Overhaul or upgrade Tektro Novela brakes?

Your falling into a verrry dangerous trap mate. Overhauling wont make a difference to your brakes and pads wont do much. You will spend at least $200.00 to upgrade to a set of nice hydros i.e. slx.

I had the same problem on my first hard tail. You upgrade one part then you decide another isin't up to scratch so you end up spending a fortune and you still haven't got anything different. If your brakes don't hold you back, your wheels will or your cassette will or suspension etc....

My suggestion is to take the $200.00 and put it into a newer bike when you decide your ready.

Sorry if i burst your bubble a bit its just that the exact same thing happend to me.

Jono.

The tyres, now the brakes. Before too long, you'll find your saddle doesn't quite fit your left bum cheek!
Welcome to Hotel MTBing brother!
Having said that, I wouldn't be too confident either, with brakes that don't pull me up.
I'm not familiar with Tektro (Shimano all the way!) but you should be able to lock them up (Not that you necessarily want to though).
That's an area that you can easily work on yourself.
- New cables? definitely, both inners and outers. Just make sure you have proper cutters for the outers so you don't squash them, or get them cut at your LBS. Install little rubber boots to stop water and crap entering the outers whenever inners are exposed.
- Brake levers? Good clean then relube.
- Brakes? Same, good clean then relube. Remove the pads first to prevent contamination. Careful with the lube so it doesn't transfer to the pads or disc once reassembled.
- Pads? Have a good look for contamination. If they are, try cleaning them with isopropyl alcohol (Common wisdom says throw them away and get new ones). If they're ok, give them a good clean with IA using a tooth brush anyway. I wouldn't be too worried about sandpaper. You're likely to do more damage than good by curving the surface.
And for Goodness sake, DO NOT ask what brand of cables to get (Other can of worms!)

... I've just sent you a PM.

Personally I'd go up a level or two from Deore. They will only allow you to use organic pads, lest the rotors die quickly, and those pads pretty much dissolve in a few kilometres when it's wet.

Something that lets you use metallic pads would be a minimum in my view.

You could then have something worthy of moving onto the new bike when you upgrade, depending on what you get.

No, that sounds about right if they don't include disc rotors. Add another $120 + post for rotors.

Can you get OEM metallic pads for Deores? I thought they had a different pad design from those further up the range. I'm sure they're available aftermarket but I've never had much success with aftermarket pads (terrible performance and harsh on rotors) and now stick to OEM pads exclusively.

I have a set of Avid 9s I'm selling on eBay. While the brakes I've put on are better, to my very great surprise I was actually impressed by how good these Avids were (in contrast to reputation) and procrastinated for months. I almost kept them and sold on the new brakes instead because of their extra weight. Avids' modulation was excellent and they were far from lacking in power. Noisy when wet, yes, but what brakes aren't?

The new brakes were an impulse buy and knowing what I now do about the performance difference, I'd probably not bother making the purchase and leave the Elixir 9s in place.

In the end, the fact I had them, the ability to tidy up the bars with the iSpec mounts, and consistency with my other bikes won out, but I thought the 9's weren't bad at all and both the weight and performance was very competitive.

Yes hawkeye , same fitment. Deore rotors haven't had secondary heat treatment so can wear with metal pads - not that I've ever worn out cheapies like alligators myself ( with metals)

When elixirs go wrong they are a shit and that's why they ain't loved - try bleeding them then bleed some shimanos, or if you have an alu frame bike that doesn't like the avid harmonic s you'll also go mad. Agree on the modulation. My 9s were a disaster on an anthem but fine on a carbon frame ( noise).

For pads, discobrakes.com FTW

Nice pickup Pete. 2010 model. I have the dual-control version on my Rize 26er and they're excellent.

with the 160mm rotor u can mount the calliper straight to the frame. no need for adapters. the 180 adapter gives you extra clearance to accomodate the bigger rotor.

So yes

XTs over the Avids!!! (sorry hawkeye )

Then flog the 180mm rotor on here, ebay etc.

Think of the promise you made to yourself, Kameramandan (And others no doubt...) No throwing money away. No unnecessary upgrade. No overkill. No flight of fancy...
Alas, I fear the lure of the dark side was just too strong
Alright then, your Hotel MTBing life membership certificate's in the mail.
Shame, I still reckon your old brakes would have responded to a bit of low-cost tlc.
Just make sure what you buy IS worth migrating to your next ride.
Actually, have you thought of a nice new set of carbon wheels?
Mate, they are soooo cool! plus I'm sure if you look closely, your old ones are a bit woncky, might well let you down when you apply your brand spanking new brakes while barreling down the hill...
so long Sucker!!!
Cruel bastard ain't I

Looking at those now lol!

My Crests are looking a bit ordinary after 6 months under my unskilled abuse. Looking at some hookless LB rims. Supposedly 120kg rider weight limit.

lol nope getting a bit pricey there!! And if I have to start replacing hubs and stuff meh way too much for this bike

Choice between a new set of XT's for $277 or used Avid Elixir 9's for $200, both with reasonable resale and good enough to transfer to a better bike...

Will think about it for a few days and see how it goes

Thanks for the tips guys!!

Hey rossco thanks for the heads up! Just had a look though and luckily for me the SRAM shifters are mounted separately to the Tektro brakes..

That Deore offer's certainly hard to beat.
I'm not sure how much performance difference there is between Deore and the next step up, XT but I do know that, while I always favour XTR (For good reasons), brakes are one component where I don't mind having XT as they are very good.
I guess these 2 options fall squarely in the 2 camps you've been considering: Cheap and disposable or more pricey and transferable.
Tough choice actually...

The Deore's definitely have servo wave.

And my bike has 160mm rotors... if I go with new 180mm rotors (no 160's in stock at CRC) I'm gonna need adapter plates to position the calipers in the right spot, yeah?

I searched CRC for adapters but found LOADS... not really sure which ones to use...

Have been looking on ebay and gummie but can't find anything better than a new set of Deore's with RT86's from CRC for $190...

If u can't lock your wheel even on low speed, it make me think it is something to do with your brake pad. Try to swap your pad and see. However, safety goes first in MTB.

Bike shop closed... will check em out tomorrow If they don't have any in stock I've found them on ebay cheap as chips

http://nobmob.com/node/47025

$800! So long as this is in ok condition you'll be able to ride for a few years until you want to "level up".

I own the same bike; 2010 Trance X2. I can bomb downhill as fast as anyone else, its got beautiful balance for technical trails and it's good on long rides (I've just done the Convict 100 on it).

After 4 years I'm only now finding reason to upgrade; and that's mainly after Convict and wanting to get into some endurance events more often... But the Trance won't be leaving the stable and will always be a bike I take out to have a blast on!

True I'll try a new set of pads but I think I'll just end up buying some Deores or maybe go all out for XT's or whatever. I can always sell them on or move them to a new bike...

Check brake pads but they are cheap might just throw a set in after your first ride and maybe a new chain , now checking the bike look for oil leaks check cassette , jockey wheels ,and front chainring or ask him straight up if anything that might need replacing soon and of course you are buying a used bike not a new one so there will be wear and tear .

Haha wellllll I read up on elixirs when hawkeye had his up for grabs and decided against them...

But it is starting to becoming obvious that spending money on this Fuji is pointless.. last night I did a full clean/lube of the calipers and lapped the discs/pads to no effect... I also pulled the axles out, lubed the balls in the hubs and did a few other things while I was there and it's clear that this fuji is pretty much farked. Front wheel doesn't seat straight, shocks are sticky with heaps of play, front and rear gear teeth are all worn badly (slips gears a fair bit, even after adjustment by the bike shop)... list goes on.

Anyway it's no longer just a brake problem, this bike is trashed so I've pretty much decided I'm in the market for something else.. if I can get something in reasonable condition for <$800 then I think I can swing that and as long as the rest of the bike is in good nick I wouldn't mind spending another couple of hundred on some shimano brakes a bit down the line..

On that note can you guys offer any suggestions for any other bikes either hardtail or dual that you would expect to go for a similar price ($800ish) in good used condition? I might top out at $1000 but it would have to be a pretty amazing deal to push me that far

I thought you were looking into getting the trance advertised in the classifieds ?