Review: Avid BB7 Mechanical Disc Brakes

The only bad thing that came on the Cannondale Trail SL 3 29er is the brakes and levers. They came with bottom of the barrel junk brakes and levers. Which is not a big deal, the bike is still a bargain at its MSRP of $800. But lets get to those cheap brakes…

Since I have had Avid BB7s on my full suspension bike, my wife’s FS bike and my CX bike you can guess which brakes I bought for the Cannondale.

BB7’s on my mudhoney

BB7s on my Turner.

Just by adding BB7s mechanical disc brakes and Avid Speed Dial levers it brought the bike to a whole new level.

The BB7 has adjusters on both the inside and outside of the caliper which makes adjustments super easy. The inside pad does not move(single piston). When you first install the BB7s  you adjust the inner pad so it is as close as possible to the disc.

The outer pad is adjustable by a knob on the lever of the caliper.

These brakes are very low maintenance, but if you do need to rebuild them Avid provides a PDF with step by step instructions. And you don’t need any special tools.

 I have been running these brakes now for years and LOVE them. I have tried Hayes and Shimano hydraulic brakes, and they are nice too. But these BB7s take the prize for serviceability, price and quality. Hell the BB7 can be found online for $50/each and a pair of Speed Dial levers are $20. For $120 you can have top of the line cable discs and levers, not too many other things in cycling where that is the case.

Avid Says: