Brembo Brakes has announced a partnership with Specialized Bicycles and will be working with the likes of Loïc Bruni, Jordan Williams and Finn Iles to develop a new braking system.
While the new tie-in may seem a big departure from the top-level motorsport Brembo is synonymous with, it’s no massive shock, having acquired suspension brand Öhlins in 2024. Öhlins also supports the Specialized Gravity team.
Alongside Öhlins, Brembo plans on helping Iles, Williams and Bruni to the top step of the World Cup podium this year, using prototype brakes.
Not Brembo's first rodeo
Brembo is well known in the automotive world, having supplied brakes systems to Formlula One and MotoGP teams.
The brand knows what it takes to compete at the top level, so the jump to downhill racing shouldn’t be a massive shock to the system.
In fact, cast your mind back or search the depths of eBay and you may find some old, twin-piston Brembo brakes from around 17 years ago.
These old brakes had a lever reminiscent of Shimano’s classic XTs and a caliper that looked a little like an inflated Hope C2.
The new brakes, though, which were spotted at the early rounds of the World Cup on the Specialized Gravity team bikes, look drastically different.
At the bar, the lever blade looks almost as long and straight as the Hope Tech 4 V4, minus the protruding adjuster dials.
There is, however, a small adjuster integrated into the blade itself, near the pivot, which we assume alters reach.
The blade then attaches to the lever body, which looks similar in size to that of SRAM’s Maven brakes, if a little larger, and – like the ‘Stealth’ lever body of the Maven – sits close to the bar.
That said, the fluid reservoir looks taller (a little like that of the TRP DHR EVOs) and possibly a touch larger than SRAM’s top gravity stoppers.
At the business end, it appears the caliper uses four pistons to stop the rotor.
Racing only
Brembo’s press release states that its focus will solely be on Downhill World Cup racing, with the Specialized Gravity team riding on prototype brakes for the rest of the 2025 season.
There’s no mention of what will come next from the partnership, or whether the brakes will go on general release.
But, looking at the pictures included, these appear to be close to production-ready, so there’s a solid chance you’ll have the opportunity to buy yourself some high-end Italian stoppers in the not-too-distant future.
However, we imagine they won't come cheap.
