It looks like a spring release for the long awaited Red hydraulic system (which means they'll really see action in next year's cross season and possibly the few road disc frames out there.)
Now's your chance, disc brake fans.
Honestly, I see no value in discs on the road, and hardly any in ‘cross (except the obvious mud clearing ability) since traction will be far more of an issue in either case than stopping power, and modulation with today's calipers is already superb. The argument of lighter rims and less rotating mass falls on deaf ears as well: there still has to be sufficient material for a bead hook on the rim and with the carbon clincher craze, you're not going to lose much material from that bead hook.
In my opinion: a solution looking for a problem. But it's always nice to see nifty new things.
An official launch is slated for mid-spring, and until then SRAM isn't commenting. We know they'll likely be called “HydroR,” the label currently molded into the top of the tall hoods. We know Jeremy Powers also has a set, but hasn't raced on them yet. We also know that the calipers have been in development for quite some time, as we spotted a disguised version on Todd Wells' Olympic mountain bike, with mountain levers. From that, we can assume the calipers are lighter than SRAM's top mountain offerings.
The tall horn hoods hold the master cylinder, and the bleed port sits atop the horn. They are bled just like other Avid hydraulic discs.
Photos are by Will Matthews (Velonews.)
