With hydraulic disc being somewhat new for tri, there seem to be few options for the tri bike with hydraulic brakes. Here is what i came up with:
Any other option i am missing? Experiences/opinions? Of course i am looking for aero/light/affordable while not answering with “rim brakeâ€.
One thing to note, Shimano requires DI2 so you are stuck with that shifting system (if you care). While the SRAM are not super aero, they do work really well and are very comfy. I wish they were sleeker, however!
Haven’t used the TRP
Thanks. Yeah, sram would be ok if the bars on the bike i am looking at were not upturned at the ends. They turn the sram levers into giant aero brakes (in a bad way… probably great for descending however). A few 100g weight savings can not justify 3w drag (estimated).
Currently favouring di2 over sram as the groupset is cheaper/lighter than say force, but the build comes with trp brakes (nullifying weight advantages over force etap). Allows for the dura ace upgrade someday also.
Also wondering if other options exist.
I will being going hydro shortly… waiting till my Tri season is over (this weekend, I think)
currently DuraAce 9060 ? Di2 but mechanical with TRP spyre… They are ok, but I scored 9180 levers and calipers for a song not too long ago and I’m running with it.
Would a cable-to-hydro conversion be acceptable? Would allow slim levers and decent aero.
https://www.giant-bicycles.com/gb/conduct-hydraulic-disc-brake-upgrade-kit
Also there was Magura (RT6/RT8) if you can find used/NOS parts and hack their levers to a disc caliper.
I’ve got the TRP hydro levers and brakes on my bike. You’re right about them being heavy and a bit bulky but I got the entire set (2 levers 2 brakes) for under $200 via Amazon so that was kind of a no brainer for my budget build. The grips are a bit awkward especially since they’re not soft, just hard rubber, but while racing/training we’re not spending a ton of time on them anyways so not a big deal. They do extend fairly far past the bar ends so I had my Vision Metron aerobar hoods cut to basically the minimum length for these. That’s mostly just an aesthetic thing for me.
Lots of good pictures from Nick @ Tririg up in this gallery here if you want to see how they look on the vision bars at least!
One thing to note, Shimano requires DI2 so you are stuck with that shifting system
Couldn’t you use blips? Maybe a good option would be Magura aero levers with blips under the bar tape.
Blips are a SRAM product.
Thanks. Yeah, sram would be ok if the bars on the bike i am looking at were not upturned at the ends. They turn the sram levers into giant aero brakes (in a bad way… probably great for descending however). A few 100g weight savings can not justify 3w drag (estimated).
Currently favouring di2 over sram as the groupset is cheaper/lighter than say force, but the build comes with trp brakes (nullifying weight advantages over force etap). Allows for the dura ace upgrade someday also.
Also wondering if other options exist.
FWIW the first time I saw the SRAM brakes in person was on a prototype Superslice being ridden by a SRAM rep at a triathlon in the suburbs of Chicago (forget the name of the race). I made the aero comment to him and he actually said they designed and tested the levers to be “aero neutral”. That said, I never saw as much make it into their marketing material.
Blips are a SRAM product.
That’s why I posed it as a more aero alternative to the huge SRAM levers. The comment I was replying to mentioned being stuck to Di2 if those levers are desired.
Also there was Magura (RT6/RT8) if you can find used/NOS parts and hack their levers to a disc caliper.
Don’t do that. Reservoir is much smaller than for the open system disc brake calipers.
I’ve discussed with 3 guys with hydro brakes and all had problems. From my experience with mtb, hydro is great when manufacturers have experience with it for a long time. Most low volumes solutions are a mess. It’s a safety feature. If you want smooth action put optislick cable in your cable actuated brake and voila. Brake performance is not that important on bikes that you use the brakes so rarely, but brake reliability is a must !
With Eurobike just around the corner I suspect new options are eminent. Given products launched at eurobike can be many months away from actually shipping its partly a matter of how long you want to wait for better options.
The obvious solution is to alter the shape the hydraulic reservoir so it sticks in the bull horns a bit like electronic systems no integrate seamlessly into the bar ends. The challenge is TT bars are not a standardised shape so universal compatibility isn’t possible but its not like SRAM and Shimano don’t also make loads of handle bars so an integrated solution from Pro or Zipp will be on the horizon. Bleeding the system is also potentially a challenge but difficult to adjust brakes has never been a shower stopper for selling TT bikes. The SRAM levers have been hammered for their aesthetics and SRAM is doubling down on hydraulic discs so they won’t keep the current s900 design for long.
I have the dura ace hydraulic on my PRFive. They were expensive but they feel super nice! Tons of modulation but I’m easily able to lock 'em up. They’re big but not really much bigger than ultegra di2 levers. They are expensive though.
Bump. I broke the coupling in my trp hydro lever and they are oos everywhere it seems.
Really thinking about scraping the hydro for cable actuated hydro brakes.
My road bike has shimano hydro so I’d like to keep everything using mineral oil, but damn, it’s 2022 and there are still only a few options I can find.
Edit: ordered a pair of rederever brakes. The 22’ p series uses them and it seems they’re made by magura.
I have been on the ride rever for a while. I bought the di2 sattellite inserts and they work well.
They are not magura though. Rever is jagwires aftermarket brand. Made here in Taiwan.
Ah I see. Okay, I read somewhere else about them being an aftermarket brand from magura, which seem to have facilities in Germany, us, and Asia.
But the jagwire and riderever seem to def be apart of the same big company based off their sites.
Thanks!
I also have those, and they work great!