Trickstuff Maxima is set to become the most powerful mountain bike disc brake in the world. Starting with the already powerful four-piston Direttissima, Trickstuff has increased braking power by 25% with bigger pistons, more heat dissipation capacity, and lighter action levers with increased leverage. Using a crowdfunding campaign to Kickstart the ultra premium brakes into gear, the Maximas could bring your bike to a stop this coming spring.
Trickstuff Maxima four-piston mountain bike brakes
Already known for incredible stopping power in their lightweight, machined aluminum Direttissima four-piston brakes, Trickstuff is stepping it up with the new Maximas. Initially prototyped as a special team edition of the Direttissima, the Maxima beefs up Trickstuff’s original gravity brake lever & cylinder, then completely redesigns the four-piston caliper.
The goal was to develop a race-ready, incredibly powerful brake set that was still well modulated & reasonably lightweight. The resulting Maxima is now 25% stronger than the Direttissima, making the undisputed most powerful disc brakes you can put on a mountain bike. Trickstuff’s pro riders have praised the new brakes as requiring measurably less finger power at the lever, which means ample braking and less hand and arm fatigue for technical trial & gravity riding.
Trickstuff Maxima four-piston disc brakes – Tech Details
The new Maximas are fully CNC machined from 7075 alloy and feature a new longer aluminum brake lever blade with higher & more progressive mechanical leverage for smoother action, still rotating on four ball bearings at their pivots.
They also get tool free reach adjust and a new extra strong, heavy-duty machined bar clamp (with Matchmaker & I-Spec compatibility.)
The four-piston caliper body itself is now bigger to house larger diameter 16mm & 17mm piston pairs. That large alloy caliper is both more stiff than before and can also better dissipate heat for improved performance. The Maximas also feature Goodridge braided stainless steel hoses which promise equal performance for the front & rear brakes with no power loss along the longer hose.
Based on the same rotors & pads, Trickstuff says the new Maximas will be 23% stronger than Codes, 27% stronger than MT7s, 35% stronger than Saints, and 46% stronger than the Hope V4s. Even claiming to be the most powerful brakes, the new Maxima is still a reasonably lightweight, claiming just 290g per brake with an 800mm long hose (without rotor or other hardware.)
Maxima disc brake development
The new Maxima brakes have made their way completely through design and development, with pre-production prototypes having been real world tested since early summer 2018. When we caught up with them in late July, they Maxima’s were already being ridden & raced, but the levers still carried the older Direttissima branding & the larger calipers hadn’t yet got any graphics.
Now, this fall Trickstuff has already finalized production tool design and is getting ready to start making the new brakes. That is where Kickstarter comes in, as the crowdsource campaign is intended to gauge interest in the “World’s Strongest Hydraulic Disc Brakes” and cover tooling costs to start production.
Maxima Kickstarter funding, Pricing & Availability
Even at this pre-order-like stage, getting a set of ultra premium, made-in-Germany Trickstuff Maxima brakes won’t come cheap. A pair of Maxima brakes will set you back 990€, without rotors (but it does come with a t-shirt & a sticker at least!) There is also a Kickstarter option to get a set of the brakes and hit the bikepark with Trickstuff’s team riders too, or even to buy enough brakes to outfit your own team’s DH fleet. Running through Jan 3, Trickstuff’s crowdfunding campaign is already half way to its funding goal, with delivery of the fist run of Maxima brakes set for April 2019.
