Looking at a brake upgrade. Currently rocking the factory Shimano MT520. Found a set of XT-8120 brakes for $270 with levers included.
Are these any good? Ive done a lot of research but I’ve caused myself decision paralysis. I keep hearing about the “wandering bite point” and how Shimano levers are non-rebuildable.
Anyone have any experience with these brakes? How does the power compare to other brakes and the ones that I have?
by TrailBikeJoe
21 Comments
Love my XT brakes!
Xt’s are great brakes
XTs are great. Dependable and powerful
I might be ignorant but isn’t the gain from the SLX to XT mostly the weight? I went from XT to Formula Cura 4 and the the cura are more… progressive and powerful (maybe) it feels like. The bite point on the XT was definitely noticeable from the lever going from soft to hard. Maybe you prefer that over the opposite for Cura
I upgraded from some sram whatevers that came with my build and the XT brakes are amazing. I’ve got 4 years on them and a few thousand miles and have replaced the pads exactly once, and didn’t even really need to.
Haven’t had any issues with the wandering bite point on my xts, but that’s not to say it isn’t a pretty common issue from what I can tell. What are you looking to gain from the upgrade? The mt-520s are quite good brakes for what they are
I’d go for the 6120’s. All the XT good stuff for less.
Long time Shimano fan here. Hard to go wrong with the XT.
I’ve had all three from XTR, XT and SLX. I prefer the Shimano on/off feel as opposed to the more linear feel of SRAM but that’s personal preference.
I rode Shimano for a long time. After trying some Code Ults I will never go back. The mystery braking point lack of bite is annoying to me. They’re rideable and some people die for those brakes. Not my cup of tea though.
I have SLX and they have been great. I have 4 pot on my Stumpy and 2 pot (came stock) on my XC bike.
if you already have shimano 4-pot brakes I don’t really think this is much of an upgrade. I would put the $270 somewhere else.
No.
FYI 520s, Deore 6120s, SLX 7120s and XT8120s are all at their core the same brake. The there is no difference in stopping power because of this. Same caliper, piston and master cylinder. The biggest difference is tweaks in the levers for some more adjustments, a few ways to lighten the brakes that are immaterial to performance.
Actually the difference is so minor the only actual difference for example between SLX and XT brakes is a 2 cent “free stroke adjustment screw” in the latter’s lever. Except the SLX still has the cut for that screw so you can just buy it and put it in. But also it’s widely known the screw doesn’t actually adjust much of anything anyway.
Shimano makes excellent budget products but their issue is the higher end stuff for the most part is really stretching to justify its extra price tag as theirs little to no performance difference. (XTR excluded since sometimes they pull out all the stops and to put bougie stuff like titanium and crazy ways to lighten things up.)
This isn’t a slight against Shimano. I’m a full on Shimano guy for all my bikes, I like it better than SRAM. But the best bang for your buck is a frankenstein Shimano groupset of all 4 levels.
[Oh and wandering bite point has a solution, people are just too lazy to do anything but a quick cup lever bleed.](https://www.mbr.co.uk/how-to-2/wandering-bite-point-shimano-405883)
There’s no real advantage to XT over SLX. That screw that you use to adjust bite point doesn’t seem to do anything. Anecdotally, more people report wandering bite point with 4 piston XTs that I know, FWIW. I’ve had it with multiple sets, only one that’s lasted long term is SLX 2 pistons. I know there will be conspiracy theorists who think that it’s just a bad bleed, but if mechanics/bike industry professionals struggle with it, they must be awfully hard to bleed. Never had significant trouble bleeding TRP, SRAM, Formula, or Maguras.
I don’t see a reason to pick Shimano over other companies (everyone but Magura, AFAIK) that make brakes that are rebuildable. If you’re trying to keep a budget (which is fine), get SLX. If you’re trying for top tier, don’t get Shimano. Full stop. I’d recommend these over XTs all day.
[https://www.lordgun.com/formula-cura-4-disc-brake-set-1?srsltid=AfmBOoqL79g9YJ5qPiSX2lerAWCplntORIlMDpMOP_FcCnFVszn6IfAY](https://www.lordgun.com/formula-cura-4-disc-brake-set-1?srsltid=AfmBOoqL79g9YJ5qPiSX2lerAWCplntORIlMDpMOP_FcCnFVszn6IfAY)
Will be noticeably more powerful, serviceable, and you can throw on a 2.3mm thick rotor if you want to really push it on descents.
One thing I haven’t seen mentioned is the 8120 will offer access to all of Shimano compatible pads, while I believe the 520 are not compatible with the finned pads.
So, you are better off with the XTs anyway.
They’re great brakes although your concerns have merit. I can’t help but notice the wandering bite every time I try some. If they have a flawless bleed then it doesn’t wander. I’d personally be getting the sram motive instead I think.
I have the XTs on two bikes, 2-piston on my hardtail and 4-piston on my full squish trail bike. I love the feel and performance and haven’t had any issues on either set.
I got my set of m8120 4-pistons on Aliexpress for around $169 and they were shipped to me in about 10 days. If you don’t trust aliexpress or want to wait as long, there’s a site called LordGun that ships from Italy and has super cheap Shimano parts.I got the XTR cassette for only $220, shipped in 3 days and came in retail Shimano packaging. They also have the set of XTs for $188. Merlin Cycles is also in Europe and they have similar prices to LordGun.
If you want shimano, I’d recommend SLX. It’s the same as XT but cheaper and the pistons don’t leak as much
Hayes
XT
I’d rather invest in good rotors, pads and bleed brakes. But if you think that those brakes that you have are weak, sure, but better
I’m a heavier rider and running the 8120 with MTX red pads on my Ripley, they are very good and the MTX pads offer a pinch more power with extra modulation, 204mm rotors help. If you already have mt520 4 Pistons, I would recommend just getting some MTX Red or Gold pads, they are a huge upgrade! I also run the MTX Reds on my Shimano single pistons on my road/gravel bike