SRAM Maven brakes launched a couple of years ago to praise for their category-defining power, but with an asterisk. Yes, their peak power put the competition to shame, but there’s nuance to a brake’s performance that goes beyond brute force power. Maven’s initial lever stroke was noticeably stiffer than that of other high-performance brakes, which made that power hard to control. Modulation has been a big talking point in the last few years surrounding mountain bike brake performance, and that category is where the Maven A1 suffered. I’m happy to report that SRAM is addressing that today with the release of the SRAM Maven B1 and SRAM Maven Tuning Kit (which updates the Maven A1).
While Maven’s overall identity isn’t changing, this is a welcome update to anyone who currently has Mavens or is looking to purchase a set. With these updates, these brakes are one of the best that I could recommend. Why? For starters, the updated Mavens now require less force to get the lever moving, all while not changing the overall feel of the lever. This allows the power to be more easily controlled through better modulation. In the rest of this article, we’ll cover how to update your current Maven A1, along with all of the other updates to the new Maven B1.
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Maven Lever Tuning Kit
Because so many riders already have a set of Maven A1s, let’s first look at the Maven Lever Tuning Kit. Tons of bikes came specced with Mavens in the last couple of years, and I know a percentage of those riders have wished the Maven lever was a little easier to pull. Now, for less than a hundred bucks, you can tune how your Maven feels and remove that stiff initial stroke with the Maven Tuning Kit.
Inside the SRAM Maven is a SwingLink that controls how the force you exert on the lever blade is transferred into the hydraulics of the brake. SwingLink was introduced in the Guide brakes in 2014, and all of SRAM’s strongest brakes have been designed around a SwingLink ever since. A SwingLink is a cam that progressively builds more power as you pull it and is designed to give a powerful brake more modulation rather than delivering all of that power at once. The SRAM Maven Lever Tuning Kit features an updated SwingLink cam and it’s anodized gold to visually set it apart from the old red cam. The gold cam, along with updated lever blades, gives the Maven a new leverage rate and a lighter breakaway force to make that power deep in the stroke easier to access.
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Included with the Maven Lever Tuning Kit is a nice T10 screwdriver, the gold SwingLinks, new lever blades, new bushings, and new hardware. There are three versions of the Maven Lever Tuning Kit available, with the only difference being the lever construction and the Maven model they’re compatible with. The carbon lever blade kit and the CNC aluminum lever blade kits are compatible with the Maven Ultimate and Maven Silver, while the forged aluminum lever blade kit is only compatible with the Maven Bronze. Maven Bronze uses a bushing instead of a bearing for the lever blade pivot, which is why there’s a kit specifically for the Maven Bronze. This is the first time carbon levers have been offered for the SRAM Mavens, and the new CNC aluminum levers have a little speed hole cut out in the middle of them. Overall lever blade shape is pretty much the same as the previous gen levers, and is definitely still a single finger affair. Whatever your personal experience with the Maven blade is, it’ll be consistent with the new lever blade, as they have the same feel against your braking finger. While carbon doesn’t save much weight over the aluminum levers, the real advantage is their thermal resistance. On cold rides, aluminum levers will make your fingers noticeably colder than carbon levers, which is a huge plus if you live in the PNW or anywhere else with a cold riding season. Installing the Maven Lever Tuning Kit is super straightforward, and SRAM has a great video that clearly lays out all the steps. I was able to get a kit installed on both levers in about 10 minutes, and you do not have to bleed your brakes during installation. All of the changes are on the dry side of the brake, which is ideal for the home mechanic. We’re still anxiously waiting for a chance to ride the Mavens with the updated levers and cams. But while I wait, I installed them on the Lost Co owner, Steve’s, bike and gave them a quick squeeze. The change is immediately apparent. We stopped mid-installation with one side updated with the new cam and lever blade, and the other side with the original setup to get an apples-to-apples comparison. The side with the gold cam and updated lever was much easier to pull into the stroke, and the rest of the stroke felt identical to the unmodified brake. That’s not terribly surprising, as that’s what SRAM told us to expect, but the difference between the two was very apparent to the entire shop crew, who gave them a squeeze. |
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But it’s not that simple, and SRAM says that the new leverage ratios from the levers and cams have a greater effect than just changing the initial stroke. You’ll actually get slightly more power than before, as well as slightly more free stroke before the brake bites. Because the A1 Maven caliper has larger pistons than the updated B1 Maven caliper, the gold cam equipped Maven A1 is the strongest Maven out there. We’ll talk more about the B1 Maven configuration later in the article, but the Maven A1 with the Maven Lever Tuning Kit installed is the most powerful configuration possible for the Mavens.
Overall, the Maven Lever Tuning Kit is a great option for riders looking to tune that stiff initial stroke out of their Maven A1s. It’s worth saying that not everyone has issues with their Maven A1 brakes. Plenty of riders have been stoked with the lever feel and overall performance, and that’s exactly why this is a “tuning” kit, and not an “upgrade” kit. It’s just a way to change the feel of your levers, and is a subjective change that could be a positive or a negative depending on the rider.
Maven B1
Now we’ll dive into the new Maven B1 brakes, and these brakes have some key differences compared to the previous generation Maven A1s. Before we cover the new features, let’s cover what’s unchanged for the new generation. Maven B1 still uses Maxima Mineral Brake Oil, the same XL brake pad size, brake hose, insane power, and still comes in Ultimate, Silver, and Bronze variations. Unfortunately, their naming scheme still doesn't line up with their physical color, and I think SRAM is just messing with us at this point. Maven Base is unchanged for this generation, and Maven Base’s positive response is part of what stemmed the Maven redesign.
With a DirectLink instead of a SwingLink, Maven Base had a much easier lever pull than the Maven A1, but a bit less peak power. That compromise was well reviewed and generally received positive feedback, serving as some inspiration for the updated Maven B1. SRAM redesigned Maven to have less resistance in the initial part of the stroke, have a more predictable power curve throughout the lever stroke, and still have plenty of peak power when needed.
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To achieve all of that, SRAM had to re-engineer the leverage-rate curve that dictates how energy at the lever is delivered to the hydraulic system. The Maven uses a SwingLink that controls the power transfer from the brake lever to the master cylinder, and tuning the shape of that SwingLink tunes the feel of the brake lever. SRAM designed an updated SwingLink with a higher initial leverage ratio to make that initial stroke easier to engage, and a more linear build in power through the mid stroke to give the Maven B1 much better modulation without sacrificing power.
According to SRAM’s graph comparing the leverage ratio through the lever blade stroke of the Maven A1, Maven B1, and Maven Base, it’s clear that the Maven B1 takes inspiration from the Maven Base. Maven B1 still doesn’t have the same leverage in the initial stroke as the Maven Base, but it has much more leverage than the Maven A1 as you enter the travel, resulting in a lever breakaway force of 4.25 N rather than 8 N. What surprised me was the incredibly low leverage ratio of Maven A1, and the little hump right in the modulation section of the lever travel. That may be what caused the Maven A1 to feel so touchy and that learning curve so many riders reported. With the updated leverage ratios, Maven B1 is promising to be much more predictable throughout the lever stroke, and there’s even more mechanical advantage deep in the stroke with the new golden cam.
Looking down at the caliper, the Maven B1 caliper actually has smaller pistons than the Maven A1. SRAM told us piston size was a big reason for the Maven A1’s impressive power, so why are they downsizing from 2 18mm pistons and 2 19.5mm pistons to 4 18mm pistons in the Maven B1? With the golden cam’s increased leverage ratio deep in the lever stroke, SRAM says riders have more mechanical advantage over the system, allowing the rider to get away with smaller pistons without sacrificing power. Overall, the revised leverage ratio and smaller pistons combine to give the Maven B1 more modulation and a more usable power band without compromising peak power.
As I said earlier, the Maven lineup is unchanged, with Ultimate, Silver, Bronze, and Base names remaining, but let’s dive into what’s included at each spec level. Ultimate, Silver, and Bronze all have the same power promises, with the same gold SwingLink and 4 x 18mm pistons in the caliper, but with updated finishing touches across the lineup.
Maven Ultimate is the highest level of Maven, featuring a carbon lever blade and titanium hardware in both the lever and caliper. That carbon lever blade will save a few grams over a metal lever blade, but a more interesting benefit is how much warmer carbon stays on cold rides. With a distinct silver finish on both lever and caliper, Ultimate is certainly the easiest to spot from a distance, and whether that’s a pro or a con is up to you. A Contact Adjust dial is found on the lever body, along with Reach Adjust on the lever blade, and those two are both tool-free adjusters.
Maven Silver is the next in the hierarchy, with a CNC forged aluminum lever blade and aluminum hardware throughout. Maven Silver is even more blacked out than before, with an updated finish that features less silver than the outgoing model to further the confusion of the Silver name. Just like the Ultimate model, Maven Silver has Contact Adjust and Reach Adjust on the brake lever. This allows you to fine-tune your preferences for where exactly the lever blade sits at rest and where it bottoms out. Silver is also the sweet spot of value, with the same features as the Ultimate level at a slightly lower price point.
Last, the Maven Bronze has gotten a facelift, featuring a black anodized finish and silver aluminum hardware reminiscent of the outgoing Maven Silver A1. With only a Reach Adjust dial on the forged aluminum lever blade, it’s not quite as adjustable as the other options, but it still has the same gold SwingLink to deliver maximum power. The Maven Bronze lever blade pivots on a bushing rather than a bearing like the Ultimate and Silver models, which won’t feel quite as premium.
Final Thoughts
Overall, the updated Maven B1’s are a welcome change over the Maven A1’s. It’s great that Maven A1 owners are able to tune their brakes with the updated golden cams and new levers rather than needing to buy a new set to get the updated performance. Whether you’ve got a trail bike, an ebike, a downhill bike, or a big heavy throttle-powered e-commuter, the SRAM Mavens are one of the easiest brakes to recommend after this update. AND, they no longer have the asterisk next to that impressive power stat.
