SRAM Motive Ultimate 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.

When SRAM rolled out the new Motive brakes, the XC side of us was stoked to have a brakeset that balances weight and power very well. See what one of our customers thinks of the set! 

Overview

These new SRAM Motives Ult are light and punchy. I am a larger rider, and I am happy with their overall stopping power. The online videos SRAM provides are great. They have detailed walkthroughs for installation, bleeding, and bedding in the rotors. You really cannot go wrong. Even their fitment charts were easy to figure out for a novice DIY bike mechanic. I did it all myself without many hiccups.

You will need an SRAM mineral oil bleed kit. It comes with extra olives that they do not want you to reuse. I reused some with no problem, but having all the extras will come in handy in the future. The brakes come with bleed blocks and the basic tools you need, so some of what is in the bleed kit is a bit redundant. It is still worth the money if you do not already have a bleed kit with the syringe fitting for their Bleeding Edge drip-free port. It is less messy, but I do not know anybody who can bleed brakes without some drips here or there, or the occasional small puddle on the garage floor.

The fact that the front and rear levers are the same and you just flip them makes life a little easier. The carbon lever blades are a nice touch. The curve is adequate, although I would prefer more of a dip. One-finger braking is not an issue. Two-finger probably would not be either, but I have never tried because it feels odd. I have not seen any SRAM or third-party lever alternatives yet, but I would be interested.

The brakes came with plenty of hose for my XL Santa Cruz Blur’s internal routing. They also include a few hose and cable organizers to tidy up the area in front of the head tube. This is handy because the hose exits the lever parallel to the handlebars. That may cause some issues with a shifter cable on other drivetrains, so be aware. I am running AXS on this bike, so I avoided that.

The reach is easily adjustable without tools. There is no bite point adjustment, which is a bummer. That is probably my biggest knock against these. For the money, it would be nice to have that option.

As for performance, I have bedded them in and taken them out about six times so far, including some very steep, extended descents. I did not notice any fade. I am 260 pounds and using 180 mm front and 160 mm rear rotors. I am making them work hard to stop me. That rotor setup is on the small side for my weight, and I would not have been surprised to feel them lose power, but they did not. They modulate well to slow or stop at high speed. They bite hard if I am not careful at a lower speed.

I have experience with Magura MT7 and Shimano XT on other, heavier bikes. These do not have the outright power of the Maguras, but they have more initial bite than the XTs, in my experience. It is tough to split hairs when comparing brakes across different bikes. Overall, I am happy with the purchase, and I feel SRAM has done a really good job making sure the end user can set them up correctly and get full performance.

Final Thoughts

If you want light, easy-to-install brakes with strong bite and good modulation, these deliver. The support resources are excellent, the hardware is thoughtfully packaged, and real-world performance has been solid even for a heavier rider on smaller rotors. I still wish they had a bite point adjustment and more lever blade options, and I may upsize rotors next, but as a whole package they are impressive and easy to recommend.