TRP Trail Evo disc brake review

TRP Trail Evo has a super-light lever action and impressively short throw before biting. Great for racers. If you can handle it (literally!)

• Price: £180.00
• Rotor weight: 242g (203mm)
• Brake weight: 309g
• Tested by: Benji

TRP stands for Tektro Racing Products, which perhaps gives a clue as to its intentions. Racing demands high performance and reliability, but that doesn’t have to mean bells and whistles.

These Trail Evo brakes are almost wilfully pared down. And black. None more black. There’s a reach adjust on them and… that’s it. Just plenty of straight lines and chunk, all designed to be consistent and easy to live with.

There is very much a definite and unique feel to the operation of these brakes. Essentially, there’s very little lever throw; the levers sit quite far out (even at the nearest reach setting), the action of the levers is surprisingly light and the brakes are extremely er, positive.

Some would definitely call them grabby. But after a while you get used to them and the feel comes. Basically the modulation is there, but it requires much, much less lever squeeze than a typical brake. I can see this sort of minimalist, accuracy focused input being great for racers looking to stave off fatigue on long, eyeballs-out runs.

Part of me does think that a great deal of this brake’s quirkiness could simply be solved by a lever reach system that brings the lever closer to the handlebar. It’s really tricky to be precise with your proddings when your fingers are stretched out that far. There may well be dodgy workarounds for getting the brakes to bite nearer the bar (bleeding with pistons slightly pushed out, or running narrower rotors), but in my experience these bodges don’t hold and often impair the overall power and feel.

Overall

A well-made, consistent brake that frustrates with a far-out bite point. Great for those with truly massive hands!

upgradebikes.co.uk

Review Info

Ben Haworth

Orange Switch 6er. Stif Squatcher. Schwalbe Magic Mary Purple Addix front. Maxxis DHR II 3C MaxxTerra rear. Coil fan. Ebikes are not evil. I have been a writer for nigh on 20 years, a photographer for 25 years and a mountain biker for 30 years. I have written countless magazine and website features and route guides for the UK mountain bike press, most notably for the esteemed and highly regarded Singletrackworld. Although I am a Lancastrian, I freely admit that West Yorkshire is my favourite place to ride. Rarely a week goes by without me riding and exploring the South Pennines.

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