HEL Performance Advocate Hydraulic Disc Brake

UK-based HEL Performance started out making brake and clutch lines for motorcycles in 1999, and they have expanded their product offering many times over since then. Today they serve superbikes and performance cars with anything from entire brake systems to oil coolers - and all the hoses and hose fittings you can imagine. Earlier this year, after a focused development period led by a small in-house team of pedal bike enthusiasts, they launched their first MTB product, a complete brake system called “Advocate”. This is our review after several months on the trail.

HEL Advocate Highlights

• Designed for Downhill, Enduro, and e-MTB
• Material: 6082-T6 billet aluminum (not cast)
• Fluid: DOT 5.1 (compatible with SRAM brake bleed kit: M5 x 0.8mm)
• “Free-Flow” 2-Piece Caliper Design
• Caliper piston sizes: 2x 17mm & 2x 15mm
• Stainless steel pistons with castellated top for reduced heat transfer
• Pad shape: Shimano D-Type 03
• Compatible rotor diameter: 180mm - 223mm
• Compatible rotor thickness: 1.8mm - 2.3mm
• Master cylinder piston size: 10mm
• Tool-free lever blade adjustment, 20-point click
• Lever blade span: 35mm (Min. - Max.)
• Master cylinder weight (excl. hose): 155g
• Caliper weight (excl. pads & hose): 105g
• 5mm HEL Braided Hose included as standard, with two-piece Hel fittings
• Entirely manufactured in Devon, England
• 12-month warranty, crash replacement pricing available to first-hand owners
• MSRP: $793 USD (including VAT, excluding shipping costs + eventual import duties), front and rear brake, including a set of pads, excluding rotors and adapters

Initial Impressions

HEL makes all their products in-house in their Devon, UK facility. The Advocate brakes are beautifully machined from billet aluminum (no casting here), and they sure make an entrance with sculpted lines and a fairly imposing silhouette right out of the box (they are shipped dry and not fully assembled, more on that later). The levers caught our eyes immediately, with their unique split design leaving an opening running down the length of the lever blade. The lever blade pivots on bearings, there is a tiny amount of wiggle present but the overall impression of manufacturing quality is excellent.

HEL holds a number of standard color builds in stock, and will soon provide the ability to mix and match parts from an even larger palette of options via an online “brake builder” (we took delivery of this pretty snazzy silver and purple set, which you should be able to replicate soon if you want to). The set includes a front and rear brake, a braided hose kit, a bleed block, two pairs of brake pads, and 4 titanium bolts. HEL also makes their own rotors now, and a range of mounts and adapters are available to add to your order (HEL ships worldwide BTW, we rang up a US order in the webshop and were quoted $41 shipping with DHL from the UK, which seems like a fairly reasonable cost).

The calipers feature 4 pistons, 2x15mm and 2x17mm diameter. For comparison, Hope’s Evo TR4 runs 2x16mm and 2x17mm, while the GR4 sports 2x17mm and 2x18mm. TRP’s new Evo Pro uses 4x16mm, while SRAM’s Maven uses 2x18mm and 2x19.5mm in the higher-end models (4x18 for the Maven Base). The story does not end there however, as the master cylinder piston size is also a crucial part of the equation. HEL settled on 10mm for the Advocate, after initially testing another version of the master cylinder with a 13mm piston and increased mechanical leverage in the lever - that version ultimately produced too much of an "on-off" feel, so the 10mm version was selected. Their stated design goal was “quick and direct pad engagement with a solid lever feel.” Comparing that to the aforementioned other brakes, Hope uses a 9.5mm master cylinder on the Evo range while TRP goes down to 9mm on the Evo Pro (much like Trickstuff does as well, paired with 14/17mm caliper pistons on the Direttissima and 16/17mm on the Maxima). These smaller master cylinder pistons help produce more power but can also create a longer free-stroke, all other things being equal.

The power equation does not end with piston size however, as the lever’s mechanical design also has a role to play. HEL went with a direct-drive design, meaning there are no extra links or rollers used to modify the shape of the power curve at different points in the lever stroke. This once again plays to the stated design objective of a very direct and linear feel. The bite point is not adjustable, but the range of the reach adjuster is massive, so there’s a good chance that most riders will be able to find a setup to their liking.

The kit obviously includes a pair of triple-layer, braided HEL brake lines (the company’s original expertise), they measure 5 millimeters in outer diameter and are designed to work with HEL’s own fittings. The fittings do not feature the classic barb and olive design, instead they rely on a barb that screws in and a cone & shroud system that pinches the hose to secure it in place. The system is entirely reusable, which means no hunting around for a spare barb and olive if you need to move the brakes to another bike for example (you’ll still probably need to trim the edge of the hose again after you dismantle it though, as it does get stretched out and deformed when pinched by the cone & shroud fitting).

Installation

Installing the Advocate is fairly straightforward and comparable to other mainstream brake systems. Pay close attention to the instructions when working with the HEL hose fittings, the one key step is to make sure you screw the hose about halfway onto the cone side before tightening down the outer shroud part of the fitting. This ensures that enough of the hose is captured in the fitting to remain secure.

The Advocate is compatible with a standard SRAM bleed kit, which is what we used. You need to position the bleed port of the lever at the highest possible point, and at a bit of an angle – this is to ensure that the air has a clear path to the port inside the lever body. The sides of the reservoir are wide and flat, and they can easily trap air if you position that plane horizontally for example. It took us a few attempts to get this right (we know that HEL is at present working on a new set of instructional videos to really clarify this aspect of the bleed procedure), but once we did the brakes remained solid and consistent in use.

The Advocate lever perch is big and thick, which means that it doesn’t play nice with the other components vying for space in your cockpit. Because of the thickness of the perch clamps, you can’t really snug up your shifter and dropper levers alongside the brakes, which in our case left them either too far inboard or outboard. HEL has recently launched the production of their “Nexus” direct mount clamps which should help alleviate this issue if you’re running compatible SRAM or Shimano shifters (there are specific mounts available for AXS pods and OneUp dropper levers as well). These mounts were not available to us during testing so we can’t vouch for them at this point, but it seems a foregone conclusion that they will be an improvement over trying to get discrete clamps to get along with those fat lever perches.

On The Trail

The very first squeeze of the lever blade reveals a brake feel that is incredibly direct. The lever requires little effort to initiate, and the bite point is easily the firmest we’ve ever come across, it’s like there is almost no stretch or give in the system at all once the pads engage. Credit the HEL brake lines and the oversized construction of the lever and caliper for this, as well as the direct-drive design of the lever and the chosen piston diameters. The free-stroke is also incredibly short, probably the shortest we’ve ever experienced (the Formula Cura 2 might come close, although it's been a while since we tested that one so don’t hold us to this observation with any degree of scientific rigor). Comparing the Advocate to the Hope Evo TR4 in the shortest free-stroke setting, the free-stroke is about 1-2 millimeters shorter, but it feels even shorter and more direct because of the stiffness of the system immediately beyond the bite point. No sponginess here! The split design of the lever blade looks a bit curious, but it feels very natural under the finger and did not cause any discomfort to this tester at all. The shape works well and we had no issues with slippage of any kind. The reach adjuster is a bit rough on the fingers and awkward to manipulate, but it's set-and-forget once you find your sweet spot so it's not much an issue.

As previously stated, the free-stroke is not adjustable, but the range of reach adjustment on offer is massive. You can get the lever blade all the way down to about 13mm from the grip (depending on grip thickness of course), although this leaves the bite point precariously close to the grip when pulling on the lever blade, even with the short free-stroke and firmness of the system. Reversely, if you wind the reach adjuster all the way out, only the longest of index fingers will be able to get to it. We feel like most people probably prefer a short free-stroke, so the fact that it isn’t adjustable on the Advocate is not a major shortcoming, especially given how stiff and predictable the lever pull is once the brake engages.

As you’d expect in light of the key design decisions (piston diameters and direct-drive lever architecture), the power delivery is very linear and predictable. The bite point is positive without being grabby, and the power builds gradually from there. We tested with several pads and rotors, and we got by far the best results with HEL’s own rotor and Sinter’s green pads. There is enough initial bite to allow you to feather the brakes when needed (the fancy term we like to use for brake-dragging), and it’s very easy to feel what the brake is doing at all times. Once you get a solid bleed (see Installation section), the bite point remains consistent and we did not observe any brake pump or fading over longer runs.

Ultimately, the Advocate falls short of the eyeball-popping stopping power of a Maven, Hope Evo, or Trickstuff Maxima, but it’s no slouch either once you get used to pulling a little harder on the lever blade when you need to really drop the anchors. We know that HEL experimented with a different master cylinder diameter and mechanical leverage rate but ultimately settled on the10mm final version as they felt the brake had too much of an on-off feel otherwise. There is merit to this decision in terms of modulation and pad rollback, but we can’t help wondering what this brake would feel like with a 9mm master cylinder…the HEL brake lines are so tight and direct that we suspect there might still be enough modulation built in to function well with even more power. As it stands, those who value super-crisp engagement, a stiff lever feel, and great modulation over all else will love the Advocate, while those who crave Mack Truck levels of stopping power with the gentlest of squeezes on the lever should keep looking.

What’s The Bottom Line?

HEL has played to their strengths in designing their very first MTB braking system. Building on the stiffness of their brake lines and their general brake manufacturing know-how, they have produced a brake that delivers an incredibly direct feel with a firm bite point and a very short free-stroke. The power is slightly down compared to the most powerful brakes available today, but the Advocate makes up for it in terms of modulation and usability – pick your poison! The thick lever perches don’t work well with the other controls on the handlebars, so just make sure you plan to use the direct-mount “Nexus” clamps for best results in the cockpit.

More information at: mtb.helperformance.com.

About The Reviewer

Johan Hjord - Age: 52 // Years Riding MTB: 20 // Weight: 190-pounds (87 kg) // Height: 6'0" (1.84m)

Johan loves bikes, which strangely doesn’t make him any better at riding them. After many years spent practicing falling off cliffs with his snowboard, he took up mountain biking in 2005. Ever since, he’s mostly been riding bikes with too much suspension travel to cover up his many flaws as a rider. His 200-pound body weight coupled with unique skill for poor line choice and clumsy landings make him an expert on durability - if parts survive Johan, they’re pretty much okay for anybody. Johan rides flat pedals with a riding style that he describes as "none" (when in actuality he rips!). Having found most trail features to be not to his liking, Johan uses much of his spare time building his own. Johan’s other accomplishments include surviving this far and helping keep the Vital Media Machine’s stoke dial firmly on 11.

Photos by Johan Hjord