Besides suspension, one of the most performance-rewarding upgrades you can make to any bike are the brakes. A set of high-quality brakes will instantly make you a faster rider because you’ll have far greater control whilst you’re ripping down a trail. It’s kind of a weird science if you really stop to think about it – brakes are on your bike to slow you down, but if you have access to a set of really good brakes, they’ll actually make you much faster? Odd, but trust us and read on…
It’s no secret that [R]evolution is lucky to work with a ton of great brands and bike companies that produce some of the worlds most elite components. From time to time, we get something a little bit different and unique that tends to turn a few heads on the trails. A little while ago we got our hands on a set of rather stunning looking golden brakes from Italian brand called ‘Braking’ who have got super deep ties in the motor world and now they’ve turned their focus to MTB. The model that they sent us to try out are call their ‘F.I.R.S.T.’ and they’re a 2 piston design. But they’re certainty not like any ‘run of the mill’ 2 piston brakes that we’ve tried from other brands in the past… To give you a little more background, these brakes are entirely handmade over in Italy and the brand even developed a unique braking rotor specifically in order to create an entire ‘braking system’. As soon as you see these brakes in the flesh you can immediately appreciate that they are a super boutique piece of kit. Just after they arrived at the mag for review one of our test team was about to depart for a riding holiday to Whistler and so he took the opportunity to fit the F.I.R.S.T. brakes to his bike before he left in order to see how these brakes performed under some of the most demanding, and relentless, riding conditions on the planet!
Words // Scotty Prendergast Images // Matt Staggs
Alright you’ve got our attention – tell us more?
F.I.R.S.T. is essentially a new braking system, which has some unique features and is a little different to the mainstream. They are a relatively new project and as indicated above these brakes are 100% made in Italy. As you can see from the photos, the entire lever and calliper assembly are all CNC machined and they are an extremely good quality set of brakes. Some other cool features in the new design allow the rider to manage the ergonomics of the brake independently of the hydraulic adjustment so that each rider can essentially customise the setup of their brakes, feel, contact, modulation, and lever position, to suit their own style.
They run a universal pad compatible with some other braking brands and they feature fully braided hydraulic brake lines.
Let dive into some of the more technical features that set these boutique brakes apart from some of the more conventional offerings from other brands out there?
Well, like any bike part there are a pleather of quality brakes on the market, yes, we are spoilt for choice, but hey if you want something a little more ‘Gucci’ and a little unique from the mainstream then why not look at a component such as this? These brakes have a more linear and powerful braking action, the higher-pressure lines allow for a lighter braking feel with better modulation, and they also have a replicable lever link size either short, medium or long which again allows for a different feel within the modulation of the level and with each size you can adjust essentially the power output.
Another cool feature we should mention is that F.I.R.S.T. brakes are compatible with pretty much all other rotors on the market including 3mm thick rotors. Their ‘stock’ pads are super high quality and F.I.R.S.T. brake rotors themselves have been designed to disperse heat more efficiently to ensure they maintain a more consistent and powerful braking performance from the top of the hill to bottom.
The million-dollar question is did these brakes perform as well as they look?
No, nope they didn’t. Their performance even manages to outperform their stella looks! When I first fitted these brakes to my bike, I was really curious about some of their tech specs. For instance, they run a single oversized piston, so we were a little curious as to how they would stack up against some 4 piston counterparts. We did a little bit of reading prior to fitting these to a bike and all the reviews looked all damn positive. As mentioned above the test team at [R]evo had a 2-week trip planned to the big mountains of Whistler BC so we figured ‘F#@K IT!’ let’s give these suckers a real run for their money.
What are they like to live with in terms of maintenance which is always a big consideration when you’re looking to upgade to a new style of brake?
Mounting the brakes to the bike was a breeze. Also, these suckers used standard .4 dot or 5.1 dot fluid and overall, they were easy to install, adjust and bleed. As a matter of fact, there is a heap of adjustability in these brakes to fine tune them to a perfect feel. One thing I will say is that I noticed all the adjustment points, reach, contact, pads etc all required an Allen key to perform the task so essentially when you rode you had to carry a tool if you needed to adjust anything on the trail. Personally, I like a brake that has an adjustment knob for reach and contact at least so you don’t have to always use a tool, with that said after riding the brake for a while they had a very consistent feel even after long descents so we didn’t find we had to adjust anything too much out on the trail and this little concern became a bit of a non-issue.
What sort of rider and style of riding are these brakes going to suit most?
Having spent the past few months testing them I’d confidently say the performance of these brakes makes them suited to a really wide range of MTB applications and conditions. These brakes have been really marketed towards a bike from an XC bike all the way to a DH bike, after 2 weeks cooking these suckers on the downhills of Whistler we’re inclined to agree. With that said we are of the view these suckers may be slightly under braked for a downhill bike and you may want to go for something a little more powerful. That comment however is no blight on the performance of these brakes, they feel super good, they’re super powerful and required little adjustment, it was pretty much a case of set and forget.
Would I put these on my DH bike? Well maybe not, but I did ride a Enduro/Freeride bike in Whistler and I’m currently coming in at 90kg, I had no issues with these suckers pulling me up and as matter of fact their super light braking yet powerful feel was a lot easier on the arms.
I felt I had a lot less fatigue in my arms due to the efficiency of this braking system. So guys, if you’re looking for something a little extra spicy when it comes to a braking system maybe you should think outside of the regular ‘SRAM/Shimano/Magura’ box and consider a set of these premium stoppers – they really impressed us and now we’re keen to check out some other models from their line-up. F.I.R.S.T. brakes are available at bike stores across Australia through Vertigo Sports. Check out their website for pricing and dealer info and to view their entire F.I.R.S.T. range.
Key Details // Entirely made and hand assembled in Italy. Designed as a ‘complete braking system’. Lever body and callipers are CNC machined. 2-piston (oversized) design. Premium hardware throughout. Steel braided hoses. ‘Floating’ disc rotor design with raised rotor face to maximize ‘optimum braking temperature window’ and enhance cooling.
Rotor options // 180mm, 203mm, 220mm
Price // Contact your local dealer
Browse // vertigosports.com.au