The best brakes is the Tree in front off you.

Go brakeless

the ones that stop you before a crash are the best brakes. ^^

You definitely did not bleed the hydraulic brakes right, they should feel consistent all the way through the pull and make sure you use the right fluid

Hydraulic brakes are less work and mechanical are more work I think the problem you had with hydraulic was because they were old and not well looked after I have use both types and I have to say hydraulic brakes are better and any mtb that has used hydraulic brakes will probable say they are better too

Iv never had issue with mech brakes or their power. I run az deserts xc trails weekly. 60 mile treks in flagstaff/sedona. Brutal terrain and have neever had an issue. They are very reliable and strong systems. Its all on proper adjusment on the cables and thats it with standard single finger braking. And carrying a 6ft spool of cable in ur tool kit for out in the field repair is instant. I dont understand whats all the hate. Everyone here claims hydro systems like your running a formula 1 down the muslanne. Pretty pathetic really. Hype of carbon, brain on the dereilluer. Unreal what mtb has become lol. Waiting for umbrellas and frappacino machine on them next..

I have never had issues with mechanical brakes jamming up, but they have seals.

For how I ride (road mostly) and for lower maintenance I'd go with the mechs. Thanks for the comparison.

I ride mechanical on the rear and hydraulic on the front, don't ask why I just like to have the actual feel when power sliding down a hill.

Watching this I didn’t know there were 2 types. Thanks for the review.

Great video! Thank you for your analysis and opinion!

Nice explanation and honest opinion that makes perfect sense. Thanks for pointing me in the right direction.

Can anyone give me any tips on buying a mountain bike with disc brakes I don't mind which ones but on a budget of 180 pounds and this is a little thing which I would like is the gears to be one of those thumb and index finger paddles rather than the other rubber things and I know my budget is way too tight

I've owned a few bikes, the first decent one I had came with the same shimano hydro brakes that are on that bike and they work decent. I moved to a newer XC bike with avid elixer 5 and they work better but not super better. I then got a dirt jumper with bottom line sram guide levers and i can say with absolute certainty, nicer brakes will make a huge difference. I even rode my first decent bike because I sold it to a friend, and it had almost no braking power compared to the srams.

Great points! I am trying to figure out what's the best for my son's breaks. pros and cons are really helpful.

I have a road bike with wired brakes, and my hands get tired after a while from using them when racing, but my dads hydraulic one doesn’t tire you out as much. i also have a hybrid bike (trek DS) with hydraulic brake. i haven’t encountered an issue with them yet, and they’re rlly good. i guess i’m fine with the higher maintenance if my hands don’t have to be stiff at the end of the day

Awesome feed back I also have the mechanical they are avid bb7 ballbearing works great once dialed in but are super adjustable I'm now working on my front forks getting those manatou makhors 100mm I have a 26"frame small trials mostly commuter bike every day rain sleet hail got several tires and carbon bars stem n seat post great job on reviews alot of people get away from this sport once they start seeing prices but remember some big box bikes are now equivalent to what people mtb racers where riding when this sport started bro with your bike add parts as needed main focus should be skills and assembly thanks for another great post

How often do you slam on the brakes fully? Hydrolic brakes require much less force in normal use than cable ones, especially if you don't use the worst possible ones to use in your comparison

I think he pretty much hit the nail on the head with this video.

I was looking for that video. Recently I bought a mosso legarda 1824 hydraulic by shimano. but I found out that I'm 250lbs and hydraulic brakes did great job stopping me. even I done stoppies.

Finally a straight forward answer. Thank you! Bleeding brakes, spungy... yep, I'm going with the mechanical ones.

Hydraulic brake lines clearly are easier to fit to the bike than having cables flopping around. I dont race but find them more convenient than changing stretched and worn out cables. I think they are LESS maintenance prone.

Great video with some good points..I still use Avid BB5 on the rear and BB7 on the front,matched with Avid SD7 levers,which means I can adjust reach,bite point and the lever pull ratio (never seen that on hydraulics) ,sure I get a little arm pump but I can feel everything the brakes are doing,to me hydraulics are like a switch,well the Shimano 1s I tried were :-)

I hope there'd be an adapter so i can use my Roadbike shift brakes with hydraulic cylinder brakes.

Overall, though, valid points in support of mechanical brakes were made here.

What should I do to fix this problem on my tektro hydraulic brakes? The front has no issue ever slams tight! The rear one though after holding it does exactly what he said about the spongey feeling that you have to somewhat pump it.

Thanks for the video ❤️

helpful video. thank you.

I have both different brakes on two of my bikes and I'm going to have to go with the hydraulic brakes but like you said they do get spongey and I'm not sure how to fix that without bringing it to a shop

i have avid mech bb7 on my yeti asx, and i love it!

So I recently bought some hydraulic brakes that come with new rotors. The rotors are 160 but look nice, the ones I have now are 180. Would the 160s with hydraulics perform better than mechanical with 180s?

I bougt a Focus MTB back in 2004, Magura Julie hydraulic discbrakes. The bike has been used regularly and the only thing I had to do with the brakes was changing the pads.

I get like 1200 miles out of an entry level brake set ($30 a front or rear brake complete) but with the shimano deore brakes I’ve been running are super reliable and super powerful I also notice a lot less fade from hydraulics and I have more feel with the hydros

I had the same hydraulic shimano brakes and I had had lots of problems that the brake was not strong enough. After a while I bent both levers. I changed the brake levers to shorter ones and after that they were flawless. There was more power and I didn't have to worry about the lever being to big. I would recommend to do it

nice man thanks for sharing

My bike came with mechanical disc brakes on the front. They didn't stop worth a crap. Seemed like I had to wait for the brakes to heat up a bit before they'd start gripping. Swapped them out for hydraulic brakes couldn't be happier. Now I'm in the process of upgrading from v-brakes in the rear to hydraulic disc brakes. I just love how the handle feels compared to mechanical. I also don't miss having to adjust my front brakes and it's going to be so nice that I won't have to adjust my rear brakes either. It's like carburetor vs. fuel injection. Trying to keep a carburetor finely tuned is tedious. Might as well go with fuel injection and be done with it.

Hi is there a way of adjusting the force i have to apply to my mechanical disk brake levers its quite alot harder with my back brake the the front one especially when i need to use 1 or 2 fingers, Thanks and i always enjoy watching your vids

Exactly what I’ve been thinking, I want I low maintenance reliable breaking system even if the preformance is slightly lower.

Wait so the same way all the fluid can squirt out of a hydrolic, can't the cables snap on a mechanical brake? I've had multiple cables snap on me while I'm going down hill and the cables aren't cheap to replace (for me). so when It does happen which is easier/cheaper to replace? Do you just add more fluid to the hydraulic? do you have to buy whole new cables for it too just like the Mechanical? (I've never used hydrolic)

Am building an E-fatbike, set up as a land crawler. Made the mistake of buying a Juin Tech DB-1 hydraulic system. After watching several videos on how to bleed Shimano and SRAM/Avid systems, I've decided to eat that cost and go with something that does not require the most idiotic bleeding procedures I've ever seen. This video clinched it for me. Thank you...

What’s the shimano brakes model? Do you have the number?

i know for dirt jumping people who do mad tailwhips and barspins need hydralic ones cause cables will be too long and like it wont have stopping power

When will we get frictionless disk brakes?

You have same brakes on the silver bike as i do (I mean the system what allows you to change gears)

Imo v brakes are the best they get me the most girls

I am new to biking. I just learned to bike using my husbands' childhood old trek mountain bike. I finally bought my first bike from REI because I really like their return policy + free 1 yr maintenance. I decided to go with a hybrid as my first bike, mechanical breaks. All my biking friends keep saying get an hydraulic breaks but I really need something that's low maintenance. Thank you for this review.

I have the MT200s and got a better set of pads for my 2020 Trek Roscoe 7. So far they work great but im getting some Shimano M-8020 4 pstons soon.

What are the shifter and brakes called on the hard tail

In my opinion hydraulic is the way to go. I bought a new MTB recently with hydraulic brakes and it just feels like there is so much more force applied

I have the exact same hydraulic brakes and had the same spongy problem while riding down bumpy trails. Got the air bubbles out and that fixed the problem.

Thanks for advice 🥰😘

I want to buy a new bike, i am just wondering wheater to go for hydraulic or mechanical, I have always only used rim brakes.. What i am afraid of is that the hydraulic breakes are atleast three times costlier and I am afraid that, the bike may fall at some point duringy tour and I end up spilling the oil or damaging the hd break... Mech break seems to be reliable... Or am I wrong are hd breaks fragile.?

What works better when its faulty,cable calipers

The hose on my Shimano brakes burst downhill so my Carrera Vulcan now has mechanical brakes

All I can say is try bombing down Heartbreak ridge in North Carolina with mech brakes. With my SLX hydros just needed one finger on each brake lever. With mech brakes that would never work ( talking from experience). I have also found my hydros to be way less maintenance.

I agree... My bike brake went out on my hydraulic brakes and now I'm trying to learn how to fix it

I'm thinking of swapping my hydraulic brakes for mechs because I find the bleeding such a difficult task, and there isn't a proper bike shop for a looong way

whats that machine called ? @3:02

If you have a diy Atomic Zombie recumbent like I have it can get costly to build a left "front" to match up with the right brake because both of my brakes are in the back and no manufactures front brakes with 1700mm hoses .

Why should I have to change the brake fluid on a freaking bicycle every year while no vehicle maker requires a yearly fluid change interval?

I agree with you. That's why I'm gonna buy the TRP Spyke brake caliper.

I am a complete novice with bikes, but considering buying a mountain bike with hydraulic brakes. I am curious, why you would need to frequently bleed the brakes? With a car etc you don't bleed the brakes unless you have opened the brake system and replaced the hydraulic oil, why would you need to on a bike?

One thing you didnt mention is that sometimes is better to have only 1 finger on the brake, and hydralic allows you to lock up with one finger where you might not be able to with mechanical.

I'm thinking of running hydros because I keep having brake cables snap

which is best disk brake

Whats the difference of mechanical and hydraulic

Hi, Thanks for the video. My mechanical disk brakes have no effect for the first 80% pull then a sudden stop, how to fix it and make it gradual please? Thank you

Have you never heard of topping up your hydrolic brakes with fluid?

Hi, i have a question for your and you subscriber, i have mechanical disk brakes on my front wheel and v-break on my rear wheel. Is this a good combo ? or should i change my rear v-break and go full disk? Thanks and have a good day!

I like the bulletproof all weather/temprature workin trp spyre....They are the ak 47 of disc brakes and complete enough power for my gravel/cross bike....

I’m having so many issues with my Shimano hydraulic system. Shops don’t seem to bleed them well, so they’re spongy and fail. I bled them myself and got all the air bubbles out, but the front one exploded! Turns out the ceramic piston was shattered. Replaced it and got things all put together and it felt great. After one ride they are leaking again. Meanwhile, I can still jump on my Jamis from 2003 with mechanical disk brakes and stop no problem, without ever even replacing the cables, and rarely lubing them! I’m about to switch out the hydraulic for cables, or else just go back to using my feet!

I heard that the hydraulics in cold weather below 35 degrees don't work I think if you're riding a bike that is less than 150 lbs mechanical brakes are just fine. I agree a waste of money along with high maintenance issues it's not worth it.. But I'm sure there are some good uses for them but not for your every day biking needs..As with all disc brakes one should never pull on the front brake lever to fast & to hard let alone hydraulics respond much faster & may result in flip overs the worst type of falls of face plants... Nice vid of info thanks for sharing...

What helmet you using

Hydraulic brakes are 20% better than wire brakes, but also 1000% more expensive and 500% more headaches

*The first bike I bought had mechanical disc brakes, after that I bought one with Hydraulic and the difference in the perfomance is inmese, the response of the Hydraulic ones is amazing, I can go 40 KM/H and stop suddenly without issues.*

My bike brake cable goes through the fram on my gaint atx2, and it has hydraulic disc brakes and i have never any problems with them

What is the model of the full suspension? Atroz?

Before I moved to hydraulic disc brakes I had a cantilever on the front and a v-brake on the back and it worked fine... there may be a merit for thinking that you could have a hydraulic in the back and maybe a mechanical one at the front

those are the lowest end hydraulic brakes you can get and nearly cost the same as the mechanical ones

Thanks for the information. It really helped clear up the differences in the braking systems.

So, you compare the cheapest brakes against each other and then claim that i should "save my money" and go with the mechanical? Call me an idiot, but I am going to stick with my mid-level Shimano SLX brakeset that works flawlessly. I have had these brakes for about 2 years and have had to perform very little maintenance on them. Once a year i change the mineral fluid, the brake pads and ride. My next door neighbor has the mechanical brakes on an entry level Mongoose and they require a lot more maintenance and I can stop in half the distance. Of course there is a weight difference between my neighbor and myself, I weigh 200 lbs. with a 24 lb. bike and he weighs 145 lbs. with a 32 lb. bike.

4 years in and I've only done yearly maintenance on my XT hydraulic brakes...

I went from Hayes MX5 mechanical to Hayes Dominion hydraulic. Why didn’t I do it sooner. The difference is huge. They are so much lighter touch and easier to dose the power with smoother breaking and no more locking up wheels.

What happens if there is no Hydraulic fluid ? I think my bike is loosing some.

Modulation is better with hydraulics. You definitely do not want to lock up brakes. Hydraulics give you more control on how much power you can apply before you lock up. The low lever pull force that you mentioned is a big one. The harder you have to press, the more arm pump you get. Hydralucs can be pressed with one finger while stopping you with a tremendous amount of force. In my experience, mechanical takes more force, I usually have to use two fingers with mechanicals.

I have hydraulic brakes on my MTB, i have had high end cable brakes and hydraulic brakes. i can say for sure that the hydraulic brakes have much better stopping power, are easy to pull on, very low maintenance and in my case they self adjust so they "Set themselves up" for me. today i bled them for the first time in about 4 years and thats all i have ever had to do with them (pads changed of course) but other than that no maintenance. They work so well, cable driven is not too bad i had a good set that i had to mess about with alot and even replace the cable at one point. there is much more to go wrong on cable driven IMO. the cable can come loose and be dangerous as it slips, there is alot of adjusting that needs to be done to get it right. the bleed procedure is simple on most brakes now and so it makes maintaining them alot easier. plus the whole system is lubricated including the pistons via the oil, so this means you rarely have to grease them unlike the cable driven. each to their own i guess but 4 years on my brakes and done little to no maintenance, and i dont have to fiddle about with them on the trail as the non existent cable does not come loose. that was my big gripe about the high end cable brakes i had, yes hydraulic is more expensive but i think they work great and require little maintenance from the end user and are reliable. seems a shame you guys had a bad experience with them as they can be really good, i wont ever go back to cable thanks for the video by the way :)

I've been riding my Stoke CRX-8 for the second year (season) now and the only maintenance for the Tektro disk brakes was changing the pads. The braking power seems still solid, a little bit dimmed on the rear wheel, due to more usage, to be fair, I assume, however there were no leakings or any other issues. The braking power is consistent and highly reliable, especially when commuting in traffic where, when encountering unexpected situations, immediate breaking saves you from trouble. I tried both mechanical rim and disk brakes and so far, but I would never turn back, over the hydraulic disk brakes.

I use mechanical on my gt pantera sport, I ride in NYC, not s professional rider because I just got off a single speed into MTB, but I have 10 years of riding experience on a bicycle, I'm 16, and they require low maintenance, I don't know how to do any trick except 2 stroke lil wheelie but I have got balance when going no hands

yeah I'm gonna stick to mechanicals :D

I've got bikes with both and the mechanicals do stop fine. But it is much more work and way crappier feel. A lot more anxiety if you have to stop fast.

Disagree, i have mechs and hydro in my two bikes, the Shimano deore are just another world compared to my mech, going fast downhill the deores are just flawless meanwhile the mechs are terrible

In my bike i have hydraulic disc brakes i have never maintenaced them in 2 years and they still work perfectly

Uh correct me if im wrong but the green bike's fork is backwards

Now I'm wondering how much squeezing I do to stop downhill with my rim brakes

If you bought a new or a properly maintained bike the hydraulic disc brakes are more reliable and need less maintenance and have waaaaay more stopping power

why is the fork on backwards on the bike with hydraulic brakes.

Best move ever ripped hydralic off put in trash put on set of mechanical disc no problems strong brakes good in cold weather and heavy brakin. Ill never run hydros again .

You know nothing about mountain biking. Like really who says mechanical disc brakes are better. No decent rider would chose to have mechanical brakes. There is a reason why every top pro and every reasonable mountain biker used hydraulic disc brakes over mechanical discs. Hydraulic brakes have smoother modulation, way more stoping power and when maintained and well looked after they work no matter the conditions.

I bought I used talon 0 29er from 12, and it's hydraulic avid juicy 1s work flawlessly. Hydraulic brakes work as well as you treat them. And trust me, this bike wasn't taken care of in the best way. It has rust on its shifters and lots of chips.

I have the hydraulics and love them!!!