Reposting a review I made for the Hygia Aspire. These beefy, DH oriented hydraulic disc brakes coem pre-bled with steel braided cables. Very tasty!

The original review is on the Hygia MTBR thread which can be found here.

Original review is on the Hygia thread on MTBR which can be found here.


********

been running the Aspire's for about 2 rides.

things to think about:

1. I'm a retro-grouch, having been traumatized by early gen Juicys which spent more time being bled then being ridden.

2. I'm a Clyde so regular disc brakes will have me go right into the bushes in downhill turns. i've never wanted to go hydraulic since whenever i try the bikes of my ride buddies they never seem to stop me. this may also be because of how they were tuneds since my buddies arent as clydey as i am, but for the high price of hydros i didnt even want to experiment. BB7s have been stopping me well enough (most of the time) so i didnt really see the urge to shift at the time.

3. ran the Aspire's on shimano centerlock rotors. the smallest size- (that makes em 6? or 7?).

findings:

Pros.

1. easy install! got it done in no muss no fuss installation in less than an hour (you'll need a torx wrench for the brake handle mounts though. set the pad clearance once and away we went. this is a big factor for someone who doesnt do his own bleeding and is normally all thumbs.

2. ninja-quiet braking with no howling. not even any *ssssss* noise as you slow down. just stopping power with no sound effects.

3. STOPPING POWER! jamming on the brakes produces fork dive and rear wheel lock. something i have not been able to do on the bb7s. this says a lot for a clyde of my size who weighs in at about 230-245 with equipment.


Cons:
1. them's long-*ss levers. as was pointed out to me they are downhill brakes with three finger levers. so to set them for one finger braking you have to set adjust them way inboard on your bars and dial down the reach adjust. this compromises the modulation a bit. Of course thats just my setup preference. modulation and setup would definitely improve if you install them for 2 or three finger braking.

2. slightly chunky when compared to the othe brakes on the hygia roster. I'm chunky too so i dont really mind. im willing to sacrifice a little weight for something that will stop me when i need to- for Clyde's like me, thats the bottom line.



So far so good for these brakes. liking them more and more as i do minor setup tuning.
i'd love to see them in two or one finger levers which would really help my setup. i wonder if Hygia can swap the levers on these too, or if these will work with aftermarket levers out there.


more inputs as i get more rides in.

Update:  Swapped them back to the two finger layout.  Still need to test them on some heavy duty runs on Upak trails or the downhills on Cardiac or The Wall.  will keep you posted.