Trickstuff Maxima Brakes - Users/Buyers Guide

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Trickstuff Maxima Brakes - Users/Buyers Guide
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flag Brahma
O+
Posted: Mar 15, 2021 at 10:34 Quote
I recently received my Trickstuff Maxima brakes, and I thought I would share my experiences for other users/potential buyers. A couple items of note:

Brakes do not come with rotors included in the price. Be sure to add them to your purchase. I didn't realize this, so I used a set of Magura MDR-P 203 rotors my shop had.

Adaptors do not come with the brakes. Luckily I was able to make the adaptors I had on the bike work. Worth figuring out with Trickstuff what adaptors you would need with your bike and rotor size, and get them from them.

There are two hose sizes, 5mm braided without a plastic coating, and 6mm braided with a plastic coating. I had read that the 6mm hoses would not fit in an internally routed frame, which I believe is accurate. What I did not realize, is that Trickstuff recommends bench bleeding the brakes, meaning that to follow their bleed proceedure, it is almost impossible to internally route the hose. So, no real reason to buy the 5mm hoses that I got. Plus, now I have a steel braided hose attached to my frame, which will likely rub the shit out of it.

I could not find any instructions how to shorten the hose. Fortunately, it's not that hard. There are two 8mm fittings, one closer to the master cylinder, and one farther from the master cylinder. It is not necessary to loosen the fitting closest to the master cylinder. Leave that one tight on the master cylinder, or you won't be able to get the other one out. Just loosen the fitting furthest from the master cylinder to remove the hose from it. Then I got a really nice pair of Knipex cable cutters to cut through the steel braided hose. I wrapped it in tape first, to discourage fraying, then you simply insert it back in the fitting and tighten it back up.

Although I ordered a bleed kit with the brakes, Trickstuff did not include any bionol. I guess I should have been more diligent in discussing all of what was included with what I ordered, and what was not. I guess I am used to manufacturers filling you in on what you might need (I mean, why not try to sell me more stuff), but I guess Germans don't really operate that way. I tried to find some bionol here in the States, but no one has it. Luckily, you can use mineral oil, but I sure would have liked to stick with the fluid that came with the brakes. I just wasn't willing to pay another international shipping charge, and wait another month for brake fluid to show up, to use my brakes.

Also, in the bleed proceedure, after pushing the pistons back in the caliper after the caliper bleed, the instructions don't say whether to put the bleed block back in for the next step, or leave it out. I figured it should be put back in, which is what I did, and seemed to work.

The bleed process is a bit of a PITA, and I suppose it is possible to bleed the brakes after they are installed on the bike, but it would be really really difficult. I may try it at some point, but it would require that the caliper have at least a foot or so of open cable behind it, and probably would not want to mount the master cylinder on the bars of the bike, but rather put an old bar in a vise, as they suggest.

All of that said, these are phenomenal pieces of engineering, and are by far the best brakes I have ever owned or used. I just thought I would give a heads up to all for what you might want to consider if you are ordering these.
flag whatisthecolour
Posted: Mar 16, 2021 at 10:35 Quote
I'm confused, they can't be bled while on the bike if internally routed so you need to remove from the frame to bleed!?

But you'd have to detach the hose from the caliper to get the hose back through the frame, so they'd need bled again as the hose had been detached!?

Or am I completely misunderstanding it?

I've been trying to convince my self to get trickstuff brakes but if I can't bleed them while on the bike that's huge draw back for me
flag crj5
O+
Posted: Mar 16, 2021 at 10:48 Quote
whatisthecolour wrote:
I've been trying to convince my self to get trickstuff brakes but if I can't bleed them while on the bike that's huge draw back for me

It is common for manufacturers to recommend bleeding the brakes while detached from the bike, but bleeding while installed will be fine. Theoretically, bench bleeding gives you more control over the relative orientations of the lever/caliper/bleed ports, and can result in the best bleed. My Hayes Dominion brakes also recommend bench bleeding, but I routed my rear brake internally then bled it while installed on the bike, no problem at all.
flag monsieurgage
O+ FL
Posted: Mar 16, 2021 at 10:59 Quote
Brahma wrote:
I recently received my Trickstuff Maxima brakes, and I thought I would share my experiences for other users/potential buyers. A couple items of note:

Brakes do not come with rotors included in the price. Be sure to add them to your purchase. I didn't realize this, so I used a set of Magura MDR-P 203 rotors my shop had.

Adaptors do not come with the brakes. Luckily I was able to make the adaptors I had on the bike work. Worth figuring out with Trickstuff what adaptors you would need with your bike and rotor size, and get them from them.

There are two hose sizes, 5mm braided without a plastic coating, and 6mm braided with a plastic coating. I had read that the 6mm hoses would not fit in an internally routed frame, which I believe is accurate. What I did not realize, is that Trickstuff recommends bench bleeding the brakes, meaning that to follow their bleed proceedure, it is almost impossible to internally route the hose. So, no real reason to buy the 5mm hoses that I got. Plus, now I have a steel braided hose attached to my frame, which will likely rub the shit out of it.

I could not find any instructions how to shorten the hose. Fortunately, it's not that hard. There are two 8mm fittings, one closer to the master cylinder, and one farther from the master cylinder. It is not necessary to loosen the fitting closest to the master cylinder. Leave that one tight on the master cylinder, or you won't be able to get the other one out. Just loosen the fitting furthest from the master cylinder to remove the hose from it. Then I got a really nice pair of Knipex cable cutters to cut through the steel braided hose. I wrapped it in tape first, to discourage fraying, then you simply insert it back in the fitting and tighten it back up.

Although I ordered a bleed kit with the brakes, Trickstuff did not include any bionol. I guess I should have been more diligent in discussing all of what was included with what I ordered, and what was not. I guess I am used to manufacturers filling you in on what you might need (I mean, why not try to sell me more stuff), but I guess Germans don't really operate that way. I tried to find some bionol here in the States, but no one has it. Luckily, you can use mineral oil, but I sure would have liked to stick with the fluid that came with the brakes. I just wasn't willing to pay another international shipping charge, and wait another month for brake fluid to show up, to use my brakes.

Also, in the bleed proceedure, after pushing the pistons back in the caliper after the caliper bleed, the instructions don't say whether to put the bleed block back in for the next step, or leave it out. I figured it should be put back in, which is what I did, and seemed to work.

The bleed process is a bit of a PITA, and I suppose it is possible to bleed the brakes after they are installed on the bike, but it would be really really difficult. I may try it at some point, but it would require that the caliper have at least a foot or so of open cable behind it, and probably would not want to mount the master cylinder on the bars of the bike, but rather put an old bar in a vise, as they suggest.

All of that said, these are phenomenal pieces of engineering, and are by far the best brakes I have ever owned or used. I just thought I would give a heads up to all for what you might want to consider if you are ordering these.

f*ck this noise. I loved the idea and now I am looking at my readily available, easy to find parts, non-corrosive mineral oil, easy to bleed, dependable Saint brakes and thinking "CNC magic aint worth the headache".
flag whatisthecolour
Posted: Mar 16, 2021 at 12:21 Quote
crj5 wrote:
whatisthecolour wrote:
I've been trying to convince my self to get trickstuff brakes but if I can't bleed them while on the bike that's huge draw back for me

It is common for manufacturers to recommend bleeding the brakes while detached from the bike, but bleeding while installed will be fine. Theoretically, bench bleeding gives you more control over the relative orientations of the lever/caliper/bleed ports, and can result in the best bleed. My Hayes Dominion brakes also recommend bench bleeding, but I routed my rear brake internally then bled it while installed on the bike, no problem at all.

Yeah I totally understand that. I bleed my brakes on the frame too.


But the OP post makes it sound like yiu have to remove it from the frame unless you can get big loop of hose exposed at the caliper, most routed frames wouldn't allow that.

I'm really asking about if you have a internally routed frame, if the maximas need a bench bleed, then the caliper has to be detached from the hose in order to remove the brake from the bike and put on the bench yeah?

So you then re attach the caliper to the hose and do the bench bleed.
once you're finished the bleed the hose and caliper would of course still be attached.

Its at this stage I'm wondering about. Youve got you're brake bled and ready to go back on the frame...
But you can't get it back into the frame without detaching the caliper!
Once you detach the caliper would that not let air into the system?
So once its been routed back through the frame and the hose connected to the caliper there's gonna be air in the system no?

Sorry if I'm being really stupid and missing something here!
flag Brahma
O+
Posted: Mar 16, 2021 at 15:15 Quote
whatisthecolour wrote:
I'm confused, they can't be bled while on the bike if internally routed so you need to remove from the frame to bleed!?

But you'd have to detach the hose from the caliper to get the hose back through the frame, so they'd need bled again as the hose had been detached!?

Or am I completely misunderstanding it?

I've been trying to convince my self to get trickstuff brakes but if I can't bleed them while on the bike that's huge draw back for me

That's what the instructions state, that they need to be bled on the bike, so yes, bleeding them on the workbench would do you no good, as you have to disconnect the master cylinder to internally route.
flag Brahma
O+
Posted: Mar 16, 2021 at 15:20 Quote
crj5 wrote:
whatisthecolour wrote:
I've been trying to convince my self to get trickstuff brakes but if I can't bleed them while on the bike that's huge draw back for me

It is common for manufacturers to recommend bleeding the brakes while detached from the bike, but bleeding while installed will be fine. Theoretically, bench bleeding gives you more control over the relative orientations of the lever/caliper/bleed ports, and can result in the best bleed. My Hayes Dominion brakes also recommend bench bleeding, but I routed my rear brake internally then bled it while installed on the bike, no problem at all.

Well, yes, theoretically it is possible, but you can read the manual here:

https://trickstuff.de/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/161212_Entl%C3%BCften_Direttissima_E_KL.pdf

To do a proper bleed, you need to push the pistons out of the caliper, then push them back in, per Step 6. Pushing them out is easy, just grab the lever, but pushing them back in required a fair amount of force. It required me putting the caliper on my workbench and pushing down with a lot of force with a plastic tire lever to get them back in. Not to mention the fact that they need to be at a particular angle when doing so.

So, yes, it is possible, but I have been trying to wrap my head around how to do it exactly, and I think it will be quite challenging to do properly.
flag Brahma
O+
Posted: Mar 16, 2021 at 15:22 Quote
whatisthecolour wrote:
crj5 wrote:
whatisthecolour wrote:
I've been trying to convince my self to get trickstuff brakes but if I can't bleed them while on the bike that's huge draw back for me

It is common for manufacturers to recommend bleeding the brakes while detached from the bike, but bleeding while installed will be fine. Theoretically, bench bleeding gives you more control over the relative orientations of the lever/caliper/bleed ports, and can result in the best bleed. My Hayes Dominion brakes also recommend bench bleeding, but I routed my rear brake internally then bled it while installed on the bike, no problem at all.

Yeah I totally understand that. I bleed my brakes on the frame too.


But the OP post makes it sound like yiu have to remove it from the frame unless you can get big loop of hose exposed at the caliper, most routed frames wouldn't allow that.

I'm really asking about if you have a internally routed frame, if the maximas need a bench bleed, then the caliper has to be detached from the hose in order to remove the brake from the bike and put on the bench yeah?

So you then re attach the caliper to the hose and do the bench bleed.
once you're finished the bleed the hose and caliper would of course still be attached.

Its at this stage I'm wondering about. Youve got you're brake bled and ready to go back on the frame...
But you can't get it back into the frame without detaching the caliper!
Once you detach the caliper would that not let air into the system?
So once its been routed back through the frame and the hose connected to the caliper there's gonna be air in the system no?

Sorry if I'm being really stupid and missing something here!

You are right, except for you would detach at the master cylinder in order to internally route the line. No way to detach and re attach the attachment at the caliper.
flag Brahma
O+
Posted: Mar 16, 2021 at 15:30 Quote
monsieurgage wrote:

f*ck this noise. I loved the idea and now I am looking at my readily available, easy to find parts, non-corrosive mineral oil, easy to bleed, dependable Saint brakes and thinking "CNC magic aint worth the headache".

Actually, you can use mineral oil, which is what I did.
flag whatisthecolour
Posted: Mar 16, 2021 at 16:06 Quote
Brahma wrote:
monsieurgage wrote:

f*ck this noise. I loved the idea and now I am looking at my readily available, easy to find parts, non-corrosive mineral oil, easy to bleed, dependable Saint brakes and thinking "CNC magic aint worth the headache".

Actually, you can use mineral oil, which is what I did.

ah ok thanks for clearing that up. I should have just downloaded the manual!

So basically, if you want a perfect bleed and there for the brakes running optimally they are best run on a frame that isn't internally routed!?

That seems like a bit of a misstep by Trickstuff.
Looking at the manual there obviously nothing stopping you from bleeding them while still mounted on the bike, it just means that you have to omit a lot of the steps that the manual says is needed for a 'perfect bleed' and if you dont have a perfect bleed then your not getting all of the performance which kinda defeats the purpose!

I'm glad this has been brought to my attention, my frame is internally routed, this kinda feels like a deal breaker unless there is a way to get a perfect bleed without removing from the bike
flag Brahma
O+
Posted: Mar 16, 2021 at 16:28 Quote
whatisthecolour wrote:
Brahma wrote:
monsieurgage wrote:

f*ck this noise. I loved the idea and now I am looking at my readily available, easy to find parts, non-corrosive mineral oil, easy to bleed, dependable Saint brakes and thinking "CNC magic aint worth the headache".

Actually, you can use mineral oil, which is what I did.

ah ok thanks for clearing that up. I should have just downloaded the manual!

So basically, if you want a perfect bleed and there for the brakes running optimally they are best run on a frame that isn't internally routed!?

That seems like a bit of a misstep by Trickstuff.
Looking at the manual there obviously nothing stopping you from bleeding them while still mounted on the bike, it just means that you have to omit a lot of the steps that the manual says is needed for a 'perfect bleed' and if you dont have a perfect bleed then your not getting all of the performance which kinda defeats the purpose!

I'm glad this has been brought to my attention, my frame is internally routed, this kinda feels like a deal breaker unless there is a way to get a perfect bleed without removing from the bike

Yeah, I thought there were a lot of things that I didn't know about the brakes, hence my post. Not trying to discourage anyone from buying them, just want potential buyers to be informed!

My frame has an internally routed rear brake, but I just ran it external for now, like I stated in the original post. Also, I'm planning on putting them on another bike I'm getting in about a month.
flag whatisthecolour
Posted: Mar 17, 2021 at 5:32 Quote
Brahma wrote:
whatisthecolour wrote:
Brahma wrote:


Actually, you can use mineral oil, which is what I did.

ah ok thanks for clearing that up. I should have just downloaded the manual!

So basically, if you want a perfect bleed and there for the brakes running optimally they are best run on a frame that isn't internally routed!?

That seems like a bit of a misstep by Trickstuff.
Looking at the manual there obviously nothing stopping you from bleeding them while still mounted on the bike, it just means that you have to omit a lot of the steps that the manual says is needed for a 'perfect bleed' and if you dont have a perfect bleed then your not getting all of the performance which kinda defeats the purpose!

I'm glad this has been brought to my attention, my frame is internally routed, this kinda feels like a deal breaker unless there is a way to get a perfect bleed without removing from the bike

Yeah, I thought there were a lot of things that I didn't know about the brakes, hence my post. Not trying to discourage anyone from buying them, just want potential buyers to be informed!

My frame has an internally routed rear brake, but I just ran it external for now, like I stated in the original post. Also, I'm planning on putting them on another bike I'm getting in about a month.

Sorry I hadn't realised you said you ran it external in your original post!

I have three mountain bikes, a dh bike, short travel trail bike and a nomad4... I'm an idiot and actually forgot that the rear brake on my nomad is actually external! But my trail bike and dh are internal but I was thinking of the maximas for the nomad since its the bike i use the most.

BUT... I went back to the trickstuff website to have a look at the manuals and noticed that they actually have a video on youtube of them performing the bleed with the brake still routed through the frame! But the caliper comes off the post mount and the dude just holds it in his hand. So I suppose their statement about it needing a bench bleed might not be so important.

The video is here, its obviously in german but you can get the gist of it https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iExl4_LP3V8
flag Brahma
O+
Posted: Mar 17, 2021 at 15:28 Quote
whatisthecolour wrote:
Brahma wrote:
whatisthecolour wrote:


ah ok thanks for clearing that up. I should have just downloaded the manual!

So basically, if you want a perfect bleed and there for the brakes running optimally they are best run on a frame that isn't internally routed!?

That seems like a bit of a misstep by Trickstuff.
Looking at the manual there obviously nothing stopping you from bleeding them while still mounted on the bike, it just means that you have to omit a lot of the steps that the manual says is needed for a 'perfect bleed' and if you dont have a perfect bleed then your not getting all of the performance which kinda defeats the purpose!

I'm glad this has been brought to my attention, my frame is internally routed, this kinda feels like a deal breaker unless there is a way to get a perfect bleed without removing from the bike

Yeah, I thought there were a lot of things that I didn't know about the brakes, hence my post. Not trying to discourage anyone from buying them, just want potential buyers to be informed!

My frame has an internally routed rear brake, but I just ran it external for now, like I stated in the original post. Also, I'm planning on putting them on another bike I'm getting in about a month.

Sorry I hadn't realised you said you ran it external in your original post!

I have three mountain bikes, a dh bike, short travel trail bike and a nomad4... I'm an idiot and actually forgot that the rear brake on my nomad is actually external! But my trail bike and dh are internal but I was thinking of the maximas for the nomad since its the bike i use the most.

BUT... I went back to the trickstuff website to have a look at the manuals and noticed that they actually have a video on youtube of them performing the bleed with the brake still routed through the frame! But the caliper comes off the post mount and the dude just holds it in his hand. So I suppose their statement about it needing a bench bleed might not be so important.

The video is here, its obviously in german but you can get the gist of it https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iExl4_LP3V8

Thanks for the video. They seem to skip step 6 in this video of pushing the pads out, and pushing them back in. Not sure why, but it does appear that a bleed on the bike is possible.
flag IliasArk
O+
Posted: Mar 19, 2021 at 1:20 Quote
Hi everyone, I placed an order for a set of Maxima brakes for my Privateer 161, brakes are pretty much the only thing I am keeping from one bike to another so I think it is a good investment, what I wanted to hear is how Trickstuff’s customer service is? I have sent them an email a few days ago but I haven’t heard back from them since... Kinda disappointed and worried at the same time, thinking that I could be stranded here in case I need something when I actually get the brakes?
flag Brahma
O+
Posted: Mar 19, 2021 at 8:50 Quote
IliasArk wrote:
Hi everyone, I placed an order for a set of Maxima brakes for my Privateer 161, brakes are pretty much the only thing I am keeping from one bike to another so I think it is a good investment, what I wanted to hear is how Trickstuff’s customer service is? I have sent them an email a few days ago but I haven’t heard back from them since... Kinda disappointed and worried at the same time, thinking that I could be stranded here in case I need something when I actually get the brakes?

I just got mine, and sent an email about needing some bionol to accompany my brake order, and no response. So, not great reports yet, but maybe I offended their German sensibilities because I stated that they should have included it with my brakes.
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