Lewis Brakes LH4 - Copies or not?

So there seems to be a lot of controversy about the lineup of Lewis brakes, especially in the comment section of Pinkbike's most recent post about these brakes, saying they are copying Trickstuff Maximas or other brakes from Trickstuff, so I'll try to explain them the best I can.

I've had the Lewis LH4 brakes for a little while now, and have been testing them out and comparing them to Hayes Dominions A4, Shimano XTR, Shimano Deore 4 piston, and TRP 4 piston brakes. They come nicely packaged, and come with the brakes (obviously), a full set of metallic brake pads (2 pairs total, one for front, one for back), 2 extra pad pins and springs, small 2mm bite point adjust tool, as well as 4 short caliper mounting bolts. The brakes come with a bleed block in each caliper which is very nice, and they come fully bled.

Installing these brakes is fairly easy once you watch the video on how to shorten the hose and reattach the barb/olive. It is a very nice system that is used for the barb and olive, as it is a reusable system that doesn't need to be replaced each time you cut the hose, and is like nothing I've seen before. Bleeding is fairly simple, you just need mineral oil, a syringe for the caliper, and an oil cup for the lever. The brake hose is also very nice because it is reinforced with braided kevlar, although it's a bit thicker than most other hoses (kind of similar to Hayes hose thickness). I had to shorten the hoses for both brakes even on a size large frame, which was very easy. I then only did a lever bleed with my own bleed cup up at the lever, and the brakes were perfect after that. Bleeding these brakes are fairly easy, for any type of mechanic, or the at-home jobs.

Now onto performance and feel. They have great modulation, but when you need that immediate power they also deliver. The brake lever itself also has a pretty firm feel once you start to engage the pads which is nice and confidence inspiring. The modulation is similar to most Srams, but if you pull a bit harder they bite like Shimano and Hayes. The lever pull is very light, very similar to the Hayes, thanks to the bearings in the lever pivot. The brakes themselves are fairly light, at least in my opinion compared to anything else, and are very nicely machined. The actual reach adjust is nice as it is a tool free knob, with the bite point sitting inside the reach adjust barrel. Unlike any other brake I've tried that had bite point adjust, this system ACTUALLY WORKS! The shimano and trp brakes seemed to just pull too far for my liking, as I run the lever closer to the bar, and the lever would hit my knuckles. These Lewis LH4 brakes are perfect though as they can be run close to the bar and not hit your knuckles. The bite point when all the way in is very nice, as the lever has very short travel before engaging, giving immediate braking. However, if you like more free stroke before the pads engage, you can just back the bite point adjustment out for better modulation and a farther lever stroke. The brake lever itself is a little bit slippery, so when wet it becomes a bit hard to actually grip but is still fine and usable, and even better with gloves.

Now for the big question - are these knockoffs from other big brake brands? I would say mostly no, but also slightly yes. The brake appearance can definitely be mistaken as trickstuff maximas, however the actual internals and performance is completely different. The trickstuff maximas have more immediate power, while the Lewis LH4 have more modulation. The patented system Lewis uses for their reach adjust and bite point adjust is unlike anything I have ever seen on the market.

These brakes have also been extremely reliable, over the past couple of months of riding. For those worried about these breaking or failing, you do not need to worry about that.

If you are on the edge of buying these or don't know if you should, you should try these out, you won't regret it. These brakes are fantastic.