TRP 2009 brakes
A look at the TRP 2009 brake calipers
There seems to be a growing choice of aftermarket anchors for those wanting to either cut a bit of weight of personalise their bike, and for 2009 TRP, the name for parent company Tektro’s high-end brakes, have an impressive range of brake calipers.
TRP's range is spearheaded by the all-new R960. A weight of just 120g per caliper (Shimano DuraAce circa. 157g) is achieved by forged and CNC machined 6061 aluminium arms using a dual pivot design. Every last ounce of excess weight is machined away; even the brake shoes (fitted with SwissStop pads) have been machined to within an inch of their life, and further weight savings are granted with titanium hardware. Available in anodised red or black.
The R950 SL, with features two carbon fibre arms, has been made lighter to the tune of 5g per caliper due to machined aluminium pad holders. They’ve also been given a lick of fresh white paint and new, bolder decals to boot. 135g per caliper.
Billed as the “ultimate cyclo cross brake,” the Eurox Magnesium meets all the demands of ‘cross racing. Magnesium arms, titanium bolts and other hardware and an aluminium straddle cable hanger all reduce the weight over the standard EuroX Alloy to 103g per wheel.
If cheating wind drag is your chosen pursuit, then check out the T925 aerodynamic brake calipers. Cold forged aero-v arms are designed to slip smoothly through the air, and various cable routing options are available to best suit the particular design of your time trial bike. Weight is 156g for the front and 172g the rear.
More at www.trpbrakes.com
Discuss this story
They look ok, but they're nowhere near as good as THESE TRP are 120g each, the KCNC ones above are 82g each- and not to the detriment of braking performance. I have KCNC calipers on both my race bikes, and once you've changed the brake pads they brake better than Dura Ace calipers. At £170 a pair, they're half the price of Zero G brakes, and only a little more expensive than Dura Ace- despite being almost half the weight! They look great, are easy to maintain, are super lightweight but effective, and are not ridiculously expensive when compared to similar products. I don't think there are any better brake calipers on the market yet.
Posted: 03/12/2008 09:19
A 5 g weight saving... I don't even notice the difference when I take my water bottle and all equipment off the bike (>1 kg). Looking sharp though, nice aero brake.
Posted: 03/12/2008 10:46
Tom Staniford, KCNC employee of the month They do look good, and you make them sound even better. But I still prefer the look of the TRPs. Of course, it's all purely theoretical as my lady holds the purse strings...
Posted: 03/12/2008 11:16
everyone always says I'm employee of the month for the brands I like! Fact is, I like what I like, and I'm happy to share that with others. I hate people who find something good and then keep it secret so others are at a disadvantage. on my 'gold star' list are: KCNC, Cervelo, Planet-X, Giordana, Oakley, High5, Torq, Lew, tune, Prendas Ciclismo, Edinburgh bicycle Co-op Revolution brand, Fusion-Media.
Posted: 03/12/2008 11:37
KCNC, Cervelo, Planet-X, Giordana, Oakley, High5, Torq, Lew, tune, Prendas Ciclismo, Edinburgh bicycle Co-op Revolution brand, Fusion-Media. sounds like your sponsors list that 
Posted: 03/12/2008 11:40
On my TT bike, I changed the KCNC road pads for the KCNC carbon-specific cork pads that came with the brakes (they give you regular and carbon-specific pads). On the road bike, I found the regular pads a little slow to react, and my carbon wheels don't need carbon-specific pads. I tried some Dura Ace brake pads, some old 105 brake pads and some kool-stop salmon pads. All worked well, with the kool stop being best.
Posted: 03/12/2008 12:42
at the end of the day, there are three variables, really. Caliper effectiveness, pad effectiveness, and braking surface of the rim. My rims are a bit strange in that they're carbon but don't need carbon specific pads. It does mean that certain pads work superbly well,.. others are horrifically bad. I think tbh you just need to experiment.
Posted: 03/12/2008 12:58
KCNC, Cervelo, Planet-X, Giordana, Oakley, High5, Torq, Lew, tune, Prendas Ciclismo, Edinburgh bicycle Co-op Revolution brand, Fusion-Media. I know for sure Tom is not a KCNC employee but I second him on their kit. SUPERB. My gold star list; KCNC (entire product line), Kestrel (frames), Klein (frames), Hed (wheels), Chris King (entire line), Sapim CXray (spokes), FSA (cranksets and bars), Mavic (brakes)
Posted: 03/12/2008 17:12
I am surprised with the amount of mentions Zero Gravity get-they don't exactly produce the cheapest brakes! I thought my brakes were a rarity here in the UK. Glad I am not alone in recognising a great product. ...[TRP] do the job well but in my opinion not as good as my zero gravitys and not as strong as Campag Record. ...
Indeed, so why buy TRP? If anything is more important than 'go fast' parts, it would certainly be good brakes. Not being able to shed speed when it really matters can kill...
Posted: 04/12/2008 10:45
KCNC. I bought a KCNC sc wing stem and the heat treatment was iffy, which resulted in the metal flaking away, and eventuallythe faceplate cracked. I contacted KCNC and once I had sent them some pictures they were happy to send me a replacement (but I had already bought a DEDA Newton stem by then). KCNC tell me this was a one off. In a comparison the DEDA is better finished, noticeably much stiffer in a sprint and when cornering but also about 30 grams heavier. Maybe this was because the heat treatment on my stem was iffy, but also the dimensions of the stem are less than the DEDA which would result in more flex.I I hate a flexy front end to a bike - I prefer to race XC on Fox not SIDS (300 grams weight penalty there!) and I weigh 64 kg! Beware of some of these lesser known brands - I also bought some Xpedo Ti/Ti xc pedals and the bushings were shot after about 3 races, Still they sent me a replacement I suppose but that is not really the point. The pedals (bearings) were proper rubbish - but oh so light. SRAM stuff rocks IMO - but that is another story.
Posted: 05/12/2008 09:49
Well, Simon, on the XC front I agree. Fox forks ROCK! My Talas RLC's are superb and always put a smile on my face. And so does SRAM-both the Rocket series and the XO are simply the very best shifters ever made! In fact, I like the Rocket and XO so much that they would get 6 on a 1-5 scale - I never knew one could fall in love with shifters, but there you go! Sorry to hear you had some issues with KCNC-I have never heard of or experienced this issue before. I had a faceplate crack on a Cinelli stem and flaking ano on an XTR derailleur - in any manufacturing there is always some fall-out. Problem is, you never know what will give, when it will do so, and if any manufacturer is really better than another. Small doesn't necessarily mean bad, the same way that big doesn't mean good. Example from another area; Sony recalled thousands upon thousands of laptop batteries as they were prone to catching fire. Cracked faceplate or toasted nuts...it's a dangerous world out there!
Posted: 05/12/2008 10:10
Laptop batteries - so did DELL. Weight saving is usually a compromise, even with top notch kit. Less diameter will usually equal less stiffness, but also less weight. It all depends on your riding style of course. It all helps but as the saying goes 'when the flag drops the bullsh1t stops'
Posted: 05/12/2008 10:45
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