My Dream Bike Has a Huge Problem 

@ Matty, Before you spend a lot of money on brakes an drivetrain consider this. I've had more than one new bike that the brakes were not properly bleed and adjusted from the factory. Make sure your brakes are properly bleed and adjusted. Install metallic brake pads. Many bikes come with organic pads which do not work as well metallic pads. If that doesn't work, Consider larger rotors. For any person that weighs more than 150 pounds, 180/180 rotors may not be large enough. You may need 200/180 rotors or even 200/200 rotors if you're closer to 200 pounds. In my experience, Code brakes with metallic pads on 200/200 rotors are very good brakes. I've had no problems with mine and they stop on a dime. Sram drivetrains don't shift as crisp and smooth as Shimano drivetrains but they do shift reliably. In my experience, the Sram GX drivetrain is a real workhorse that lasts a very long time with minimal maintenance.

I'd like to see you swap to TRP!

I didn't like the code r that came on my remedy. However I changed pads and did a good long bedding process,and that made them come alive .

In all honesty it all sounds great on paper but, I would let them work all of the bugs out first and get it in another year or two. Unless it's free of course. Crazy thing about Aram is a lot of people swear by them but, if you get bad Sram brakes they lock up in heat & do all kinds of weird stuff at the wrong time, I'm definitely with you on being a Shimano brake and drivetrain man. Good video 👍

You know better than me that upgrading a bike is the best thing you can do to get fun out of it. I got a cheap marling with an XT brakes and transmission, and a cheap suntour epixon, that was the best money ever spent on that bike. Put the stuff you like on that remedy and get that fun machine to his 200%

I put on some 35mm rise bars on my roscoe and it made it feel way better to me and a lot more comfortable to ride.

One thing thats so Cool about Mountain bikes is upgrading and changing out stuff... checking it out and deciding keeping or changing again..lol.. I wish Guam sold Trek here... we are limited to Giant, but they have a solid shop when things get a little difficult on upgrading and are friendly to helping out using other brand products that I order online.

Hard to beat the gold standard XT setup. You just know everything will work well.

I have code brakes on my 160 and they are great, but you need to make sure they are bled correctly using the speed fitting

Highly recommend mixing and matching on groupsets. My favorite bike, my 2022 Trek Rail, came stock with Shimano brakes and SRAM drivetrain. I find SRAM drivetrains vastly superior for one main reason: the clutch on the derailleur cage, which makes chain and rear wheel maintenance a breeze. I have a full Shimano Deore XT groupset on my 2023 Norco Optic, which is overall an amazing spec for the price. But Shimano 'trains require you to remove the chain from the chainring to create slack in the chain, which is just stupid as fuck. It's messier, dirtier, and more difficult for you and the machine (and the Optic has a chainguide, which just makes things even harder). I'm definitely going to be changing the 'train on the Optic to SRAM ASAP. I have SRAM on all my other bikes. SRAM, as you've discovered, is undistinguished in brakes (though their rotors are actually better than Shimano, according to some very experienced mechanics in my town). Unless you're really shelling out for the likes of Magura, or don't mind paying 15-25% extra for bling with Hope, Shimano all the way for levers and calipers. My second favorite bike, my 2022 Trek Checkpoint, has recently been converted to flat bar with Shimano SLX levers and Hope RX4+ calipers, and it's amazing brake setup that will be completely dialed once I get the rotors and adapters to up the diameter to 180mm. I also changed from a Shimano GRX drivetrain to a SRAM 1x12 GX mountain 'train, which is a dream. I probably actually should have gone with SRAM Force drivetrain, as the chainring is a bit small on the GX. The only bike I have with full SRAM brakes (or brake singular) is my dirt jumper, and even though that brake is basically vestigial, I'm probably going to upgrade to Shimano, lol. I like brakes. I like brakes a LOT.

Magura brakes have been awesome for me.

Rotors.... it's all about the rotors and pads when it comes to SRAM

SRAM has a hidden gem in their brake lineup, the new DB8 brakes, they use mineral oil like Shimano and TRP brakes and have power and consistency on a par with Code RSCs. The DH bike I rented at Whistler had them and they worked surprisingly well especially in the steep gnar of Whistler.

Your channel is great, just found it. I prefer Shimano over Sram also. But you can just change that, without ditching the whole bike. There are a lot of guys who like the SRAM stuff, just pull it off and sell it, and put your preferred stuff on it. It's pretty much a given now when I get a bike, I have to do the whole swap and sell thing to get it to my preferred setup.

Jerry’s a good dude! He was on the podcast awhile back. Super fun conversation. Oh, and just so you know, the best way to fix SRAM brakes is to replace them.

I have SRAM GX Eagle with TRP brakes on both my MTB's. I think their group set looks amazing and if it is anything like their brakes it will be amazing.

I’m liking the 3rd person Pov

I think it really depends on how well the sram is set up. I've been riding with sram for over 15 years with very few issues. Yes, it is more squishy compared to shimano but I think that's the intent.... which leaves people with that "love it or hate it" mentality. But cases where the lever nearly goes to the knuckles is a sign that the levers need to be adjusted, not really a fault with the braking itself. I feel the "squishy" aspect is more a plus for me, as I use that towards my advantage as "feathering". When I ride my XC, which has shimano, I feel the "sudden" grabbing of the brake pads on the rotors will cause me to OTB. But then my enduro rig that runs sram, I can bomb down a gnarly technical that the sram braking will allow me to "ease" through features where I need it.

I had the same issue with my Remedy 8. It ended up costing me a really bad spiral fracture in my left ankle. I shared that saga on my channel. I also moved on to the Eminent Onset and love it.

I like SRAM AXS and shimano brakes. I actually took the XT derailleur and shifter off my fuel ex9.7 as soon as I brought it home. And put GX AXS on it right away with the SLX chain and cassette, and SLX brakes. Best of both worlds for me.

I run the TRP trai evo brakes and love them. I'm sure the TRP drive train is as good as their brakes. You should give it a shot.

Nice, I'm going to look into the TRP stuff. I've only heard good thing about there brakes.

About Sram Code brakes, I just swapped my Code R's for RSC's and the difference is huge. Much better lever feel and more power at the end. The contact point adjustment is a great thing to have as well. A lot of people who ride Code R's say they're underwhelming but Code RSC's are usually considered as a solid option. Might be worth trying out. Also since you have Code R calipers you can just swap the levers for RSC's since the calipers are the same anyway.

I hate most brakes but, HOPE are my preferred system, i have a set of Tech 4 Brakes & a set of hope mono m4's too. I STRONGLY recomend looking at hope

Who remembers the d6

Sram for shifting, Shimano for braking.

trying to get used to the sram g2's on my new xc ride.. still hate them compared to the XT's on my enduro bike...

I have a ‘98 Trek 8000SL I bought new - it’s still running a 100% stock Shimano XT drivetrain. Cables, chain, cassette, everything. It’s been through it all. My ‘05 Transition has a SRAM X7/9 combo I believe - I’ve had lots of issues with the drivetrain. Just test rode a few new Treks - one with SRAM had issues right off the floor. The Deore bikes were flawless. I took home one of those.

Agreed , shimano feels so much more crisp while shifting and the TRP brakes are excellent.

My dream bike is a trek supercaliber 9.9

Get hope brakes! So much power

yuup…had to replace my cassette,derail and brakes on my remedy…aka the money pit 😅

The main part of brake feel is the pad compound. Sram uses organic as an OE or even aftermarket brakes, replacement pads are available in SemiMetallic. Shimano comes OE and aftermarket as Metallic but replacements you can get in Resin. But make sure your brakes are bleed right first. Also depending on usage and your weight different compounds would be better in certain conditions. And rotor size matters too in feel and power besides better against heat. I'm a small guy riding weight is 145lbs on my trail bikes 130-140mm travel, I run 200/203mm front 180mm rear rotor size. I'm a little faster than the average weekend warrior and find I heat up brakes too much with smaller rotors. Run both organic sram and metallic shimano and they both work fine only real difference is the initial bite on metallic is much more than organic . I prefer ceramic over resin/organic over semimetallic over metallic/sintered for trail riding.

I agree. Shimano here!

The Code R on my Nomad 5 exhibit the same issues as you had. Lever goes to the knuckle and then you have to adjust hand position to get more pull or eat shit.

Bought a fuel ex 7, 2 weeks ago that came with TRP Slate brake set. They were so bad and noisy, I had to file a warranty claim with Trek. Just ordered Shimano Deore brake set. Hopefully they'll work great without any grinding sounds. Also, I had SRAM GX drivetrain on my Roscoe 8 and I somehow prefer them over my Shimano XT drivetrain. Never used SRAM brakes so I can't talk about them.

Had the same issue with my Remedy 8 where I didn’t get along with the Sram brakes at all. Way too mushy even after having my lbs check it over. Also previously had a Roscoe 8 with shimano brakes that I liked the feel of so after some research, swapped the code Rs for XTs and the bike feels sooo much better. Much more confidence inspiring 🤙🏻 The TRP groupset looks sick though!

I love that bike but it's to expensive

Once you go Magura, you will never go back!

Im all about sram drivetrain, but different brakes. I honestly fell in love with how magura feels and rode them for a year. I recently purchased a bike with sram brakes and i hate them. Just about to change them to maguras.

Not a fan of Sram, especially the brakes. I've ridden TRP brakes and they're awesome. I wouldn't be surprised if their drivetrain works well. Nice to see some more options available. Microshift makes nice stuff too!

Mine has shimano xt

Go with what you like Matty. FWIW I wish I could upgrade to those Shimano brakes that you didn’t like on the Roscoe 7. I’m still riding my Marlin 7 after 4-1/2 years and am still suffering with those crappy Tektros. They just sent me OTB last week (the fronts are squishy but grab at the same time.

Matty ,I have Sram Guide RSC's and they have been on my Giant Reign for Years doing bike park duty and I never have problems. They aren't mushy. What you feel is modulation. Meaning pull the lever a little and they slow down a little. pull them a lot and they lock up the wheel. I have Shimano Drive trains as well and shifting and similar to SRAM and I love my SRAM and for service I love the Cage lock pin on the SRAM. Shimano brakes are powerful but they are like an on off switch which I hate on front. I like slowing down and not locking up the wheel on the front. If your brakes went all the way to the bar then they weren't bled correctly. There is no way they could sell them if they were prone to that. BUT the new TRP groupset looks sick!! Get it.

TRP is nice, but the cost is high too. If you go to that tier on SRAM, I bet you won't have issues. I had the Roscoe 8 like you and the NX was alright. When I swapped to the Slash 8 I had GX and the same brakes too. Brakes were meh but the GX was a big step up. Now I ride on X01 with some XX1 mixed in (couldnt resist the rainbow) and Code RSCs and that makes all the difference. For brakes it comes down to preference. If you like modulation, SRAM is your champ. If you like raw stopping power, then shimano or Magura. Not sure where TRP fits in but I've only heard good things.

Interesting, I have both shimano XTR 4-pistons brakes and sram code RSC 4-pistons. I do run 180mm back 203mm front shimano rotors and 180mm front and 200mm front for sram. I do adjust the sram levers so that’s the lever movement when press I get the fast braking. I love the shimano and sram complete groups. I know the sram NX and GX are good but not as the XO1. I do think shimano entry and mid level are better than sram. The sram X01 and XX1 are awesome just like the XT and XTR. I do agree the shimano has a slight edge over the sram when it comes to smooth shifting. Over all this is minor. I have not own TRP group but I heard the brakes are very good. For me, for now, I am staying with shimano and sram. It can get expensive with replacement of parts 😀. Also, some people like the sponginess (modulation) of the sram brakes. Some people like the shimano immediate stopping. I got used to both 😊. I will recommend talking to your LBS and have them check the bleeding and the lever adjustment. If you don’t have the sram code RSC you might want to consider them as they are so adjustable and you can dial them close to Shimano.

For every person who loves SRAM… there’s people who hate SRAM. You could say the same thing with Shimano. I always have preferred SRAM for my drivetrain, especially my new transmission. I hate SRAM brakes though. I always do Shimano brakes because I trust them and they are so easy to bleed. I have an XT drivetrain on my Roscoe and love it. But I also love my new transmission on my Fuel EX. To each their own. TRP brakes seem to be a favorite though on every channel I see but three of my local bike shops hate them for some reason. Not sure why… maybe they don’t make enough money on them since they’re probably really dependable 🤣 let us know what you think!!!! Better to spend your money than mine. Happy shredding and be safe! ❤the channel! 🤙🏼

Another reason not to put out a shit ton of money you never know if the bike is really a good fit for you then have buyer remorse. Same thing with a firearm buy a super expensive pistol then find out it's not really what you though when you get it to the range.

I started riding this year. My first bike was the Status 140. I've had to get my SRAM NX drivetrain adjusted multiple times already. The code R brakes had to be bled and still aren't that great either. I've ordered a new bike that uses Shimano brakes and drivetrain and will likely be selling my status, same as you.

Interesting what you said about the sram drive train and brakes. I've only had shimano drivetrains (deore and SLX) and brakes (tektro on my other bike) and never had any issues. I heard people say that sram lower end groupset like SX and NX have shifting and clutch issues, but i saw yours was GX. Didnt think GX was bad too. I was looking at getting another trail/enduro bike but it was sram spec. But i think i might get the build with shimano spec since i know they are good.

I've ridden both sram and Shimano drivetrains, sram, Shimano, trp, and Hayes brakes. I've enjoyed All of them as long as they've been set up right. I really don't understand the sram vs Shimano debate tbat always rages in the bike community. They're both great and make fantastic products

Hey Matty i know you like testing value bikes so id recommend giving a canyon a try for example the canyon spectral mullet cf8 is $3,399.00 right now and crazy god spec for that price fox factory level coil dt swiss ex511 wheels shimano xt brakes and derailleur check it out 👍great video as always✌

Are the gen 3 pnw range bars?

First, it's nice to see that Dave Grohl knows so much about bikes, looks like he can shred in more than one way! Kidding aside, my friend I know that WAS your dream bike, but I wouldn't sink another penny in it. Unless you like riding it more than your Eminent, why give Trek the free screen time when you have a make actually sponsoring you and giving you free stuff? I'd sell the Trek, actually I'd take the upgraded bar off first and put the other one back on it. You don't need two higher end downhill bikes. Now, if they want to give you the setup for the bike that's different, but now you're really showcasing the brakes and crankset not the bike. For full sus, I'd only ride the Onset unless you're really not that hot on it.

Yeah dude, my Remedy came spec’d with Shimano XT brakes and Sram x01 drivetrain. I swear by those Shimano brakes, but I’m not so particular on the SRAM drivetrain. I have a new Slash and Fuel EX gen 6, and went with the XT build and it’s a much better setup for what I like. I gotta try the TRP brakes someday soon.just sold my Top Fuel with SRAM brakes and I’m glad to get rid of those things! Hated those brakes.

I’ve looked at a slash on and off the last year or so and ended up buying an eminent onset with this latest sale. How would you compare the two?

Did it come with organic brake pads? My did and I swapped them out made a huge difference

I like shimano over sram brakes 100% I really would like to try the new trp brakes.

what do you think about the Fuel EX?

I definitely prefer Shimano brakes over SRAM. But I will take Sram drive trains over Shimano. My Sram GX Axis belies away any Shimano drivetrain.

Try hope brakes

Sram drivetrain is awesome. Sram brakes, mehhh Hope tech brakes are better

Hey Matty! Is this an ST or LT?

I have always preferred Shimano components.

I don't know why sram drivetrains are so popular. My shimano shifts so much better than my sram. I'm switching everything to shimano.

SLX brakes. end of story.

👍🏼🥃🇺🇸

Sram drivetrains have the edge over Shimano, but their brakes are complete garbage.