The Truth Behind Lewis Brakes: MTB's Most 𝘾𝙤𝙣𝙩𝙧𝙤𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙨𝙞𝙖𝙡 Brand

The story of Lewis Brakes is a brief one, but complex, nuanced and largely kept quiet. I believe that nobody has told the story so far in a capacity that allows a potential buyer to make an informed opinion. There will be a detailed LH4 brakeset review coming within the next few weeks, but today is the story of Ningbo Lewis Sports Goods Co Ltd, or Cixi Energy Refined Fishing Co Ltd. This took forever to make, enjoy!

𝙎𝙐𝙋𝙋𝙊𝙍𝙏𝙀𝙍𝙎

𝙏𝙍𝘼𝙄𝙇𝙎
Trailforks: many mountains, and not the focus today!

𝙎𝙊𝘾𝙄𝘼𝙇𝙎

𝘾𝙃𝘼𝙋𝙏𝙀𝙍𝙎
0:00 Intro
0:46 Professional Disclosure
1:38 Western History of Lewis
5:05 The Controversy
7:41 Counterfeit Origins
12:04 First Trickstuff Comparison
13:24 Bilibili Continued
17:47 Generation Comparison
18:33 Patents and Strategy
19:40 Quick Summary
20:33 Lewis’ Business Plan
20:40 Step 1
22:57 Step 2
24:51 THE CRITICAL LIST
26:13 Step 3
27:24 History of Trickstuff
31:05 Patents
33:27 Country of Origin
35:32 My Take

[DaleStone]

I believe that everyone deserves to have access to all of the facts in order to make an informed decision. When I was researching the history behind Lewis for my in-depth LH4 review (coming… soon™), I discovered that there was a lot more to the story than any influencer or western outlet had reported on. The history behind Lewis is actually quite interesting and extremely nuanced, to the point where I decided that it needed its own dedicated video. I tried to be as objective as possible throughout the video, and am still neither for or against Lewis as a brand. This video took a ton of time to put together over a few months, and has no sponsor since I didn't feel that would be appropriate, so I hope you learn something and enjoy! 🙂

[KiwiInGermanyMTB]

That's some pretty hardcore journalism Dale. Nice researching. It must be pretty shit designing something and then having someone rip it off and sell it cheaper but then again, maybe you don't need to sell your products at such a premium. I guess brands like Gucci etc feel this a lot.

[Qinhaocheng]

Opinions about Lewis aside, that's A LOT of research, especially with the language barrier! Can't imagine how much work you've put in. Also, I believe this video has the longest script of your videos by a big margin. Really hope people can watch this video in full, great story telling, objective and restraint opinion addressing. Btw, thank you for putting that short Cypress clip into this Seymour/Burke video haha.

[downhillupside]

Great video. It's not often we get 'influencer' videos in the mtb world that have some journalistic chops. Some of the big players could learn a lot from this.

[Katalyhsathor]

Also worth mentioning that Cornelius Kapfinger, the guy discussing with them in the comments, is a former Trickstuff employee and founder of Intend.

[GamersNexus]

Wow, this is great! My bike mechanic sent this to me (hi, Matt!). Glad to see this mindset taking shape in other industries. We've really liked having the policies just all written down and published like that. Glad to see it might serve as a reference for other industries. Keep it up! Also, don't hesitate to shoot me an email if you ever need help translating or navigating Chinese social media!

[richard]

I had a Lewis Takisawa brake set with the original red calipers. They were identical copies to Trickstuff, down to parts compatibility. Several parts were replaced with genuine Trickstuff parts and fit perfectly.

[HeretiCflow]

What you should take into consideration is simply the kind of players we're talking about. Trickstuff is a tiny brand of 30 bike nerds who designed and engineered their products from scratch. Up to the DT takeover they could barely manage themselves in business terms, leading to excessive delivery times etc. On the other hand you have an established Chinese sporting goods company that's probably several sizes of magnitude bigger taking advantage of small players, simply because they don't have the economic weight to protect themselves or make these quick and dynamic business moves. It's just morally wrong and not a leveled playing field. Whether this changes with the DT takeover has yet to be seen. The damage is done.

[jester]

"Hang was that intro a GN reference?" 90 seconds later.... 🤣

[sandy_knight]

Worth mentioning, Shimano also make fishing reels. If i ever feel the need to 'upgrade' my XT brakes I'll be going with Hope though, living in the UK you can get them a bit cheaper than the ROW.

[burn]

U.S. Lewis dealer here. Thanks for making this video. Although I knew a lot about their story, I did learn a lot of news facts. Being a retired engineer myself, you're right when you say reverse engineering is a big part that don't people realize. They did some things in the beginning I don't agree with but it seems they are on the right track now.

I'm glad the new version is coming out though. They needed to make this amazing product their own. The new versions should help them out with that. They been exceptional with any concerns I brought to their attention and are quick to make adjustments. They are seriously in this for the long haul and I feel they will only improve the biking industry. I've had nothing but positive feedback on both the LH4 and LHT. I have a hard time keeping them in stock.

I should have the new version on my website soon. You can find the link on some of the review videos I have on my channel.

[zobilamouche]

I love it when Youtubers do better journalism than real journalists, great job Dale ! 💪

[blklex]

dude.. if only everyone did their homework before they start chirping like you.. good stuff

[lastgentleman]

Great work putting in the time to give us the whole picture. I look forward to the review and comparison to the Trickstuff brakes.

[dimimtb]

Gamer Nexus and Gerald Undone 😯, wasn't expecting to hear those names on a MTB site although GN do ride. Awesome work Dale as always. Detective Stone, Dale

[DirtlovR]

That's shady at best. I get reverse engineering and learning but this looks like walking the fine line of copyright infringement. From copying (and sending to people!!) someone's design and trademarks to making a product that most likely just different enough that the lawyers can't do anything about it. This is not how you create a new brand and it's a practice basically unique to China (wonder why...). In my opinion as a customer, ethic in business is important. I know it might sound ridiculous in current times of "money is king" but I'd rather pay more than support practices like this.

[EvidenceofaFabulousLife]

Retired engineer here. You popped up on my feed. Great video. I was unaware of these brakes or the history. The naive nature of the comments you demonstrated against this brand is incredible. How do these people think the world works? Everything is copied/ evolved from something else. The difference here is that the process has been made public. What are people defending? An over priced brand that sold out to DT Swiss as soon as possible? DT Swiss are now sitting on this as a niche/ premium brand without any need to innovate further. Chapeau Lewis, long may your success continue and I hope that as a company you continue to innovate. Where can I get a set? Looking forward to the review. All the best, Tim

[GrigoryRechistov]

Industrial design (how things look) can be legally protected and disputed in court. Copycats can be then forced to cease selling rip-off products if the court determines so. I hope Trickstuff has bothered to create protection for their existing industrial designs; if not — though luck, think ahead next time. DT Swiss can certainly try to sue Lewis if they wish it. In any case, good luck suing them in China. But other markets are a different thing. The question remains: is it financially viable to even start the litigation?

[SkaarjOrbb]

This has to be the most "YouTube-esque" mountain bike video ever. Excellent job, very informative.

[JohnGarlandTrialLawyer]

Great video. Love the in depth, impartial, and organized research.