Specialized Gravity Racing announced that they were parting ways with their longtime brake supplier, Magura, earlier this year, and were promptly seen testing an unidentified brake after that. Given that the Italian brake manufacturer Brembo bought Öhlins — Specialized Gravity Racing’s suspension partner — late last year, it seemed like a solid guess that those new brakes were from Brembo. That’s now confirmed, with Specialized Gravity Racing and Brembo officially announcing a partnership to develop MTB brakes.
Brembo briefly dabbled in the mountain bike brake world nearly 20 years ago, but it was short-lived; they’ve been out of the MTB game since. The brakes the Specialized team has been racing on look like they’re a lot farther along than just being early prototypes, though Brembo hasn’t yet released any technical details on the brakes, or whether they intend to release them to the public.
The full press release is below:
Morgan Hill, CA — Specialized Bicycles and Brembo Brakes have joined forces in a first-of-its-kind partnership focused exclusively on pushing the limits of downhill racing performance. This collaboration brings together two brands with deep roots in competition and a relentless drive to win—on dirt, on track, and on the world stage. Just as Brembo revolutionized motorsport braking through its iconic 1970s partnership with Ferrari, this venture brings that same championship-winning engineering into mountain biking—giving Specialized Gravity athletes unprecedented control and stopping power.
Purpose-Built for a New Era of Racing
As downhill bikes get faster, tracks get rougher, and athletes redefine the limits of what’s rideable, braking has become an even more critical performance need. The Specialized Gravity team needed a system built for the leading edge of progression—and Brembo delivered.
“At Specialized, we’ve always believed that racing is the ultimate proving ground for innovation,” said Armin Landgraf, CEO of Specialized. “We hold our partners to the same high standards we set for ourselves, and Brembo’s legacy of forward-thinking engineering and race-proven performance made them the clear choice. This partnership represents a strategic investment in cutting-edge technology—designed to support our athletes at the highest level. As downhill racing continues to evolve, this collaboration ensures we deliver breakthroughs that start on the podium and shape the future of the sport.”
Specialized Gravity athletes will pilot prototype Brembo brakes throughout the 2025 World Cup season. These components are the result of a focused R&D partnership aimed solely at delivering podium-worthy performance under the most demanding conditions in the sport.
Brembo Didn’t Just Improve Braking—They Revolutionized It
“Officially entering the highest level of professional Downhill racing is a thrilling new challenge for Brembo. We are proud to do so with a team and a brand that share our same vision of performance and innovation, and it is no coincidence that this is happening in the year of Brembo’s 50th anniversary in Motorsport competitions” stated Andrea Paganessi, Brembo Motorcycle Global Chief Operating Officer. “Today, we can confidently say that thanks to Brembo’s technological advancements, braking has been taken to an entirely new level.”
This exclusive racing partnership marks Brembo’s first appearance in top-tier downhill mountain biking. Known for their dominance in Formula 1, MotoGP, and World Superbike, Brembo brings decades of championship-winning experience in highperformance braking systems. Together with Specialized’s history of innovation in mountain bike design and rider-first engineering, the collaboration represents a bold step forward in gravity racing development.
While the partnership is centered solely on racing, its spirit reflects a shared belief: when athletes are empowered to push limits, innovation follows.
As a bigger rider I’m always interested in brake advancements and the companies pushing each other to be the top performers. But also being a bit of a car nut, I want these to do well solely so I can flex a pair on my bike, I’m just not willing to cough up the money to put them on my car, haha!