Hello everyone
Been thinking about the TRP Hylex brake levers for an Omnium cargo build I’m planning on doing this summer. I want to build it up with a friction shifter and dropbars. For that I need hydraulic dropbar brake levers.
Does anyone know if the TRP levers are compatible with Shimano brake calipers and fluid?
Cheers
by NorbertTC
4 Comments
Edit: The levers should be compatible, if your calipers are the same action/travel.
Road calipers are short pull.
Mountain bike are long pull.
IIRC, they are mineral oil, so yes, they should be compatible with Shimano’s Mineral Oil.
I’ve no clue about the levers, but of the flat mount calibers I’ve needed to change last year as a bike mechanic 8/10 were made by TRP.
Personally i would avoid them.
I’d go for some Tiagra BR-4770 calibers from Shimano. Another option from Shimano are the new cheaper CUES BR-U6030 D calibers. These however have an integrated 160mm adapter on them that cannot be removed. and I’ve no clue about the reliability of them.
Edit:
Clearly misunderstood the question with my flu ridden brain a bit.
Fluid yes; calipers technically not, but it can be made to work.
TRP (which is Tektro’s up-brand) uses mineral oil very similar to the normal Shimano pink stuff (haven’t tried with the newer LV Oil, but I suspect it would not work as well).
On the caliper front, the piston ratios for Tektro and Shimano 2-piston brakes (all bets are off with 4-piston) are pretty dang similar if not the same, so the only issue is the hose connection. Most Shimano stuff nowadays uses BH90 hose, which is 5mm OD & 2.1mm ID. Tektro at various times uses both a Shimano-standard 5mm hose, and a larger-diameter 5.5mm OD & 2.5mm ID hose.
I did the opposite (Tektro calipers w/ Shimano brifters) for a friend’s bike a year or so back, and I did get it to work, but I’m struggling to remember the specifics. IIRC, I’m pretty sure I did it with a Tektro 5mm in-line hose kit, with Tektro barbs and olives but a Shimano compression nut at the lever end.
For a Hylex setup with Shimano calipers, I think you’d want to do the opposite (5mm Tektro hose w/ banjo for the lever, and then Tektro barb & olive w/ a Shimano compression nut at the caliper end). This may require buying a separate [5mm Tektro hose kit](https://trpcycling.com/products/banjo-hose-kit), as I think the Hylex comes stock with the 5.5mm hose (at least mine did, though mine are old enough they were still doing post-mount calipers).
Hope that makes sense. I would ask why you want to use Shimano calipers in the first place, though? If you’re just trying to use calipers you already have, this may not save you much on money. If you’re trying to get Hylex to work with a 4-piston caliper, you’re in unexplored territory. If you just need a post-mount caliper that will work with the Hylex lever, I’d recommend a Promax Solve caliper instead (Promax uses the same 5.5mm hose standards).
Yes, the Hylex levers are compatible with Shimano calipers and fluid. The only tricky issue is that the TRP levers take a banjo connection up at the lever, so if you want to use a caliper that also takes a banjo, you’ll need to use a third-party hose kit to make a double-banjo hose. The Jagwire hose kits are quite good.