Should We All Be Using These $75 Brakes?

Brakes are one of the most important parts of your bikes, but with prices reaching all new heights, it’s tempting to explore more budget-friendly options. Owen Coutts decided to put this to the test by purchasing a brake set from AliExpress. The brakes he selected are from an unknown brand that appears to copy the design of more established manufacturers. But the real question is: can these brakes deliver the same level of performance?

⏱ Timestamps ⏱
00:00 - Welcome!
00:37 - Unboxing the AliExpress brakes
04:21 - Fitting our AliExpress brakes
08:45 - How well do they stop?
12:06 - Our buying experience
15:07 - How the brakes perform on the trail
18:33 - Results from the test

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Would you ride with an unknown brake brand? Let us know in the comments!

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Would you ride with an unknown brake brand? Let us know in the comments 👇

[BFBMTb]

Pads they use are hope e4. Olives and barbs are standard shimano. Been running these on 203mm on an eeb and long travel enduro for over a year and no issues.

[lucamoioli]

I used these brakes for two years, until 2 months ago, when they started leaking from the master cylinder. No way to repair, even replacing the piston with a new one. The problem, I suppose, is the material of the piston itself, which is aluminium. It started to rub against the piston chamber, at the beginning of the stroke. this resulted in a leaking that I´ve not been able to eliminate. One month later a friend with the same brake had the same problem. We both stayed with the caliper, coupled to a classic Shimano lever, perfect match!

[ruchentang]

Hello, I am a Shimano & SRAM certified mechanic from China. I want to support good brands from my country, but this is just not the case for IIIPRO/Onirii brakes. I and another friend of mine have used those for a few months. The caliper was ok. However, the master cylinder started leaking after 1 month of use. Initially I thought it was a bad factory bleed. I did the bleeding, and the brake felt much better, until it wasn't, after only another 2 weeks of use.

High-quality chinese brakes, Lewis is the way to go.
Cheap, quality, reliable brakes, Shimano SLX from aliexpress (those are real SLX. In China, there are a lot of factories selling overstock shimano stuff. Cheap af. Just no warranty)

[jaydenlangmtb]

I been running these brakes for months now and they have been absolutely bulletproof and I absolutely love them. They use a standard Hope E4 brake pads

[jeromep]

For custom bike builders that have fully embraced the N+1 concept ( hence owning a bunch of bikes), this is a fantastic option. I am one of those people. As you demonstrated it does require a bit of ingenuity to figure it all out, but if it works, you saved a bunch of money, and if it doesn’t, you are not out too much money.

Thanks for your open-minded approach to this experiment.

[sprousaTM]

I bought exactly those brakes in the blue colour for a "budget" hardtail. As a comparison I had various 4 pot Shimano brakes (deore, slx and xt) and a sram DB8. Right now I run Hope Tech4 V4s on my enduro and enduro ebike and Tech4 E4s on my Trailbike. The alieexpress brakes feel like a mixture of shimano on/off and Srams "mushy" lever feeling. They are not comparable to the Hope however. They are in their own league. But I am VERY impressed by the performance for 80€. They were easy to setup without touching the discs and the stopping power is more than enough. I have had no problems with leakage, they came with no damage, scuffs and so on. And the best part is, that Hope Tech4 E4 pads fit! I tried the green race pads and the standard pads that came with my E4 Hope. Both, especially the green race pads work extremely well in the alieexpress brakes! You miss out on the heatfins of their pads though, but I doubt they are needed ;) I would say that the overall stopping power is pretty comparable to shimano 4 pot brakes in their named lineup (xt, xtr and so on) when combined with different better pads like the Hope ones.

[felipenavas]

Any competition that makes my bike cheaper is welcome.

[DavidYetman-orun]

If big brands kept the prices lower nobody would need to look for alternatives or cheaper options which do the job us as well

[MtbLoner]

Used these exact brakes for about a year. Parts are interchangeable with Shimano. And they proved to be very durable and reliable. Will definitely recommend!

[eliroberts]

i have a co worker who is probably around 350 lbs (~160 kg). he bought these from amazon and put them on one of his bikes, and he says they stop extremely well even at his weight. i rode them around for a few minutes and can confirm they stop scary fast. he had zero issues over a few hundred miles, set up was easy, and the levers feel solid with a great bite point. i've considered buying a set to put on one of my bikes, but i am too happy with my shimanos to switch. i may be wrong, but i believe they are compatible with srams matchmaker clamp, so you can still integrate the shifter and compatible dropper lever with the levers. if you need a set of good, reliable brakes, but dont want to shell out 300-500 dollars, theres zero reason to not go with the pro e4s

[thomaswayout]

Pads are XT755 (hope), olives and hoses are shimano....ish.
I run this brakes since quite a while, including enduro racing in alpine areas, i had them on my bike i've been in BC with this summer. ZERO issues so far. I just love them. I know a few others who also ride them...hard.... and no problems there as well.

[rationalityfirst]

Forget the brakes, where can I buy that wig?

[hogey]

I've got two sets of these and they've been great. In 18 months, zero issues. The older but reliable shimano and avid brakes on several other Frankenstein bikes feel weak and overly floppy by comparison. I was sus on the bar mounting arrangements but yeah, no issues. Buy a heap of pad sets when you get them.

[Basketballneverend]

I used this on my Marin SQ 3 to replace the stock shimano brakes. Honestly, I found it to be stronger yet maintenance free despite the price

[klashagg]

I have used these om my DH bike for a year now and they are among the best I have used. Also used the levers on shimano calipers and no problem.

[NoToEMTB]

The only reason you had to bleed them was that you used the front brake lever on the right side, like in motorcycles. Otherwise, they do not require any bleeding. You could had gotten them with moto configuration from factory, instead you bought the standard configuration. They come with shimano BH59 inserts/olives but they also admit BH90 inserts. They do have a bearing on the lever blade pivot. They use Hope's e4/mono pads. They bleed just as shimano brakes. They come with resin pads which are okeyish, however they work better with Ceramics or Metal pads. There are 2 other models that use the same caliper but different levers; one calle IV4R imitating closer the Trickstuff Maxima or Lewis LH4, adding extra support on the handlebar (in this model the caliper does come with a banjo), and one called Peerage, imitating Trickstuff Piccola HD or Intend trinity.
I also noted that the initial bite can feel a bit weak, but I think that it can be fixed by using BH90 inserts. They have great modulation. These are definitively very good value brakes.

[littledevilchris]

I know someone who races on these, finished mid pack most of the time, but swears by them, he’s been using them for over year now too, il use these when I kill my next set

[mahonah]

One thing being overlooked is that many small brands want to get their name out there in hopes of growing. There are many examples of chinese brands growing which are now being recognized and expanding to other countries, providing support where there wasn't before. Perhaps these brakes will be the next one to do so.

[tonymighalls]

This was great, liked hope open minded this was compared to where some videos have just slated stuff like this before they’ve given them a chance or even tried them properly, like how you didn’t compare them to Hayes dominion or something else super premium and kept it realistic! Well done!