Lewis brakes – any good?

This is bad propoganda.

China make good happy product and people’s.

You should learn to trust honest reviewer.

This design is very human.

Gorilla brakes have started doing pads for them, I can see these brakes taking off with a decent distributor and just a couple favourable reviews.

The lh4 take same pads as hope e4

The lht ultimate take the same pad as v4

Ie same as trickstuff but didn’t want to mention that

I stumped up 400 notes for the lht ti ultimates 

Yes Ive more money than sense 

First ride out yesterday and they are incredible 

So easy to fit but the rear hose at 1600mm was just long enough 

The ultimate versions I got have the leverage ratio I had a quick play on the first mile or so 

Set the  ite point and reach and the power is like nothing I’ve ever experienced. 

I’ve mated them to the trp 2.3 rotors off merlin as they are designed for wider rotors 

I’ve hope tech 4 v4 on the other bike and they are the benchmark 

Are they better .there more powerful nicer lever imo but it would be a bold statement after one ride to say that 

Reliability is also finger In  the wind but I’ll also add issues with 3 sets of the new tech 4 ,x2 e4,s b3fore having leaking pistons on the v4 ….

The last pair were swapped by hope directly and have been superb with zero issues 

If bought them from submission cycles and they were excellent 

P.s the postcode shows a ladbrooks but the shops just round the corner 

P.s my Mercedes pick up truck is a Nissan nirvara with a Mercedes engine and interior and wheels and a 3 pointed star on the front but costs 18k more than the Nissan equivalent but everyone says Mercedes pick up mate didn’t know they did them 

I say they don’t it’s a Nissan  with makeup on 

No one actually cares 

Not even dt swiss who bought trickstuff care about it

P.s my Mercedes pick up truck is a Nissan nirvara with a Mercedes engine and interior and wheels and a 3 pointed star on the front but costs 18k more than the Nissan equivalent but everyone says Mercedes pick up mate didn’t know they did them

I say they don’t it’s a Nissan with makeup on

Mercedes and Nissan will have shared the development cost, or one will have licensed it from the other. Don’t think that’s the case here.

The Merc Pickup is a straightforward rebadge of the Nissan Navara, just like the Merc Citan is a rebadged Renault Kangoo. So that’s two models Merc just buys from the Renault/Nissan partnership, with a few cosmetic tweaks to make them appear to be a Merc.

It came to mind, is there a BS or ISO standard for aftermarket brakes.  All I can seem to find is BS EN ISO 4210-4:2023, but this seems to relate to the test procedure for bicycle brakes.  I can’t say I can ever recall seeing that Hope, Magura etc, promote their brakes as compliant with standards.  I assume they do (yes, I’ve assumed) but I suspect the general standard for performance would be well below what we, as advanced bikers, would require.

Even so, would a standardised test provide any visibility on long term durability and reliability.

Curious really, that a company can launch a brake, a safety critical item, without testing and approval so I assume or hope they have been.

The Merc Pickup

Randomly, I saw one of those tonight, took up nearly two parking spaces and stuck out into the road. Ye gads they’re a large, ugly hunk of metal 🤮

Curious really, that a company can launch a brake, a safety critical item, without testing and approval so I assume or hope they have been.

Technically they don’t have to. It’s the importer that will be on the hook. In my case while I didn’t pay for the brakes I was the importer so it is my responsibility to ensure that they are compliant, or not since I’m not planning on selling them.

Having used them a bit more they’re good brakes.

Pros

• Good/great power
• Nice feel
• Really effective adjustments
• Big piston size differential seems effective at reducing squeal; the brakes run quietly even in terrible conditions.

Cons

• Shimano shifter compatibility needs improving
• The high gain from small lever bore to big pistons means pads run very close to the disc. This brake is going to be less tolerant of dirty or bent discs than other brands.
• Hose choice may not be to everyone’s taste (although trouble free for me so far) especially in silver; the whole brake in fact isn’t the prettiest and making it silver only highlights that. The shinier silver bits aren’t helping either.
• I’ve probably already lost the inner adjuster screw head. Needs to be captive ideally.

So you’ve probably ridden a few different brakes Ben, how does it compare to a Shimano 4-pot? Or a Magura MT5 or Sram Code?

Any performance advantage to justify it costing more than some of those brands’ mid-range brakes?

Not looking to buy, just still a bit baffled.

I also should say both calipers had a sticky piston which needed oiling before I fitted them. Not a massive issue but would be nice if I’d not had to do it.

@chakaping you’d need saints or code rsc to get close to the power. Without trying same pad compound same conditions I’m not going to say which has the most but I’d be surprised if the Lewis lost out. All three are good brakes. The Lewis definitely does have the nicest feel of the three but that is subjective of course. Combining for me the best of the saint and code. I’ve not spent enough time on the Maguras to really comment meaningfully.

Interesting stuff, thx.

I guess they’re pitching to supply to you as OE.

Feeling tempted?

@chakapingyou’d need saints or code rsc to get close to the power. Without trying same pad compound same conditions I’m not going to say which has the most but I’d be surprised if the Lewis lost out. All three are good brakes. The Lewis definitely does have the nicest feel of the three but that is subjective of course. Combining for me the best of the saint and code. I’ve not spent enough time on the Maguras to really comment meaningfully.

This really interesting feedback. Im having a woeful time of it with some Code R that came on my levo. Was already thinking of upgrading to Saints as per my last Levo that was stolen but now Im thnking about the Lewis.

That’s because Code R are shite. 

That’s a decent enough review Ben.
I’m not in the market. I’m wedded to my Hopes and will probably upgrade to a tech 4 leaver at some point.

Back to Lewis. Most other ‘reviews’ seem to state that they feel nice in the car park….. End of review. So any more info is a bonus.

This really interesting feedback. Im having a woeful time of it with some Code R that came on my levo. Was already thinking of upgrading to Saints as per my last Levo that was stolen but now Im thnking about the Lewis.

Code R isn’t anything like an RSC

@renton We have rsc on two Turbo Levos and one Enduro
Can’t fault them and we also run Saints
These are spot on at the price of £220
SRAM Code RSC Brakeset 200/180mm w/ MMX Clamp
Why sick a Lewis on that has little reviews apart from the ones pushing them against a top end well reviewed one that will also have a warranty backed by SRAM
It’s not worth the worry or the risk.

I guess they’re pitching to supply to you as OE.

Feeling tempted?

A new manufacturer like this would need at least 6 months testing before I’d even contemplate it so that’s a few months out yet. Even then theres a lot of factors to consider not least cost – fully machined brakes like these take a lot of machine time, even from China that’s not going to win any value awards, so the performance would need to be spot on. As I say performance-wise they’re certainly holding their own, but I test way more stuff than we sell so even that would be no guarantee we’d offer it. It’s always good to know what the alternatives are like even if we choose not to sell it.

Cheers for all the comments ref the code r.

do the code r and rsc use the same caliper as it’s that which is causing my issues. Sticky pistons that come out at different times and constantly needing to be pumped to get any sort of decent lever feel.

These brakes have done less than 100miles and burnt through a set of sintered pads on the rear already.

If the bike is still under warranty then get it booked in and sorted especially if you’ve only done that milage

Other alternative are Guide RE at £43 an end from Tredz

We have got these on a couple of bikes from 2018 and they have been faultless

deore 4 pots are £45 an end on crc atm
not sure you’ll get a better brake than that for the money- ( thats true of deore generally tbh, it smashes the low end sram groupsets out the park)  i have some tech4 e4 on my other bike and honestly the deores don’t concede much to them, the benefit of the tech4 is the super light lever feel that means less finger/ arm fatigue on long descents

you don’t even need to swap out brakes, check what pad compound , gorilla greens are cheap, noisy in the wet, wear fast, but have more bite tha  Dracula

anyway the Lewis brakes are intriguing, but they’re not ‘deore in the CRC firesale’ cheap   in the end Id rather pay the extra for tech4s , just because

do the code r and rsc use the same caliper as it’s that which is causing my issues

No, they use the old code caliper from 5y+ ago. So do the Guide REs. The R also has the budget version of the lever like all R/RE spec brakes do.

No, they use the old code caliper from 5y+ ago. So do the Guide REs. The R also has the budget version of the lever like all R/RE spec brakes do

Oh ok. I didn’t know this. My 2022 levo has the code r and a riding friend has a 2022 Levo pro fitted with the RSC and visually we couldn’t tell the difference. 

No, they use the old code caliper from 5y+ ago. So do the Guide REs. The R also has the budget version of the lever like all R/RE spec brakes do.

im not sure this is the case, as guide RE does not have the bleeding edge port, but the code R does, suggesting the newer calliper design.

Sorry @renton z1ppy is correct it’s just the levers (with maybe some hidden difference in the pistons if there is any at all.

Code r has full phelonic pistons

Code rsc has a phelonic coated piston

No skin in this game but just watched this for a more in depth look at these brakes.

They look pretty well made.

To be fair, Trickstuff have done a great job of creating the emperor’s new clothes buzz… the same kind of thing you see in the exclusive watch market, or the limited edition trainers market, where demand oustrips supply and before you know it, second hand prices exceed new prices as people clamour to be part of the it crowd.

Seems to me like though the design cues Lewis have used are questionable, since there is no actionable infringement, as long as their quality is sound they’ll be here to stay and perhaps even provide some healthy competition…

Anyone fancy some 8 pots?

https://www.instagram.com/reel/C2IGowWR4nV/?igsh=MWZxbG9tN3BncjVqNg==

Not even the fattest bloke on the heaviest ebike should need 8 pots, that’s mental

As a result of this thread, I splashed out on some Tech4 V4s. Lovely, and 3 pairs of pads.

I’m sure the Lewis are satis and work, but the V4s, man… Like throwing an anchor out

grahamt1980
Full Member
Not even the fattest bloke on the heaviest ebike should need 8 pots, that’s mental

They’re for e-motorbikes. Best brake for escaping from the police whilst wearing your balaclava

grahamt1980
Full Member

Not even the fattest bloke on the heaviest ebike should need 8 pots, that’s mental

That’s their motorbike brake, or I think maybe e-motorbike? They mention Surron, I think all the current surrons use mountain bike brakes so it’d be compatible if so… They said “you can fit it to a mountain bike but don’t” 🙂

First ride on the Lewis LHt brakes at Inners and the Golfie today, wow just absolutely amazing.  Really confidence inspiring on the wet trails.   I was using Code RSC’s before and Saints before them, I love the power of the Saints, but not the grabby feel, so really enjoyed the change to the Codes with their modulation, I feel that the Lewis brakes give the best of both, with even more modulation.  I was able to dial in the bite and reach I wanted really easily, set the leverage ratio somewhere in the middle and felt great. No fade at all on long descents and a lot less arm pump than the Codes.  I was using the stock pads and 203mm Magura 2mm Storm HC rotors.  Would recommend 🙂

@sync0r

Where did you buy yours from  .UK or direct ?

They were from eBay from a private seller.

Noted cheers pal .

Review up on pinkbike: https://m.pinkbike.com/news/review-lewis-lht-ultimate-brakes.html

Coming back to these with fresh eyes… They actually look… Nah they’re still a blatant rip off with a stupid name.

Ive got a pair of the lht ultimates there absolutely insane .
Really impressed.
The rip of thing is getting a bit boring now.
I dont see aldi and lidl gettingbthe same stick for selling almost identical products with often just a letter changed in the name or indeed often poking fun at the main brands with the name .
Worth noting the pad pin on the ti version is much thicker than the lh4 so fitting hope v4 pads requires a dremmel to open the hole.
Gorilla pads are the same but there aware of this and the next batch will have a bigger hole