SRAM Maven Silver Disc Brakes [Rider Review]

Our "Rider Review" article series features the honest reviews from verified purchasers of Worldwide Cyclery. They contain the photos, thoughts, feedback & overall review you are looking for.

After SRAM dropped the Mavens, we were stoked with the power they have! See what our customer who recently purchased a set thinks as well! 

Overview

Where to begin? How about I start with where I was, and then segue into where I am now? My current steed was spec’d with TRP DH-R EVO. I never loved them. After one full season with the TRPs, I grew tired—literally and figuratively—of how much effort it took to get them to perform, even with a four-piston caliper. Your hands and forearms get worked trying to keep the blade pulled back to manage speed. It really does take effort to unlock the braking power.

Then, on one fateful day, just like that, all my brake woes were cured. A good friend and I were chatting about the TRPs and agreed the juice was not worth the squeeze, literally. SRAM MAVEN brakes joined the chat—the very brakes I am now prepared to butter you up about.

I chose the SRAM MAVEN Silvers. The Silvers (no titanium hardware) are the middle-of-the-road four-piston option in the MAVEN line. I also chose them because they are the stealthy ones (all black). Check out my pics—I gussied mine up with gold titanium hardware (insert “cool” emoji here). These are officially my second experience with SRAM brakes, but my first with high-end, high-performing SRAM stoppers.

When I cracked open the boxes, a beautiful caliper stared back at me like a piece of jewelry. These brakes look and feel extremely high quality. First impressions: the calipers are beefy. One look and you know they’re begging to be punished, then ask for more, then laugh at you. Probably. The levers, too, are high-end in appearance and feel. These brakes inspire that “never gonna give you up, never gonna let you down, never gonna run around and desert you” kind of confidence.

Once installed, it was love at first lever pull. The action is buttery smooth. It might just be me, but I absolutely love that my SRAM shifter and dropper lever mount to the brake levers, which cleans up the handlebar layout. With adjustable blade position and bite point, this is a truly customizable system. The revised leverage ratio makes this a serious bit of kit.

After bedding the pads in, my first ride turned into a 35-mile love affair with these brakes. The MAVENs have that familiar SRAM feel, but with superior, predictable stopping power. They offer a bit less modulation than most SRAM brakes, but they deliver a metric ton more bite than any brake I have used before. Even with semi-metallic pads, the power is ridiculous—hard to wrap your head around. I did not think brakes could put a smile on my face, but here we are.

Final Thoughts

In closing, the best way I can summarize MAVEN power is by channeling Prince Adam raising the Power Sword: “By the power of Grayskull, I have the power.” That’s the feeling these brakes give me—monstrous power with true one-finger operation. That is all it should take to haul your whip down from absurd speeds. Do I dare say it? They might be almost too much power for the average rider. But if you are considering these and you have made it this far, you are not the average rider, are you? Nope. You are better than that. And that is why you need these brakes in your life.