Shimano’s M575 brakes extend the new ‘right angle’ design to the Deore end of their range. Unfortunately the performance of the several sets we’ve tried doesn’t match the contemporary look.
Changing the layout does bring benefits beyond just aesthetics. The levers run left or right, there’s a two-bolt clamp for easy fitting/removal and there’s more space on your bars. At 432g for a160mm setup they’re not too heavy either.
However, they lack power and need a proper ‘grim death’ grip to get anything like reassuring anchorage unless you run a larger than usual rotor.
While the crooked lever shape is nice and secure, brake feel comes off as numb and wooden. And because you’re busy pulling harder most of the time the brake feels even more uncommunicative.
We went through a set of standard issue resin pads on one test set half way through a six-hour ride. This left us working the remaining anchor so hard we cooked the mineral oil and ended up using a dry stone wall as an emergency brake.
Granted, that’s only happened once and aftermarket pads would obviously help, but none of the other sets we’ve tried have really impressed us and it’s not even cheap once you’ve totted up all the bits.
