No one gives much thought to their brake lines. You install the brakes, bleed them and off you go. Well, recently longtime UK based hydraulic hose manufacturer (and purveyor of brake lines to F1 teams) Goodridge decided to show me just how much difference a set of good brake lines can make to a set of hydraulic brakes.

The stock lines on my Hayes hydraulic disc brakes have served me well, or so I thought. They have only sprung one leak (inside the housing) and broken once in over 4 years. That is a pretty good record for someone who crashed an awful lot.

When removing my stock lines off of my Orange 222, I noticed a kink in the line right below the bottom hose mount, where the cable is forced to bend so another failure was right around the corner. What more can you ask of plastic though?

The Goods

Goodridge lines are stainless steel braid with a thin plastic clear or coating on it, so none of this cracking/kinking will happen. In fact I was instructed to tie it into a knot as tight as I could and then straighten it out. There wasn’t even a mark, good start.

After you decide on whether you want a clear coating or black (which gives it a sort of carbon look) you can order them up. We got ours directly from Goodridge USA, but they will be available shortly at BTI and QBP. MSRP from Goodridge is $45 usd for the front set and slightly more for the rear. Both of these are standard lengths. Make sure you specify exactly what make model and year your brakes are, as they need to come with the proper fittings.

The Fit

The first thing you will probably notice upon installation, is that there is no compression fitting. You simply cut 11mm of plastic coating off the casing with a sharp knife, slide on the little collar, then push your fitting into the line and twist. Once it gets low enough the firring will thread into the collar at the base of the line and you are done. It’s really that simple. Estimated installation time: 3 minutes.

Repeat with the other end, then mount to brake lever and caliper. One note is that once the line and fitting are together, you can’t move them. So make sure you get the line lined up right, so that it doesn’t twist all out of shape when you install it on the bike.

If you need to shorten the lines, you can do this with a good pair of regular cable cutters (NOT wire cutters, as they will crush the line). We suggest installing the lever end and then measuring the line to size.

The Feel

So why all the hype over these lines? You have to feel them to believe them. Normally a plastic line expands once the pads touch the rotor and you keep pulling. So you lose power, as not all of the force you are putting into your lever goes to the pads and rotor. Stainless steel does not expand. End of story. There is a sudden THUNK when you get to the bottom and that is it, the lever will not pull any further. You have a bunch more power, more touch on the brakes, and in my opinion, more feel for the rotor. You can feel every bump and twist in the rotor right through the lever. It is simply incredible.

The verdict

I’ll keep this nice and short and sweet. Are they worth the expensive upgrade if your stock hayes/hope/grimeca lines are dying? Hell yes. They are worth every penny, Steve Peat and Cedric Gracia have been riding these lines all year and swear by them, now transcendmagazine.com does as well. The lines on my personal Orange 222 make my brakes feel better then brand new. The gain in power and modulation is fantastic. Get yours today and prepare to be astounded.

Goodridge Hose and Fittings