TRP Hydraulic Quadiem Brakes: Rider Review

Our "Rider Review" article series features the honest reviews from verified purchasers of Worldwide Cyclery. They contain the photos, thoughts, feedback & overall review you are looking for. 

Since they launched, TRP brakes have been a huge hit. Although much of that is due to Aaron Gwinn being the face of the brand, they make some impressive brakes that our customers seem to love. In this review, our customer Andrew picks up a new set for his Stumpjumper. Check it out!

Overview

I purchased a set of TRP Quadiem brakes to put on a Specialized Stumpjumper that I was building. A couple of friends had them and they felt really good, so I decided to go outside of the two big brands that I have always got my brakes from in the past (Sram and Shimano).

First Impressions

The brakes arrived in nice packaging with several extra olives and barbs in case you don’t get the length correct the first time. After cutting the lines, I bled the brake which was very simple and easy. It is nice that they use mineral oil as it less corrosive to the bike’s paint in case of any leaks out while bleeding.

On The Trail

I started off running the organic pads that they came with. One thing I noticed was that it took longer than usual to bed in the pads, but after the pads bed in they were great. The feel at the lever of the TRP’s is very different than either a SRAM or Shimano brake. It is by far the most consistent feel of any brake I have felt. Overall, I would say the power is greater than SRAM Guide, but less than their Code’s, and also less than Shimano XT’s. However, the modulation far outweighs the slight decrease in power. No matter what, the bite point is exactly the same and provided a smooth, linear feel. Being right on the edge of traction when braking into corners is easier than any brake I have used before.

Final Thoughts

I would say the biggest positive of these TRP brakes is the trust you can put into them. The consistency is next level and it allows for later braking. I also recently got a set of metallic pads to put on them. I felt like these brakes performed better with metallic pads as they didn’t get affected by water as much, and also gave a slight increase in power with hardly any noticeable decrease in modulation.

Overall, I have been extremely happy with these brakes and would definitely recommend them to anyone who is in the market for brakes.