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review
£129.99
VERDICT:
High performance stoppers for fast audax, winter training or touring that look the biz too
Weight:
171g
Contact:
At road.cc every product is thoroughly tested for as long as it takes to get a proper insight into how well it works. Our reviewers are experienced cyclists that we trust to be objective. While we strive to ensure that opinions expressed are backed up by facts, reviews are by their nature an informed opinion, not a definitive verdict. We don't intentionally try to break anything (except locks) but we do try to look for weak points in any design. The overall score is not just an average of the other scores: it reflects both a product's function and value – with value determined by how a product compares with items of similar spec, quality, and price.
What the road.cc scores meanGood scores are more common than bad, because fortunately good products are more common than bad.
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- Average
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- Poor
- Bad
- Appalling
The deep drop RG957 brakes from TRP provide stopping performance akin to the top end race brakes on the market. They don't come cheap though.
There has been a real shift in the last couple of years towards performance bikes that will also take full mudguards, Kinesis' GF Ti V2 or Dolan's carbon Dual are two such examples but while you can deck them out with carbon wheels, top end finishing kit and groupsets, brake options that could match that performance have always been a little on the limited side.
In the RG957s case your £129.99 gets you an all round top end set of calipers with stainless steel bolts and fittings which are so easy to set up. They weigh 171g front and rear which is about on par with most deep drops. I'm not going to complain about the weight, I'd rather have the material there for stiffness.
The arms are forged from TT6 aluminium before having the slots CNC'd creating a very smooth looking caliper where everything fits together perfectly with no play in the mechanism at all. The cable adjustment wheel is easy and comfortable to use and it's the little things like this that give the feeling of quality.
The brake pad slots are positioned to allow a pad reach of 47-57mm and there is loads of clearance for large tyres. I tested them on a bike shod with 23mm tyres and SKS Raceblade mudguards and there was oceans of space to go larger both in terms of mudguard width and tyre size.
In use the performance is easily on par with my Campagnolo Skeleton calipers which I rate as some of the best road brakes on the market. The RG957's are very stiff and provide progressive braking with loads of feel at the lever. TRP's own alloy compound pads work great too especially in the wet. You've still got to clear the initial layer of water off of the rim but after that braking is just as good as in the dry. Wear is looking pretty good too.
Overall the RG957s are very impressive both in terms of quality and performance easily matching short drop road brakes in terms of stopping power.
It's that consistent all-weather braking that in my opinion makes them good value for money. The matt black ones we've got here also look pretty cool in an understated sort of way. You can also get silver or grey though should you wish.
Verdict
High performance stoppers for fast audax, winter training or touring that look the biz too.
road.cc test report
Make and model: TRP RG957 Deep Drop Brakes
Size tested: n/a
Tell us what the product is for, and who it's aimed at. What do the manufacturers say about it? How does that compare to your own feelings about it?
The RG957's are aimed at bikes using mudguards or larger tyres for touring, audaxing and so on. There is certainly plenty of clearance there but also plenty of performance.
Tell us some more about the technical aspects of the product?
*Forged TT6 alumium arms
*Inplace Road CNC adjustable pad holders
*Cam Style Quick Release
*Stainless Steel hardware
*Spring tension adjustment
*Color: Black, Grey, or Silver
*Reach: 47-57mm
Rate the product for quality of construction:
9/10
Rate the product for performance:
9/10
Rate the product for durability:
9/10
Rate the product for weight, if applicable:
8/10
Rate the product for value:
9/10
Tell us how the product performed overall when used for its designed purpose
Absolutely brilliant, amazing stopping power regardless of the weather conditions.
Tell us what you particularly liked about the product
The way they look and the build quality.
Tell us what you particularly disliked about the product
The price is going to divide opinion but I reckon this is a prime example of you get what you pay for.
Did you enjoy using the product? Yes.
Would you consider buying the product? Yes.
Would you recommend the product to a friend? Yes.
Anything further to say about the product in conclusion?
Finally deep drop brakes that have the performance to match top end short drops.
About the tester
Age: 35 Height: 180cm Weight: 76kg
I usually ride: Whatever needs testing or Genesis Flyer, fixed of course! My best bike is: Kinesis T2 with full Centaur Red
I've been riding for: 10-20 years I ride: Every day I would class myself as: Expert
I regularly do the following types of riding: time trialling, commuting, club rides, sportives, fixed/singlespeed,
Since writing his first bike review for road.cc back in early 2009 senior product reviewer Stu has tested more than a thousand pieces of kit, and hundreds of bikes.
With an HND in mechanical engineering and previous roles as a CNC programmer/machinist, draughtsman and development engineer (working in new product design) Stu understands what it takes to bring a product to market. A mix of that knowledge combined with his love of road and gravel cycling puts him in the ideal position to put the latest kit through its paces.
He first made the switch to road cycling in 1999, primarily for fitness, but it didn’t take long for his competitive side to take over which led to around ten years as a time triallist and some pretty decent results. These days though riding is more about escapism, keeping the weight off and just enjoying the fact that he gets to ride the latest technology as part of his day job.
Latest Comments
- Coolkitty 7 sec ago
I agree, however, it works both ways and cyclists should learn the highway code - especially in todays traffic
- David9694 46 min 22 sec ago
Clevedon: Controversial end of free parking 'will be monitored' after outcry...
- cardch 55 min 42 sec ago
That is a great idea. And surely someone will call them Arsegos.
- chrisonabike 1 hour 19 min ago
Agreed - but with a bit more set-back from roundabout. Also how well respected is this in practice?...
- ErnieC 1 hour 55 min ago
I'm a bit screwed then, one bike has straight carbon forks and the other straight steel forks ...
- muhasib 11 hours 31 min ago
"the cost to rebuild the M25 junction 10/A3 Wisley interchange is £317 million. The project is expected to be completed in 2025. "
- mark1a 11 hours 55 min ago
I think they did, from memory back in the 70s/80s... haven't seen one for years though, our current milkman uses a standard van, albeit hybrid.
- S.E. 13 hours 42 min ago
Yes, sleep apnea produces more CO... I'm not aware of any doping effect but what do I know....
- Gd29 15 hours 50 min ago
That's true enough. But doesn't address my point that the chainset you get as a replacement will not physically fit chainrings from the chain set...
- brooksby 16 hours 20 min ago
In all fairness, it almost certainly NEVER happened…
Add new comment
24 comments
That's good , I don't feel so bad now , thanks for the reply
I have just bought these brakes , and was a bit surprised and disappointed when they arrived with no cables at all. , for £110 , I thought the cables would be included , is this the norm , or has the retailer held the cables back ?
Brake cables are usually bundled with shifters, not calipers, as they are shifter-specific (Shimano brake cables don't sit properly in Campagnolo shifters).
Yeah, that's quite normal for calipers. I got a pair of these a few years ago new from EBay and they didn't have cables.
Just swapped out a set of Miche deep-drops with Koolstop pads for a set of these TRP calipers. And although I haven't experienced them in the wet, yet, I'm MUCH happier with the performance of the TRP brakes. Plus they look a lot better, and radiate "quality" where the Miche only ever managed to suggest "cheap".
Pads make the biggest difference - some swisstops installed on my long reach Tektros turned them into decent brakes. Cant see many forking out for the TRP's personally...
Had R650's on my GF Ti V2 - whilst good they lacked
"oommph" or "bite" or whatever you want to call it. These
have been a revelation in that respect. Oddly mine haven't
gone rusty on the QR bolt like the review set and mine've
been out in some pretty foul weather !!!!
And I "had" to have matt black as the rest is black/carbon
'fine italian bike jewellery'
Do Campag make long drop brakes? I looked, but couldn't find any. Hence, the need for the 'fishing contraptions'. Maybe the makers of 'fine Italien bike jewelry' need to up their game?! And before anyone has a go, I love my Centaur / Proton combo. I also love my fishing tackle setups too
How about a stud version for vintage frames?
It's a high price low volume unit, so perhaps a chance?
Mixing some fishing contraptions with fine Italian bike jewellery is nothing short of blasphemy. I think that's the problem.
Glad to see someone finally take deep drop brakes seriously. For me, this has been the worst part of a Kinesis TK3 setup.
Great that it's in black too - shimanos top end deep drop R650 only comes in silver, which looks awful with a black shimano groupset. That said, I still use R650s with a black 105 group, the performance of the other options to date has been so bad. Personally I think the R650 still performs poorly compared to Ultegra or DuraAce stoppers.
Those suggesting a pad change - it really hasn't helped on the cheap long drops I tried. I think the issue is that the longer calliper arms just don't have the stiffness to brake as well as short drop brakes. I would happily drop 130 quid on these if they are as good as the author suggests.
Like others have mentioned... couldn't they include a high-spec stainless set of bolts for £130?
Fail for the rusty stainless bolt (trying to look like a year old Avid), and the the price is high, although suspect the street price will be significant lower.
For the TRP pads, they are pretty bad, recently swapped a set of TRP pads, which were stock on CX 9 brakes, to Swissstop BXP's and it changed the feel of the brakes from ok-ish to working really well.
I built up a Ribble 365 this last winter and went with the R650. They've been a excellent brake and at £51 for a pair from Ribble (inc 10% discount) they where good value compared to these TRPs.
The TRP RG957 is a bit lighter a 171g per caliper compared to the R650 at 185g but for a winter bike it didn't matter so much.
They do look cool (apart from the rusty bolt), but that is a pricey calliper brake for sure.
650s are an exceptionally good brake - I've certainly never be looking for more road than is available in 3 years of using them coupled with Swissstop Greens.
I'm all for shiny cool looking things - but I'm not sure I could entertain that sort of price.
They'd be just the ticket for a bit of Genesis Equilibrium upgrading. I've got the Shimano R650s on mine, which are fine, but if / when they need replacing it's good to know there are other options.
It's a brilliant descending bike, but I do get a bit of judder on the R650s at speeds north of 40mph.
Wow that's an expensive set of brakes! I have a set of Tektro R737 on my Racelight T2 with the blue BBB pads and shoes.
Originally I had the bike fitted with the cheap Miche deep drop brakes, but the arms were not quite long enough.
The brakles look nice. As a minor aside, the Dolan Dual takes conventional, not deep drop, brakes.
Ignoring pads, how do these compare to R650s? Time for a group test
I've ridden pretty much every deep drop brake available, be that on a test bike or through buying them myself and these RG957's are the best out there at the moment. The key is the stiffness of the caliper arms which means they brake the same as shorter reach standard road bikes.
The R650's come close and are obviously cheaper but aren't an option if you're a Campag user
Re the bit about not being able to run. R650's with Campag - I've got a pair hooked up to Old style Centaur levers and they work perfectly (much to my relief!)
Sssh! Don't tell everyone that everything works together if you know how, that's not what the manufacturers want you to think.
I was referring to aesthetics rather than mechanics
It doesn't bother some I know but I just can't bring myself to mix groupsets
£130 is a lot for a brake with a rusty bolt
Would be good to see a comparison to other deep drop brakes irrespective of pads, as we all know a pad change on cheaper brakes can bring them seriously close to performance levels of the big£ models. In fact thats exactly what i did to my (equally rusty) Miche deep drops, £19.99rrp incidentally.