TRP DH-R EVO Disc Brake and Lever [Rider Review]

Our "Rider Review" article series features the honest reviews from verified purchasers of Worldwide Cyclery. They contain the photos, thoughts, feedback & overall review you are looking for. 

TRP have rippled the waters in the brake market for a while. And their DH-R EVO is a downhill brake to consider for how much power they have. Our friend, Colin, has been running them. See what they think!  

Overview

I have had the fortunate experience to be able to ride a lot of different brakes from SRAM and Shimano over the years. Most of my experience with SRAM came from demo bikes in short bursts on trips to different areas. With those brakes, I could not have been more impressed with their modulation and their distribution of power. On the other hand, all the bikes I have personally owned have come with Shimano brakes - the most recent set being the Shimano SLX m7120 4-piston brakes. These brakes have similar modulation to what SRAM was offering in my opinion, but they had that staple Shimano bite that I learned to love when traveling at high speed. However, one thing that consistently became a problem was Shimano’s wandering bite point that I could no longer live with. As I started to do my research on new brakes, I came across TRP that everyone claimed has the modulation of SRAM, but the power and bite of Shimano. That is how I landed on buying the flagship TRP DHR-EVO brakes. Now that I have experience with all three, hopefully, I can help you make a decision!

Installation:
When I was reading the reviews about these brakes and how easy it was to install them, I was slightly skeptical. With previous experience, it usually takes me a couple of times to get the brakes exactly how I want. However, the steps were super easy to follow, and I managed to get the lines cut to size, and everything installed without the need of even a lever bleed. These brakes were dialed out of the box and took about 15-20 minutes to install in total.

Braking in:
My current set-up is running the stock performance-resin brake pads on their new 2.3 180mm rotors front and rear. I am currently riding the Fezzari Delano Peak and with that being a 135/150 trail bike, I thought 180 rotors were appropriate. However, TRP makes rotors all the way up to 223mm, which I will probably pick up a set for DH park duties later in the year. These brakes were able to bed in during the parking lot process, and during my first downhill run - they felt completely at home halfway through and help their consistency from then on.

These are phenomenal in so many different ways.

Performance:
These are phenomenal in so many different ways. They are extremely powerful and with adjusting rotor sizes, I feel like they can be put on a wide line-up of bikes, instead of the DH-only application like their name implies. The lever feel is very light and the consistency of the power you get as you progress through the lever pull is confidence-inspiring. That leads me to the main selling point of these brakes to me, their consistency is unmatched. Where I live, we have decent consistent downhills, and I have not ridden a brake that did not lose some performance by the end of the run, until these brakes. They have been so consistent and quiet through the gnarliest and longest downhill runs I could throw at it and they stayed true through the entire run.

Final Thoughts 

I could not be happier about these brakes. The updates that TRP seemed to make on this line-up have been phenomenal and they live up to the hype. I think they truly do sit in the middle between SRAM and Shimano when it comes to modulation, power is probably about the same across all three, but TRP’s consistency in performance could be the main selling point. They are just downright good, and they stay great throughout the entire ride without fading. If I could change only one thing about the brakes it might be the lever is a little bulky. However, it has great grip and seems like it will be durable in a crash so that is only a minor complaint. If you do not want DH brakes on your trail bike like me, I know they have other options in this EVO line-up that might work for you better. But, if you ride fast on technical trails as I do, these brakes are hands down worth a look!