TRP 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. 

When TRP introduced their first line of brakes, it made a big impression in the industry. It added another name to the game for really well made and powerful brakes. Our friend, Brandon, has been running the Quadiem brakes. See what they think!

Overview

I purchased these brakes as an upgrade on my 2021 Ripley AF. I replaced my very unimpressive SRAM G2 R 4-pot brakes with these TRP Q2.3 SE brakes front and rear. The order shipped quickly, as always when ordering from Worldwide Cyclery, and arrived at my doorstep several days later. With these brakes I purchased TRP 2.3mm rotors, TRPs advanced bleed kit to bleed the larger diameter 5.5mm hoses that these brakes come with, TRP mineral oil, and a 180mm rotor adapter for my front caliper. I got all these items installed on my Ripley AF which were all a breeze to install. TRP provides great videos on installation and bleeding and always responds to emails quickly, as does Worldwide Cyclery if you have any questions. After installing these brakes, I bled the brake system. With the videos provided and the bleed kit I purchased, the bleed process was super simple, quick, and trouble-free. These brakes came with the performance resin pads so the bedding process didn’t take quite as long as if I had semi-metallic or metallic pads.

The stiffness of the 2.3mm rotors is definitely recognized and is a huge plus.

The bedding process was simple and well explained by TRP and just took some laps around the neighborhood to fully bed. After the bed, the brakes feel amazing. They bite super well and have tons of power and modulation, much more than my previous G2 R brakes, and more than the Shimano Deore 4-pots I used on a previous bike. So far, these are by far my favorite brakes I have ever owned and it makes me so much more confident riding at speed and downhill. I can’t imagine how powerful a pair of semi-metallic or metallic pads would be if these performance resin pads are already this powerful.

There was one small downside to these brakes that overall doesn’t bother me much. Compared to previous Shimano Deore and SRAM G2 R brake levers, the levers on this pair of TRP brakes seem slightly longer. This created a problem when I tried to clean up the cockpit using matchmaker adapters. When I placed the lever/shifter at a place on the bars where I had good leverage on the brake lever, the shifters were too far away for my thumb to reach. However, when I placed the shifter/lever where my thumb felt good on the shifter, the brake lever was too far in and my braking finger was halfway down the brake lever, leading to less than ideal leverage on the brake lever. I ended up buying 22.2mm bar clamps and not using the matchmaker adapters which is not a big deal to me. It really doesn’t look that bad and I was able to place my shifter, brake levers, and dropper lever in all the right spots on the bar for the perfect feeling cockpit. As I said, this was the only small downside I found, and to me, it was really not that big of a deal and wouldn’t change my mind in the slightest if I had to buy these brakes again.

Final Thoughts

Overall thus far, I am amazed at the power and feel of these brakes and am so glad I upgraded from the SRAM G2 R brakes. They make a world of difference in my riding and I would highly recommend these brakes to anyone looking for pure power, great modulation, and a great lever feel. Highly satisfied and would 100% recommend and buy again!