 1s and 5s iirc. Didnt know anything about them and all the above posts have kind of left me in same position as 50/50 on good and bad.....but all appreciated comments, thanks.

Haters gonna hate.

I use Elixir R's and I love 'em. I've been running the same brakes since '08 on all my fleet. I've had a few stuck pistons which I've had to replace but I like to tinker so that was no biggie. I've also had issues with G3 rotors. I regressed back to G2 CleanSweeps and never looked back. I seldom require more than one digit per lever to bring me to a halt. Two would fling me over tut bars.
In the past I've had Juicys 3sl's which I bought off here. With a new reservoir kit and a thorough strip down I got them working to an insane level.

If anyone is having Avid issues then bung 'em this way for a free service, (parts not included).
Seriously, I have the mancave, I have the kit, I have the evenings.
Contact: helpmybike@yahoo.co.uk for more.

Interesting reading here:

i have just tried to change the pads on my Elxir R's (FS bike)the rear piston will not return. I can get one to return fully but when i then go to return the opposite piston the previous one pops out again!

Advice needed please...

OTOH I have Avid Juicy 4's on my Spesh HT (Spesh speshes) had them 4-5 years and only now run into my first issue with them, never been bled only ever changed pads. Plenty of use and abuse. Front pistons are now jammed so overhaul needed.

Wrecker...you're not convincing me that even pretty cheap pair are worth it, but thanks anyway.....but how much is cheap??!!

i have just tried to change the pads on my Elxir R's (FS bike)the rear piston will not return. I can get one to return fully but when i then go to return the opposite piston the previous one pops out again!

Not had to do this with elixirs but with shimanos you just open the bleed screw a little to take the pressure off, then re bleed once both pistons are all the way back. With the elixirs I guess just add the syringe to the caliper with some fluid, then push pistons back. Bleed after.

Wrecker, I'd be interested if they are cheap. toys19 on the hotmail in the com.

[url= http://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/i-hate-my-brakes ]I got rid of mine last month[/url]/ Good riddance i say.. absolute balls

Constant faffing, bleeding, piston getting stuck. seals going, rebuild.. I had enough in the and bought some slx

far, far better

toys19 - Member

Conversly I think they are the best brakes you can buy. I had shimano 4 pot servowave brakes (saint m810) on my DH bike 2 years ago and they needed bleeding every other week, I bought my first set of elixir 5's as an emergency replacement and was blown away by the power (compared to the best dh brakes shimano has to offer)

The M810 isn't a particularily great Shimano brake tbh, but if your Elixir 5s were making more power than there was something fundamentally wrong with them.

My 5s and 7s were alright. 5s were comparable to my old M775 Shimanos, less power, similiar feel. 7s are reasonably competitive to my Oros, different lever feel and again less power, like going down a rotor size. But my Oros are from 2007.

tbh I went with mtbr review score [url= http://www.mtbr.com/cat/brakes/disc-brake-system/shimano/saint-br-m810-disc-brake-hydraulic/prd_425357_1507crx.aspx ]here[/url] and other reviews I'd read, nobody had a bad word to say about m810's.
Also I had previously had juicys which I found shite, which is what pushed me towards shimano. Like I said I bought the elixirs in an emergency against my better judgement and found them to be so good I've bought more and will continue to.

TBH those reviews are more in line with what you should expect from M810- it's a blunt instrument, very strong power and short direct lever feel. Which is why I dislike them but lots of people love them 😉 But the bottom line is, there had to be something badly wrong with your set if they were less powerful than an Elixir 5... Presumably connected to the bleeding issues?

Anyway- you want a set of nearly-new Elixir R SLs? 😆 I quite like 'em as they haven't done anything annoying, but I prefer my Oros and The Ones so I've got no bike for them.

pics and prce to you know where

I have Exlxir 5's on one bike and SLX on another. Whilst the Shimano work fine I probably prefer the feel and definitely the lever shape of the Avids.

The Avids also work great and seem very powerful though I am running a 203 rotor which is probably a slight overkill.

Not had cause to bleed them yet so my opinion might change...

Avid brakes, a bike mechanics nightmare.
Thought of this thread the other day when I heard an employee of SRAM Europe admit that their brakes are a bit of a faff and not the greatest when it comes to bleeding them!
Apparently there's a redesign on the way to make them easier to bleed.

I had a pair of Elixirs, they were brilliant when they worked, which wasn't often.

Well I tinkered with my mates Elixirs today. We found the master cylinder piston was sticking which was giving us no lever feel or modulation at all. Found the pistons were seized in the calipers also. We soaked and loosened them, stripped and lubed the levers as well, then bled them. Bleeding is a so simple with the syringe kit, just flushed it through with new fluid and got a few bubbles out, which I was aware of having juicys on one of my bikes, which have been faultless. If I am honest, its a lot of work for a set of 9 month old brakes and I have said to him to look at swapping for something less fiddly in the future.

I have to. Agree with the majority here. I have elixir 3's and they are constantly needing the callipers re-centring. Doesn't matter how good I get them , every other ride I'm pissing about with them again to stop them binding or stealing. PITA.