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TECH NEWS

TRP launch Hylex hydraulic road/CX brake

New hydraulic disc brake comes with a drop bar lever

TRP have launched a new hydraulic road/cyclocross brake called the Hylex – yet more evidence that hydraulics are on their way for road applications. It’s for drop handlebars but it’s singlespeed only – the levers are just brake levers, not dual brake/gear shifters.

The Hylex is fully hydraulic with master cylinders integrated into the brake hoods, a little like SRAM have done things with their new hydraulic design. The difference is that whereas the SRAM brake/shift levers come with a very high nose, the TRP ones have a more traditional shape. The tops of the levers are very flat and the rubber hoods are designed to be slip-proof in all conditions, wet or dry.

The caliper is one piece forged aluminium and you can choose between 140mm and 160mm rotors. The pistons are composite, designed to isolate heat better than steel, and the hydraulic system self-adjusts for pad wear. TRP reckon that you’re looking at a system weight of 352g per wheel.

The Hylex is a bit of a niche product but if you’re after hydraulic brakes for a drop-barred singlespeed, these are going to be available at £124.99 per end through Upgrade

Mat has been in cycling media since 1996, on titles including BikeRadar, Total Bike, Total Mountain Bike, What Mountain Bike and Mountain Biking UK, and he has been editor of 220 Triathlon and Cycling Plus. Mat has been road.cc technical editor for over a decade, testing bikes, fettling the latest kit, and trying out the most up-to-the-minute clothing. We send him off around the world to get all the news from launches and shows too. He has won his category in Ironman UK 70.3 and finished on the podium in both marathons he has run. Mat is a Cambridge graduate who did a post-grad in magazine journalism, and he is a winner of the Cycling Media Award for Specialist Online Writer. Now over 50, he's riding road and gravel bikes most days for fun and fitness rather than training for competitions.

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6 comments

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robthehungrymonkey | 10 years ago
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Perfect for my tourer, I have BB7's on it at the mo and bar end shifters.

Just can't really justify an unnecessary upgrade at the moment...

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PeterM | 10 years ago
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Why oh why do they always show the dull boring part of the caliper and disc and never what's under the hoods?

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ridein | 10 years ago
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You know it is actually possible to ride a road bike with drop bars and NOT have integrated gear/brake levers.

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Didonc replied to ridein | 10 years ago
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ridein wrote:

You know it is actually possible to ride a road bike with drop bars and NOT have integrated gear/brake levers.

Quite. These would be ideal for a low-hassle touring setup, for which bar-end shifters still have their advantages - simplicity, and bomb-proof reliability - being virtually maintenance free.

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matthewn5 | 10 years ago
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352g per wheel?? that's going to put off the weight weenies.

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Mayhem SWE | 10 years ago
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What happened to the HyWire hydraulic drop bar brake levers with integrated Di2/EPS shifters that TRP showed last year?

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