You can’t go fast if you can’t stop fast and in a controlled manner, so good brakes are a vital component, no matter what type of riding you do. We’ve tested 12 to find the best set for you.
This year, we’ve split our selection across two broad categories. First off, we’ve got some of the most powerful stoppers around, aimed at downhill (DH), enduro and e-bike riders. We kitted these out with 200mm rotors front and rear, to get plenty of power from their four-piston callipers, and tested them on an e-MTB and on enduro bikes for a complete performance picture.
Our second group of brakes is aimed at cross-country (XC), downcountry and less aggressive trail riders, who still need plenty of stopping power, but for whom weight is a bigger consideration. There’s a mix of two- and four-piston callipers, grabbing onto 160mm and 180mm rotors, which we fitted to a 115mm-travel bike for testing.
Before hitting the trail, we went over the brakes in our workshop, cutting hoses – for a neat fit and to check how easy they are to bleed – weighing them, measuring them and giving them a good poking to ensure no detail was left unnoticed.
So what makes a test-winning brake? Power delivery is key. Whether lightweight or burly, your anchors need to bring you to a stop quickly, with as little finger force as possible. A brake may have a ton of power, but if you have to pull the lever really hard to access it, you’ll find yourself in arm-pump hell. The power has to be modulated, too, so it’s easy to manage, instead of going straight from initial bite to full grunt. While some riders prefer a really soft initial bite, with power building through the lever stroke, others like punchier power. We’ve tried to give a good idea of how each brake feels in our
