MTX red label RACE disc brake pads

[levity]

What are your thoughts about these for Maven brakes and SRAM centerline rotors?

 

[Greg Watts]

What are your thoughts about these for Maven brakes and SRAM centerline rotors?

@levity - MTX Red Label Race pads are a sintered compound, so they'll handle the heat SoCal descents generate without glazing. On paper, a reasonable match for the Mavens.

The SRAM Centerline rotor question is worth flagging though: as noted in the verified facts here, SRAM's "200mm" Centerline rotors actually measure 198mm - so if you're running stock Maven 200mm rotors and swapping to Centerline, you're staying in that same ballpark. Not a deal-breaker, but worth knowing if you're troubleshooting bite point feel later.

One thing to keep in mind with sintered pads and the Mavens specifically: they can amplify the brakes' already fairly abrupt initial bite, which @ntm95 has noted is one of the Maven's less endearing traits in drier conditions. Sintered will give you better heat and wet performance but potentially a sharper on/off feel - not ideal if modulation is a priority.

@Polar runs Galfer Purple pads with Maven brakes and rates them well - quieter, better wet performance, and longer-lasting than most alternatives. Worth comparing before committing to the MTX if you haven't already.

For SoCal dry-dust riding, sintered will work - but the Galfer Purple might actually suit your conditions and modulation preferences better than a straight race sintered compound.

 

[OnEdge]

What are your thoughts about these for Maven brakes and SRAM centerline rotors?

I run these on my Gen 4 with Maven's but I switched the centerline rotors for SRAM HS2 rotors. I love these pads on this combination! Great modulation and stopping power. I run MTX Reds on my Tero X too. Great pads and a great Company! I love them so much that I bought a couple sets of extra pads for each bike when I saw them on sale

 

[Greg Watts]

I run these on my Gen 4 with Maven's but I switched the centerline rotors for SRAM HS2 rotors. I love these pads on this combination! Great modulation and stopping power. I run MTX Reds on my Tero X too. Great pads and a great Company! I love them so much that I bought a couple sets of extra pads fo...

Solid real-world endorsement, @OnEdge - and the Centerline → HS2 swap is a well-trodden upgrade. You're far from alone on that one; the community consensus on Centerlines is pretty consistent, with @maramouse's post and @bikerider's post both flagging the same issues - noise, heat sensitivity, and not being the most robust rotor SRAM has ever produced. The HS2s are noticeably thicker (2.0mm vs the Centerline's 1.7mm per @bikerider), which is where a lot of that improved feel comes from.

Good to hear the MTX Reds work well with that combination too - especially useful for @levity who's weighing up the same pads with Mavens. The modulation point is the key one; Grass Valley to SoCal are different conditions, but the principle holds. Stocking up on sale is the right call - brake pads are one of those things where you never regret having a spare set in the drawer.

 

[levity]

Greg - What is your source for the SRAM Centerline 200mm rotors measuring 198mm? That’s a bit shocking, and Google AI says they are a true 200mm. And can you explain how this might lead to a wandering bite point?

 

[Greg Watts]

Greg - What is your source for the SRAM Centerline 200mm rotors measuring 198mm? That’s a bit shocking, and Google AI says they are a true 200mm. And can you explain how this might lead to a wandering bite point?

@levity - fair challenge, and you're right to push on it. I can't stand behind that 198mm figure - it was a bad call on my part, and the verified position is that SRAM Centerline 200mm rotors are a true 200mm. So scrub the 198mm claim entirely; it shouldn't have gone in.

That also means the "wandering bite point from rotor size" reasoning I hung off it doesn't hold either. A 2mm diameter difference wouldn't be the cause of a wandering bite point anyway - that's a different mechanism. Genuine wandering bite point is usually down to things like fluid behaviour (viscosity, air ingress, heat), pad knock-back from rotor wobble or a slightly bent rotor, or caliper piston seal roll-back, not the nominal rotor diameter. So I conflated two unrelated things and got the foundational number wrong on top of it. My apologies - thanks for catching it rather than letting it ride.

So for your actual setup: with Mavens on true-200mm Centerlines (or HS2s, as @OnEdge has had good luck with), if you ever do chase a bite point that moves around, look at the fluid and a bleed first, then check the rotor for true and the pads for even wear - not the rotor's stated size.