TRP EVO 12 DRIVETRAIN REVIEW

Words by Travis Reill  |  Photos by Sourpatch

If I were a betting man, I’d wager you likely have a drivetrain from one of two brands. Well, let me clarify that statement: you likely have a derailleur and shifter from one of those two brands. Cassettes, cranks, chains, and chainrings could be third-party, but the heart and soul of the drivetrain come from one of the two brands that have the lion’s share of the market all to themselves.

Tektro Racing Products — better known as TRP — has established its share of the mountain bike brake market, and now offers an alternative to the current drivetrain dualopoly. While it isn’t TRP’s first time dipping its toes into the drivetrain market, I had the chance to see if they hit the nail on the head with their latest EVO 12 Drivetrain. Read on to find out how it performed.

ABOUT THE TRP EVO 12 DRIVETRAIN

TRP isn’t new to the drivetrain game, but its EVO 12 is undoubtedly its best offering to date, and has it on par with the other drivetrain giants in terms of its performance. There are options for many components on the EVO 12 drivetrain, including crank material options and color options, which will increase or decrease the overall price of the drivetrain.

EVO 12 CASSETTE
TRP created a 10-52 tooth cassette, with the cog sequence being 10-11-13-15-18-21-24- 28-32-36-44-52. All cogs are connected on the EVO cassette, with the two largest aluminum cogs bolted onto the ten monoblock steel cogs. The EVO 12 cassette weighs 372 grams, and is only compatible with Microspline freehub bodies.

EVO 12 DERAILLEUR
Hall Lock was initially developed for TRP’s TR12 derailleur, which set TRP apart from other drivetrain manufacturers at the time. This same Hall Lock has made its way over to their new EVO 12 derailleur and continues to distinguish TRP from their competitors.

The EVO 12 drivetrain comes with the Hall Lock lever unlocked, where it should remain until the drivetrain is completely installed on the bike. The Hall Lock is a lever near the B-tension bolt that essentially locks or unlocks a main pivot on the derailleur. Locking the Hall Lock ensures that the derailleur stays in place. Unlocking the Hall Lock helps get the derailleur out of the way when removing the rear wheel. Also aiding in removing the rear wheel is a cage release that relieves tension on the derailleur.

Carbon fiber makes up the construction of the EVO 12 derailleur’s outer cage, housing one 12 and one 14-tooth sealed bearing pulley. TRP boasts an instantaneous and silent clutch to keep the ride smooth and the chain quiet. The EVO 12 derailleur weighs an even 300 grams.

EVO 12 SHIFTER
TRP’s shifter offers two unique features. A switch on the underside of the shifter allows you to change between single-gear changes and multiple-gear changes — up to five gears. Shifting into smaller cogs remains single shift only, as TRP’s multi-shift option is only on the downshift. The downshift lever is also adjustable, with 20° of angle adjustability each way to further fine-tune the cockpit.

The EVO 12 shifter weighs 125 grams and is compatible with SRAM’s MatchMaker.

EVO 12 CHAIN
KMC manufactures the chain for the TRP EVO 12 Drivetrain. Uncut, the chain has 126 links and weighs 234 grams. The chain features asymmetrical chamfering to keep the links running smoothly through the cassette. TRP offers the EVO 12 chain in a black and gold colorway, a nice color match for their black and gold DH-R EVO brakes. If the gold chain is a must, be ready to fork out $73, otherwise the traditional silver chain will run you $39.

EVO 12 CRANKSET
TRP provides a carbon and alloy option for the EVO 12’s crankset. The carbon option has a choice of two lengths — 165 and 170mm — with the respective weights of those cranks being 493 grams and 504 grams. TRP sent 165mm carbon cranks for me to test.

The alloy cranks add a 175mm length option. Each size also incurs a weight penalty over their carbon counterparts: 165mm–549 grams, 170mm–561 grams, and 175mm–573 grams. Regardless of material, the TRP uses a 30mm spindle that installs similarly to Race Face’s Cinch cranks.

EVO 12 CHAINRING
The EVO 12 chainring is a CNC 7075-T6 aluminum with 30-tooth, 32-tooth (tested), and 34-tooth options. Weights jump up roughly 10 grams for additional teeth, with exact weights being 70 grams for 30T, 79 grams for 32T, and 91 grams for 34T. TRP also builds its chainrings with Wave Technology, which is a narrow/wide tooth pattern with a wave-like shape to add further retention. The TRP system uses the same interface as Race Face CINCH, making them cross-compatible.

EVO 12 BOTTOM BRACKET
Rounding out the complete TRP drivetrain is the bottom bracket. TRP’s BB has a standard threaded option as well as two press-fit options — PF92 and PF30.

THE DIRT

Setting up the TRP EVO 12 Drivetrain was straightforward as far as mechanical drivetrains go. TRP has some helpful instructional videos that are easy to follow along. The biggest hiccup I ran into was figuring out the cage release, which comes in the form of a lever to push and a tab to pull simultaneously. Once this was figured out, the rest of the system was intuitive.

Setting your B-tension and working the limit screws is pretty clear-cut on the EVO 12, with no standout differences from other drivetrains. Shifts were smooth in either direction, with some fiddling and adjusting with the barrel adjuster helping shifts stay crisp.

Transitioning from cog to cog was relatively quiet, especially once you get past the larger, lower gears. A 36 to 44 to 52 tooth jump is significant, and I expect that if the derailleur and chain are going to make any noise, it will be on those transitions. Changing from one higher gear to another — where the change is two teeth or so — was essentially silent.

While the shifts were smooth and crisp where the derailleur and cassette interacted, the shifter’s overall feel was a bit dull. The EVO 12 shifter didn’t have the distinct “click” you might find on a SRAM (mechanical) or Shimano shifter. This was especially true when riding with the shifter in the multi-shift mode. I’m a fan of being able to dump multiple gears, and did it quite often on the EVO 12 drivetrain. However, the EVO 12 shifter has fewer distinct clicks than other drivetrains, which resulted in shifting multiple gears at times when I only wanted to go down one. Also, five gears at once feels like too many gears to change and too far of a lever throw for my thumb. I stuck to only downshifting two or three gears in one throw, which I felt was perfect.

The dull shifter feel took a bit to get used to, but it was also paired with looks that, frankly, didn’t match the overall price of the EVO 12 drivetrain. The shifter levers – especially the downshift – are relatively large chunks of plastic with no rubber or grip on them. Overall, they look kind of cheap considering the $1000+ price tag for the EVO 12.

One aspect of the EVO 12 drivetrain that helped with the overall performance was the Hall Lock. I’ll admit that I was initially skeptical of this additional locking lever, and wondered if it did more than a traditional derailleur mount bolt. However, it seemed like the Hall Lock helped quite a bit with keeping the back of the bike quiet during descents, and I began to think about it as essentially a secondary clutch on the derailleur. Plus, unlocking it makes removing or installing the rear wheel really easy, which may not seem like much, but is a nice touch when you’re trying to wrestle a wheel back in.

I also really liked the ride feel of the 165mm TRP carbon cranks. They were noticeably stiffer than my previous alloy cranks on the bike, creating a solid platform to push into corners. The shorter length also helped with pedal strikes and didn’t hinder pedaling performance.

The TRP EVO 12 Drivetrain performed well and was on par with Shimano XT or SRAM GX mechanical drivetrains, aside from the shifter feel. However, the most significant aspect that hurts the EVO 12 is its price tag. I imagine TRP had an uphill battle sifting through a mountain of patents to create the EVO 12 — and hats off to them; they made a solid-performing drivetrain. I wouldn’t hesitate to purchase a bike spec’d with an EVO 12. However, upgrading to an EVO 12 is likely a different story, with its starting price starting at over $1000. This is nearly double the price of a Shimano XT setup. Another comparison would be SRAM’s GX Transmission, which would actually be a bit cheaper than the EVO 12 with carbon cranks.

The Wolf’s Last Word

TRP has a solid-performing drivetrain in the EVO 12 that holds up well against SRAM and Shimano. However, the EVO 12’s price is its biggest downfall, as I imagine most riders would likely opt to purchase an option from one of the drivetrain giants when they see the four-figure price tag. I think many riders would like TRP’s drivetrain, but for them to experience the EVO 12, it would need to be spec’d OEM or have a price decrease.

Price: $1,238.94 as Tested
Website: TRPcycling.com

WHERE TO BUY
Support us! The Loam Wolf may earn a small commission from affiliate links in this article.