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Yes. They have everything you need to bolt them to XT brakes except the bleed block. (and the SRAM caliper adapter if you’re using one)
Somewhat incorrect.
That plastic with different widths sets the pad spacing. It’s not for massaging the pistons. It doesn’t allow the pistons to advance as much.
The piston massage block is about 4mm thick and you use without the pads in.
If you google ‘sram piston massage spacer’ you’ll see what it looks like.
Huh, weird. When I've seen those before they referenced DB so I figured it was just for the DB8 brakes. Does that spacer fit in the notch in the caliper body for the rotor to keep it centered? Now I'm curious to see what the thickness is of the pad spacer (thin side) + brand new pads, or pad spacer + worn old set of pads that I use for bleeding. I like using the pad spacer because when you use the thick side to reset the pistons (with pads in), it pushes all 4 pistons back evenly, unlike trying to get them one at a time with a plastic tire lever. Even the red plastic sliding wedge tool tends to do 1 side before the other.
I just found a 3D print file. Came in 3.8 and 4mm. Pad spacer even on the thick side is smaller width than the sram massage spacer.
Yes clips to brake pad retaining bolt.
If you want a better option to evenly push pistons back in then have a look on AliExpress etc. look up ‘piston spreader tool bicycle’
Better than a tyre lever and no risk of popping a piston out.
Anyway let’s get back to talking Shimano levers and not make this another maven bleeding thread.
Built up a set of TRavens with TRP Evo Pro levers and Bronze Calipers. Ultimately went this route because I could build up a set from takeoffs and spare parts cheaper than buying either set new down here in NZ. Plus love a kludge.
Everything went together super easy, thanks to everyone who tried before and sorted the details. Definitely took a few bleeds and piston faff to get it feeling good.
Coming from TRP EVOs definitely feels like more power delivered sharper, never ridden Mavens so can't compare to their power. I was expecting more dead band with this setup but the contact adjustment can pretty much remove any dead space when all the way in, I'm running it about 1/3 out to get the feel I like.
If anyone's wondering, the new SRAM piston massage spacer is 3.8mm instead of 4.0mm because at 3.8mm it can work on DB8 and the Maven calipers. If the pad spacer was 4.0mm (the same width as two HS2 rotors, which was SRAM's previous recommendation for a Maven piston massage), it wouldn't fit in the notch in the caliper body on the DB8. And yes, the spacer should nest in the notch in the caliper body on either the Maven or the DB8, which helps keep it centered and helps prevent you from over-extending a piston.
Before the SRAM spacer came out, I was using an old 4mm thick Pedro's wrench for Shimano Hollowtech 2 BB cups for piston massages on my Mavens. Worked great, but I prefer the new spacer because clips into the brake pad pin and I don't have to hold it there.
Serious question: how is everyone putting the pistons back in place after extending them during a piston massage?
I'm using an old yellow plastic tire lever and doing the pistons one at a time (more or less), but that feels barbaric and incredibly imprecise, and seems like a great way to sideload or accidentally angle a piston into the caliper seal. Is anyone messing around with a piston reset tool like one of these (I'm going to post this in the Brake Nerd thread, too, because I'm curious). And yes, I recognize that two out of these three tools would not work in a Maven because there's no access to the top of the caliper:
be a man, use your fingers 🤣.. honestly this fancy tool is beyond acceptable snobbery..
You have some very svelte, thin yet strong as hell fingers if you can push back the pistons with your finger.
I've always used a tire lever. With codes, doing it from above, there is a risk of breaking the pad pin hole...
to be fair, for the past 8-9 years I have only had magura MT5/MT4 calipers, which I can push with fingers,, ocasionally a tire lever.. these are not finicky as other brands, dont get pushed sideways nor super hard to push.
Since with all these Maven (I have 4 of them on my bikes) piston massage and since none of my old traditional piston press tools fit the Maven caliper, I have started using this type of piston press with ease. $45 is steep but it's made of alloy rather than 3D printed plastic like the cheaper ones.
How often are we supposed to be taking our pistons to the spa for a massage? I thought this was one time out of the box?
Just chop an old rotor in half. Bet you have one laying around in your shed somewhere. Also it doubles as a ninja star if someone tries to break in.
I have always done a "piston massage" as part of my brake bleed routine. Push pistons out, clean with a q-tip and brake oil, repeat 4x or until all pistons move freely. I find this really helps prevent pistons from getting stuck or pushing out unevenly. When SRAM came out and gave it a fancy name in made me chuckle, I just thought that was part of maintaining your brakes. That said, if you are doing a bleed, you should do this. Its wild how much crud you will pull off your pistons.
Sorry for the stupid large images, I don't know how to make them smaller.
And to answer your question @TEAMROBOT you can see my tried and true pad-pusher-back-inner pedros tire lever. That said, I have fucked up and blasted a piston out when pushing a different one in. I should probably get something better but there is some thrill in living on the edge.
My hands started bleeding just looking at these pictures
Not for the faint of heart!
Where'd you get that one? The long red metal SRAM (or China copies) doesn't work as it's for top loading, and the "Laser" style one in Charlie's post doesn't either (doesn't fit right and just bends).
I think it's intended to happen with every bleed.
I'm in the market for new brakes and have been looking at a bunch of different brake options. It looks like a 5-ish minute process per brake but I haven't done it to be able to tell you "this is how long it takes" definitively.
From my own experience, and I have 4 sets of Maven (straight up stock), after the initial massage from brand new, I've skipped the massage during subsequent reset mainly during pad replacements. Haven't had the need to rebleed any of my sets.
https://atlus.bike/?country=US (from this shop). I would advise against the cheaper amazon knockoff as they're made of 3D printed plastic materials.
Am I the only one who just uses both sides of the pad spacer the brakes ship with for the piston massage?
That is the intended use for those things. I just had all ready made a ninja star.
TRP DHR evo lever / Maven Base update. I set these up with maxima mineral oil and Shimano BH90 hose, and just a simple Shimano style bleed cup bleed after pushing oil through the lines. I also did a comprehensive piston massage procedure.
I did one shuttle day on the setup, and impressions are that this combination is quite good. The lever stroke is very acceptable, bite point feels well defined and does not wander or pump out at all, and the maven power is also there. Good modulation, as you would expect from TRP lever. I've got the stock organic pads in there now, but I'll probably switch to metallic once those wear out.
My plan is to run this all summer in Whistler
Update on Maven Silver/Ultimate with the Shimano BH90 banjo/stock XT setup. No leaks whatsoever at the banjos. About ten 1,500ft steep brake heavy descents on them with plenty normal trail and bike park style riding mixed in. (ebike) I’m putting this setup on my trail and park bike here soon so will have every riding situation to report back on this summer.
On another note I’m finding I like an organic pad in the rear and a sintered in the front. The sintered in the rear is so powerful it feels like it’s meant for a DH race bike where you have very defined precise braking points. The organic rear is much easier to scrub speed off without breaking traction. (220 rotor rear)
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