I’ve had various different brakes from Shimano and SRAM over the years. My old Stumpjumper still has SRAM Codes on it, which have always performed well.
When I got my first Levo SL, its had SRAM G2 RSC brakes. I did a few rides with them before replacing them with Magura MT7’s. The G2’s felt weak and like I was having to use a lot of power from my fingers to get them to stop.
I’ve now had the MT7’s for almost 6 years. For the first 4 years, they were amazing. Great stopping power, modulation, and reliable. Over the last 2 years, they’ve been quite problematic. The front brake would randomly lose pressure. No obvious leaks, but the lever would pull back against the bar. Quite disconcerting when charging downhill! I would spend an evening bleeding them - they’d feel rock solid, and then at some point of the fast downhill, they’d give up again.
I must’ve watched 25+ different bleeding methods on YouTube, and found the one from the Yorkshire Mechanic (I think) to be the most useful.
In summer, I decided enough was enough. I’d wasted several great downhill opportunities down to my brakes failing. I did some research online, watched a lot of Dale Stone videos, and decided I’d take the plunge and get Intend Trinity’s.
Intend are a boutique type brand, and sell limited quantities. They don’t offer a pre-order, so when they release a batch of brakes (usually about 30 sets) they’re gobbled up in about 30 seconds. I followed their socials and tried to get a set on the 3 releases over the 6 months.
I’d given up hope, and 2 weeks before Black Friday, I decided I’d get Trickstuff Maxima. I did fancy the ice blue Dissarema’s, but I figured if I was going to spend £1100 on brakes, I might as well spend the extra £200 and get the best.
Buying anything 2 weeks before Black Friday is stupid… so I held on to see if there were any offers.
In the mean time, Intend announced a ‘large’ batch of limited edition ‘all black’ Trinity’s would be released on Black Friday. 9am Germany release, which was 8am in the UK. I had the rotors / matchmakers in my basket early, and at 8.00 I was refreshing. Checked out by 8.01 - result!!
I went back on at 9.15am, and their site said ‘7 sets remaining’. All gone by 9.30am… so their large batch must’ve been hugely more than the 30 sets they usually release.
They arrived on my desk on the 10th December, so 12 days to the UK in their famous environmentally friendly packaging! Thankfully, with no import duties. Overall cost for brakes, matchmakers, 1 x 200mm x 2.0 rotor, 1 x 180mm x 2.0 rotor, shipping and ‘PayPal fee’ (€39.45
) was £997.24. If I wasn’t in such a panic to buy, I would have paid with different method!!INSTALLATION
The brakes are supplied with the levers not attached to the hoses, and the system is dry. A bleed kit, puck and Putoline oil is included with the set.
I sucked as much Royal Blood oil out of my rear brake as I could before cutting the hose near the lever. Removed all parts, and also my TCU.
The rear hose pushed pretty effortlessly through the frame, and popped out where the TCU sits. The only challenge was directing the hose so it popped out the tiny hole. A couple of shots using large tweezers, and it was there!
Fitting the levers is a pain, as the clamps don’t ‘open’. You have to remove grips and in my case the bar remote, and slide the levers on. I opened the screws as much as possible, but still ended up scratching my carbon bars whilst sliding the levers on.
I measured the required length for the hoses, then cut. You have to hammer in a barb into the hose with a rubber mallet - no compressing olives. A little brake oil on the seals and push the hose into the lever - whilst twisting it. Much easier with the levers off the bar… but as I’d cut my hoses quite neat, I found I couldn’t slide the front lever off the bar without removing the calliper from the fork! This meant removing the grip again and sliding the lever off. Once the hose is in place, the levers can spin round. When you’ve got the desired location with the hoses pointing in the right direction, there are 2 x T10 bolts than need tightened up. 1 to hold the barb in place, and another to clamp the hose.
FILLING / BLEEDING
As mentioned above, the bleed kit is supplied. I’ve bled many brands of brakes over the years and looked forward to the simplicity of the Trinity after the MT7’s. Intend pride themselves on having the simplest brake to bleed on the market, and I’d say they’re correct.
1 push of fluid from the calliper to the lever resulted in loads of bubbles. 1 pull (vacuum) and then push back showed nothing else. I did another pass just to be sure, but there was nothing.
I did it slower than the 2 mins in their video and gave the oil a chance to settle before each pass. It was amazing that within 15 mins, I’d filled and bled 2 brakes - both with an identical bite point. I could spend hours on the MT7’s trying to get them similar, and still fail. I also have had to move the bike into various positions to ensure the calliper was the same height as the levers etc. The Trinity’s were done with the bike on the ground and without removing the callipers from the bike.
My rear wheel spun without any resistance noises, but my front had slight rubbing. I repositioned the calliper a few times, and then realised my rotor has a slight wobble to it. Some gentle bending solved that.
The Trinity’s are supplied with 2 different sets of pads - white magic, and black magic. I’ve gone with white magic first. Getting the pads in it a bit awkward the first time, as they need to go in at a funny angle. The second time was easy.
I’ve read a lot of complains about Intend using a Torx T10 for everything. Not sure why? I already have a Park THH Allen set, and had the THT25 (T25) for the Magura’s, so bought the THT10 for the Intend’s. I do have various other Torx sets which include a T10, but the Park THx handles are the best!!
I couldn’t see any specific bedding in procedure for Intend, so I followed the ones I had for the MT7’s. 30 times down a hill at 20mph+, coming to a fast controlled stop.
That certainly seemed to do the job for the white magic pads anyway.
AESTHETICS
The ‘black edition’ brakes I have don’t look quite as special as the regular ones Intend sell with the bronze levers. Arguably, they go better with my bike than the silver or bronze levered ones would. The Trinity’s are a bit like the Magura’s in that they have a huge calliper and small lever. They’re really light, even in the ‘downhill’ configuration I have which has the optional cooling fins fitted.
I’d read somewhere about they don’t play well with Berd or Industry 9 spokes as the callipers are so thick. I’ve i9 wheels, and they’re fine. Not a lot of clearance though - maybe a pencil width between the spokes and calliper on a 180mm rear. I’ll liked the coloured rings on the MT7’s… but I don’t think I’ll loose any sleep by not having them anymore.
INITIAL IMPRESSIONS
I’ve only done 2 rides so far, and both have been relatively tame as I’m away for Christmas / New Year, and my wife would go berserk if I injured myself beforehand!
The first thing I noticed is how easy it is to brake with 1 finger. It’s effortless. I was riding in lobster claw mitts, so only had 1 finger. All of the surfaces I rode were damp, but I was easily able to lock up the rear wheel pulling with 1 finger.
My next observation is how the bite point is always the same. Running long downhill with the MT7’s, I always felt like you’d have to squeeze more and more as the ride went on - none of that with the Trinity’s. I could end up with my levers touching the bar on a long downhill… but the Trinity’s feel like they don’t get any softer. They had a good balance between hard braking, and being able to slow down slowly.
The levers are a similar shape to my Magura Carbon levers, so I felt quite at home with them… but they felt a little far away for me. There is no toolless reach on the Trinity’s - another T10 Torx adjustment! Reach is kind of a set-and-forget adjustment, so now I’ve got them where I like them, I probably won’t adjust again.
The hoses come out at a much better angle than the MT7's, which helps keep a neat looking cockpit. The matchmakers seem to play well with my BikeYoke POD holders, so I am able to get them in almost the same position I had with the MT7's.
So far, I’m really happy with them, and am looking forward to testing them more next year. It’ll be interesting to see how they perform on a more intense downhill journey - something like Heartbreak Ridge. Time will tell though!
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