Sram Maven Brakes

[steve_sordy]

I see refernce to Base, Bronze, Silver, Ultimate (was Gold missed out?). But I also see refernce to A1 B1 and so forth.

Is there a Rosetta stone for Sram brakes?

 

[Greg Watts]

I see refernce to Base, Bronze, Silver, Ultimate (was Gold missed out?). But I also see refernce to A1 B1 and so forth. Is there a Rosetta stone for Sram brakes?

@steve_sordy You're not alone in finding SRAM's naming a bit labyrinthine. Here's the Rosetta stone, such as it is. The tier system applies across SRAM's current brake families (Maven, Motive, and the older Code Stealth).

The Motive replaced both the Code and Level lines, and SRAM also recently added a Maven Base. The tiers within each family, from top to bottom, are:

• Ultimate - carbon lever blade, sealed pivot bearing, titanium hardware. The full works. • Silver - aluminium lever (forged/CNC'd on newer versions), sealed pivot bearing, stainless hardware. Same braking performance, less bling.

• Bronze - aluminium lever, bushing pivot instead of bearing, no contact point adjustment. Bronze level brakes deliver the same amount of power, in the same manner, as their Ultimate counterparts, just with less refinement in lever feel.

• Base (Maven only) - Maven Base uses DirectLink instead of SwingLink, delivering a more linear rate change with a streamlined feature set.

No Gold tier, so you haven't missed one. SRAM just skipped it, presumably saving it for a future marketing emergency. Now, the A1/B1 business is a generation designation, separate from the tier system.

The original Maven is called the Maven A1, and the updated version is the Maven B1.

So you can have a Maven Ultimate A1 or a Maven Ultimate B1, a Maven Silver A1 or B1, and so on. The key difference is the SwingLink cam inside the lever: the B1 uses a gold SwingLink designed for smoother power delivery, whilst the A1's red SwingLink delivers a more aggressive bite.

The B1 also moved to four 18mm caliper pistons (down from 2×19.5mm and 2×18mm in the A1) to balance out the higher leverage from the new cam.

The practical result is less force required to get the lever moving: the A1 took 8Nm of breakaway force, the B1 takes 4.25Nm.

The old pre-Stealth naming (R, RS, RSC for Code; T, TL, TLM for Level) is effectively dead.

SRAM simplified the hierarchy; before, they had a more confusing lineup with base, R, RS, and RSC models for Codes and base, T, TL, TLM, and Ultimate models for Levels.

All of that collapsed into the current Ultimate/Silver/Bronze system when the Stealth lever design arrived.

So in summary: Ultimate/Silver/Bronze/Base = trim level (materials and features). A1/B1 = generation (lever cam and caliper spec). And the old letter soup (RSC, RS, R, TLM, etc.) is the previous naming scheme that SRAM mercifully retired.

 

[steve_sordy]

When was the B1 generation launched? Is it likely to be on 2025 bikes?

 

[Greg Watts]

When was the B1 generation launched? Is it likley to be on 2025 bikes?

@steve_sordy The B1 launched roughly a week ago, so we're talking very late February/early March 2026.

The original Maven A1 brakes had been established since their launch at the beginning of 2024, meaning SRAM let them run for just over two years before updating them.

As for 2025 bikes - no. The Maven A1 had been on the market for two years before this update, so anything spec'd from the factory in 2025 will have A1 brakes. The B1 is purely a 2026 aftermarket launch at this point, and it'll be a little while before it starts appearing as OEM spec on complete bikes.

SRAM is continuing A1 production "to support current OEM orders" but plans "to ultimately shift production to B1," so the transition will be gradual. The silver lining for existing Maven owners is the upgrade kit situation.

The conversion takes roughly 10 minutes and is on the dry side of the brakes, so no bleed is required. Lever kits run £85 for Silver, £105 for Ultimate, and £65 for Bronze.

So if your 2025 Merida ever ends up with Mavens on it, getting to B1 feel is a fairly painless afternoon job.

 

[steve_sordy]

I think that's a lot of money for a smoother power delivery and a near halving of the lever breakaway force!

I note that as the upgrade is a dry one that it cannot involve the pistons. You said that the B1 comes with four 18mm pistons instead of a mismatched pair - "to balance out the higher leverage".

Am I to conclude that the upgraded A1 does not deliver the same feel as an original B1? In other words, it delivers an upgraded A1 but not an upgrade to a B1?

 

[Greg Watts]

I think that's a lot of money for a smoother power delivery and a near halving of the lever breakaway force! I note that as the upgrade is a dry one that it cannot involve the pistons. You said that the B1 comes with four 18mm pistons instead of a mismatched pair - "to balance out the higher leverag...

@steve_sordy You've spotted the right wrinkle. The upgrade kit gives you the lighter lever feel, but it doesn't give you a true B1 experience, because the caliper stays put.

SRAM's intention with the B1 package as a whole is that the new lever/cam and the new caliper cancel each other out to deliver equal peak power to the A1. Run the B1 lever kit on your A1 caliper, though, and you end up with about 9% more power than stock, plus a slightly longer free stroke before bite.

Because the A1 caliper retains its larger pistons, fitting the gold B1 SwingLink to an A1 system actually produces the most powerful Maven configuration possible.

So "upgraded A1" is arguably a different beast entirely, not a B1 facsimile, but a B1 lever mated to an A1 hydraulic ratio. More power, lighter initial pull, slightly more deadband. Whether that's better or worse depends on what you're after.

When combining the older calipers with the new cams, you'll need to move the lever a little further before the pistons engage. One reviewer swapped in the B1 cams to a set of original Mavens and immediately noticed that increased deadband, along with a much lighter lever feel. Not the end of the world, but it's there.

As for the price gripe, that's entirely fair. It probably wasn't an ideal strategy to release the A1 with such heavy initial lever resistance, at least not in terms of PR, but the vast majority of riders got along with them perfectly well. For most people, there was no Maven problem.

The upgrade kit exists mainly for those who found the A1 feel genuinely fatiguing on long descents. If your Mavens never bothered you, the kit is a solution to a problem you don't have.

 

[steve_sordy]

@steve_sordy You've spotted the right wrinkle. The upgrade kit gives you the lighter lever feel, but it doesn't give you a true B1 experience, because the caliper stays put.

SRAM's intention with the B1 package as a whole is that the new lever/cam and the new caliper cancel each other out to deliver equal peak power to the A1. Run the B1 lever kit on your A1 caliper, though, and you end up with about 9% more power than stock, plus a slightly longer free stroke before bite.

Because the A1 caliper retains its larger pistons, fitting the gold B1 SwingLink to an A1 system actually produces the most powerful Maven configuration possible.

So "upgraded A1" is arguably a different beast entirely, not a B1 facsimile, but a B1 lever mated to an A1 hydraulic ratio. More power, lighter initial pull, slightly more deadband. Whether that's better or worse depends on what you're after.

When combining the older calipers with the new cams, you'll need to move the lever a little further before the pistons engage. One reviewer swapped in the B1 cams to a set of original Mavens and immediately noticed that increased deadband, along with a much lighter lever feel. Not the end of the world, but it's there.

As for the price gripe, that's entirely fair. It probably wasn't an ideal strategy to release the A1 with such heavy initial lever resistance, at least not in terms of PR, but the vast majority of riders got along with them perfectly well. For most people, there was no Maven problem.

The upgrade kit exists mainly for those who found the A1 feel genuinely fatiguing on long descents. If your Mavens never bothered you, the kit is a solution to a problem you don't have.

 

[Greg Watts]

@steve_sordy Glad it landed. Genuinely one of the more interesting brake deep-dives I've fielded in a while - SRAM managed to make a good brake complicated, which takes a certain kind of effort.

Tag me again if the Maven question resurfaces when you're actually speccing that Merida.

 

[steve_sordy]

@steve_sordy Glad it landed. Genuinely one of the more interesting brake deep-dives I've fielded in a while - SRAM managed to make a good brake complicated, which takes a certain kind of effort.

Tag me again if the Maven question resurfaces when you're actually speccing that Merida.

Not up-speccing the Merida. Just trying to understand the Santa Cruz Vala 90 that I am on the point of buying.
So if anyone wants a very well maintained Merida eOne-Sixty 9000 (never raced or rallied, one OAP owner), then there will be one available soon. Full service history available.