Growtac Equal Brakes, Post Mount

Love these breaks! Have them on two bike now and will probably build bikes in the future around them. Used with compression less cable housing will stop you on a dime if you’re not careful.

These are by far the most powerful mechanical brakes I have ever used. Much better force transmission than Avid BB7 or TRP Spyre brakes. They are a drop in replacement for BB7’s if you are using compressionless housing. Avid speed dial levers work fine if you adjust the cable travel to shorten the pull. I ordered a set of Paul short pull levers and easily got one finger braking with 200mm front disks. I prefer these brakes over my Sram hydraulics. I ride very dusty conditions and most hydros start to have retraction problems after a year or so of riding. I build my own bikes and really appreciate the ease of setting up cable actuated brakes.

My wife and I bikepack extensively and we ride Salsa Fargo's that came equipped with SRAM HRD hydraulic disc brakes. We ride on a lot of dry dusty roads and the hydros would accumulate dust around the pistons which would then begin to stick in the caliper bores and not retract properly, resulting in dragging and squeaking brakes. Cleaning consisted of pulling the pads, pumping the brakes to push the pistons out to the point of almost falling out in order to be able to clean around them, then alternately pushing the pistons in and pumping them back out until they moved smoothly. Easy to accomplish at home on a stand but tricky in the middle of a trip in a campground somewhere. At times we had to do this every 200 kms (125 miles) or so. Last winter I switched to Growtac Equal mechanical brakes on both bikes and the power and modulation is as good as the hydraulic brakes they replaced. Best of all, in 7000 kms (4400 miles) of riding in all kinds of weather and road conditions, the servicing has only consisted of a couple of pad cleanings and an occasional quick and easy clearance adjustment. I would never go back to hydraulic brakes on a gravel or adventure touring bike. One complaint I have seen and it happened to us also, is the rubber outboard adjustment hole plugs fell out but I just replaced them with M4x25 screws which solved the problem. When I do my annual winter bicycle teardown I will dismantle and clean the brakes, according to the videos, a simple procedure.

These are expensive brakes, but with all the included cables and housing and with how well they work with minimal service required, I would highly recommend them.

Growtac Equal Brakes, Post Mount