What's the Difference? SRAM Motive vs. Maven Comparison 10

SRAM's mountain bike brakes changed a lot in 2025. The most notable changes were the switch from DOT Fluid to Mineral Oil and a shift to a three-tier model offering. Luca Cometti spent the summer riding SRAM's most powerful Maven model and the new lighter-duty Motive model to see how the two compare and what type of riders they best suit. 

All the details on SRAM's 2025 brake lineup - https://www.vitalmtb.com/features/guide-2025-sram-mtb-brakes-motive-maven-db-models 

Related:
SRAM
Luca Cometti
Hydraulic Disc Brakes
10 comments

View replies to: What's the Difference? SRAM Motive vs. Maven Comparison

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DServy
7 months ago

Thanks for this! Question for you:
I'm currently running mavens on two bikes I own (enduro bike and a trail bike) and they've basically made it impossible to ride any other brake. I've basically stopped riding my Transition Spur because I would spend all the time complaining about my magura MT8s on the thing. I feel like Maven's would be a bit overkill and heavy for my spur, and I'm really trying to keep that bike light and spry; however, was wondering if you think the Motives would be "powerful enough" for a bike like that. 

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DorianKane
7 months ago

I guess you could level the difference out by installing Trickstuff Dächle UL (ultralight) rotors. I stopped caring about weight when it comes to great braking power and modulation. I ran both (not long term) and the motives are great but that feel & power of the Mavens I only know from TRP and Hayes Dominions. Both same or heavier weight wise 

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Jason_Schroeder
7 months ago

The Spur is the exact bike I thought of when SRAM went to a two-model brake line this year since it's such a ripping little bike, but most riders want to keep it light. Luca is at Rampage (filming Carson's vlogs), but I shot him a text and he said he felt Motive's would be plenty powerful enough, especially with thicker rotors. 

My two cents would be that if you have Mavens currently and really like the way they feel, Motives are going to have a different ramp in power that will make them feel less grabby. So keep that in mind. 

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TEAMROBOT
7 months ago

Also, my two cents is that you need less stopping power with lighter wheels and tires, which you should be running on a Spur. The DH casings, alloy rims, and often inserts on bigger bikes take A LOT more brake to slow down, but that isn't the case with thinner casings and light wheels. I noticed it the difference in stopping power and stopping distance when I went from 27.5 wheels to 29" wheels on my primary enduro bikes. Everything else was the same on the bike (same tires, same-ish wheels, same brakes, same rotors), but my brakes could not slow down the 29ers in the same distance and I had to bump up my brakes and rotors.

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Eae903
7 months ago

I have to say, the Motives are the best feeling (in the stand, no riding experience yet) brake sram has come out with. Lever pull was light enough personally like it a bit lighter but it wouldn't be a problem, and the bite point was very positive and solid after the bleed and piston massage. They just felt kind of right. Hope I can ride them soon instead of just working on them! 

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notthatbryan
7 months ago

I'm happy with the code RSCs on my trail bike, but the current Sram brakes are out of the running for me since I run separate clamps for both shifter (XO1 axs, no transmission) and dropper lever. IIRC there isn't enough room between the reservoir and the bars to run a separate clamps. 

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beeeom
7 months ago

Maven's perform great, but they are a royal PITA to live with. The fluid aerates soooo easily and the bleed is messy and fussy. I find that I need to mess with the Maven's about as frequently as I needed to lever bleed my Shimano Saints. Additionally, no matter what, I can't get even pad wear (yes I've done all the tricks) 

I'm willing to live with Mavens for now because they are great brakes when you finally get them dialed in, but as soon as the new Shimano Saint is released I'll be jumping back (assuming it's got gobs of power and is as hassle free as current Shimano offerings) 

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