About two months ago I was asked to test some new disc brakes by Rob for a short review; sure enough I received a package containing the brakes but then promptly forgot all about them. So when Rob asked me how the review was going I was a little embarrassed and had to admit the fact that they were still in my garage. When I opened the package I found a set of Quad QHD-3 Deuce Disc Brakes with 203mm Pulse rotors and braided hoses front and rear. My initial impression was one of indifference; they neither excited nor disappointed. Aesthetically the QHD-3 Deuce is no head turner; however it’s by no means ugly, just a little bland. I guess that when compared to distinctive CNC’d Hope brakes, carbon donned Avid or spangly Formula it’s hard to compete. That said, uniquely the QHD-3 Deuce calliper does boast a set of machined concentric circles supposedly designed to aid heat dissipation though more realistically these have been included to create that all important instantly recognisable product identity.

Quads on F4

Fitting the brakes was straight forward once a Shimano mount had been sent to allow be to fit the front to my Boxxers. Like some other brands, quad discs are secured with torx screws rather than the more commonly supplied allen key screws that are so prone to rounding. There were some other nice touches, things which set the Quad brakes apart from its competitors; all the screws come pre-coated with thread lock cutting fitting time and removing the need to search for that little bottle of 243 that you know you saw the other day. The disc screws are also button head giving an increased contact area over the standard fixings and the lever screws utilise a smaller allen key size than is normal for the size of screw thread thereby reducing the amount of torque that can be applied and hence reducing the chance of stripping the thread in the lever body. And pad changes require nothing more than a 2mm allen key. This attention to detail really impressed me; it shows that a lot of thought has gone into the design of the whole package and has taken account of the pitfalls of other systems.

Quad Lever

Once fitted I was quick to take the bike for a spin to bed the brakes in ready for a proper ride out the woods the next day. To my surprise the bed in process took all of about a minute, almost immediately the brakes were offering sufficient power and modulation to throw oneself down a hill without any fear of deceleration problems. This is particularly impressive when compared to Hope brakes that can take 10 minutes to become usable and a couple of hours to reach their full potential.

Caliper and pads

There were some small niggles though, nothing big just a tad annoying. Firstly due to a combination of lever shape, piston travel and lack of bite adjust it’s hard to get the right lever feel; for the bite point to be in a "normal" position the lever start point needs to be particularly far from the bar making it that bit awkward to grab the brake when needed. Also as mentioned in Dirt this month the levers are a little thin though not a problem in itself it is noticeable. The rear caliper needed spacing away from the mount to prevent it from interfering with the disc, easy to sort but shouldn’t be necessary. And finally the fact that a Shimano Boxxer specific mount had to be used as Quad will not be supplying these as an option with any of their brakes which is a shame as I all pre 2008 Boxxers will require the bracket and that’s an extra £20 to be spent!

Cleaned up

Importantly though performance on the hill was very impressive, with absolutely nothing to report other than being able to slow the bike down exactly when and how I wanted to. The best products aren’t noticeable they just work and once accustomed to the lever the QHD-3 Deuce definitely falls into that category.

In summary the Quad QHD-3 Deuce is a great brake at a competitive price, it’s not perfect but it is very good and definitely worth a look.

Priced at £139.99 quad brakes are available exclusively through Raleigh UK Ltd see www.raleighbikes.com for more details.

Denham