TRICKSTUFF MAXIMA BRAKES
€1,300 https://trickstuff.de
The MAXIMAs are Trickstuff’s most powerful stoppers, aimed squarely at downhill and enduro riding. The boutique German brand claim they’re the “strongest bicycle brake[s] in the world”. They feature a CNC-machined 7075 aluminium construction that’s hard not to lust after, with tight tolerances that are a pleasure on the eyes and feel great under the fingertips.
Only the expansion-tank cap on the lever gets any colour, with the orangeanodised cover hiding 3ml of Bionol hydraulic fluid. A total of four sealed cartridge bearings are used, giving the brakes a silky-smooth and light actuation, which stayed that way throughout our testing. The almost skeletal design of the lever lets you see the inner workings of the piston and is said to aid weight saving.
When you squeeze the lever, it feels frictionless, with no harsh edges. There’s a reach-adjust dial behind the blade, which offers infinite adjustment (within the lever’s throw), allowing for precise set-up – something that can sometimes be lost with indexed adjusters. The dual-bolt bar clamp requires a little more patience to attach than Shimano and SRAM’s designs, but works in tandem with Trickstuff’s I-SPEC and MatchMaker adapters to provide an incredibly clean cockpit with plenty of adjustability.
We tested the MAXIMAs with Goodridge steel-braided hoses. These can cause compatibility issues with some internally-routed frames, but we had no issues. They offer a narrower Kevlar option, should these not fit your bike. Bleeding the brakes is a quick and simple job, with screw-in fittings meaning that everything can be done with a simple tool kit – although the manual makes it feel like you’re disarming a bomb!
We quickly noticed just how much power is on tap. You can dump speed quickly, and a hard pull of the lever will lock the front wheel in pretty much any scenario. However, the MAXIMAs aren’t without modulation, and we quickly got used to their incredible levels of control, which allowed us to creep down steep rock-rolls and execute endo turns in tight corners. Long descents pose no issues, either, with performance remaining steady throughout. The brakes use Trickstuff’s own pads (based on the Hope V4 pad shape) and we found them quick to bed in to unleash the immense stopping power.
This is all to be expected from brakes that are three times the price of other high-end competition, but the style, performance and sheer ‘want them’ factor of these stoppers puts them towards the very top of the crop. Nick
Bling-tastic brakes with other-worldly stopping power, but super-expensive