HyRd vs. State Bicycle Co. Disc Calipers

The State Bicycle Co, calipers were impressive for the money.

 NOTE: I am doing this review with some TRP Hy/Rd calipers that I sourced on my own vs some State Bicycle Co. calipers which were sent by State to me at no charge for test and review. Neither State Bicycle Co. or TRP are paying for this review and I will always strive to give my honest thoughts and opinions throughout.

I recently came across a pair of NOS HyRd post mount brake calipers. These are hydraulic, but only at the caliper. You can use a standard brake lever, cable, and housing with the HyRd. These calipers are made by TRP, so a well regarded component manufacturer there. 

I thought that I might install these as an upgrade to my well-worn Avid BB-7 calipers on my old Fargo Gen I. I also figured that this might make for an interesting comparison to the recently reviewed State Bicycle Co. All-Road Disc Brake Calipers, which you can read about HERE. 

First, let's find out about the TRP HyRd calipers. These can be used with standard cable operated levers, so if you've been using fully manual controls but have wondered what all the hype is about with hydraulic brakes, this could be a gateway to figuring out if you want to go that route without fully committing to a new brake/shift system. Also, it may be that you want to avoid the hassles with hydraulic brake hose set up, bleeding brakes, and forgoing changes to your cockpit because of the complexity and expense associated with fully hydraulic systems. Or maybe you just like the ability to get cables and housings almost anywhere in the world but still have a hydraulic caliper with better power and modulation than a fully mechanical disc brake set up. 

TRP HyRd caliper. (Image courtesy of TRP)

Whatever the case may be for you, these TRP HyRd calipers with almost maintenance free, mineral oil based calipers may be what you are looking for. The HyRd's use a Shimano type pad as well, which are ubiquitous in most bike shops these days, so replacements are easily sourced. They come with a semi-metallic pad as stock, by the way. What you get for your money is a caliper only, similar to how the State Bicycle Co. sells the All-Road calipers. The big difference?

Price. At $149.99 per wheel that makes one bike's worth of HyRd's cost $300.00. You could buy three sets of State Bicycle Co. All Road Disc Calipers for that amount. That's one caliper vs three bikes worth. Woof! That's hard to ignore. But we will see how the HyRd fares against the excellent All-Road calipers soon enough. 

Disclaimer: Now, keeping in mind that I did not get these brakes in the box, they were take-offs from a build that never got ridden. All I got were the bare calipers. I got none of the stock mounting hardware or a manual for the brakes. So, take that as you will. Also, I have no affiliation with TRP whatsoever. they do not know I am doing this review and this is all my honest opinions and experiences with this product. 

Installation: Again, I decided to mount these on the old Fargo Gen I bike I have. That bike came with Avid BB-7 mechanical disc brakes. So, all along those have been the brakes on this bike. The calipers mount via the post mount standard and are set up to receive 160mm rotors front and rear with no adapters.

The rearward-most bolt on the caliper is a pain to get at on the Fargo Gen I

Removal of the Avid caliper should be straightforward, however; the way the bike was designed, the rearward caliper bolt is tucked in close to where the seat stays and chain stays meet the rear drop out. That makes getting a wrench in there, and turning that wrench, rather difficult. It is one of the pet peeves I have about the Gen I Fargo. 

I found that the old hardware for mounting the Avid caliper was too long for the new HyRd caliper, so I had to scrounge up something that would work. I found one perfect brand new bolt for the front of the caliper, but the one I found for the rear was a tad bit too long. I used one set of convex/concave washers to shim out the bolt with. That seemed to do the trick. At least I didn't have to fumble around with those concave/convex washers in between the caliper and frame. That was always a fiddly mess!

Interestingly, the TRP HyRd actuation arm is further away from the cable stop than it is on the Avid BB-7, so While I was able to attach the cable, it is too short, terminating barely past the fixing bolt. While some may take a gamble that it wouldn't slip, I am not that guy. I only attached it so I could set up the caliper over the rotor. 

The Fargo requires an extra-long brake cable, so I had to go purchase a new one at the local bike shop. That solved the rear brake system's issues and the front was tackled with no issues. Again, I had to scrounge up two new shorter mounting bolts, but that was expected since I did not get the bolts with the brakes. 

Now, how do the HyRd's compare to the BB-7's? Well, in terms of weight, the BB-7's win that comparison handily. But they weren't the lightest calipers either. Weighing just the calipers with pads installed the BB-7's weighed in at 181 grams a piece. The HyRd's weighed in at 230 grams each. The State Bicycle Co. All Road Calipers weighed in at 176 grams each. So, the HyRd's are the heaviest choice out of all three here. 

The Hy/Rd calipers are physically larger as well. This might make these a bad choice on frames which are smaller, or frames with lowered seat stays due to the overall height of the caliper and the actuation arm being so far back in terms of the position of the mounting bolts. 

I hadn't ridden the brakes yet, but in terms of lever feel, I immediately thought of my Gevanelle Hydraulic brake set up on my Tamland Two. The Tamland Two's brakes are a very "on-off" feeling brake.Ironically those Gevenalle brakes are, in fact, made by TRP. 

The HyRd's aren't quite as severe feeling in that way, but they are very reminiscent of the Gevenalle/TRP brakes. In comparison, the State brakes have a bit more modulation, and they do not as easily translate when the pad contacts the rotor like the Gevenalle/TRP brakes will. 

Avid BB-7's are almost totally reliant on how they are set up, so comparisons do not make a lot of sense there, but I will tip you off- If you want the very best that a BB-7 brake can be, find a set of 1st generation, one-piece caliper BB-7's. Good luck though! They haven't been in production for two decades! 

So, that's what I have so far. The next update will be about how these brakes do out on rides. My impressions so far are that these are kind of expensive, a bit clunky looking, and heavy. Their price actually is in line and even cheaper than some boutique brakes which are cable actuated hydraulics, or mechanical brakes. But you can find really good brakes, like the State calipers, for far less. 

That all said, if the HyRds can impress with stellar riding performance, the rest may become more of a background issue. We will see. Stay tuned......

First Impressions: State Bicycle Co. All-Road Disc Brake Calipers

Note: I received the products mentioned in this review at no charge to me. State Bicycle Co. did not bribe me, nor are they paying me for this review. I always strive to give my honest thoughts and opinions throughout. 

I posted about these calipers earlier HERE. That was a week ago now. I've had several test rides since then to see about bedding the brakes in and to test their performance in certain situations. Here are my first impressions on those rides.

I won't say too much about the first few rides, since those were about bedding in the pads to my rotors, but I will say that even through that process up to today, these brakes remain quiet. So, I am impressed with that right off the top.

Subsequent rides were purpose-driven to see how these brakes might do in certain situations. I rode the Singular Cycles Gryphon Mk3 semi-loaded up for even more weight to deal with in these tests. I rode to see how emergency braking was, not necessarily seeing if the wheels would lock up, but to see how quickly I could controllably brake.  Then I tested for what I call "surgical braking". The type of fine movement, modulated braking you might have to do, say down a steep, technical descent. Then I tested for more casual braking chores. How easily are these brakes worked with one finger, for instance, or from the hoods? 

So, in a quick, emergency stop, the calipers were excellent. I probably could skid too, but again, that isn't my intent here. Controllable, powerful braking to a stop was achievable. So, I feel confident that, if I had to, I could haul the bike down to a rather quick stop. This was also done without cramp-inducing hand pressure, which you may have to apply with a fully mechanical set up. This wasn't on par with fully hydraulic set ups I have on drop bars, in terms of input needed to achieve result desired. But it was doable and easily so. 

Next up I wanted to see about that "surgical braking" performance. How slow and controlled can I go with ease? 

This was achieved with good results. The brakes are not grabby, and they have a longer throw of the lever in the sweet spot of their power, making them easy to modulate. These could be set up  as "on-off" brakes, (a very bad idea, by the way), but a careful set up with regard to the cable tension, actuating arm, and pad distance to the rotor will yield excellent results. Much like mechanical brakes, in this way, set up is everything. 

Slow, controlled braking is not what I will often need out of these brakes, but anyone that puts these on a drop-bar MTB will want that, so it is good to know that you can achieve these results with the State calipers. That said, longer descents on sketchy gravel will be easier due to the window of modulation I have with these brakes. 

Finally, are these State Bicycle Co. calipers easy on the hands? How much effort do you need to apply to stop in normal situations from the drops or the hoods? 

In this testing I found that the State Bicycle Co. All-Road Calipers would be about "normal" for hydraulic brakes and maybe leaning toward the "more effort" necessary range. Actually, my take right now overall is that the State Bicycle Co. All-Road Calipers are pretty much in the grey area between what a great mechanical brake can do and what an average hydraulic set up can do. The State calipers aren't the 'easiest on the hands' brakes, but they are definitely easier to use than the best mechanical brake calipers I've ever used, (first generation, one-piece caliper Avids), so that's where I see these sitting. Right in that pocket between hydraulic and mechanical brakes, and that would only make sense, since they are a hybrid of both types.

Add in that a set is a hundred bucks and it makes it hard to ignore these. Especially against the best mechanical brakes out there now which literally cost hundreds of dollars more. So, the ubiquitous "bang-for-the-buck" thing is going to rear its ugly little head here, because in this case - so far - the term is an apt one to use. 

We'll see about the long-term use of these, which may change my opinions a bit, but for right now? It is simply amazing that you can get a brake set at this price that is not only worthy of consideration, but works really, really well. Stay tuned......

First Impressions: State Bicycle Co. All-Road Disc Brake Calipers

Note: I received the products mentioned in this review at no charge to me. State Bicycle Co. did not bribe me, nor are they paying me for this review. I always strive to give my honest thoughts and opinions throughout. 

I posted about these calipers earlier HERE. That was a week ago now. I've had several test rides since then to see about bedding the brakes in and to test their performance in certain situations. Here are my first impressions on those rides.

I won't say too much about the first few rides, since those were about bedding in the pads to my rotors, but I will say that even through that process up to today, these brakes remain quiet. So, I am impressed with that right off the top.

Subsequent rides were purpose-driven to see how these brakes might do in certain situations. I rode the Singular Cycles Gryphon Mk3 semi-loaded up for even more weight to deal with in these tests. I rode to see how emergency braking was, not necessarily seeing if the wheels would lock up, but to see how quickly I could controllably brake.  Then I tested for what I call "surgical braking". The type of fine movement, modulated braking you might have to do, say down a steep, technical descent. Then I tested for more casual braking chores. How easily are these brakes worked with one finger, for instance, or from the hoods? 

So, in a quick, emergency stop, the calipers were excellent. I probably could skid too, but again, that isn't my intent here. Controllable, powerful braking to a stop was achievable. So, I feel confident that, if I had to, I could haul the bike down to a rather quick stop. This was also done without cramp-inducing hand pressure, which you may have to apply with a fully mechanical set up. This wasn't on par with fully hydraulic set ups I have on drop bars, in terms of input needed to achieve result desired. But it was doable and easily so. 

Next up I wanted to see about that "surgical braking" performance. How slow and controlled can I go with ease? 

This was achieved with good results. The brakes are not grabby, and they have a longer throw of the lever in the sweet spot of their power, making them easy to modulate. These could be set up  as "on-off" brakes, (a very bad idea, by the way), but a careful set up with regard to the cable tension, actuating arm, and pad distance to the rotor will yield excellent results. Much like mechanical brakes, in this way, set up is everything. 

Slow, controlled braking is not what I will often need out of these brakes, but anyone that puts these on a drop-bar MTB will want that, so it is good to know that you can achieve these results with the State calipers. That said, longer descents on sketchy gravel will be easier due to the window of modulation I have with these brakes. 

Finally, are these State Bicycle Co. calipers easy on the hands? How much effort do you need to apply to stop in normal situations from the drops or the hoods? 

In this testing I found that the State Bicycle Co. All-Road Calipers would be about "normal" for hydraulic brakes and maybe leaning toward the "more effort" necessary range. Actually, my take right now overall is that the State Bicycle Co. All-Road Calipers are pretty much in the grey area between what a great mechanical brake can do and what an average hydraulic set up can do. The State calipers aren't the 'easiest on the hands' brakes, but they are definitely easier to use than the best mechanical brake calipers I've ever used, (first generation, one-piece caliper Avids), so that's where I see these sitting. Right in that pocket between hydraulic and mechanical brakes, and that would only make sense, since they are a hybrid of both types.

Add in that a set is a hundred bucks and it makes it hard to ignore these. Especially against the best mechanical brakes out there now which literally cost hundreds of dollars more. So, the ubiquitous "bang-for-the-buck" thing is going to rear its ugly little head here, because in this case - so far - the term is an apt one to use. 

We'll see about the long-term use of these, which may change my opinions a bit, but for right now? It is simply amazing that you can get a brake set at this price that is not only worthy of consideration, but works really, really well. Stay tuned......

Review: State Bicycle Co. Cargo Cage, All-Road Disc Calipers

Note: I received the products mentioned in this review at no charge to me. State Bicycle Co. did not bribe me, nor are they paying me for this review. I always strive to give my honest thoughts and opinions throughout. 

Hey, when you are a reviewer of products, you often times are subject to the whims and foibles of marketing folk. You hardly ever get to work with the same person for long, as the door seems to be a revolving one at those firms, and so it becomes a situation where the goal posts get moved all the time in terms of how, or even if, I will get stuff in to test/review. 

A great example of this would be the current products featured in today's post. The same firm I am dealing with here asked me if I wanted to review some shoes and I said "yes", but it has been a month now, and..... This stuff here, the State Bicycle Co. stuff, I said yes to just last Wednesday and it arrived at my door on Saturday. 

You just never know!

Readers here may have seen my mention of the State Bicycle Co. stuff on Friday in the "FN&V". If you caught that, you know that I was most interested in the brake calipers and the cargo cage. So, State sent that to me and well, here's the lowdown on the products....

(L-R) Silicone molded Cargo Straps, Cargo Cage, All-Road Disc Calipers.

Let's take these one at a time...

State Cargo Cage & Silicone Molded Straps: The Cargo Cage is designed to reflect the desert home of State Bicycle Co. with its cactus and mountains motif. The "SBC" logo is also there to remind you where the cage came from. The cage is crafted from 5250 aluminum alloy and features a clever slotted and ovalized hole mounting pattern allowing the rider to utilize several mounting options. This cage has a claimed weight of 168 grams and is rated to 25lbs capacity for cargo weight. The Cargo Cage sells for $24.95 and is available direct from State Bicycle Co's website here. 

The Silicone Molded Cargo Straps are an optional accessory item which can be used with the Cargo Cage or with other bags and cages. The straps measure 22mm X 56cm and have a nice buckle and strap retention loop. You can add these at purchase of the Cargo Cage or State sells these separately for $9.99.

All-Road Disc Brake Calipers: The All-Road Disc Brake Calipers can be purchased separately or as a set. These calipers are hybrid type calipers which are actuated by a cable but are hydraulic at the caliper only. 

There is not a ton of technical information on State's site about these, but the instructions in the box give us more clues and information. The calipers are actuated by an arm that displaces mineral oil inside the sealed caliper. This forces both pistons outward to cause braking action using Shimano compatible pads. (Easy replacement!) The manual says that these should never need bleeding, so they should be low maintenance. 

The manual also lets us know that these brake calipers were produced by the Chinese firm IIIPro. Checking into this online I was able to ferret out that the calipers are CNC machined, (they look like they are as well) and that the anodizing is scratch resistant. 

The calipers come with hardware to adapt the calipers to 140mm or 160mm rotors, which should accommodate most gravel bikes. The price from State for a pair of these is $99.99. You can check out the State Bicycle Co. site for more on these here. 

First Impressions: 

The products were well presented and they looked like premium components which should work well. I especially liked that the mounting options for the cage would allow for different use scenarios. The disc brake calipers were handsome and the CNC machining marks always look cool to me. The anodization of the aluminum parts looked great and I saw nothing odd or out of place there. 

The Cargo Straps were a new thing on me. I see a lot of bikepackers using similar ones to these and now I can see why. They are about 100 times easier to use over the traditional Nylon strap and plastic buckle deals I had been using. Not to mention that these are a vast upgrade over toe-straps! 

The installation of the flat mount calipers was pretty straight forward with the exception of one thing. The front caliper adapter came set in the 140mm position. What?! Okay, so I have to switch that around. I don't know of many 140mm front applications, so I thought this was odd. Things got a bit more complicated when I found that IIIPro used a pretty aggressive thread locking compound on the adapter to caliper bolts which caused a moment or two of dread wondering if I might round out the 4mm hex bolt head due to the excessive amount of force needed to break the bolts free. But in the end, I got the deed done.

The brake calipers and cage mounted to my Singular Cycles Gryphon Mk3.

I chose my Singular Cycles Gryphon Mk3 as the test mule for these items as it uses flat mount brakes and the Old Man Mountain Elkhorn Rack is mounted to it which has Three-Pack bosses on its struts. The Cargo Cage's mounting options allowed for a lower mounting of the cage, which in comparison to my other cargo cage, which does not allow for such an option, it is a better cage to use if you want a lower center of gravity for your cargo. 

The molded straps were  a breeze to use, as mentioned already. I should have gotten some of these a long time ago! The cage seems sturdy enough to carry most bikepacking type loads, and with those straps, I would not worry about losing anything. 

The calipers are a very different feel in terms of braking. I have had both all-mechanical and fully hydraulic systems, but never a hybrid of the two. This bike had TRP Spyre calipers on it previously, which I have liked, but they do not have a lot of "power" to them. They will stop you, but they don't have that "lock-em up" type of power that my fully hydraulic sets do. That's really okay on a gravel bike because getting your tire to gain purchase on what amounts to stone marbles doesn't require ultimate power. But in a bikepacking situation, where you have a lot of weight involved? 

That's when I'd want more than what the TRP Spyre's are capable of. I think the State Bicycle Co All-Road Calipers will be different. My initial impressions are that the calipers have a much more powerful bite on the rotors I am using. By the way, these brakes have been dead quiet so far as well. 

I'll have to reserve more comments on the brakes until I get them bedded in better and when I have had more time on them. But things look promising here. I like that the pads are Shimano compatible, because those are easier to find and there are more options available as well. The durability of the calipers is yet to be determined, but the build quality looks impressive to me. 

Weights: Cargo Cage: 168 grams. All-Road Disc Brake Calipers: 356 grams / set. (As weighed on my digital table-top scale) 

Stay tuned for updates as I get them ready to share.

Review: State Bicycle Co. Cargo Cage, All-Road Disc Calipers

Note: I received the products mentioned in this review at no charge to me. State Bicycle Co. did not bribe me, nor are they paying me for this review. I always strive to give my honest thoughts and opinions throughout. 

Hey, when you are a reviewer of products, you often times are subject to the whims and foibles of marketing folk. You hardly ever get to work with the same person for long, as the door seems to be a revolving one at those firms, and so it becomes a situation where the goal posts get moved all the time in terms of how, or even if, I will get stuff in to test/review. 

A great example of this would be the current products featured in today's post. The same firm I am dealing with here asked me if I wanted to review some shoes and I said "yes", but it has been a month now, and..... This stuff here, the State Bicycle Co. stuff, I said yes to just last Wednesday and it arrived at my door on Saturday. 

You just never know!

Readers here may have seen my mention of the State Bicycle Co. stuff on Friday in the "FN&V". If you caught that, you know that I was most interested in the brake calipers and the cargo cage. So, State sent that to me and well, here's the lowdown on the products....

(L-R) Silicone molded Cargo Straps, Cargo Cage, All-Road Disc Calipers.

Let's take these one at a time...

State Cargo Cage & Silicone Molded Straps: The Cargo Cage is designed to reflect the desert home of State Bicycle Co. with its cactus and mountains motif. The "SBC" logo is also there to remind you where the cage came from. The cage is crafted from 5250 aluminum alloy and features a clever slotted and ovalized hole mounting pattern allowing the rider to utilize several mounting options. This cage has a claimed weight of 168 grams and is rated to 25lbs capacity for cargo weight. The Cargo Cage sells for $24.95 and is available direct from State Bicycle Co's website here. 

The Silicone Molded Cargo Straps are an optional accessory item which can be used with the Cargo Cage or with other bags and cages. The straps measure 22mm X 56cm and have a nice buckle and strap retention loop. You can add these at purchase of the Cargo Cage or State sells these separately for $9.99.

All-Road Disc Brake Calipers: The All-Road Disc Brake Calipers can be purchased separately or as a set. These calipers are hybrid type calipers which are actuated by a cable but are hydraulic at the caliper only. 

There is not a ton of technical information on State's site about these, but the instructions in the box give us more clues and information. The calipers are actuated by an arm that displaces mineral oil inside the sealed caliper. This forces both pistons outward to cause braking action using Shimano compatible pads. (Easy replacement!) The manual says that these should never need bleeding, so they should be low maintenance. 

The manual also lets us know that these brake calipers were produced by the Chinese firm IIIPro. Checking into this online I was able to ferret out that the calipers are CNC machined, (they look like they are as well) and that the anodizing is scratch resistant. 

The calipers come with hardware to adapt the calipers to 140mm or 160mm rotors, which should accommodate most gravel bikes. The price from State for a pair of these is $99.99. You can check out the State Bicycle Co. site for more on these here. 

First Impressions: 

The products were well presented and they looked like premium components which should work well. I especially liked that the mounting options for the cage would allow for different use scenarios. The disc brake calipers were handsome and the CNC machining marks always look cool to me. The anodization of the aluminum parts looked great and I saw nothing odd or out of place there. 

The Cargo Straps were a new thing on me. I see a lot of bikepackers using similar ones to these and now I can see why. They are about 100 times easier to use over the traditional Nylon strap and plastic buckle deals I had been using. Not to mention that these are a vast upgrade over toe-straps! 

The installation of the flat mount calipers was pretty straight forward with the exception of one thing. The front caliper adapter came set in the 140mm position. What?! Okay, so I have to switch that around. I don't know of many 140mm front applications, so I thought this was odd. Things got a bit more complicated when I found that IIIPro used a pretty aggressive thread locking compound on the adapter to caliper bolts which caused a moment or two of dread wondering if I might round out the 4mm hex bolt head due to the excessive amount of force needed to break the bolts free. But in the end, I got the deed done.

The brake calipers and cage mounted to my Singular Cycles Gryphon Mk3.

I chose my Singular Cycles Gryphon Mk3 as the test mule for these items as it uses flat mount brakes and the Old Man Mountain Elkhorn Rack is mounted to it which has Three-Pack bosses on its struts. The Cargo Cage's mounting options allowed for a lower mounting of the cage, which in comparison to my other cargo cage, which does not allow for such an option, it is a better cage to use if you want a lower center of gravity for your cargo. 

The molded straps were  a breeze to use, as mentioned already. I should have gotten some of these a long time ago! The cage seems sturdy enough to carry most bikepacking type loads, and with those straps, I would not worry about losing anything. 

The calipers are a very different feel in terms of braking. I have had both all-mechanical and fully hydraulic systems, but never a hybrid of the two. This bike had TRP Spyre calipers on it previously, which I have liked, but they do not have a lot of "power" to them. They will stop you, but they don't have that "lock-em up" type of power that my fully hydraulic sets do. That's really okay on a gravel bike because getting your tire to gain purchase on what amounts to stone marbles doesn't require ultimate power. But in a bikepacking situation, where you have a lot of weight involved? 

That's when I'd want more than what the TRP Spyre's are capable of. I think the State Bicycle Co All-Road Calipers will be different. My initial impressions are that the calipers have a much more powerful bite on the rotors I am using. By the way, these brakes have been dead quiet so far as well. 

I'll have to reserve more comments on the brakes until I get them bedded in better and when I have had more time on them. But things look promising here. I like that the pads are Shimano compatible, because those are easier to find and there are more options available as well. The durability of the calipers is yet to be determined, but the build quality looks impressive to me. 

Weights: Cargo Cage: 168 grams. All-Road Disc Brake Calipers: 356 grams / set. (As weighed on my digital table-top scale) 

Stay tuned for updates as I get them ready to share.