I’m doing an upgrade from bar-end / mechanical discs to brifters and weighing the options on braking. I could go with some used Sram Force of Red mechanical levers and match them to the Juin Tech GT aka Yokozuna Ultimo calipers (newer 4-piston design). This would be cheaper and the lightest weight option by far. The other option is to get Force/Red full hydraulics for a couple hundred more dollars and a couple hundred more grams. My concern is that I haven’t seen very many reviews of the newer Juin Tech four-piston calipers. I wonder if I’d regret not going full hydro. The other consideration is the ergonomics of SRAM hydro brifters vs the lower profile mechanical. Anyone have input on this dilemma? Thanks!
I have run the first two versions of the Juin Tech brakes (R1 and X1) and they are very nice. Lever ergonomics are a big part of the appeal, as is the ease of install/maintenance, especially if you are routing lines internally. Bleeding road hydraulics is tedious and expensive after buying all of the proprietary bits n' pieces. Plus, you can move them from Sram to Shimano to Campy if you are so inclined.
As long as you have a top quality compression-less housing, like Yokozuna Reaction, you will be hard pressed to justify a full hydraulic set.
the only downside is if the internal routed brake cable exist from inside of the chain-stay, the S band would be too sharp the caliper, you will have to route the cable outside from BB with zipties
I went ahead and picked up the Juin Tech GT-F and paired them up to some SRAM mechanical levers. So far they seem like a great brake. Light weight, decent value, easy to install, very little fuss in adjustment, (there is only a cable tension adjustment), great modulation with a smooth bite, nearly on par with my Ultegra Hydros, and leaps & bounds better than the Tektro mechanicals they replaced. Installation was simply a matter of popping the old Tektros off, bolting the new ones on, pulling about three cm of cable housing from the front of the bike, and centering the calipers to my XT rotors. They only work with 160mm rotors F&R, although I'm sure you could go bigger with an appropriate adapter (not included).
I haven't had a chance to really put them to the test on a long, steep decent. I'll start a new post when I have a proper review to post.
Shipping from Edge Sports UK to Oregon was only 9 days and total cost was $230 USD (didn't have to pay VAT). Bonus that the knobs matched my frame nicely!
