Yakama wrote:Speedy would you rate these discs then?
If so would anyone be up for a group buy? Id be willing to do the organising work so long as we get 10 people interested. I would hope we could get them for cheaper than on ebay
Well, it's a little early to quantify. I don't do anything like the miles I used to do, but I still ride in all weathers as it's either that, or go by bus/train/scrounge a lift. My current impression is that the discs offer good stopping power in the dry. With a pair of brand new, barely used discs and EBC pads, running a standard NC35 m/c and Goodridge braided hoses, the performance is much better than the same (but old pads) setup with my old EBC discs. However, I see that's like changing spark plugs. Of course the new ones feel that bit crisper - they're new. So, I figure it's just as likely I'd have felt the same improvement if I'd stuck a pair of new EBC ones on, or put new tyres on, etc.
What I can say is that my experience with the EBC discs is enough that I'll never recommend them to anyone. I needed to change the discs as the original ones were getting ropey, with grooves and ridges, pitting, etc. So I plumped for a pair of stainless steel EBC road discs. Cost me about £230, and that was with their discount for ordering online. I went with them as I've always used their pads (and still do) and found them to last forever and a day. Initial performance was very good, but almost immediately I discovered that if they got a bit wet, the surface would rust very quickly, and the pads would stick to the disc. If that coincided with a period of no use, they'd stick so badly that I'd need to find a suitable adjusting implement to lump the calipers with to free them off. It wasn't possible to ride off to free them up, the front wheel would either slide on the driveway, or it felt like something might get damaged. After one winter, the buttons had corroded, the disc holes were full of a mix of brake dust and ground off rust. A few years later, the discs were pitted, and started to feel slightly warped. The last MOT before the current one had an advisory for the state of them, although a friend of mine who does MOTs suggested that this doesn't really mean much. Anyway, one slightly cold January morning this year I arrived at my destination when it was -11C, complete with ice on the inside of the visor from where I'd breathed out at a set of traffic lights. On the way home, the vibration under braking was much worse than normal, so after seeing the above discs sometimes listed for £100 rather than £185, I vowed that the next time they were put up for the former, I'd make sure I eventually ended up as one of the people who ended up as a single bidder and thus 'saved' £85.
At present, yes, although I was sceptical about buying what appeared likely to be Chinese discs (I don't like buying Chinese stuff as I figure it supports an economy that pretty much endorses what amounts to slave labour in sweat shops even if the discs haven't actually come from such), so far they have exceeded my expectations. However, I will remain very firmly sat on the fence until they have been rained on repeatedly, out in very cold weather, and have a good number of miles on.
As regards a group buy, I'd be impressed if you could save much on £100, however if so, I'd almost be tempted to have a spare set knocking about for that price!
