Brakes | SRAM

The full stopping spectrum

The world of mountain biking has never been so vibrant, thanks to a full spectrum of riders deserving of a full spectrum of stopping power. With every rider going faster than ever before across every mountain bike discipline, we meet every need with both Heavy Duty and Extreme Duty collections. From the improved and time-tested, to incredible new powers. Every model offering only the most usable progression, whether full-featured Ultimate or super-powered practical. Just what the full spectrum of modern mountain bike ridership demands and deserves.

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Pick your power

SRAM World Cup winning full power mountain bike brakes — The full story.

Power and pistons

The bottom line on power is having it in surplus to tune for terrain and rider preference. It starts with the right piston size for heavy duty and extreme duty applications. Considering our XCO-worthy, heavy duty Motive brake has Code-like power (our World Cup DH and Red Bull Rampage winning brake), and our extreme duty Maven brake adds an additional 50% on top of that, riders get as much power as they can get, without going crazy.

Take the heat. Use it.

Check any SRAM caliper or pad and you won’t find cooling fins or other add-ons aimed at moving heat away from caliper seals. Instead, we rely on design fundamentals that make the necessary biproduct of all friction, heat, an advantage. It starts with the caliper material itself, and includes careful consideration for caliper size, mass and density. But we don’t do any of this to “beat the heat,” because for consistent brake performance, the right amount of heat improves friction coefficients, increasing power.

The smartest seals. Ever.

We may not think about a brake’s internal seals, but they’re one of the most important factors impacting performance, consistency and friction coefficients. Where most brakes use off-the-shelf seals that can adversely affect performance during heat fluctuations, we developed our own proprietary seal for mineral oil use that’s ultra-consistent throughout extreme temperatures. Such unprecedented heat tolerance massively contributes to a consistent lever-feel and bite point no matter how much heat range is encountered. It’s also why you won’t find cooling fins or other heat-dissipation gadgets on SRAM brakes.

SRAM mineral oil brake bleed port on Maven lever body

High performance and low maintenance

Thanks to our seal design that eliminates its downsides, we leverage the advantages of mineral oil in our mountain brakes. Thanks to its hydrophobic properties, mineral oil won’t take on water over time, drastically reducing the need for maintenance and bleeding. Plus, our mineral oil was co-developed with Maxima Racing Oils to optimize the consistent performance of our seals regardless of temperature and bleed interval. Mineral oil for the win.

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