What's more important than going fast on your mountain bike? Stopping your mountain bike! If you like to go for Strava gold on your downhill runs then you need to make sure that you are able to stop when you get to the bottom or when things get a little rough. Brakes are one of those components that can be easy to overlook unless you are a component snob then you most likely have spent some good money on yours.

Shimano XT M8000 Brakes
Reviewed by

Review Date: 01/07/2017
Product Rating
4 Star Rating: Recommended
When it comes to brakes the big players are Shimano and Avid, at least when it comes to what manufacturers but on their bikes from the factory. We have always preferred Shimano over Avid since most of their models work great and they are much quieter than the Avids which have a reputation for squeaking.

If you do a lot of Enduro or downhill riding then a set of Saints or Zee's will do the job and get you stopping when it counts. But if you are more of an all mountain or trail rider they may be a little overkill and heavy if you are "one of those" people. Shimano has been making their XT brakes for some time and have recently redesigned them to improve performance, be lighter, take up less real estate on your bars and most importantly... look good.

The latest XT M8000 hydraulic brakes offer great performance for a great price. The M8000 are a 2 piston brake system with ceramic pistons which helps to dissipate heat and reduce vibrations. The finned pads also help to reduce heat and a nice set of Ice Tech rotors will help even more. As for the pads you can get them in either resin or metallic where resin will usually be quieter but won't last as long as metal and may not stop as well either so that's all about preference. We have not had any noise issues with the metallic pads except when they got contaminated with a bunch of mud, and we mean a bunch.

One of the best features of the new M8000 brakes is that they got rid of that ugly silver reservoir cap and now they are all black and a bit sleeker looking. But of course looks aren't everything and the brakes do a great job of stopping when needed by using Shimano's Servo Wave modulated levers which let you adjust braking modulation throughout the lever stroke. The levers are also adjustable without the use of tools.

Shimano XT Brakes

 

Shimano XT M8000 Brakes

The brakes come pre bled with hose lengths of 1000mm for the front and 1700mm for the rear. Weight wise they come in at around 277 grams per side. And as usual they use mineral oil for the brake fluid so make sure you get the right stuff before you decide to bleed them. We also suggest you replace your rotors when adding these new brakes so you have a completely new system and can start fresh. The Ice Tech rotors have worked great for us as well. These brakes will work with rotors from 140mm to 203mm. If you are switching from another brand of brakes make sure your adapters and spacers will work otherwise you may need to change those as well.

Shimano Ice Tech Rotor

We replaced an older set of XT brakes with the new M8000 brakes and the performance was just as good if not a bit better. The lever feel is great and they can handle just about any situation, even the more demanding downhill runs. If you already have a perfectly good working set of XT brakes we would say it's not worth swapping them out but if it's time to replace them then it's definitely worth the switch. Plus we haven't seen any rebuild kits for the XTs anyway and for around $90 a side it's a no brainer to just replace them.

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