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

Growtac Equal Brakes, Post Mount

i bought these instead of paul klampers because i needed a break with better clearance for a rack. if your having difficulty mounting a rack around a mechanical disk break then this will give you a bit more room due to the side pull action of the break. other than that read the radivist.com review as it goes into depth about the high quaility of this part.

These are truly excellent brakes - the overall power, modulation and ease of adjustment are top notch. The fact that they come bundled with a complete package of high quality compressionless housing, cables and hardware makes the asking price a bit more palatable. That said If I were on a budget I would have no problem using something like the TRP Spyre (which is a fine brake for the money), but if you can afford the extra coin I think these are well worth the asking price.