Conclusion on the Trickstuff Piccola HD
When you pull the lever of the petite Piccola, the first thing you ask yourself is: What have the others done wrong? You can brake safely without clunky controls. The differences become clear at the limit, but the braking power is sufficient for most cases. If you're into lightweight construction and have the necessary cash, this is the bike for you. - Dimitri Lehner, BIKE test editor
Technical data: Trickstuff Piccola HD
| Price (without disc and accessories) | 1,100 euros (only available as a set) |
| Weight per piece | 213 grams (incl. 800 mm cable + pads) - best value |
| Slices / thickness | UL (ultralight) 180 / 2.05 mm |
| Brake pads | Organic |
| Braking medium | Mineral oil |
| Pressure point adjustment | No |
| Lever width adjustment | Yes, tool required |
| Special features | 3D-printed lever, pads can be removed to the outside |
Full of high-tech, super light and damn powerful to boot: the Trickstuff Piccola HD combines opposites. With its lightweight four-piston brake, the brake manufacturer marries the filigree Piccola pump with 3D-printed titanium lever with the powerful C42 brake calliper. The four hollow-milled stainless steel pistons and the lightweight fitting reduce the weight of the Piccola HD to an incredible 213 grams - the best value in the comparison test! This means that the flyweight weighs just over half as much as the heaviest system from Fahrwerker. In the interests of lightweight construction, Trickstuff has also dispensed with a handlebar clamp with hinge and a tool-free lever reach adjuster. Fine-tuning the lever is only possible via an Allen key. There is no free travel adjustment.
No half measures
Half as heavy, half as strong? Fiddlesticks. Thanks to the high hydraulic transmission ratio, the pads are mercilessly powerful. On the dry test bench, especially with lower manual forces in the practical range below the 80 Newton threshold, the Trickstuff is close behind the heavy-duty competition. If the lever input increases, however, the lightweight anchor has to let go. The test runs in the wet show a similar picture. Unfortunately, the Piccola HD does not achieve top marks in the laboratory.
The aha moment during the practical test
The petite thing - so much power? Wow! Even if the small pump on the cockpit of a 25-kilo e-bike seems completely undersized, the Piccola HD proves us wrong. Once the lever is pulled firmly - and the bundle of energy also takes hold vehemently in practice. However, once you have internalised its temperament, you can feel the right dosage precisely. It takes some getting used to: when the pads hit the disc, the Piccola's braking power kicks in immediately. However, the feel of the lever and the braking effect are not synchronised. Even when the disc has long since locked and the rear wheel is in the air, the lever continues to move inwards - there is no clearly defined pressure point. Under full load, this soft, springy feeling is irritating. It's almost as if the entire lever is twisting under the force of your hand.
However, the printed titanium lever is convincing: perfect shape, neither too round nor too angular. The rough, ribbed surface creates a lot of grip. Once you have overcome the low breakaway torque, the lever rotates around the pump as smooth as silk. The filigree lever design does not look very confidence-inspiring. But this impression is deceptive: titanium has a very high specific strength. With less material, the lever achieves the same stability as a more massive aluminium counterpart.
The BIKE rating
| Category | Grade |
| Total braking power (50%) | 1,9 |
| Wet braking laboratory (10%) | 3 |
| Dry braking laboratory (40%) | 1,5 |
| Braking power practice (50%) | 2 |
| Modulation (30%) | 2 |
| Usability / Handling (10%) | 4 |
| Weight (10%) | 1 |
| BIKE NOTE | 2,1 |
How BIKE tests disc brakes
Our impressions of the character, modulation and handling come from practical tests. We determined the maximum braking power and thermal stability in accordance with the DIN standard on the roller test bench of the brake manufacturer Magura.
Braking force test in the laboratory
To ensure that the brakes can deliver their maximum performance on the test bench, the test standard prescribes a defined braking procedure. All models must maintain a constant braking force of 200 newtons over 20 braking intervals in order to come up to temperature and rule out pad fading during the brake force test. Only then does the actual test of strength begin. It consists of three brake applications per force applied to the lever. It starts with 40 newtons of manual force. The test stand increases the force on the lever in 20 Newton increments until the brake reaches its maximum lever travel. Each brake undergoes this procedure twice: once in the dry and once in the wet. During wet running, the disc is continuously wetted throughout the entire measurement. For an optimum comparison, all models run with 180 mm discs. The pad compounds always correspond to the standard equipment. The manufacturers were allowed to select the discs themselves - if several options are available in their own range - in favour of braking performance. For uniform comparative values, we carry out the braking force test and the heat resistance test with a fresh pair of pads and a new brake disc. For the evaluation of braking performance in the laboratory, we only use the results at 80 N manual force. In this range, all models still deliver practice-relevant values below the 600 N threshold, especially during dry braking. Above this level, there is a risk of rollover under ideal grip conditions.
Heat resistance
As a second hurdle in the laboratory, all brakes have to pass a standardised heat resistance test twice. After all, the candidates should decelerate reliably even under high thermal loads. The programme includes three endurance braking sessions of five minutes each. Shortly after each interval, an abrupt control brake application follows, which shows whether the brakes still decelerate perfectly despite the heat. Finally, the test bench calls up the required minimum braking force three times. All brakes passed this test.
Practical test
No test bench can measure how a brake develops its power off-road, how it reacts to low manual forces, how finely it can be metered and how it feels in the hand. This is where experience counts. And our testers have plenty of it: over 100 complete bikes go through our test procedure every year. Our editors therefore know most of the brakes inside out. In addition, two testers rode all the brakes in this test in direct comparison on standardised bikes with identical setups.
Max Fuchs
Editor
