Skip to main content

Formula RO brakes


FORMULA’S MOST POWERFUL brake is a serious DH stopper at an XC weight and it’s come down a chunk in price too. It’s more careintensive than most though.

The RO uses the well proven R1/T1 lever, with its MixMaster combo mount and SpeedLock easy hose splitter options. Not all of our testers like the lever shape – particularly those who like to run their levers close to their bars – but the soft-feeling pull delivers lots of progressive data to your digits.

That’s just as well, because the big oval callipers are easily powerful enough to chuck you over the handlebar if you’re not careful.

The ROs are slightly awkward to bleed and set up rub-free. Because the rotors are flimsy we’d advise buying just the brakes 372$.

WEIGHT 418g
POWER 124Nm

PRICE: 435$






Popular posts from this blog

Cannondale Trail SL 29 SS

The fat aluminium tubes are a constrast to the skinny items seen elsewhere in the test, but this rigid Cannondale uses them to create one of the most old-school - and lightest - rides here.

Merida Big Nine 100

Wit the bikes swapped over, we head out on the same loop again, this time on the 29in Big Nine 100. Whereas the Big Seven was snappy off the line, the 29er takes a couple more pedal strokes to get up to speed. That said, once it's up there, it's easy to keep the big wheels rolling, allowing us to cover ground with ease. The fire road is at times a little rough, and the bigger wheels roll over the imperfections so we barely notice them.

SKS Airbuster CO2 inflator

The alloy Airbuster has a large knob so you can regulate the flow of gas, a mechanical stop to prevent the cartridge being pierced in transit and a dust cap to keep the valve free of debris. While it works with Presta and Schrader valves, switching between them requires a fiddly change of the valve head. The thin rubber sleeve doesn’t provide much protection from cold spent canisters. You can’t insert much of the valve into the inflator head, so you have to be careful to avoid leaks. Price $33 w/16g cartridge

KONA SHRED

With a reputation for no-nonsense ruggedness and a background in the always progressive and punishing riding of Canada, Kona have been building hardcore hardtails for longer than almost anyone else. The Shred is the most expensive bike on test but it’s a proper trail tank.

Anthony Messere’s Morpheus Vimana Slope

A flying chariot built with one thing in mind – slopestyle domination