TRP EVO Expert disc brake review: Top-of-the-range performance at a bargain price!

In our opinion, the TRP EVO Pro is currently the best four-piston brake, which can be bolted onto the bike. With brute power, excellent control and first-class ergonomics, it even outperformed the likes of the SRAM Maven and the Magura Gustav in testing. However, with an RRP of 330 euros per unit, this performance comes at a price. This is where the EVO Expert comes in: at around 120 euros less, it aims to make comparable braking performance accessible to a wider audience. The brake is currently available online from around 159 euros each. This means the EVO Expert is well placed to offer excellent value for money.

Conclusion on the TRP EVO Expert

If you don’t prefer an exceptionally soft trigger point and can do without the EVO Pro’s wide range of adjustment options, the EVO Expert actually offers high-end performance at a mid-range price. In terms of power, there are no significant differences from the EVO Pro in practice, whilst the handling and ergonomics are first-class. A great value for money choice? Absolutely!

Key specifications for the TRP EVO Expert

This also results in differences in the internal design, particularly in the way the master cylinder piston is linked. The key factor, however, remains the same: the hydraulic ratio. A 9 mm master cylinder piston still acts on two pairs of 16 mm pistons in the brake caliper.

There, too, the differences are minor and are limited to the inner workings. Only the pistons have been optimised in the Pro model to improve heat management. Otherwise, the Expert looks almost identical to the more expensive EVO, apart from the absence of the second adjusting screw.

Ergonomics: The sturdy lever remains

And the feature we particularly liked about the Pro in the comparison test remains: its outstanding ergonomics. The solid lever, with its distinctive hook at the end and non-slip surface, sits rock-solid in the hand. At the same time, it pivots just as smoothly around the main pivot point as it does on the top-of-the-range model.

If you compare the two brakes directly, the only subtle differences you’ll notice are in the bite point. On the Expert, this tends to be a little crisper. We don’t see this as a drawback. With the Pro, some testers would have liked the option to set the bite point a little harder anyway.

And now for the most important thing: power

In practice, there are no significant differences here. The EVO Expert therefore delivers exactly what TRP promises: plenty of braking power, excellent modulation and first-class ergonomics, albeit with fewer adjustment options than the EVO Pro and at a lower price.

So, if you don’t prefer an exceptionally soft bite point, the EVO Expert really does offer high-end performance at a mid-range price. Weighing in at 680 grams for the set comprising front and rear brakes (excluding brake discs and adaptors) and with an RRP of 210 euros each, the package looks very promising. The fact that the brakes are currently available online from around 159 euros each makes them an even better value-for-money choice.

What’s more important to you: maximum adjustability or the best braking performance for the money? Let us know what you think in the comments!