Picked up some TRP Quadiem (non g-spec) brakes from Worldwide Cyclery. So far I like the brakes. I wanted to list out everything I've done with these brakes in case it helps someone make a decision on a new brake set or needs install help/tips. Let me know if you have any questions, I'd be happy to help.
1. These brakes are definitely not as grabby as my old m8000 XT brakes. It is a bit more difficult to do a slamming fast endo on them without shifting my weight forward on the bike. (I have a 203mm front rotor and weight 215 lbs). The power isn't as sharp and as fast as Shimano, but more so than SRAM. I don't think they are designed to be sharp, just a nice gradual build of power, which is great. I think it's the best of both worlds between SRAM and Shimano.
2. Modulation, yeah, always have had XT brakes (and one set of Guides) so this is a new thing to me. Definitely in between Shimano and Sram in terms of modulation, which is great! I am digging this about the Quadiem.
3. Bleeding and cutting hoses and new barbs/olives...I just did what I do with Shimano brakes as I couldn't find much instructions on this. I used my yellow Shimano hose grabber block thingamajig to help hold the hose when tapping in the barb with a hammer. The olive is directional so pay attention to the orientation. Use the end you cut off to compare. Brakes come with a couple spare olives and a couple barbs.
4. Non g-spec painted calipers and rotors. Huh, I like the black and non shiny silver look, but the paint quality is not as good as I hoped. I noticed some paint chipping off the calipers in areas like the brake bolts and pad clip install contact points. This has me bummed, not sure why, but would love to be able to switch to the g-spec version for the added finish durability. Not a huge deal breaker, but something to consider if you are trying to decide between g-spec and non.
5. I notice the front lever reach to be slightly farther out than the rear lever reach when at the maxed out setting (in other words, the reach adjust all the way out on both levers). Of course, I just need to add a couple extra clicks to the front lever to get the reach to be in sync with the rear, but it seems somewhat strange. I think my m8000s were this way though too, longer hose on the rear causing this maybe?
6. Bleeding. I made a mess bleeding these things as they don't have quite as friendly of a bleed port nipple as other brands. You have to go quick! HOWEVER, I noticed if I raise the caliper above the lever when opening the bleed port and attach the syringe, it is MUCH cleaner and fluid doesn't come pouring out. Phew. Do this, seriously, less to clean in the end.
7. Steel and ceramic pistons. These are interesting. I notice the inner black ceramic piston has a center hole and a circular groove where it meets the outer steel portion of the piston. These areas seem to be a place for mineral oil and alcohol to get trapped after a messy bleed. I noticed some fluid behind my pads after my first few rides so I have been careful cleaning this area with alcohol and a little bit of air to blow out any trapped oil. I am super OCD when it comes to brakes though.
8. These things are easy to bleed and get the air out of, yay! Just push oil from the bottom up into the bleed funnel (Shimano's funnel doesn't fit, buy a TRP bleed funnel, oh the bleed funnel doesn't have any o-rings like the Shimano funnels, I added my own just to help seal things better, it might not be truly necessary). Lastly, close the caliper and hold the lever to the bar, with a strap, with the bleed funnel attached to the lever for 15 minutes or go above and beyond and let them sit overnight. Done. Solid. No Shimano pump up, just clean lever action!
9. Shimano brake adapters worked great on my 203 and 180mm Shimano rotors. Thanks TRP.
10. Bleed block. Bleed kit doesn't come with a block. Get one from TRP. Not sure if a Saint bleed block fits, I would assume it does though since the Saint brake pads work in the Quadiem.
11. Hoses are slightly larger than Shimano so something to think about if you have internal routing. Though, I didn't have a problem with my 2017 Niner RIP 9.
12. The barbs have a little rubber o-ring and a different more delicate tip than the Shimano barbs (it's hard to explain until you see it). I didn't have a problem hammering the barb into the hose, but something to just be careful with. I noticed TRP sells a press like tool to press the barb into the hose, this might be a better approach, but I didn't have a problem with a few soft taps using a hammer.
13. Brake pad clips...I swapped to Saint metallic pads to add a bit more power. I also initially used the Saint pad clips until I noticed that the pad clip would barely knick the rotor once and awhile while riding, I thought my pads were hitting the rotor, but that was not the case. I noticed the TRP pad clip is actually shaped a bit differently than the Shimano allowing more room for the rotor. I switched over to the TRP pad clip and no longer have any issues.
14. The levers are rider serviceable!!! I assume the calipers are too, but can't find the parts on TRP's website for the calipers (I did find the lever parts on their website).
15. Good ole Mineral oil! Yes! I used Shimano mineral oil since it was what I had around.
16. Brakes are quiet! No finned pads slamming around or any rotors rubbing pads.
17. The Shimano i-spec adapter from TRP works well. However, it doesn't quite allow me to put the shifter close enough to my thumbs. The brake lever blade is long enough where I prefer to push the brake quite far away from my hand compared to my XT brakes. I'd consider running my shifter separately if I had a choice, but I only have an i-spec shifter without a separate shifter mount at the moment. Not enough of an issue to spend $30 on a KCNC I-SPEC II SHIFTER CLAMP.
Looking at the XT shifter a bit more and the i-spec adapter clearance, you should be able to slightly dremel a tiny notch in the shifter to allow you to slide the shifter a bit closer to your thumbs.
All in all, these brakes are great, seriously for the price they are hard to beat. It's great to have other options than what's available from SRAM and Shimano. Nice job TRP!
1. These brakes are definitely not as grabby as my old m8000 XT brakes. It is a bit more difficult to do a slamming fast endo on them without shifting my weight forward on the bike. (I have a 203mm front rotor and weight 215 lbs). The power isn't as sharp and as fast as Shimano, but more so than SRAM. I don't think they are designed to be sharp, just a nice gradual build of power, which is great. I think it's the best of both worlds between SRAM and Shimano.
2. Modulation, yeah, always have had XT brakes (and one set of Guides) so this is a new thing to me. Definitely in between Shimano and Sram in terms of modulation, which is great! I am digging this about the Quadiem.
3. Bleeding and cutting hoses and new barbs/olives...I just did what I do with Shimano brakes as I couldn't find much instructions on this. I used my yellow Shimano hose grabber block thingamajig to help hold the hose when tapping in the barb with a hammer. The olive is directional so pay attention to the orientation. Use the end you cut off to compare. Brakes come with a couple spare olives and a couple barbs.
4. Non g-spec painted calipers and rotors. Huh, I like the black and non shiny silver look, but the paint quality is not as good as I hoped. I noticed some paint chipping off the calipers in areas like the brake bolts and pad clip install contact points. This has me bummed, not sure why, but would love to be able to switch to the g-spec version for the added finish durability. Not a huge deal breaker, but something to consider if you are trying to decide between g-spec and non.
5. I notice the front lever reach to be slightly farther out than the rear lever reach when at the maxed out setting (in other words, the reach adjust all the way out on both levers). Of course, I just need to add a couple extra clicks to the front lever to get the reach to be in sync with the rear, but it seems somewhat strange. I think my m8000s were this way though too, longer hose on the rear causing this maybe?
6. Bleeding. I made a mess bleeding these things as they don't have quite as friendly of a bleed port nipple as other brands. You have to go quick! HOWEVER, I noticed if I raise the caliper above the lever when opening the bleed port and attach the syringe, it is MUCH cleaner and fluid doesn't come pouring out. Phew. Do this, seriously, less to clean in the end.
7. Steel and ceramic pistons. These are interesting. I notice the inner black ceramic piston has a center hole and a circular groove where it meets the outer steel portion of the piston. These areas seem to be a place for mineral oil and alcohol to get trapped after a messy bleed. I noticed some fluid behind my pads after my first few rides so I have been careful cleaning this area with alcohol and a little bit of air to blow out any trapped oil. I am super OCD when it comes to brakes though.
8. These things are easy to bleed and get the air out of, yay! Just push oil from the bottom up into the bleed funnel (Shimano's funnel doesn't fit, buy a TRP bleed funnel, oh the bleed funnel doesn't have any o-rings like the Shimano funnels, I added my own just to help seal things better, it might not be truly necessary). Lastly, close the caliper and hold the lever to the bar, with a strap, with the bleed funnel attached to the lever for 15 minutes or go above and beyond and let them sit overnight. Done. Solid. No Shimano pump up, just clean lever action!
9. Shimano brake adapters worked great on my 203 and 180mm Shimano rotors. Thanks TRP.
10. Bleed block. Bleed kit doesn't come with a block. Get one from TRP. Not sure if a Saint bleed block fits, I would assume it does though since the Saint brake pads work in the Quadiem.
11. Hoses are slightly larger than Shimano so something to think about if you have internal routing. Though, I didn't have a problem with my 2017 Niner RIP 9.
12. The barbs have a little rubber o-ring and a different more delicate tip than the Shimano barbs (it's hard to explain until you see it). I didn't have a problem hammering the barb into the hose, but something to just be careful with. I noticed TRP sells a press like tool to press the barb into the hose, this might be a better approach, but I didn't have a problem with a few soft taps using a hammer.
13. Brake pad clips...I swapped to Saint metallic pads to add a bit more power. I also initially used the Saint pad clips until I noticed that the pad clip would barely knick the rotor once and awhile while riding, I thought my pads were hitting the rotor, but that was not the case. I noticed the TRP pad clip is actually shaped a bit differently than the Shimano allowing more room for the rotor. I switched over to the TRP pad clip and no longer have any issues.
14. The levers are rider serviceable!!! I assume the calipers are too, but can't find the parts on TRP's website for the calipers (I did find the lever parts on their website).
15. Good ole Mineral oil! Yes! I used Shimano mineral oil since it was what I had around.
16. Brakes are quiet! No finned pads slamming around or any rotors rubbing pads.
17. The Shimano i-spec adapter from TRP works well. However, it doesn't quite allow me to put the shifter close enough to my thumbs. The brake lever blade is long enough where I prefer to push the brake quite far away from my hand compared to my XT brakes. I'd consider running my shifter separately if I had a choice, but I only have an i-spec shifter without a separate shifter mount at the moment. Not enough of an issue to spend $30 on a KCNC I-SPEC II SHIFTER CLAMP.
Looking at the XT shifter a bit more and the i-spec adapter clearance, you should be able to slightly dremel a tiny notch in the shifter to allow you to slide the shifter a bit closer to your thumbs.
All in all, these brakes are great, seriously for the price they are hard to beat. It's great to have other options than what's available from SRAM and Shimano. Nice job TRP!
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