TRP Spyre mechanical disc brake

Meet the new boss: TRP Spyre mechanical disc brakes are the best non-hydraulic road bike and cyclo-cross stoppers we've used.

TRP Spyre mechanical disc brakes are cable actuated, but benefit from a dual piston design. This means that both pistons move equally against the rotor, as opposed to the single piston design of the Avid BB7 and Shimano CX75 mechanical disc brakes.

As you will no doubt have read, Dave reckons the TRP Hy/Rd mechanical->hydraulic disc brakes are the current best of the crop.

If your budget will stretch that far, and you have no issues with a design that combines cable actuation with hydraulic piston action, then there's no reason to read on. Just buy the Hy/Rds.

If you want to know how TRP Spyres compare against Avid BB7s, which were long held to be the best bet, read on.

So, that dual piston design, what are the advantages? Not more braking power per se; the force applied at the lever is split between both pads. Nor more clearance, for the same reason. What you do get is the ability to adjust the brake pads with a simple barrel adjuster, or even an inline adjuster at the bars.

Anyone who's worn out a set of pads in a single muddy cyclo-cross race will appreciate the benefit of this. The alternative is a faffy procedure where you first move the 'static' piston, then the moving one; not something you can do on the go.

Dual pistons should also mean more even wear. A correctly set up single piston brake should have the non-moving pad closer to the rotor than the moving one, wearing it down more in gritty or muddy conditions.

There is one scenario where moving pads independently could be a benefit; if you're changing wheels regularly. Rotors are not always exactly in the same place and adjustments may be necessary. I'd happily forego this for the above reasons, if I had more than one set of wheels.

Set up is rather straightforward. I replaced a set of BB7s on a Kinesis Pro6 with the Spyres. All I had to do was remove the BB7s, bolt the Spyres on finger tight, attach brake cable, squeeze brake and tighten brake calliper bolts. Job done.

It's immediately apparent that the Spyres profile is a lot more svelte than BB7s: they stick out less. This results in more heel clearance, and also means you're less likely to run into issues with rack mounting on frames with seat stay bosses. Not surprisingly this also translates into a bit less weight. A Spyr is about 20grams lighter compared to a standard BB7 for one end (comparing just the calliper, without bolts).

Pad clearance is not as good as the hydraulic Shimano SLX disc brakes I have on my mountain bike, but this is no better or worse than the BB7s. I put this down as a feature of cable discs. You can hear a bit of scrape, but it doesn't seem to actually slow the wheels down noticeably with the bike in the workstand. You have to really pay attention to hear this at all when actually riding your bike in Real Life.

That's a lot of words on dual pistons and setup, but what are they like to ride? Better than BB7s is the short answer.

Braking power is about the same, if not a tad better. Good, but not as impressive as a hydraulic unit. Much better than any cantilever or dual pivot rim brake I've used, particularly in wet or muddy conditions. I'll leave you to decide whether you need/want the extra braking power; personally, I like it. A lot.

Modulation and lever feel, though, is noticeably better than BB7s. Note that this will depend on the levers and how much cable they pull - the test bike had last year's Shimano 105s. Even with standard Shimano outer cables, I didn't think the brakes were very spongy, and that is with a full length outer to the rear. Better quality outers should given an even more direct feel - I wouldn't bother myself though.

On the road, with 28mm Continental 4 seasons tyres, it's easy enough to lock up the rear. Happily, it's easy to predict precisely at what applied lever force it's going to happen and therefore easy to stay just the ride side of skidding. If that's what you want.

Off-road, on 33mm Maxxis Raze cyclo-cross tyres, it's the same. Controlled skidding/braking no problem. I've not been able to try in wet conditions, mainly because there haven't been any since I've had these on the test bike.

Verdict

Lighter, better modulation, better clearance, easier adjustment for at least the same braking performance. And they look so much better than BB7s, wouldn't you agree?