OK very quick TRP test. Had about 60mm rain here in 2 days so it's quite wet and slippy. Therefore can't and won't comment on maxxed out performance and so on.
Excuse the pictures, I tried to be "artistic" .. but failed ..
Basically, comparing the TRP's to Zee/XT in look/basic performance response. Also the Tektro.
General looks/Sizing of levers :
The TRP Levers are very similar in shape, slightly longer and slightly more textured.
Adjustments are all in different places. TRP's are probably the simplest to adjust and mount.
For the rear, didn't have much time so kept the rear Tektro caliper. Literally just swapped out the lever and didn't even bleed (it felt ok).
Front, swapped out the Zee for the TRP. Needed a bleed, possibly installer incompetence. It's a nice system. The shimano bleed system fitted and worked no problem despite reading reviews saying otherwise.
Test rode for SEVEN hours !!
Of which 1.5 hours was riding and the rest seemed to be talking crap and socialising somehow - this was not the plan, but it saved drowning for 7 hours .
The basics ..
The rear : 2.3 disk, Tektro Caliper. Very sensitive !! A mouses fart can lock the back wheel ! The TRP lever over the Tektro lever is worlds apart ! (though the Tektro lever on the rear really is not an issue !)
The Front. I'd read some people saying they didn't need to bed in. You do !!! I suspect with the 2.3 disk, bedding in is harder, which is probably the initial issue I had with the Tektro. It takes WAY ! longer to warm the disk.
I had the 1.8 XT Ice Tec on the front. Bedding in using soft then hard still took a while, with full Oooooh Laa Laa taking a few KM's to achieve.
General feel in the wet, they feel pretty similar to XT/Zee (both of which are different feeling, but - ballpark !)
The TRP felt slightly "wooden" still early on, but kept improving through the ride to the point that they became much more like a scalpel !
They look tidy. They feel right. The slightly longer levers (whilst I prefer shorter) actually helped with cockpit layout when not using connected mounts.
Lever pull was Excellent. Say 8-10mm before some reasonable reaction, which for me, I like.
Checking pistons, the inside pistons (bike side) seemed to deploy with more prevalence to the outside pistons if you bothered to check. (Pushed back and checked several times) Would anyone else notice ? I've never ever ever checked this before so can't compare to others.
Would I buy them ? At full price, no. I'd be drawn to Shimano's because I like them or possibly pay a touch more for hopes for bling. Discounted, hell yes ! These are just like anything else 3 or 4 times the price and you can swap and change with Shimano stuff. Ask me again in 6 months and who knows.
Shimano vented pads fitted better than the Tektro calipers, but still not properly.
General build is good :
One ghost shift today. Will re-index as I had everything off the bars this morning.
400k - still not fallen apart. The more I ride the bike, the more I like it. It's more stable, quieter (no squeaks, rattles, clatters). The motor continues to get quieter. I did wonder if the none pedal rattle had stopped, but it's not. I'm just riding faster so don't hear it as easily. Found one touched up paint blemish when torch checking it (at least it was corrected and for me, it will be scratched to crap once I bin it so who cares). With the shock set as I like it and the Lyric Sitting ~30mm lower than the front should be, I get more pedal scrapes than I'd like/expect, but once the nose it back up, hopefully I'll be even again.
