Every time I get into a nasty spot and manage to reel it in with help from my disc brakes I marvel at how far we've come. I love hydraulic disc brakes.  Obviously power and all-weather performance are the biggest draws but low maintenance is up there as well.  If you ride bike parks a lot you'll probably have to change pads several times a year and the occasional bleed is a warranted - but for the most part I rarely have to tinker with the brakes on my bikes.  In the age of V-brakes frequent pad changes, cable cleaning and re-fitting made them the most high maintenance element of my bike.  V-brakes are fine on the Shore when cables are new, the weather is dry and everything is set up perfectly.  Otherwise they are a nightmare.  Long live discs.

Out of the box and onto the bike.

As soon as I laid eyes on a set of Juicy Carbons I knew I wanted to give them a try.  I'm a sucker for carbon and titanium and the juicys have a smattering of both.  I also knew a little about their performance having had some experience on the Juicy Sevens.  The Carbons are basically a pimped version of the Seven - the mechanical function is identical - so much of this review will apply to that product as well.

Upgrades over the Juicy Seven include:  carbon levers and reservoir caps, Ti clamp and caliper bolts.  Before this year Juicy Carbons had an aluminum Pad Contact Adjustment Knob while the Seven had plastic.  Now both have the stronger aluminum knob.  Basically it's the same brake with a little more Gucci - and who doesn't like Gucci really?  There is also a nice metal-flake finish on the lever body and the caliper that the Seven lacks (Sevens are black this year).

The Juicy Carbon Caliper with Ti mounting bolts.

Installation of the Juicy Carbons was a breeze.  The levers have a split clamp so you don't have to remove grips or your shifter and if you want to switch things left to right for a moto-riding friend - or a buddy from the UK - it's a 5-minute job. The caliper centering process was flawless.  Rather than simply sliding in and out, Juicy brakes mount with Avid's Tri-Align Positioning System.  It uses the same conical washers we used to see on our V-brake pads so the pads will be perfectly parallel to the rotor ensuring longer, more consistent wear.  My only complaint with set up was that the Allen heads for the caliper bolts were a little shallow making it impossible to use a ball-head Allen to tighten things up.  This also makes these fittings more prone to stripping.  Maybe not the best place to save a few grams.

Avid also makes what I think is the best bleeding system on the market.  Two syringes thread into the system - one at the lever and one at the calibre - and both can be used to draw air out of the hose.  It's relatively clean and simple on top of being very effective.  Avid has opted for DOT fluid flowing through their lines. I prefer mineral oil to DOT fluid because DOT is corrosive to skin and paint and mineral oil won't absorb water over time the way DOT does.

This is what happened to a Juicy Seven Lever after a lent my bike to Sharon (formerly of the nsmbA) for a short section of trail.  The Carbons and the new Sevens have a much more robust CNC 'd Pad Contact Adjustment Knobs.

Performance.
I've had these brakes for over a year now and in that time I have used them in virtually every situation imaginable.  I've done bike park laps, epic alpine descents, all day races (the Triple Crown no less), XC rides, DH rides, snow, mud,  rain, ice and high temperatures.  I've also ridden some of the steepest lines around.  Let's call this the most complete brake test I have ever done.  About the first thing you'll notice about the Juicys - both Sevens and Carbons - is a very light lever action.  Before pads hit rotor it takes every little effort to get things in motion.  Once contact is made the effect is immediate; Juicy power comes on fast and furious.  It takes very little lever pull to get all the power you'll ever need.  There is also a very solid thump on contact - no mush at all.  Once you start to dig in it seems like there is always more as back up.  I don't recall ever considering two fingering the Juicy Carbons.

Here's a shot of a Juicy Carbon lever after more than a year of abuse, lending and general mayhem.

These factors considered I didn't find the modulation range of the Juicys to be exceptional.   Anchor loads of power are accomplished with very little lever throw and very little pull.  Over time I got used to this but in hairy situations where grip is already compromised I'd prefer power that came on more with more subtlety followed by a longer lever throw before full power was reached. 

Sometimes when it was really wet the squeal of these brakes became unbearable.  Eventually they would heat up and all would be golden but until that point performance and ear drums suffered.

I used the Juicy Carbons and some very long descents.  One day up in Whistler this past summer we climbed up to Gargamel (Tyler Morland's trail from The Collective) and then rode the steeper of the two lines off the peak in Whistler and down to Creekside in the afternoon.  I'm not sure about Gargamel but the second descent was close to 4000 feet of vertical and fade wasn't an issue at all. The Carbons performed flawlessly and because of their light lever action they are perfectly suited to long, steep descents.

Testing the Carbons on some rock slabs on Larvicide in Squamish.  Click to enlarge. Photo ~ Colin Miller