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Curious to hear about your experience using them
To anyone that has the TR4
Could you please measure how wide the caliper is? I need to find out if I can squeeze it in a ASR frame, the GR4 are super tight
They are exactly the same width (TR4 and GR4).
Might you get better luck with a 2 bolt adapter, verses the 4 bolt one you have? Should move the caliper down a bit and into the open space between the stays.
It could but it’s for a customer that also works on their bikes, I don’t want it to be something really hard to align and deal with, so I’m not too confident in getting the brakes in since it’ll have i9 hubs that notoriously put the rotor closer to the frame, I wish they redesigned the x2 calipers too making them slimmer
I think I’ll have to find another brake that is not too aggressive but still powerful and with good modulation
The Motives levers feel decent but I’m not sure, parking lot test feels pretty weak
I've had good luck with aftermarket pads in the DB8 brake (same power as the motive) so maybe that is an option to improve power and bite?
That’s an idea, perhaps bin the stock pads and put some galfer greens and unknown rotors to get the most out of the motives 🤔
If you go with the maven bronze calipers you can use most other brands hoses, because it uses the sram “stealthamajig” olive at the caliper. You don’t have to use sram brake line (expensive) or worry about banjo bolt compatibility if using shimano / trp brake line.
I have some maven bronze calipers waiting to be put on my xt servowave levers.
I’m thinking of getting a set of Bronze calipers to use as a direct bolt in for db8 calipers.
I know from another forum that Shimano banjos are a direct bolt on. I have personally tried TRP calipers with Shimano banjos, so I’m pretty sure the banjos are all compatible.
I just picked up a set of TRP trail evos real cheap to play with also.
I think that would be a big improvement, those Centreline rotors don't give the best bite. With good pads and rotors they are a really good set of brakes for a trail bike.
I'm currently doing a long term test of the Maven Base for Vital, after running the Maven Ultimate for a long time. I'm super impressed with the lever feel on the Maven Base. There's way more modulation and control compared to the Ultimate, which felt much more like an on/off switch and took a long time for me to get used to. I prefer the feel of the Base brake more, although it has less total stopping power. Could be just what you're looking for you want more power but don't want the on/off feel of the Ultimate.
The Base is less powerful for two reasons: first becase the piston size is slightly smaller than the ultimate (18/18mm vs. 18/19.5mm), but second because the Ultimate has a Swinglink in the lever, which ramps up power and mechanical leverage in the lever linkage. I'm planning to test the Ultimate calipers on the Base levers, too, because I'm curious how how much of the different feel and power is due to the lever, and how much is due to the caliper. The Base is by no means "weak," btw. Just less of a brick wall feeling than the Ultimate.
I haven't ridden the new Hayes lineup, although I have tons of friends who love them, so I can't speak to a direct comparison.
I'm really glad you are testing the Base lever with the regular Maven caliper. I really like a non swing link/servo wave, linear brake lever. That's one of the reasons I want to try the DB8 lever with the Maven caliper.
I've also had very good luck and feel with the DB8. I threw some 2.3 mil thick, 220mm rotors and some metallic pads on mine and have no complaints for $65 brake.
My favorite brake I've ridden so far is the TRP DHR Evo's. I have them on my ebike and really like them. I have Zee's on my downhill bike and rode it 6 weekends in a row this year and really found myself missing the TRP's.
Thanks so much for the info! I look forward to your review!
Rode a set of Maven Silvers for a bit this fall. As Robot noted- they were to on/off for me, even with a pair of well used Centerline 200mm rotors and resin pads. They are extremely powerful and they are also really quiet and I found the lever pull very easy and smooth. One weird wandering bite point incident on repeated stuttering root hits; that was it as far as malfunctioning. But just too much ON all of a sudden. I have had the same feelings about some Shimano's in the past. They worked for me most of the time when I could think about what I was doing- especially on sustained really steep terrain. It is the occasional panic grab situation that made me switch them out. Like coming around a downhill blind corner hot and there is a new tree down, or an oncoming rider (or ebike, moto, runner, dog, deer, whatever, I've had all of those), and you react in an instant and grab a lot of lever. Front wheel lock, down I go, broken collar bone or just a lot of skin lost or a nice slam is a situation I wanna avoid. I'm about 160# so not that heavy. I don't have issues with forearm/hand pump generally and have no issues with lever pull.
I read about the Maven Base with the straight push lever into the master cylinder and another review of the base that was quite favorable and sounded more like what I like. If I coulda found the Base lever assembly I may have tried that with the Silver calipers, but the Base lever assembly was back ordered. I'll be interested to hear how this setup works for Robot.
So I went back to what I know works great for me. Codes with MTX Gold pads on fresh 200mm centerlines. Certainly boring and commonplace, but parts are always available in just about any shop anywhere (when traveling), they're really really cheap right now, and once the new set was bled and bedded, I have not thought about braking since. I can grab a ton of lever, late brake hard and they modulate perfectly for me.
I really wanted to try some Dominion T4's, but not for more than twice the price and potentially scarce parts when away from home.
Loved my codes with golds. Had some issues with glazing pads when paired with hs2, is that why you’re on centerline?
Mostly cuz they are what I had around when the HS2's came out. They are light, cheap, and I wasn't needing more power so stuck with centerlines. There is one long steep descent here in SW CO where I'll get some fade, but I only ride that trail a few times a season if that.
I can actually provide some feedback here to the maven base vs all other flavors of maven conversation... unfortunately, @TEAMROBOT took most of the words right out of my mouth. I have 3 sets of maven brakes on my bikes, Experts, Bronze and Base. I am running 200mm HS2 rotors and metallic pads on all of the setups. I recently bought the maven base to put on my trail bike as I was having a hard time running mavens on 2 of my bikes, and then TRP DHR Evos on my trail bike. The modulation point (harder to feel the initial bite point) and lever effort (less initially, but far more near max braking). I did quite like the TRPs when I had codes on my other bikes.
I too find that the maven base are fantastic brakes... potentially the best of the bunch depending on your preferences and application. I personally don't find much use to the contact point adjuster because of the impact to the feel of the brakes with swing link. For that reason, I run the contact point adjuster wound all the way out, away from the arrow no matter what set of sram brakes I'm using.
Regarding the maven base, everything that @TEAMROBOT said is true in my opinion and why I selected the base for my trail bike. In that application, I feel like they are the perfect brake. Super light lever feel, far easier modulation near the point of lockup and the right amount of power overall. In contrast, I have the experts on my nomad which sees park duty and those brakes at times, are too strong, especially in loose over hard or muddy conditions. I have the maven bronze on my full power/weight ebike, and in that setting and bike weight, they are just about perfect for power/modulation/capacity.
The only con I see to the maven base are the lack of contact point adjuster (if you're into that sort of thing) and a bit longer lever throw. If you're the kind of person that wants short throw and running the levers closer to the bars, these may not be the thing for you. For me these were the perfect option for a consistent feel and compatibility to all of my bikes and the right amount of power for a lighter trail bike that sees really long, super steep descents, but runs a bit faster tires. The only real bummer with the base setup is that they come with organic pads, so if you're a metallic guy, you have to spend another 70 bucks on top of the $205 per brake. That being said, I cannot believe how good a 400 dollar set of brakes is these days... I realize mtb products are expensive and it's easy to get caught in the trap feeling like you need the best... however the mid tier of mtb products is so good these days, that it blows the previous top shelf stuff out of the water. Maven base brakes are a perfect example of that.
If you really need a short throw on the Maven Base, you can slightly overpressure the circuit by just pushing a bit of oil from the caliper and closing the circuit. The Bleeding Edge is really good for that.
That won't last, as pad wear would give you over time the same throw as before, but if you're very picky and don't mind the 5min per brake, that could do the job. Unfortunately, when you change pads and need to push the pistons back, you'd need to plug the bleed kit at the caliper again, to prevent bursting the membrane if you have too much pressure (or just not being able to push the pistons back). It's a both, but that could work for some!
Old Lewis and new Hope:
I strongly agree with this messy process.
After having experience with Shimano and Sram Hayess seem to be the worst in terms of leaking oil during bleed process.
Some do prefer vacuum way some syringe and finally people like me trying to mix both worlds ?
Have You or anyone found a good guide being effective but alse as clean as possible?
I just hosed everything down with Carpro eraser (basically isopropyl alcohol+surfactants) that I have on hand for detailing.
I finally had some time to swap the T4V4 to the GR4 Evo, just on the stand they’re very different, I just did a quick swap keeping the old lines and everything else ( pads/rotors )
Few things I’ve noticed, way less clearance in the pad/rotor, bringing back some ptsd from the Mt7, I liked the clearance with the v4 🧐
Tomorrow test, anyone noticed the same thing with the GR4/TR4?
I also noticed the Diaphragm is the other way around now, without the middle rised part, and way softer, although I believe the bleeding port is absolutely useless with a diaphragm designed like this, like Lewis the bleeding port is in the wrong spot, like this you’d need to flip the master around to ensure you remove all the air and even so, I don’t see how it’s possible to not get it trapped. I feel it should’ve been placed at the widest part of the master and be bled like a Trickstuff with the lever vertical. So I’ll just keep going with the old bleeding style that works great
To me it looks like the bleed port is at the highest point when the lever is on the bike and the diaphragm has been redesigned to allow air bubbles to travel towards it without getting trapped. With the old diaphragm there definitely would have been a location near the bleed port which would have trapped air behind the ridge.
This is where the bleed port sits (in a spot where the air can travel out - that's why the diaphragm has been redesigned). I've bled several of these by now via the bleed port with good results each time.
I guess I might’ve not noticed but it still looks to me like the bleeding port hole is not that “clear” through the diaphragm, anyway, any thoughts regarding the piston rollback - pad/rotor clearance?
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The lack of pad/rotor clearance is real. I'm guessing it's a result of a shorter lever throw over the tech 4, which I do really like but if your disc is rubbing or isn't centred in the pads perfectly the firm bite disappears. The pistons seem to have a hard time staying centred even when lubricated, which will be frustrating for a lot of people to correct every few rides but for me it's worth it. It's much easier with a 1.8 rotor to keep them consistant as much as I enjoy a 2.3 so I switched back to HS2s from Trps. Kind of makes sense as hopes own rotors are 1.8. However when everything's right these things are the dream!
i'm actually very happy i've chosen 2.3 rotors vs anything slimmer that doesn't stay straight and is harder to straighten,
i did a solid 45km 1150m ride today and they feel more like the mavens with a nicer feel than like the t4v4 i think, way less noisy, way firmer bite point, a bit heavier free stroke and definitely more bite, i like them!
My V4 calipers needed to break in. The piston/cylinder clearance was just too tight right out of the box which made the first rides an utter annoyance because the pistons lived their own life. I'd try and push all pistons in and out a few times to see if they bind up or not because that will definitely cause issues.
My V4's move freely now though so having a bit of patience did sort it out for me. Given it is the same company it could be the case for the new iteration as well. Just saying...
Post a reply to: Nerding out on Brakes shall we? Not another tech deraliment