Are four-piston brakes finally coming to gravel?
A patent submitted by SRAM suggests that might be the case...
More News
More power at pocket friendly prices
New rotor promises best in class heat management
Huge 10-50T range at half the price of XX1 Eagle
We've got lots of new, spangly kit this week
Four-piston brake calipers are an expectation on most modern mountain bikes with only the lightest of cross-country machines equipped with the two-piston counterpart. With gravel bikes going the way of mountain bikes, running larger rotors and now suspension forks, there has been a call for more braking power from a flat-mount caliper and SRAM looks set to answer that with a patent published just a few days ago.
- Is RockShox developing a gravel specific linkage suspension fork?
- Liam's off-road tech predictions for 2024
- Is Shimano working to take on SRAM's Flight Attendant?
As four-piston brakes are, flat mounts are the go-to mounting system for gravel and road bikes almost everywhere. However, four-piston flat-mount calipers are few and far between with Hope being the only brand offering such a brake, the RX4.
2024 sram brake patent internal.jpg, by Liam Mercer
That looks set to change as in a patent published on 12 March, SRAM looks poised to bring more readily accessible four-piston braking to the world of gravel and road cycling. The patent suggests that these four-piston flat-mount calipers are shaped to offer twice the number of pistons but without intersecting, or getting in the way of the mounting bolts or any other axis.
2024 sram brake patent expl.jpg, by Liam Mercer
The benefit of adding more pistons to a brake caliper is increased braking power while utilizing larger brake pads that then create more friction. Whether gravel and road cycling need more power than what a two-piston caliper can muster is another subject. Compared to mountain biking, it's less start-stop but more power can always be helpful at greater speeds, and fast-thinking moments.
You might also like:
Author block
7 comments
This sounds more like an advert than a news article - where is this mass of gravel and road riders that have been calling for four piston brakes?
RE prior art etc, the big difference with the hope brakes is the 2-part construction (hope are a single block) so a patent could be for a flat mount, 2-part, 4 piston brake?
can't see the patent app being successful - Hope Tech could easily cite prior art and get it blocked.
We recommend spending a bit of time solely to bed in the brakes ahead of any proper rides by finding a hill (or a flat if you, handy for those intervals) and rolling down while gradually applying pressure on both brakes until the bike comes to a stop. Repeat this a few times to ensure proper bedding in.
Neglecting to do this could mean that your brakes never bed in properly, thus introducing squeal and less-than-ideal braking power. That aside, it's safe to expect noisier brakes in the wet and cold with, or without four-piston calipers.
Can they be used to reduce squeal? I don't brake hard enough or long enough on the gravel bike to keep the brakes in good nick, it's almost like they never really properly get bedded in, the squeal in cold wet conditions is awful. I always wondered if 4-pot brakes with different diameter pistons could help to toe-in the pad a little...
premature comment posting. how do they expect to patent it when there is prior art and product?
really? www.hopetech.com/products/brakes/gravel-cx/rx4-caliper/