TRP HY-RD cable actuated hydraulic or not ?

[JhnBssll]

I don’t personally find any Shimano hoods comfortable. SRAM all the way whose hydraulic hoods are also bulky and fugly (at least they were in the summer when I specced my Ti)

I think you're right about the SRAM ones, I haven't seen any that aren't bulky and my hydraulic Rival STI's aren't exactly pretty, but they do get the job done.

Interestingly Shimano have picked up on this with their new 105 group as they have a specific version of the hydraulic STI for small hands, here's a quote from the Cyling Weekly review:

"There are also new ergonomically shaped hydraulic dual-control levers (ST-R7020) that look identical in design to Ultegra levers with a greater range of reach adjustment for different hand sizes.
The customisability doesn’t stop there: 105 R7000 offers a separate version of the hydraulic brake/gear lever (ST-R7025) specifically for smaller hands, which is angled closer to the bar with more of an outboard position to avoid interference with the drops during operation. There is no separate smaller version for the rim-braking 105 STI."

Full write-up here https://www.cyclingweekly.com/news/product-news/shimano-105-r7000-374634#PzgKdJhKJGtdBGRH.99

 

[vickster]

I’ll stick with my Spyres

 

[Drago]

Of course, manly meat eating men like me, with big, gnarled, manly hands, actually like the larger versions of the older Shimano hydro brifters, and some of the larger mechanical ones, such as 4600 etc, so it's not all bad for everyone.

 

[JhnBssll]

I’ll stick with my Spyres

I wasn't suggesting you change your setup I was merely providing up to date information for the OP to help them with their decision. Whichever system they go for is up to them but the purpose of this thread is information gathering to help them

Of course, manly meat eating men like me, with big, gnarled, manly hands, actually like the larger versions of the older Shimano hydro brifters, and some of the larger mechanical ones, such as 4600 etc, so it's not all bad for everyone.

Agreed, I love the chunky Rival hydraulic STI's, super comfy. I also love the smaller DA hydraulic Di2 STI's on my Bianchi and the Ultegra hydraulic STI's on my Roubaix, they're all very good. It's fair to say I've tried a few

 

[Yellow Saddle]

Older ones, yes. The latest Shimano offerings are all much better proportioned. I would seriously consider the latest 105 hydraulic STI's coupled with Hope RX-4 calipers...

That won't work. Shimano works with mineral oil, Hope with DOT fluid.

 

[JhnBssll]

That won't work. Shimano works with mineral oil, Hope with DOT fluid.

There are two variants of the RX-4 caliper, one for Shimano and one for SRAM. The Shimano variant uses mineral oil

I've got these calipers on 2 bikes both using Shimano hydraulic brifters, they're pretty impressive.

 

[Yellow Saddle]

There are two variants of the RX-4 caliper, one for Shimano and one for SRAM. The Shimano variant uses mineral oil

I've got these calipers on 2 bikes both using Shimano hydraulic brifters, they're pretty impressive.

OK, I eat my words. It's nice to know HOPE did that, do they now also do a mineral oil lever (for MTB obviously)?

 

[JhnBssll]

OK, I eat my words. It's nice to know HOPE did that, do they now also do a mineral oil lever (for MTB obviously)?

Not that I'm aware of, no. I guess they realised they needed a caliper that would work with existing brifters to get in to the road and CX market and didn't fancy developing their own

 

[si_c]

TRP Spyre brakes are very good, easy to set up and brake well. The Hy/Rd brakes are much much better if your mileage is quite high.

With all fully cable actuated brakes you have to manually compensate for pad wear, which I found I was doing at least weekly with the Spyres. I've done significantly more on the Hy/Rd since swapping them over and not had to touch them once.

Setup on both is very very easy and takes less than 5 minutes. Braking power is the same near enough, and control is very similar but slughslimore consistent with the Hy/Rd, you won't be disappointed with either.

 

[Drago]

With all fully cable actuated brakes you have to manually compensate for lad wear, which I found I was doing at least weekly with the Spyres. .

Better cables will virtually eliminate that.

 

[si_c]

Better cables will virtually eliminate that.

How so? Even using decent compression-less cables the pads still wear and doing between 100 and 200 miles per week I had to adjust the pads inboard slightly each week to adjust for wear. That's why I rate the Hy/Rds so highly over the Spyres, that lack of ongoing maintenance being required. Admittedly it's not much, and only the front wheel really, but still.

 

[Venod]

Because the trp are dual piston you need to be careful that the caliper body does not foul the spokes on front wheel

I have TRP mechanical Spyres on 2 bikes and they are the best mechanical disc calipers I have used, but they do run alarmingly close to the spokes.

 

[si_c]

I have TRP mechanical Spyres on 2 bikes and they are the best mechanical disc calipers I have used, but they do run alarmingly close to the spokes.

Yeah they do run a bit close, I dished my front wheel slightly off to compensate for it, only a mm or two, but it made me much more comfortable.

 

[Wobblers]

TRP Spyre brakes are very good, easy to set up and brake well. The Hy/Rd brakes are much much better if your mileage is quite high.

With all fully cable actuated brakes you have to manually compensate for pad wear, which I found I was doing at least weekly with the Spyres. I've done significantly more on the Hy/Rd since swapping them over and not had to touch them once.

Setup on both is very very easy and takes less than 5 minutes. Braking power is the same near enough, and control is very similar but slughslimore consistent with the Hy/Rd, you won't be disappointed with either.

What groupset and shifters are you using with your Hy/Rd brakes? I have one on the front of the London Road, but I've found it to be mediocre at best - worse, in fact than the BB7 it replaced. I'm running 9 speed Sora, and I've heard that the Hy/Rd is designed for the cable pull of more modern groupsets - so I'm not sure whether or not that's the reason or if it's down to my crap mechanic (me!).

 

[Drago]

How so? Even using decent compression-less cables the pads still wear and doing between 100 and 200 miles per week I had to adjust the pads inboard slightly each week to adjust for wear. That's why I rate the Hy/Rds so highly over the Spyres, that lack of ongoing maintenance being required. Admittedly it's not much, and only the front wheel really, but still.

What are you doing? I'm 260+ LBS and don't wear pads out so fast that I'm having to twiddle anywhere near that frequently. If I have to spend 20 seconds a quarter adjusting them I'm having a bad time indeed.