Customer Reviews

Avid Single Digit 5 Bicycle Linear Pull Brake (Black, Front or Rear)

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I own high end components (like Campy and Zero G) and obviously this isn't high end.
But it's good bang for your buck and a decent upgrade for most sub-700 dollar off the shelf bikes out there.
When my wife's Townie showed up with flimsy no-name brakes that appear to be made from something resembling compressed aluminum shavings... I popped a pair of these on.
Night and day in terms of performance (you can tell the difference in quality just holding them in your hands compared with the no name junk).
Nice!

I had upgraded from cantilever to Shimano Acera V-brakes on my vintage GT Ricochet. Those were a decent improvement but flexed quite a lot. A friend has these Avid Single Digit 5's on his XT/XTR Homegrown and raved about them. With such a low price, there wasn't much to lose so I tried these out. They install easily and include every piece you could need including noodles for front or rear use. Stock pads are very nice. First time I tried them out I almost went over the bars! Please don't use these on a department store bike and don't toe them in unless they squeak. V-brakes are meant to contact the rim flat unlike cantis which need to be toed in. These brakes are worth every penny!!!!

I was fed up with my cantilever brakes on some old bike I bought. Then I decided that V brakes would be the logical upgrade. Paired with the Avid FR-5 Single Lever, these brakes work great. It was my first time installing brakes by myself, but I learned a lot in the process. These brakes come with so many adjustments. There's pad spacing, spring tension, pad angle, and more adjustments using the pinch bolt on the brake and the barrel adjuster on the brake lever. Before you install these, make sure that the wheel is installed straight into the fork/dropout. You will have to get & cut your own cable/housing, since this does not come with any. All the adjustments are done with an allen wrench (don't know the exact size) or a small phillips screwdriver. This brake comes with two noodles. One makes a 90 degree bend and is for front brakes; the other makes an acute bend and is for rear brakes. The brakes make a squeaking noise towards the end of a stop (when pads touch the rim with force), but that's probably because I didn't toe-in the brake shoes when setting the brakes up. Be careful if adjusting the pad spacing, as it is easy to lose the small washers and the parts may just fall down if you're not careful. If you're looking for an inexpensive brake that just works, get this.

Got it to replace a crappy 8 year old Tektro v-brake that had it's springs broke.

Instant upgrade since installation.

Pro:

Excellent stop power
Good looking
Easy to adjust

Con:

Tad bit heavy

Bought this for my 7-year-old's bike that we purchased from Target. It was an inexpensive bike, but I was astonished at how bad the brakes were. Totally unsafe, they didn't even really slow the bike down. I tried just changing out the pads, but that didn't really do much. So, I bought these brakes, and bingo, she can stop on a dime now. Great, inexpensive brakes. Easy to install and adjust. Well made - I have the same ones on my bike of 15 years and they still stop easy and strong.

I have a 2004 Trek 4300 and needed to replace the OEM brakes. What a difference these brakes have made. I almost bought another brand that was more expensive but decided to save and buy these. Result: Theses work as well or better than the originals I replaced. No complaints.

Great set of breaks... either as a new install or a replacement. Good price, easy to install and very little adjustment required.

I used this linear brake to replace an original linear rear brake that I had been keeping together with safety wire. I like the fact that this brake can be used as a front or rear brake- that simplifies things. These Avid Single Digit 5 brakes had a bit of a gap and did not mount flush to my Dahon's brake bosses so a 9/16 o-ring took up that small bit of space to keep dirt sealed out. These brakes are very good looking and as most linear pull brakes, ridiculously powerful. They are easy to adjust and stay in adjustment. These are great replacement linear pull brakes if you are having any problems with the original spec v- brakes on your bicycle.

By the way, my Dahon has wide MTB fenders and these brakes clear them better than the original brakes that came on the bicycle. These brakes are a great buy and a very worthwhile investment if your bicycle's original v-brakes are giving you problems like needing frequent readjustments.

I bought these brakes after my rear set pretty much quit working (I left my bike out in the rain and they got rusty). I have never installed bike brakes before but I got these on, eventually. It took longer than I was expecting and longer than it should have, but I did it and you'll be able to also.

The brakes themselves are excellent and were a huge improvement over my stock brakes (I have a $200 Schwinn.) I'm going to be buying another set for the front now.

For the price I don't think you can go wrong.

Have used these a couple of times to upgrade parts on a bike - single-speeds - and they work great. Install and adjust easily. For the price, a great brake.