In this article I’m going to delve into the best hydraulic disc brakes for gravel bikes.
Since I’ve built up a lot of bikes with components across series, cycling disciplines, and decades, I know a thing or two about compatibility, and how far you can stretch those.
This article is not about brake levers, chainrings, derailleurs, cassettes, and chains. It’s about brakes specifically, and as far as I’m concerned, there is not some gravel-specific riding characteristic that needs a different type of brake than you’d find on your average road bike.
And simply looking at the technology used in flat-mounted brakes, my assumption seems to hold true. For example, SRAM’s promotional page on their XPLR groupset doesn’t show brakes. The page is drivetrain-oriented.
Also when you actually look at what’s mounted on gravel bikes, you see that on the cheapest bikes mechanical disc brakes are mounted. And probably no-one will argue with me that mechanical disc brakes are not for gravel bikes only.
The aforementioned leads me to believe there are no gravel brakes, and you can use any road brake you want, provided they are compatible with the brake levers you’re using.
And with that out of the way, let’s take a look at my list of the best hydraulic disc brakes for gravel bikes.
Shimano GRX BR-RX810
It makes perfect sense that if you’re looking for stopping power for your gravel bike, you’ll be looking at the Shimano GRX BR-RX810 brakes.
I’m pretty familiar with combining components from road and mountain bike groupsets, so I know it can work and the distinctive line between them is kind of blurry, apart from aesthetics. So I was really curious to learn what exactly makes a brake a gravel brake.
To be able to answer that question as far as Shimano is concerned, you’ll need to know that the GRX series mimics the road series. This means there’s a GRX equivalent for each road series, except for Dura-Ace.
The obvious choice for the best gravel brake from Shimano would be the Ultegra equivalent, which happens to be the 800 series, or in this case, the Shimano GRX BR-RX810 brake.
These brakes are compatible with GRX levers, and with Ultegra levers, but the key difference of the GRX groupset is not the brakes, but the levers and drivetrain.
That means that in terms of functionality, these ceramic dual-piston, flat-mounted brakes perform exactly the same as the Ultegra ones, but have a differently shaped body, and a slightly heavier weight of 141 grams per brake versus the Ultegra 113 grams. However the difference in weight is because of the inclusion of finned brake pads, which is claimed to dissipate heat and counter brake fade.
If you’re looking for Shimano flat-mount brakes for gravel riding, the unibody, lightweight Dura-Ace brakes are simply better, and will be compatible with GRX levers.
- If you want your brakes to say GRX, which is Shimano's gravel brand, and you don't like to mix brand types.
- Strictly speaking, they're not even better than its road counterpart Ultegra. They are definitely not better than Dura-Ace brakes.
Shimano Dura-Ace BR-R9270
What can you expect from the flagship hydraulic disc brake from the biggest bicycle component manufacturer in the world?
As with all other premium components in the road bike lineup, there’s a strong focus on saving weight. The Shimano DURA-ACE BR-R9270 disc brake, which is roughly 20 percent lighter than the next-in-line Ultegra version.
That corresponds to about 20 grams per brake, and Shimano has done so in a unibody design. A stiffer body means more braking power and less energy loss.
All brakes have 10 percent more pad clearance to compensate for a marginal rotor wobble, lowering the risk of that high-pitch noise telling you a rotor needs to be trued. Tests seem to confirm this claim to be correct, but a good tune and clean brakes are probably more important, and will do the trick as well.
Shimano has moved entirely to electronic drivetrains, so a Di2 shifter is noted as the recommended brake lever. But you can use these brakes with older non-Di2 levers as well fortunately.
The brakes are compatible with both finless and finned brake pads for increased heat dissipation. The go-to brake rotors are actually borrowed from the MTB discipline’s premium XTR series, with the black/silver composite disc made from a stainless steel body and an aluminum ring, also for increased heat dissipation.
For some strange reason I can’t comprehend, the Dura-Ace brakes have the pads stay in place with a screw you’ll need a flat-headed screwdriver for. An allen bolt would make more sense, considering the fact you strip your bolt much faster with a screwdriver.
A plus, especially for DIY people, is the fact that Shimano brakes use mineral oil, which is non-toxic for your skin and cheaper than SRAM’s dot fluid. Bleeding is easy with any standard bleed kit on the market.
Ultegra has always been the far more sensible choice from a financial perspective, since you pay a pretty premium which resides within the weight saving category for about 80 percent. But that’s what high-end road bikes are all about.
Also from a functional perspective both braking systems let you feather the brakes with your hands on the hoods.
When compared to SRAM I don’t think you can beat Shimano in terms of raw braking power. Shimano always feels sharp and crisp when properly set up.
- Best high-end, hydraulic road bike brakes
- Too expensive when compared to almost similar Ultegra brakes
Shimano Ultegra BR-R8170
Ultegra has always been the smart choice when choosing road bike components from Shimano. So it’s safe to say that, except for a bit of weight gain, the Shimano Ultegra BR-R8170 are excellent hydraulic disc brakes for people who want to upgrade an older set, or lower series.
They don’t feature the Dura-Ace unibody design, but that’s about it. The difference between Dura-Ace and Ultegra has always been more of a marketing thing, and I have to admit that I bought Dura-Ace for the name alone. And simply thinking I can’t go up anymore. But undoubtedly the Ultegra BR-R8170 is the better choice value-for-money wise.
The Ultegra version uses an allen bolt to keep the pads in place.
- Excellent brakes that are just a bit heavier than the Dura-Ace and lack its unibody design.
- Extremely similar to 105, except for a 10 gram difference in weight.
Shimano 105 BR-R7170
I’ve never seen a product from a series that’s looks so similar as its high-end counterpart, but that’s the Shimano 105 BR-R7170 for you.
The difference between Dura-Ace and Ultegra is relatively bigger than the difference between Ultegra and 105. At least with Dura-Ace you got a unibody design in all-black.
Even the price between 105 and Ultegra is pretty similar. And the difference resides in a 10 gram weight loss per brake.
Buy these if you want excellent brakes and mind your wallet as well.
- Best value-for-money brake from Shimano
- None
Hope RX4+
With the Hope RX4+ the UK brand has entered the road bike components market. But with the likes of Shimano and SRAM, the real question is whether or not you should care. The answer, if you ask me, is a resounding yes, because there’s so much to love about these brakes.
The first thing is that because they come in so many colors, you’re offered to get some bling for your bike other than the standard Shimano black and SRAM Silver.
And Hope has done just about everything right with these brakes. Offering them in versions compatible with every major brand (Shimano, SRAM, and Campy), which means you get them in both mineral oil and dot versions. The reason is one of necessity, since you can’t buy a Hope brake lever, and I doubt they will move into the electronic shifting circus anytime soon.
Furthermore, there are flat mount and post mount versions, so you can move beyond traditional road bike frames without needing adapters should your frame feature post mounts.
The brakes have CNC machined unibodies, just like Shimano’s Dura-Ace, but offer 4 pistons instead of 2, which is unique for a road bike flat-mounted hydraulic disc brake. In general it means more power and better modulation.
Inside the box you’ll not only find the caliper, but also a bleed kit, and two pairs of brake pads for either road or gravel use, including all the hardware for mounting the brake on your frame.
Hope has managed to fit those pistons into a very lightweight 110 gram body. With years of experience in creating MTB brakes, they used that knowledge to create incredible stopping power in these short-pull road bike brakes, making it a true upgrade over any stock brakes.
In combination with Hope’s MTB pads, the unibody design with 4 pistons offers incredible stiffness, instant braking, and over-the-top braking power should you need it. Pad clearance is tight, so they might take a bit longer to setup, and you’ll definitely need straight rotors.
It’s not often I feel that a product is near perfect. But Hope again does not disappoint with a set of brakes that covers the entire range of bikes with drop bars, from road racing, to gravel, to bikepacking.
- lightweight, 4-piston powerhouse braking in beautiful anodized colors
- Very steep price
SRAM RED eTap AXS HRD
Is there something I can say about the brakes from SRAM’s top-of-the-line groupset that sets itself apart from the competition, with Shimano in particular?
Shimano offers finned pads, but I’m not yet convinced how much they matter when taking riding style, pad price, piston material, rider weight, pad compound, rotor size, and overall speed into consideration as well.
They are significantly heavier coming in at 131 grams per brake, which is considerably more than Shimano’s 105 brake. The size of the brake body may result in less sticky pistons, which seems less likely to occur with these SRAM brakes.
That being said, although I know a lot of roadies are pretty single-minded when it comes to weight, I’m not one of them. So the SRAM drivetrain and these brakes being heavier, doesn’t really mean all that much to me.
Piston size differs between SRAM and Shimano, with SRAM having smaller 21mm pistons versus Shimano’s 25mm. That may account for better pad clearing and less rubbing, especially since Shimano now has increased their pad clearance.
Bigger pistons with better grit cleaning characteristics increase brake performance and longer-lasting pads, so in this respect I do not give SRAM the benefit of the doubt.
And unlike Shimano Dura-Ace brakes, SRAM brakes do not have a unibody design for increase stifness and braking power.
However, since you’ll obviously use these brakes in the SRAM ecosystem, I feel it’s best to view them as a whole, and take the eTap electronic drivetrain system into account as well. It goes too far in this article to delve into that subject, so all things considered, from a braking standpoint it’s 1-0 for Shimano.
- If you've invested in the SRAM drivetrain ecosystem
- Shimano offers better braking performance with an overall better product.
SRAM Force eTap AXS HRD
The most distinctive difference between SRAM Force eTap AXS HRD and its RED counterpart does not reside in the brakes, which are basically the same between the two.
In fact, if my numbers are correct, the Force brakes are actually a bit lighter than the RED ones, with an average weight of 119 grams. But let me remind you how insignificant that weight difference is.
- Similar to RED but a tad cheaper
- None if you operate the SRAM drivetrain
Specifications hydraulic disc brakes for gravel bikes
Name | Price | brake type | mount type | pistons | caliper weight | oil | actuation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Shimano GRX BR-RX810 | 79.99 USD | hydraulic disc brake | flat-mount | 2 | 141 | mineral | short-pull |
Shimano Ultegra BR-R8170 | 89.95 USD | hydraulic disc brake | flat-mount | 2 | 113 | mineral | short-pull |
Shimano Dura-Ace BR-R9270 | 189.95 USD | hydraulic disc brake | flat-mount | 2 | 97 | mineral | short-pull |
Shimano 105 BR-R7170 | 75.99 USD | hydraulic disc brake | flat-mount | 2 | 123 | mineral | short-pull |
SRAM RED eTap AXS HRD | 110 USD | hydraulic disc brake | post mount | 2 | 131 | DOT 4, DOT 5.1 | short-pull |
SRAM Force eTap AXS HRD | 98.27 USD | hydraulic disc brake | post mount | 2 | 119 | DOT 4, DOT 5.1 | short-pull |
Hope RX4+ | 140 USD | hydraulic disc brake | post mount, flat mount | 4 | 110 | mineral oil, dot fluid | short-pull |
Johan van Seijen
FoundeR Restoration.bike
Johan van Seijen is the founder of restoration.bike. His passion for cycling in general, and restoring older bikes turned into a website to share his knowledge with a broader audience. Starting out on his father’s road bike and riding classics as the Amstel Gold Race and Liege Bastogne Liege he has shifted his attention to trail, XC, and gravel riding since. No matter how much he loves writing about everything related to cycling, nothing beats actually using his ever-expanding bicycle collection.
You might also like
The top 5 best hydraulic disc brakes for ebikes in 2023
In this article my focus is on providing you with a list of what I feel are some of the best hydraulic disc brakes for ebikes.
Ebikes have taken the world by storm, surpassing sales of traditional bi
The top 10 best disc brakes for enduro mountain bikes in 2023
With this article I’m going to share my thoughts on what the best disc brakes for enduro mountain bikes are.
While the professional scene is mostly dominated by Shimano XTR and SRAM Code Ultimate Ste
The top 11 best disc brakes for downhill in 2023
With this article I’m going to share my thoughts on what I feel should be the contenders for the best disc brakes for downhill riding.
There are a number of aspects to take into consideration. Apart
ThThe top 4 best hydraulic disc brakes under 100 in 2023
With this post I’m going to share my top picks for the best hydraulic disc brakes under 100 dollars. I’m only going to cover mountain bike disc brakes, not brakes meant for road bikes.
When your budg