Growtac Equal mechanical disc brakes review

Growtac’s Equal mechanical disc brakes are a premium, blingy offering claimed to offer a holy trinity of braking power, lever feel and actuation.

The Japanese brand has, until now, been known for manufacturing indoor rollers, clothing and small accessories, with the introduction of the Equal brakes a new avenue.

Although mechanical disc brakes offer less power than their hydraulic siblings, they provide a number of benefits.

Chiefly, they don’t need bleeding and are easier to adjust on the fly. Bikepackers and tourers, in particular, might find this useful.

Many entry-level bikes come with mechanical disc brakes, and those who want to upgrade their brakes without changing levers and cables will find the Equal brakes an interesting proposition.

I have found the Growtac Equal brakes to offer impressive braking when compared to other mechanical offerings, plus they look great.

However, at a princely cost of £350 / $365 in their flat-mount variant (or £390 / $405 for post-mount calipers), the Equal brakes don’t quite make a compelling case for why you might buy them over similarly priced hydraulic brakes that offer better performance.

Growtac Equal mechanical disc brakes specifications

The first thing anyone is likely to notice about the Growtac brakes is their aesthetic.

They are made with shiny machined aluminium and offered in an array of colours – gold, grey, red, blue, black and silver. I had the gold version on test, and they were very bright and stood out on my dark-coloured Cannondale Synapse.

The angular construction certainly makes them look premium, too.

The Equal brakes are advertised as among the lightest mechanical disc brakes on the market, claimed at 136g per caliper.

I weighed the front at 138g and the rear at 148g, including an adaptor and the brake pads.

In comparison, TRP Spyre calipers weigh 154g each and Flat Mount Klamper brakes come in at 211g each.

You can use 140mm or 160mm disc brake rotors with the Equal calipers, although the rear adaptor is required if you have 160mm (like me).

The brakes look well thought-out in design – the actuator arm turns on a pivot on the outside of the top face of the caliper, which means the cable doesn’t take a tight turn through the caliper.

In theory, this should result in a better lever feel, versus a brake cable that has to kink sharply.

Growtac has provided a ‘danger zone’ graphic on the actuator arm, which acts as a visual indicator if the tension needs adjusting as the brake cable stretches over time.

If you need to tweak the brakes, there’s a metal barrel adjuster to alter cable tension.

The Equals use a single-piston design. Instead of two moving disc brake pads, this design relies on one moving piston pushing the rotor against a static pad.

The Equals come with brake pads made of ‘resin-based ceramic semi-metal friction material’ and aluminium back plates, which Growtac says delivers high braking power and durability.

Why mechanical and not hydraulic disc brakes?

The main question here is: why would you buy these, rather than upgrading to hydraulics?

Well, in my case, I already had mechanical disc brakes on my Cannondale Synapse AL. Many entry-level bikes come with mechanical disc brakes installed.

To save the complication and expense of having to change levers and cables, upgrading to better mechanical disc calipers made sense.

Mechanical disc brakes are also easier to fix. If I was doing a long bikepacking adventure, I’d much rather fix mechanical disc brakes than hydraulic ones.

There is no bleeding involved, while adjusting cable tension, replacing cables and finding compatible pads is much simpler.

Though it’s mostly true that hydraulic brakes offer more power, I’d vouch that unless you're planning to race, mechanical brakes provide good enough braking for the majority of riders, especially those who ride on the road.

In the vast majority of cases, your tyres and the conditions dictate the limit of adhesion on the road – most well-maintained brakes will deliver more than enough stopping power to overcome this.

Growtac states the Equal brakes will match the weight of high-grade hydraulic brake systems.

They do indeed come in lighter than Shimano Dura-Ace’s 160g per caliper, but SRAM Red beats both at only 111g. Either way, the Equals are impressively low in weight.

Growtac suggests riders who are ‘concerned about weight’, such as hill climbers and racers, would benefit from swapping to the Equals on their bikes.

This is an interesting idea, though I have yet to meet many hill climbers who want to switch to discs.

Perhaps now Andrew Feather has proved you can win with disc brakes, we’ll be seeing more brakes like the Equals at hill climbs.

Growtac Equal mechanical disc brakes installation

The Equal brakes were easy to install on my Cannondale Synapse and presented no unexpected challenges in fitting and adjusting.

I have had no issues when using the brakes over the last six months. The barrel adjuster is easy to operate to fine-tune braking and the pistons have fared well after much use.

Growtac Equal mechanical disc brakes performance

The first thing I noticed was the braking felt rather ‘wooden’, and not necessarily better than the Promax Decoder R brakes I had on the Synapse.

This turned out to be a result of the new pads, and after a couple of rides, they bedded down and the braking began to feel more powerful.

Thereafter, the braking power of the Equals was surprisingly good. They work quickly and bite down with a lot of force if you need them to.

They certainly feel better than some of the other mechanical disc brakes I've used, such as Shimano Sora R317.

On rougher roads, I found I could rely on them to stay in control.

One problem with all mechanical disc brakes is their inferior modulation compared to hydraulic disc brakes. When swapping from a bike with hydraulics to the Equals, the difference was very noticeable.

I found myself riding in a different way to account for this – avoiding sharp or sudden braking where possible to avoid locking the wheels up and trying to be delicate with the levers.

However, when I did need to brake sharply, the Equals would bite down furiously, causing a spectacular skid, but ultimately stopping me in time to avoid a collision.

I used the Equals on sunny rides, and on wet and dreary ones. The stopping power was impressive on both, with no negative effect on the braking power.

That said, I found the pads were easily contaminated and after a small rain shower they began screeching when activated.

The pads, however, have retained a good amount of bite after a lot of wear and tear, and I haven’t yet felt the need to change them after several months of riding.

How do the Growtac Equal brakes compare to the Promax Decoder R?

In comparison to the Promax Decoder R – the mechanical disc brakes I’ve spent most time on – the Equals are a definite step up in terms of braking power.

They have less of the jarring on-or-off tendency of the Promax Decoder R brakes.

Though they do feel a little wooden on sharp, short downhills, they come into their own on longer downhills or bumpier roads, and their power gives me confidence to gather more speed than with the Promax Decoders.

Growtac Equal mechanical disc brakes bottom line

Overall, the Growtac Equal brakes have an impressive amount of power, look great and have so far worked without fault, with no need to be adjusted.

So, if you're in the market for mechanical disc brakes, these are a great option.

That comes with a big caveat, though. At £350, the Equals are as expensive as buying Shimano 105 R7100 hydraulic brakes, including shifters.

The Equals offer less refined braking than these, with nothing like the same modulation and less power. Many people might conclude that the hydraulic brakes would therefore serve them better.

However, if I was going to stick with a mechanical system for my bike, the Growtac Equal brakes offer good performance, and are a choice I’d be pleased to have on my road bike.