If you are looking to upgrade your old mechanical disc brakes, then look no further! Our Tektro Hydraulic Disc Brakes are the perfect hydraulic set up to get your ebike stopping on a dime. Already assembled and pre-bled with hydraulic mineral oil, these Tektro brakes are ready to install right out of the box. Featuring a 2-piston caliper, these hydraulic disc brakes are a great upgrade over regular mechanical disc brakes, as you get stopping power on both sides of the rotor. These Tektro brakes also feature an ebike sensor in the levers, so it can plug right into your ebike controller and be able to tell your ebike when the bike is stopping. The hydraulic brake levers also include a reach adjustment, so you can position the levers to be closer or further from the handlebars to accommodate different hand sizes. Finally, these breaks feature an open hydraulic system. What is an open hydraulic system though? An open hydraulic system means that there is a fluid reservoir in the hydraulic brake levers, versus just having a closed off system of hose.

What this open system does is makes sure that you do not have a change in braking power due to the change in temperature. In a closed system, you could have changes in brake performance if the temperature is overly cold or hot. You can think of the reservoir as the “overflow” section of the brake. If a lot of heat makes the fluid expand, the excess fluid would then flow into the reservoir, instead of just increasing the pressure in the brakes (which would make the brakes close up a bit).

Each one of these Tektro Hydraulic Brake sets will come with 2 sets of brakes. One for the front, and one for the rear, both pre-assembled and pre-bled so they are ready to install. This Tektro brake system will work with your current existing disc brake rotors, however for rotors bigger than 160mm, you may need an adapter.

Please note: these Tektro brakes are for ebikes only, as they have the brake sensor built in and the have a connector cable coming out of the lever.

Why would I want to switch to hydraulic brakes over mechanical disc brakes?

The differences between hydraulic and mechanical disc brakes are quite big. With mechanical brakes, when you pull the mechanical disc brake lever, you are pulling a cable that actuates the brake caliper. This makes the braking power of mechanical disc brakes reliant on the rider's hand strength. As the hand strength tires out and cannot grip as tight, there will be a loss of braking power. When the cable actuates the brake caliper, it rotates and pushes one side of the brake pads into the rotor, pressing against the other brake pad that is in a fixed position. As you can guess, on ebikes, this can be a major problem. With the added weight and speed that ebikes travel, mechanical disc brakes have to do much more work to stop the bike. This means that your hands are going to fatigue much quicker, potentially making it unsafe the longer you ride. In addition to this, because the brake pads can get worn down quicker on an ebike, you will constantly have to adjust the mechanical disc brakes for them to continue having any sort of stopping power. When riding an ebike, with all of these negatives on mechanical disc brakes, hydraulic disc brakes are practically a must have, and we will tell you all the awesome features of hydraulic disc brakes below!

In hydraulic brakes, instead of pulling a cable when you pull the lever, there is a fluid pressure system inside of the brakes. When you squeeze your hydraulic brake levers, you are creating more pressure inside of the brake system, forcing the pistons to close onto the rotor. This already creates an advantage over traditional mechanical brakes, as this hydraulic pressure system does not rely on the rider's hand strength like the mechanical brakes system does. This means you can ride all day long and your hands will not tire out from braking and your brakes power will be consistent all day. In addition to this, instead of having a single piston come out and push one side of the brake pads, these Tektro hydraulic disc brakes have 2 pistons that push at any equal rate on both sides of the rotor. This gives more consistent wear to both of the brake pads, as well as making adjustments easier when needed. So as you can see, the features that hydraulic disc brakes bring to the table far outperform the mechanical disc brakes!

What sort of maintenance has to be done to the hydraulic brakes?

Hydraulic disc brakes do require a bit more specialized maintenance versus traditional mechanical brakes. Where mechanical brakes just have a steel cable that is attached to the caliper, hydraulic brakes have some sort of fluid that runs from the brake lever to the hydraulic brake caliper. The hydraulic fluid will be different depending on the manufacturer of the brakes. The Tektro brakes use a special mineral oil, similar to Shimano brand brakes. Other brands will commonly use different types of DOT Fluid. This fluid that exists inside of the brake system is good for a long time. However, with enough time and usage, the fluid becomes a bit dirty and air bubbles can work their way into the system. When either or both of these things happen, the brakes must be bled and the fluid replaced with fresh, clean fluid. To bleed your Tektro brakes, you must use a Tektro bleed kit specially designed for these brakes, or bring it to a local bike repair center that can bleed them for you. This bleeding service needs to be done about once every year and half, or sooner depending on how often you ride your bike. In addition to the occasional brake bleed, the brake pads have to be replaced every so often as well as they get worn down. These Tektro brakes can use a few different Tektro brake pad styles, such as the Organic and Metal brake pads, for different brake performance. Just be aware, certain rotors will only be usable with certain brake pad materials.