SRAM Maven Expert Review: The Most Powerful Brakes from SRAM Yet

Photos: Gerard Lagana

With 50% more power than SRAM Code and impressive modulation, the SRAM Maven Expert brakes deliver next-level stopping performance.

Mike Blewitt 04.02.2025

Just ahead of Red Bull Hardline Maydena, SRAM upped the ante in the brake game, releasing the Maven – the new expert of brakes. SRAM’s new 4-piston brake is touted to the most powerful brake that SRAM have made, with 50% more power than SRAM’s own Code, which is already a very capable brake. But that’s not to say it’s all power without control. They also state that modulation is impressive as well. The Maven is a big and meaty caliper (366g), a world apart from the slim-line 4-piston calipers you see that are designed to shed weight and heat. The Maven is designed to use the heat of a brake system (to an extent) and the huge caliper houses big, meaty pistons for flex free braking.

SRAM sent me the Maven Expert Brake kit, which retails for $999. It has a range of rotor sizes, pad options, the brakes, bleed kits and mounts. You can also get the SRAM Maven Bronze for a bit over $300 per end.

Of course, with so many great brake sets on the market, is anyone really looking for stronger brakes? This could be a case of not knowing what you needed until you have it. The benefits of stronger brakes are many: less fatigue, faster speeds with later braking points, and greater confidence.

All the Details: Power, Control, Ergonomics and More

SRAM reckon the Maven brakes have a 32% lighter braking force required for the same braking power as a set of Codes. This is where less fatigue comes into play, meaning on a race run or long trail arm pump will be kept at bay a lot longer. The four pistons are 19.5mm and 18mm – bigger than other brakes. More pushing force = more braking force. Simple.

SRAM also state that the brakes have more modulation, and this comes from SRAM’s SwingLink, which changes the leverage throughout the lever stroke. A light touch where you feather the brakes isn’t like hitting the anchors, but when you get hauling with fear and you’ll probably have more braking power than you know what to do with.

The power comes from a few places. Piston size is one of them, but so is reduced flex. The four bolts on the caliper aren’t for a a Mad Max Fury Road aesthetic, they’re holding the chonky caliper together under high braking loads. Any flex in the caliper will be felt in the lever and represents lost power. The Maven caliper prevents that.

The lever is similar, with the blade length, pivot point and contact point adjustments all close to the Code. This means ergonomics should remain similar for riders upgrading to a set of Maven brakes. The hose setup is the Stealth setup, which helps for a clean run close to the bars and into a head set routed frame – or sensible routing to behind the head tube.

SRAM do suggest rethinking your rotor size with the Maven, and the kit comes with a range of sizes and the adaptors to suit. Your rotors may tell you what to do, with excessive glazing suggesting the need to upsize – and very little marking would show your system doesn’t get enough heat, you should drop a rotor size. The heft of the Mavens is designed to hold onto enough heat for consistent braking performance.

Like the SRAM DB8, the Mavens use mineral oil. While mineral oil isn’t a huge fan of heat, it typically extends service intervals, which I think all of us will appreciate. Mineral oil is also friendlier to your skin, the paint on your bike and the environment.

There are organic and sintered pads available, and I had organic fitted with 200mm rotors front and rear. The Mavens were fitted to a Trek Fuel EXe 8 alloy, replacing the stock DB8 brakes with 200mm rotors. While I hadn’t felt like the Trek was underbraked, almost any eMTB is always going to be a contender for optimised braking.

On the Trail

Two things were immediately noticeable after the SRAM Maven brakes were fitted. First was the look, with the hefty calipers really noticeable along with the updated brake lever design compared to the DB8s. Second was how little effort was needed for gobs full of braking. My first driveway test showed that it was a very light lever touch to get plenty of braking… for a driveway. This light action is thanks to the SwingLink tech, which changes how the master cylinder is being moved during the stroke to the pad contact point.

My first couple of rides on the trails weren’t anything like learning how to brake again, but there was an adaption of braking effort required, and this was especially noticeable as some wetter conditions moved to drier conditions, and Queensland’s iconic loose over hard reared its head, which punishes over-braking.

Given I was dealing with an upgraded lever and caliper compared to the DB8s, I really enjoyed getting the lever feel just right. Sure, I could adjust this a lot on the DB8s, but with the lever on the Maven brakes I was adjusting it as I was using the lever differently. I actually set the blade closer to the bar than I usually do, as the system had less flex and so I wasn’t accounting for that with the amount of clearance I needed.

In terms of outright braking, I’m not sure I ever truly hauled on the levers with everything I had – I never felt I had to. There was always more power through progressive modulation, with no grabbing.

The only times where it caught me off guard is when the braking power at the disc didn’t match the braking power at the contact patch. This can be just as much as pilot error (that’s me!) but it is a reminder about the factors that impact your braking. The system is one part, made of many parts, but so is your wheel system. You have to have traction for effective braking, unless you subscribe to the Tokyo Drift school of thought. For those looking to really get the most out of the SRAM Maven brakes, you may need to rethink your tyre setup! I pushed the Bontrager tyres beyond their comfort zone a couple of times.

While I ran with 200mm rotors each end, I could have considered dropping rotor size on my reasonably flat local trails. My local trails have around 150m of drop, and while I really liked the precision braking on hand, given more time I would have dropped to 180mm on the back and perhaps the front – but the Trek e-bike was due to go back. I’ll likely try this in the future. But it therefore begs the question – do riders need this much brake?

Verdict on SRAM Maven Expert

I think the answer there is easy – yes they do. While not every rider will need the power of the SRAM Maven brakes, just about every rider will benefit from optimising their braking system. SRAM have really looked into that with the Expert set, providing the rotor sizes and pads so you can fine-tune the braking you need. The Maven brakes are clearly for those riding burly trails at high speed, on big bikes. But I think any rider looking to push harder but still wanting to regain control will like the precision of the Maven brakes, and anyone on a big and heavy eMTB will as well. This is an exceptionally well-finished product, and for anyone who still has wariness of SRAM brakes from instances over a decade ago, the Mavens should totally finish those thoughts off.

RRP: $999
From: psicycling.com.au

Hits:

  • Full system approach for better braking
  • Evolving brake to suit evolving riding
  • Mineral oil is easier to get along with

Misses:

  • Will you need this much power?