When you think brakes, what comes to mind? Chances are, it’s Brembo. Doesn’t matter if you’re into sportbikes, supercars, or Formula One—Brembo’s the gold standard. But in the world of bicycles? Not so much. Cyclists are more likely to swear by Shimano, SRAM, Magura, or Hope.
That might be about to change, though, because Brembo is officially throwing its hat into the mountain bike ring, and they’re kicking things off right at the top.
The Italian brand just announced a partnership with Specialized Bicycles and their elite downhill racing team, Specialized Gravity. That means heavy hitters like Loïc Bruni, Jordan Williams, and Finn Iles will be running prototype Brembo brakes for the remainder of the 2025 World Cup season. It’s a classic Brembo play: prove it at the highest level first, then let the tech trickle down to the masses.
As for the hardware, these aren’t just rebranded off-the-shelf units. The prototypes already spotted on the team bikes are proper big-boy brakes. Up front, the lever blade is long and flat, with a small adjuster sitting near the pivot, likely for reach adjustment. The lever body itself is tall and tanky, sort of similar to designs we've seen from Sram. It sits tight to the bars and features a large fluid reservoir.
The caliper appears to be a four-piston unit, which is par for the course in top-level DH racing. While Brembo hasn’t revealed the guts of the system just yet, early glimpses suggest a focus on performance, heat resistance, and durability—traits that Brembo’s been perfecting in MotoGP and F1 for years.
Now, before you whip out your credit card, here’s the catch. RideApart reached out to Brembo to ask the big question: Will these go on sale? The official response? For now, the focus is purely on racing. But they did leave us with an intriguing nugget, Brembo says they “hope this partnership with Specialized leads to more innovation in the future.”
And we all know what that usually means.
Racing has always been a testbed. Whether it’s carbon brakes on a Ducati or hydraulic disc systems on a World Cup bike, the tech usually trickles down. So while you may not find Brembo stoppers at your local bike shop just yet, don’t be surprised if that iconic red logo ends up on your handlebar in the not-too-distant future.
Source: Brembo
