Avid

XX Disc Brake - 2012

The original XX Brakes set Avid's benchmark for lightness. They've undergone a few design improvements, and though they gained one whole gram, the performance benefits resulting from the sweeping changes make these XX Disc Brakes a whole new system and more worthy than ever to wear the brand's top-of-the-line badge.

From the outside, the Elixir style lever looks all the same. However, it has all new Taperbore internals with a relocated bleed port and an air trap that automatically isolates any tiny bubbles, rendering them inert simply by trapping them away from the moving portion of fluid in the system. The lightweight lever body is forged magnesium with an 8 gram carbon fiber lever blade. There is a reach adjustment, but to save weight it requires a hex wrench. Also saving weight is the slim one-bolt U-clamp that secures the lever to the bars. The U-clamp can be swapped out for SRAM's Matchmaker X clamp, so you can attach shift levers and suspension remote to the same clamp.

Where the two-piece caliper was made of magnesium before, it's made of forged aluminum now. This allows the use of organic and metallic brake pads. Beyond materials, the caliper shape has seen a complete re-design. Gone are the conical washers of old. Instead, Avid uses a direct bolt-on arrangement for the post-style caliper. This saves weight. And our longstanding favorite feature of Avid brake calipers remains -- the adjustable banjo fitting.

The Avid XX Disc Brake is sold as a complete kit with their HSX rotor system. They produce less noise than older cleansweep designs. The price reflects calipers, rotors, hoses, and fluid for one wheel. There are two rotor sizes available -- 160 and 180mm. The HSX system features stainless steel rotors on aluminum carriers. This composite construction is ideal for heat dissipation, and they're super lightweight. You can do all of your brake maintenance with one wrench as all of the fasteners use Torx T-25 heads. XX Disc Brakes use DOT 5.1 brake fluid. The actual weight reflects a complete system as sold -- lever, hose, caliper, and 160mm rotor.

• Ultralight HSX rotor pulls out all the design stops in the name of light weight
  
• Carbon fiber lever saves weight and adds envy points
  
• MatchMaker X compatibility to keep your bars clean