TRP Slate T4 EVO disc brakes review

While Aaron Gwin was directly involved in the development of the DH-R EVO brakes, some of the lessons learned in that process were applied to these lighter weight Slate T4 EVO brakes, which still pack a punch.

TRP Slate T4 EVO disc brakes specification

TRP's Slate T4 EVO is competitively priced but still comes with a fair number of features that are good to see. That said, the overall finish isn’t quite as polished in some places as you'll find on some pricier brakes.

At the lever end, the lever blade is textured with dimples and has a decent amount of finger security thanks to a well up-turned lever end.

The lever has reach adjustment that's easy to actuate via a turn wheel on the inside of the lever blade pivot, and there's a pretty decent range of adjustment available.

The lever is held in place with a hinged clamp that has a top-loading bolt. I like this because it means you’re less likely to drop the bolt when loading it.

The clamp isn’t overly broad, but this doesn’t seem to compromise the lever’s fairly stiff overall construction.

TRP says that it's made the hose a touch wider in diameter and stiffer too to help with routing through frames. At 1,900mm per end, there’s plenty of hose length for the left/right-specific levers.

The hose enters the caliper at an adjustable banjo, meaning it’s easier to get a clean cable routing in the rear triangle of your bike.

The caliper holds four pistons that push onto a resin pad that’s accessible from the top of the caliper. The pads are then held in place with a screw-in pin.

The caliper is reasonably open, which I like because it makes pad swaps easier. Pad shape is similar to that of some Shimano pads, and thus the two are interchangeable.

The instructions I received with the brakes didn’t quite match up with the brakes I had, though. For example, they talked about loosening a bleed nipple on the caliper that doesn’t exist on mine, so I borrowed a bleed technique from Shimano. That said, the process was easy enough once I had decided how to go about it and I achieved a decent bleed first time round.

TRP Slate T4 EVO disc brakes performance

I liked the feel of the TRP brakes, not just the comfortable lever blade that gives your fingers a secure pull on them, but also the reasonably light lever stroke that helps with hand comfort and arm pump on long descents.

Power levels are good thanks to the caliper's four pistons. The initial bite is significantly softer than on Shimano brakes, but a little sharper than the likes of Formula. In that regard, it’s a relatively neutral feeling brake.

Power levels really start to grow in the lever’s mid-stroke, so gentle speed scrubbing with the early stroke is easy to manage, but it doesn’t take too much effort to have a real effect on your speed.

Top-end power levels aren’t as high as some brakes, so those looking for a set of stoppers for an enduro race bike or e-MTB might be better served elsewhere.

However, when it comes to overall performance, I think these would be a good option on most trail bikes and I’d certainly be happy to see them on mid-priced builds.

TRP Slate T4 EVO disc brakes bottom line

TRP’s Slate T4 EVO brakes work well, with good, if not exceptional, power and a tidy looking, easy to work on caliper. There will be obvious comparisons with similarly priced Magura MT5 and Shimano BR M520 brakes.

The Slate T4 EVOs don’t have the power of these two brakes, however their initial bite is a little softer and easier to manage than the Shimano BR M520s, and the lever construction is better than that of the Magura and comparable to Shimano’s.

They’re similar in weight to the BR M520s brakes too, but close to 100g heavier per pair than the MT5s.