Formula R1 Brake Review

I previously owned a set of Formula Oro Puros. They were superb brakes – never an issue,  great performance, nice ‘feel’ and lightweight. When Formula brought out the R1 I couldn’t resist. The main selling point of the R1 at the time was its feather weight – 180g without rotors. To achieve this you had to sacrifice the Oro’s bite point adjustment and the gorgeous carbon levers but on the plus side black and red suits most colour schemes better than gold!

 Initially I had a pile of problems with my R1’s.

• My brakes leaked from behind the lever pistons – apparently a batch fault now rectified, but it did ruin a nice pair of carbon bars.
• After a few months one of the rear calliper pistons jammed. The tools to service this are expensive and were going to take weeks to source, so in the end I purchased an entirely new calliper.
• The tiny red aluminium torx bolts that hold everything together are VERY easy to round off. Unfortunately when this happens it can take weeks to track down replacements. Sourcing  parts has become easier now Chainreaction stock Formula spares but there can still be long waits between restocking. I have stockpiled my own little stash of spares for emergencies.
• The levers became sticky so they didn’t spring back out. The only solution I could find to this was to remove the two lower pivot bolts! The levers are now a little more floppy but I can cope with this. The levers themselves might look thin and spindly but they are comfortable and have stood up to several years of abuse.
• The final problem is the most fundamental and annoying. There is VERY little clearance between the disc and the pads, so set-up is ultra critical if you don’t want annoying brake rub. Even a slight kink in your rotor leads to an annoying ‘pft,pft,pft’ as you ride along. Also if like me you regularly need to remove your wheels, it is usually necessary to reset the brakes. I have probably now spent hours of my life tuning and tweaking the brake rub. The actual effect of the brake rub is minimal but it is extremely annoying!
• Finally the bleed kits and spares can be scarily expensive when you do track them down.

So after that tale of woe you are wondering why I still have the R1’s on the bike? The performance and feel that these brakes offer is superb. You can stop on a sixpence or lightly feather the brake into a corner, all with a single finger. The power is better than my old Oros but Formula have managed to maintain the superb modulation and control of the R1’s forebear. Once you have shelled out for the kit, bleeding the brakes is a piece of cake.

Finally there is of course that weight. Often after spending another evening tuning out the brake rub I have considered alternatives – but I can’t bring myself to add a chunk of weight to my bike!

In summary the set-up is fiddly and they need constant care and attention to keep them running smoothly, but the performance is  powerful and wonderfully refined.