Words Lester Perry
Images Lester Perry & Callum Wood
RRP $622 per end
Distributor Worralls

It’s been a while since I came across a new bike component that, once bolted on, offered a noticeable performance improvement from its predecessor. Often new releases are more of “a tweak here, a tweak there, and a splash of paint” rather than a complete redo, ending up with something vastly better than what was offered before.

In the space of just 12 months, SRAM has done just that – offering two groundbreaking new ranges, first with the launch of the Transmission ecosystem in March 2023, and now with the recent release of the Maven series of brakes.

The first and fundamental change that SRAM made at the outset of its quest for top performance was to design the system using mineral oil rather than its traditional DOT fluid. DOT fluid absorbs moisture over time, and its use means more regular brake bleeds as the oil’s properties eventually change as moisture is taken on. After a couple of years, the seals, particularly in the lever, needed replacement as they are ultimately eroded or swollen by the DOT fluid, rendering the brakes useless. Unfortunately, the cost to replace the seals is about equal to just replacing the entire lever (unless you do the job yourself), so guess where all these old brakes end up? Mineral fluid isn’t corrosive and doesn’t absorb moisture like the DOT so, theoretically, less maintenance is required, and the brakes will last a lot longer.

The combination of the new seal material and the mineral oil offers better performance across the heat spectrum in which the brakes operate. From the depths of a Queenstown autumnal inversion layer – where brakes may never heat up a lot – to lengthy laps on Whistler steeps, the idea is to offer a brake that performs more consistently across a wider variety of running temperatures and with less maintenance. The new seals and use of mineral fluid, combined with larger pistons and a new, gargantuan calliper, seem to have achieved this – from my experience so far.

For a brake to be powerful and consistent, it needs to keep enough heat in the system without overheating or excess cooling; not be too hot, not too cold, just right – like a good bowl of porridge. The greater thermal mass in the Maven calliper takes longer to heat up but, by design, balances the peaks and troughs of temperature, maintaining a more consistent and optimal temperature, ultimately providing a more consistent braking performance regardless of how hard you are on the brakes.

We installed a set of Maven ULT on my daily driver, a Trek Slash, and over the past few months I’ve been figuring out what they’re all about. I’ve been running the stock organic pads and 200mm HT2 rotors. In the past, with SRAM brakes, the stock organic pads would be first to go, instantly upgrading to a sintered option. In this case, I’ve had no complaints with the Maven’s stock organic pad compound. Apparently, like previous SRAM offerings, the sintered pads come into their own in wet conditions, but so far I haven’t seen the need to put the sintered pads to the test on these brakes.

There’s a limited edition Maven Expert ‘red splash anodised’ colourway that Liam (editor) has been running but, honestly, that red would have clashed brutally with my orange bike, so the polished silver and black version ULT suits my setup perfectly – and we all know looks are part of the performance package, right?

The lever feel is not too dissimilar to the latest SRAM Codes. There’s a nice, solid, woody feel, and you can tell when the pads contact the rotor. There’s a familiar feeling of modulation, just like other high-end SRAM offerings. With some heat in the system at speed, the lever remains comfortably consistent and doesn’t wander or pump up. Wet weather is no bother either. The combo of the 200mm rotor and the huge pad contact area provides awesome wet-weather power.

It’s nice to see a slight tweak in how the brake hose exits the lever body; compared to the Code’s ‘Stealth’ levers, the hose comes out of the lever and angles away from the handlebar rather than towards it like other Stealth style brakes. Having ridden bikes with the standard, angled ‘Stealth’ levers and their regular ‘slap’ noise as the brake hose smacked on the bars, I was glad to see this minor tweak. I’ll be interested to see if this change rolls into the rest of the ‘Stealth’ levers over time.

The Maven ULT edition features lever reach and pad contact adjustment. Although the lever looks quite similar to the Code Stealth lever, inside the lever body we find the necessary differences, including piston size, to optimise for the Maven calliper’s oversized pistons.

My favoured setup is to have the pad contact wound completely in (so the pads contact quickly) and the lever wound far enough in that it ends up near parallel to the handlebar, allowing for minimal reach and only a small lever throw before pads engage. The lever pull feels slightly firmer than a SRAM Code and considerably firmer than a Shimano brake. It’s a matter of getting used to it rather than better or worse in my book, and I’ve been running Shimano 4-pot brakes up until this set arrived.

The Maven is touted as providing almost 50% more stopping power and requiring about 30% less force on the lever to deliver the same power as the Code Ultimate brakes – some heady stats that, before riding them, I found a bit hard to swallow. After a couple of months aboard the brakes, however, I can’t argue with these numbers; there is a serious amount of stopping power on tap and my forearms aren’t complaining.

In seasons gone by, it’s been common to see downhill and enduro racers’ bikes fitted with the largest rotor size they could squeeze into their frames. Part of the impetus behind making the Maven’s so powerful was the aim to be able to scale down the power by running smaller rotors. Smaller rotors are less susceptible to rock or debris strikes, so staying straighter and having so much power on offer gives a rider the ability to tune their power to their needs depending where or how they’re riding.

Weight-wise, there’s an additional 60 grams per end on the ULT above a comparable level Code brake (calliper, hose, lever); my trusty calculator tells me that’s a 20% increase. It is considerable, especially when most of the extra weight is in the calliper. In fairness, depending on what size rotors are fitted, and whether or not they require adaptors, you could end up with a similar (or even lighter) total system weight compared to a Code with larger rotors. But, with more power and more consistent performance.

As you see, there’s a load of tech to unpack with an entirely new offering like the Mavens, but if what you really care about is how these units work in the real world, then read on.

There’s no doubt these brakes are the gruntiest I’ve used. I’ve ridden several powerful gravity- oriented brakes, but by no means a majority of what is available. The Mavens have surprised me, not just with their raw power but with how consistent the feel is; every time I’ve pulled the lever, the feel is the same and, even on longer runs where other brakes have suffered with heat issues or cooked rotors, I’ve learned to rely on the consistency of the Maven.

With immense power comes immense responsibility. Traction is more critical during heavy braking, and part of this is maintaining body position – something that takes some adjustment. With no worry of underpowered or overcooked brakes, there’s no reason not to brake later towards turns or go deeper into a chute before braking. Braking in a shorter distance means higher forces on the body and tyres over a shorter time span than lesser brakes – think a Stab rather than a Slice – and certainly something that takes some time to become familiar with.

Anchors on = slow down. Full stop. No story, straight to bed.

It’s taken some time to adapt my riding and change my ingrained habits to make the most of the Mavens, but it does feel like if I were against the clock, I’d see some time savings, particularly on high-speed and steep tracks.

On most eBikes I’ve ridden recently, the brakes have underwhelmed me. An adequate brake has often been let down by an inadequate rotor, and it’s been quickly cooked, rendering it nearly useless. Generally the brakes just aren’t consistently grunty enough for the weight they need to slow down. A note to product managers: a 180mm rotor doesn’t belong on an eBike! The additional heft of a complete eBike system (rider, gear, bike) makes a set of Mavens for eBike use a total no-brainer and a worthy upgrade.

As good as the Mavens are, they’re not for every bike, and for sure, they’re too powerful for some scenarios. In slick conditions, I think I’d like to try smaller rotors to detune their bite somewhat. Such powerful brakes make it a bit harder to keep the wheels rotating under braking when trails are super wet, and lockups come easy when there’s this much power at such little effort. Likewise, unless the brakes are fitted to a downhill bike, or you’re riding long, steep trails on an Enduro bike, then you’ll likely want to de-tune them to the point where their performance (outside of the mineral oil and heat advantages) would put them in line with a Code or similar brake. On anything less than a balls-to-the-wall Enduro or Downhill bike, where maximum power isn’t essential, I’d be reaching for a Code or something similar.

Spending time on these brakes has got me thinking; SRAM now offers eBike tuned suspension (under the Rock Shox brand), transmission drivetrain, Maven brakes, and even a collaboratively developed eMTB motor. Combine these bits with other brands in the SRAM family: such as ZIPP wheels, Truvativ cockpit, Time pedals, and a Hammerhead bike computer. These are all arguably top-shelf and market-leading (or close to it) items that all suit the eMTB market to a tee. There are only two pieces to the puzzle missing: a good set of tyres and a frame…. Hmmm what will the future hold?