TRP Ultra-Ergo Road Brake Levers

TRP means Tektro Racing Products, and it’s like Lexus is to Honda. Fancier and more expensive. I saw these at a trade show in Taiwan and at first I thought some non-riding, spike-haired twenty-somethings went nuts on the CAD program and came up with the worst possible mix of old world looks and new world ergonomics. But I still couldn’t stop looking at them.

The real juicy stuff hits you when you grab them. Each lever is custom-made to fit every human hand since Lucy, and the contours are so good that you almost feel like a wimp for liking it. There’s even a recess in the upper part of the lever, for when you hook your fingers around that. The lever also sticks out to the side, so it’s easy to grab no matter what.

The lever hood-body has a higher peak than our other levers—borrowed from Shimano brifters. But since there’s no cable coming out from on high, you can comfortably grab this nose with your lower two fingers, and if you’re shooting for high-on-the-bars aero, this is just the thing to do. In any case, there does seem to be an extra half a position on these levers, and that may be worth something to you.

There’s a button quick-release on the levers. It works great and fits flush. All in all, some slight non-functional aesthetics have been sacrificed for some stupendously functional ergonomics, and I’d say it’s a good trade.

Quick-release button in use, slackening the cable.

They work with sidepulls, centerpulls, and cantilevers, and we have two variants:

Grey alloy levers / Black hoods (RRL): This will likely end up being the normal one, but who knows? Don’t use them with black bar tape, but only because black tape, black hoods, plus blackISH levers looks kind of too much darkness concentrated in one spot. It’s nothing functional, and it’s not a sign of bad taste; just something to consider.

Silver drilled alloy levers / Gum hoods (RRL SR): They have gum hoods, sure to trigger juicy eyes among some. There’s some grey plastic, too, and it all looks good together. I used to insist on gum, but gave up and got used to black. The gum still looks nice, and with some color bar tapes, it’s way better. The silver levers always look good, and I can take or leave the holes. We have six pair of these, and they’re the first six to be offered in the lower 48.

The gum hoods go nicely with honey saddles.

Sold per pair, no cables or housing.

We now sell replacement hoods.

Clamp diameter is 23.8mm, like all other Road bike type brake levers, for use on Moustache or drop type style bars. Will Not work on Mt. bike or Albatross or Dove style bars since those have a 22.2mm brake clamp diameter. This is not to be confused with stem clamp diameter which is a totally different thing.

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