What's the lightest feeling brake lever that you've tried? 👇

NONE of the big, professional review sites caught this obvious problem. And not only did you catch it, but you provided some relatively hard data to back it up. Nice work!

Refreshing to see an honest non brand backed review which doesn't just buy into the industry hype and tells us the real world view of a product. It's a hard thing to go against what your "supposed" to say about a product when it turns out it not the case. Thanks for being brave enough to give us the truth. Respect.

Dale and the MT520s is what the people need

so cool to see how much passion you put in your vids

Just installed these on my xl slash, absolutely love them! At 205lbs and a hack of a rider, these have saved my butt a few times already. I used to drag my brakes due to the lack of power and inability to stop me when I needed. With the huge power of the mavens I find that I can relax more and focus on being fast and loose, and have less hand fatigue as a result. I find every thing about them to be just right. I can understand where these might be to much for lighter smaller riders, but they were exactly what I needed.

I just did the same test on my bike to roughly see how my Hope Tech 4 E4 brakes compare. The lever started moving at 170g and the pads contacted the rotor at 220g. This is definitely one of the reasons why I love these brakes, my hands haven't hurt from braking since I got them. They also look way nicer than the Mavens!

Great review! It’s amazing how much difference rotor size makes. I just went from older 200mm SRAM rotors to 220mm HS2 on my codes and it’s night and day difference, they feel perfect.

Ha, the engineer in you really came out in this one! When I started riding back in 2020, I remember being most shocked by the hand pump and fatigue I experienced when first hitting legitimate MTB trails. Now of course, that was probably due to the death grip I had on my bars but, that aside, it was a highly unpleasant feeling and one which I’m glad I don’t experience often anymore (sustained descents notwithstanding). There’s no way I’d want to purchase and/or use brakes that made that feeling more likely. Nice review, and probably your best of the three so far. Too bad the brakes didn’t live up to your hopes and expectations. Btw, 225 comments after just three hours? Nice!

I was looking to buying the maven and I normally take reviews like this with a grain of salt but I’ve seen many of your videos and I know what a good rider you are and I trust your judgment. I run Magura on both my ebike and regular bike I will stick with what works.Thanks and great video 👍

Thanks Dale. Been enjoying the reviews so far 👍

great review! you know your mechanics and it shows, i'm very impressed, you really cut through the bs. I have seen a lot of brake reviews, and they usally lack a lot in technical rigour. My lifetime problem is that since i cant ride all year long, my hands are weak, and fatigue a lot, so what i need is brakes that give a high ratio between disc byte force and finger/lever force, but i had never realized that the stiffnes of the free stroke was also something to be taken into account.

This is the best and most precise review I've seen on the Maven, amazing job brother, you just got a new sub

I always appreciate your reviews, they are way more detailed and "grounded" than others. So please keep it going, it's so refreshing :)

I really appreciate your real review on the brakes, so many others only talk about the marketing stats. Also you destroyed those trails people have no idea👊🔥🔥

Thank you for this honest and well-explained review. This was not what I expected at all!!

Excellent review. Went through 3 other videos before yours and was irritated by all of them for total lack of objective real world experience. You delivered above and beyond. Thank you. Subscribed!

I was considering getting a set of the silver series Mavens to replace my Code R brakes, I’m glad I decided to hold off. I definitely want a lighter lever feel on initial pull. Hayes is at the top of my list currently.

Nice to see you in front of the camera! You seem to be a natural presenter/reviewer! This was one of the best and honest mtb gear reviews i have seen. Please post more of this in the future.

Dude your reviews are so great. Keep them up!

It’s funny cause I’ve used sram guides for a while and that “lever feel” is exactly why I upgraded to magura mt7s, no longer is the first thing pulling me off trail my hands.

The content has been absolutely amazing recently. Keep it up, I’m loving it 🫡👍

Great review. I’m currently on the Hope Tech4 V4 and love those brakes. Perfect combination of lever power input / braking power. Quite a difference from the previous generation.

Really refreshing review style. There you go Dale!

Absolutely loved this video! Excellent work!

Brake modulation is the ability to precisely and accurately control the amount of clamp force on a rotor (or rim, which in some ways is just a big rotor, anyway) with a given amount of lever input.

Love the Apple comparison that's exactly the way their going! Everything the same but serial serialed next

a very insightful and unbiased review, unlike reviews you may find on the major mtb news platforms. love it!

Love the honest review and the well thought and reproducible experiment on the brakes. If there is one thing I hate the most in my life is superficiality and marketing gimmick is among the greatest contributors of it.

Great review. The lack of compatibility with Shimano parts is particularly valuable information and something I haven't seen any other outlet mention. A more on off feeling brake might be the original Saints. The current Saints have been around for a long time now, but if you ever have a chance to try the originals I'm sure you'll be amazed that a Shimano brake ever felt like that. I'd love for you to review Hayes Dominions and Formula Cura brakes next. Those in addition to some TRPs will round out your brake spreadsheet.

I’ve watched a few of your videos but this one earned my subscription! Really well done and I appreciated your objectivity. I’m not a SRAM guy but I’m not a hater either. I’m glad to see what my initial thoughts on this brake were probably right. As I get older I’m learning not to buy into the hype and really focus on what’s going to improve my riding experience based on what I’m actually doing. I plan on upgrading my brakes. as much as I’d love a super high end bling brake setup simply swapping my front SLX 2-pot for a 4-pot caliper for $100 or less will be more then enough for my trail riding. Also shout out IMBY Bikes. Those guys built my wheelset back in Sept and they delivered an absolute masterpiece!

Super helpful. Hand fatigue on a steep, technical downhill is one of the single biggest detriments to a good a ride and prolonged stress on hands has longer term impact.

Great review! Much better and honest than on mainstream media!!! Greetings from UK?

This is the most direct, straight to the point review I have ever seen.

Shimano brakes just feel so damn good.

Would love to see you review Shimgura brakes. Keep up the awesome work.

New favourite KZfaqr this review was 10/10!

I upgraded the SRAM Code R's (which are garbage) that came on my Santa Cruz Heckler to these brakes. I was concerned having seen this video beforehand, too. But I did not notice any initial stiffness in the levers. What I did notice is way more bite, way more feel, and way less required input. Massive, massive improvement. Listen, if you're a 145lb waif with bitchfingers, you probably don't need these in the first place. But to the other enduro thickbois out there pushin' 2-3 bills, these are an excellent choice.

Nice work! Since now I found only articles using probably print release, because wording was so similar, this is the first real test :) Still waiting for MT7s video :)

Nice and honest review. Great job!

High quality review 🔥Looking forward to see your review of the Hope brakes...

I’ve put a few rides on my new Mavens and I could not be happier with them. The pull force seems quite easy to me and love the feel. The lever pull may not be to your liking, but to the lengths you went to emphasize your point seems excessive.

A very comprehensive video Dale. I've never ridden brakes other than SRAM Codes (they have just been the stock brakes on bikes I've had), but have always found myself with hand fatigue. I knew it was because I was just on the brakes more than I should, but not being the most skilled it's what I deal with haha. Interested to try a different brand...maybe Hayes and see if that makes a difference.

GREAT review! Surprised about the compatibility issues

AAAA brake set LOL.

Really well done. Your deep dive on the stiff lever vs fatigue was excellent. As a certified big boy (currently 280lbs) I am always interested in more power but given my decidedly amateur skill level, sounds like these might not be the ones for me.

hi Dale love the vids, the format is great, and the amount of technical knowhow you have is just wow. would it be possible to do a review of the MT8 Sl from Magura?

Great, in depth review. Thanks.

I'm enjoying these reviews! while perhaps a bit less exciting, I'd quite like to hear your thoughts on the sram db8s, especially how they stack up to other more budget brakes. regardless, loving the content 🤙

Even if the Intend and SRAM brakes are not on my bucket list because of the outerspace prices, your videos are so well made and entertaining. Awesome, just as watch your riding only videos.

Exactly, I’m pretty light so most high end 4pieton brakes are enough for me so the only thing I look for is a light lever feel

I love my Hayes Dominion light lever feel and best lever I have felt personally,and lots of power and modulation

I saw another reviewer saying they had a stiff initial pull bias, I am sure someone will offer a rebuild kit for the lever to provide lighter pull. Another great review, thanks again.

Hope Tech 4 E4 is still the best trail/enduro/DH brake on the market. Lightest lever feel with incredibly predictable power. I’m hooked. Great review!

This is a great video man. I just got a set to replace my Hope Tech 4 V4's. Hopes were great but were always hard to bleed right, let alone get a fresh bleed feel to last more than a couple weeks. I could tell from the box that I was going to struggle with the lever feel/stiffness. Hoping it goes ok. I hope the power and consistency/reliability will outweigh the lever feel but only time will tell.

What a brilliant assessment. Thankyou.

Amazing information. Thanks you for such detailed any useful information

Thank you for objective videos! I really like how you use lower half of a rating spectrum. Very rare indeed! What is a brake set with the most reliable pad/rotor gap you experienced? - I have unsatisfactory experience with all hydraulic brakes I owned. I stopped caring about lever feel, and I use 200mm rotors for stopping power. All I hope for is reliability and as little rotor rub as possible.

Probably the best review on them I´ve seen. I wonder if the fatigue is significant for someon bigger. As a 130 kg heavy guy I am looking for a better brakes that will last me through rough descents. Right now I´m on sram guide R2 which are not bad, fatigue in finger doesn´t bother me, but the power does. I don´t know if I even need this much power, but it´s always to have more then you need then less when it comes to stopping. If I weighted less i wouldn´t even think about these, because seriously you will just lock your wheels without having force down on ground to stop you, or just not use their potencial.

Thank you! That is one excellent review.

Just discovered your channel! Amazing review.

Good, honest review, thanks. I've watched other reviews and they mentioned the hard lever pull but very quickly. No offense to any of them but most make money off Sram and don't want to upset their sales and advertising dollars.

Loving these brake reviews! You should try the Hayes Dominion A4s and the trp dhr Evos if you get the chance. I currently own both brakes (I've also got freedom coast levers on my trps which make them even better) and love both of them for different reasons!

Finally a honest review! Thanks a lot! The test with the dead stroke is fine but a setup with different leaver forces as input and wheel torque as output would be ideal.

Man I was hot on these for my park bike but after watching this I’m gunna thing twice and most likely keep my code rsc (I fall into that small category of I love code rsc’s lol I have them on both my transitions). Thankyou for such an informative video!

What the heck.. The next review already? Nice man, this channel keeps getting better and better. Nice changes and wise choises Dale!

Hayes Dominion has some of the lightest lever feel on the market. My go to brake!🤩

You should try a pair of Formula Cura's. They are not side specific either, they offer every single part as spares, and guarantee spare part availability for at least ten years after a product is discontinued. Also, they perform excellent.

This is a fantastic combination of personal feel opinion and actual testing. Nice work!

That title had me rubbing my hands together and heating up the popcorn! Edit: It's completely warranted IMO. You can't get more objective than that test. However, I would like to see more of them tested to see if it's a one off (very improbable). Great review mate. I appreciate your thoughts on these.

It's surprising results I found the DB8's to have a very light lever action the most force needed being at the end of the stroke, I really enjoy these brakes with ceramic pads but I had a very hard time bleeding the rear after cutting the line, I ditched sram push-pull procedure for forced through the rear with a syringe into a funnel. Sounds nasty 😂

Great review Dale. Would like to see you review the Formula Cura. I have been running thr 2 piston for a few years now and like them, thinking of getting a set of 4 for my Psychosis dh build.

As a mechanic I have another point of criticism: the DB8 use a different bleed kit because they don't use the quick connect on the caliper, although they use the same fluid. This inconsistency is just unnecessary in my opinion and I just can't understand why SRAM didn't think of a simple maintanance related part like this.

Awesome video Dale!

I really liked how you used scientific principles like 'repeatability' of the experiment you did. That's why science is science - repeatability and observation. I'm curious if you did this exercise more than one time to see what would happen if you kept repeating the experiment. That said, I can't believe my 10 year old Saint brakes are still my favorite brake EVER.

It seems to me that in general North American riders only think on SRAM or Shimano, but never on Magura's... why? I find the MT7pro are the best brakes ever, and I'm heavy. After having all sort of problems with teh above mentioned brands, I switched to Maguras 203/203 4 pots F/R and never had anymore issues 😎

With the integral of lever force over trail time you won my sub!

Great video Dale! I bought the expert kit because it seemed like such a good deal with all the extras that come with. Installing them today, I mainly do trail riding with the occasional DH trip so these probably are not the right brake for me. Interested to see how they feel with organic pads!

Great review Dale. I had a set of these in my hands today. The calipers are epically big. and... it's 4.5126 N of force for the Shimanos 🙂

Thanks, great review for the punters.

perfect test, explanation and conclusion.

Looking foreward for the Magura Review. Love them so far

Great review ! Nice to hear the good and the bad of a product. The caliper reminds me of the Van Halen album cover The Best of Both Worlds :)

This is the best most thourough and honest review! Everything else has just been product promotion!

great riding dude!!

Before I watch, I don’t mind the DB eights at their price point but I can only imagine how good these are considering most of other sram break options. XT for pots are the way I go and I’ve never let me down.

Great video! Thanks! I have SRAM code on my turbo levo and really dislike the amount of force needed to keep me and my 205lb self in-check on the downhill. I often get too much fatigue and arm pump... I honestly was thinking about getting the new Maven... Definitely won't now! At some point will probably just switch to the shimano XTR. Some of my buddies run them and man they feel good and powerful with much less force needed....

This is why I always buy Hope E4 brakes: DOT Fluid, single piece calliper, easy to bleed levers and mounting for all types of shifters, plus they look amazing

i ended up on cascade north forks with the cascade cams in sept and as a 235lb rider cant recommend enough. yeah expensive but theres a reason i drive a 20 year old van. people seem to love the hayes and hopetechs.

Wolftooth has an mmx to ISPEC EV adaptor - I runs Codes with Shimano shifting. I have trail builder hands so the codes do not bug me. Thanks for the review - others have mentioned but not highlighted this issue.

@DaleStone powerwise, would you say the Mavens are more powerful than the Trinity? And how do they compare in heat management?

Luv the videos Dale. One recommendation for brake testing is to bed the brakes in on a road first. The trail bedding has too much variability and the weight shifting on the trail causes uneven bedding.

Loving the use of "Freedoms" to describe U.S currency. Honest review to soo refreshing to see. Subscribed🤟

Great insight as always, and it's great seeing your review while riding the trails I would be using them on. Would it be worth trying the caliper with a shimano lever and see if any worlds collide?

Awesome video mate.

Initially I really wanted these, with the reports on the lever feeling I'm back to searching I guess. A few sets of brakes I'd absolutely love to see reviewed by you are the TRP DH Evo, Formula Cura 4 and probably the Hope Tech 4 V4. All of these seem to be very powerful with rather light lever action, they are reasonably priced aswell imo. And if you want to look at another EXTREMELY niche brake: Braking Incas, now rebranded as BCA BCARS01, a two piston brake that is intended for enduro, downhill and Emtb use. Pretty expensive, but also very special and niche.

Sram's lever feel has always been so nasty. It's so strange to me that they hang their hat on that. I have a theory that people would like Shimano Brakes better if they sized down rotor sizes if they complain about them being to grabby. Dominions have the best lever feel that I've ever experienced.

Great review 👍🏻

Very interesting review mate! I own a set and love them but there is no arguing science and I found that very interesting. I came from Magura's and havent noticed any increased fatigue as yet.

I totally agree with dale on the mt520. I bought a pair several years ago before dale probably even started his KZfaq channel because I was looking for a burly 4 pot brake at a great price. But since then I also have a lot of experience with sram code and guide and really don’t have any complaints besides the increased service interval. For me the increased force at the lever is barely noticeable, but then again i also go to the gym and do forearm exercises. I think if you’re relatively jacked, have deep pockets, and ride hard the maven is a good choice. However, I think you’re onto something with the suggestion that sram make the lever feel of this brake lighter. It might not be the easiest thing though, the brake being so stiff might be a reason for the great reliability. I’ve noticed that with lighter actuation brakes I have more issues with sticky pistons and inconsistent piston travel.