TRP came back to the fore after Aaron Gwin chose them to slow his race rig down. Hutch checks out the Quadiem G-Specs to see what they’re made of.
With Shimano, Magura, Hope and SRAM all producing excellent 4-piston offerings for downhill and enduro, it was never going to be an easy ride for TRP to come back to the top end disc brake market.
Hutch reckons they’ve made a solid go of it though. Find what he thought of the stoppers below.
Key features:
- CNC caliper with cooling fins.
- Tool-free reach adjust.
- Hybrid pistons (ceramic/steel).
- Split handlebar clamp.
- 316g (front).
- £199.99 RRP.
- TRPCycling.com
Gone are the days when TRP were low budget, cable-operated brakes. There’s been a noticeable effort made to up their game and move away from the low-end brakes to break into the big mountain, fast high speed racing downhill and enduro brakes. It was time to see the new look for TRP.
I spent 30 minutes fitting and bleeding them, super easy given the kit and instructions that’s provided. They were surprisingly easy to fit, even with a lever swap to get things on the right side. On first impressions they look bling. They are solid. The lever is well shaped and certainly not flimsy. Not to mention the caliper finish, which is stunning. So far so good.
While they look quite chunky there claimed weight is 320g which is lower than both the SRAM Guide RSC and the new Shimano XT 4 piston which weighs in at 375g and 385g per set (brake caliper, hose, lever) respectively.
The price is similar to the main competitors at RRP £199.99 which for the finish and quality is bang on the mark. I’m sure you’ll find them cheaper if you shop around.
TRP state that they have spared no expense during development and their extensive testing process. Aaron Gwin has some input and well he’s fast. Ultimately being fast on a mountain bike is largely down to how little and how effectively you can brake. I’m confident his input would have been pretty thorough. What’s interesting is that the calipers have ‘cooling fins’ built into them. That combined with the all-new composite/steel pistons help prevent brake fade.
How were they out on the trail?
Well, I started immediately heading down a steep road so figured I’d test them out. New pads and discs = no bite. Not ideal but not to be unexpected. They just needed warmed up.
I choose a small section of trail to try out. The feel of the levers were good but they weren’t quite doing it for me at this point. I decided I’d get a little gritty mud involved so applied a little to the surface of the disc. I’m always a fan of doing this. A few test stops and things were already improving.
I moved onto a different track, more high paced and one where brakes are pretty vital. I was starting to like these. They began to get a little more grabby towards the end of the lever stroke which I’d adjusted a few times using the handy reach adjuster.
The semi-sintered pads were working, and pretty quickly, in the small time I bedded the brakes in. The modulation was great, and very consistent as I lapped out this minute and a half long trail.
What do we think?
The brakes provided a really positive feeling when riding. They spun freely, rolling nicely and doing their job perfectly. I was really impressed after a day on these brakes and don’t have much to complain about in terms of stopping power, which is excellent, and the lever feel.
We love:
- Good power
- Excellent modulation
- Top build quality
- Easy to bleed
- Spare parts and bleed kit included.
Not so good:
- The lever is on the large side.
- Over kill for enduro.
