Intended Use: Cross Country, Trail
Features:
- Motive Ultimate
- Four-piston caliper w/ titanium hardware
- Tool-free reach adjust, bearing lever pivot, titanium hardware, and carbon lever blade
- Mineral oil fluid
- Motive Silver
- Four-piston caliper
- Tool-free reach adjust, bearing lever pivot
- Mineral oil fluid
- Motive Bronze
- Four-piston caliper
- Tool-free reach adjust, bushing lever pivot
- Mineral oil fluid
Stated Weight:
- Motive Ultimate: 264 g (rear, 1800 mm hose, no clamp or mounting hardware)
- Motive Silver: 273 g (rear, 1800 mm hose, no clamp or mounting hardware)
- Motive Bronze: 279 g (rear, 1800 mm hose, no clamp or mounting hardware)
BLISTER’s Measured Weight:
- Motive Ultimate, Front (cut hose with clamps and sintered pads, no rotors or adapters): 260 g
- Motive Ultimate, Rear (cut hose with clamps and sintered pads, no rotors or adapters): 283 g
MSRP:
- Motive Ultimate Expert Kit: $599 USD
- Motive Ultimate: $275 USD per brake
- Motive Silver: $225 USD per brake
- Motive Bronze: $175 USD per brake
Intended Use: Trail, Enduro, DH
Features:
- Four-piston caliper
- Tool-free reach adjust and Directlink actuator
- Mineral oil fluid
Stated Weight: 380 g (rear, 1800 mm hose, no clamp or mounting hardware)
MSRP:
- Maven Base: $185 USD
- Maven Ultimate Expert Kit: $599 USD
Intended Use: Trail, XC
Features:
- DB6:
- Four-piston caliper (shared with DB8 / DB4)
- New lever with tooled reach adjust; includes Matchmaker shifter mount
- Mineral oil fluid
- DB4:
- Four-piston caliper (shared with DB8 / DB6)
- New lever with tooled reach adjust; not Matchmaker compatible
- Mineral oil fluid
Stated Weight:
- DB6: 363 g (rear, 1800 mm hose, no clamp or mounting hardware)
- DB4: 364 g (rear, 1800 mm hose, no clamp or mounting hardware)
MSRP:
- DB6: $95 USD per brake
- DB4: $75 USD per brake
Intro
SRAM’s Maven has been wildly popular since its release as one of the most powerful brakes on the market, and while a new Maven Base is joining that family, there are a couple of new budget-oriented brakes joining the DB lineup as well in the DB6 and DB4. The biggest news here, though, is that SRAM has cooked up an all-new brake in the XC and Trail-oriented Motive, which makes the leap to mineral oil and promises Code-like power at Level-like weight.
We are very curious about how the Motive goes about its promise of Trail power at an XC race-ready weight — let’s dig into that, and also explore how SRAM has approached some of the new budget-oriented brakes in the Maven and DB ranges, too.
For more on our initial on-trail impressions of the all-new Motive, BLISTER+ Members and folks with our Digital Access Pass can check out our Flash Review of the Motive Ultimate, too.
Design
Motive
We’ve spent a lot (and I mean, a lot) of time on SRAM’s Code and Level brakes over the years. The Code in particular is among the most commonly chosen OEM brakes on complete bikes, and it wasn’t long ago that it was considered a Downhill brake. Times have changed though, and innovations in brake design have unlocked new levels of power — such as we’ve seen with SRAM’s immensely powerful Maven.
Those big, burly brakes are heavy though, and as Trail and XC bikes continue to grow in their capabilities, there’s increasing demand in the market for brakes that balance power with a low weight target. SRAM has answered that call with the new Motive.
SRAM says that the Motive nearly reaches the Code in its power output, but it’s a good bit lighter — the Motive Ultimate weighs a claimed 264 grams for a rear brake with an 1800 mm hose (without clamp, mounting hardware, or rotor), which is a good bit lighter than the Code Ultimate’s 309-gram weight. It’s still not quite as light as the Level Ultimate 4-piston (245 grams), but given how under-gunned the Level can feel on anything but a short travel XC bike, I’ll take the modest weight gain for the significant claimed improvement in power output.
The Motive also makes the leap to mineral oil from the DOT-based design of the Code and Level. At a glance, the Motive’s caliper looks almost identical to the DB8, with a fairly slim and angular aesthetic. The lever is minimalist and looks closer to the Level’s design, which forgoes the pad contact adjustment found on the higher-end Code variants but keeps the tool-free reach adjuster.
While the Code and Maven brakes use SRAM’s SwingLink actuator design, the Motive takes a different approach with a design called DirectLink. While the SwingLink is a bit more complex and emphasizes power delivery via a multi-cam design, DirectLink is a bit simpler and promises a more linear, lighter lever feel. Given that we’ve found the Maven to have a stiffer-than-ideal initial lever feel, that’s a compelling claim.
The Motive follows the same family tree as the Maven, with Ultimate, Silver, and Bronze versions. The Ultimate gets a carbon fiber lever blade with a bearing pivot and titanium hardware in both the caliper and the lever, while the Silver loses the carbon and titanium bits but keeps the bearing pivot. At the budget-oriented end of things, the Bronze version uses a bushing pivot and a simpler matte black finish.
Again like the Maven, the Motive also gets the option of an Expert Kit. The Expert Kit comes with both front and rear Motive Ultimate brakes, two sets of rotors (two 180 mm and two 160 mm Centerline X rotors, to be precise), brake mounts, sintered pads in addition to the stock organics, and a Pro bleed kit. The Expert Kit edition brakes also come with a very flashy teal splatter finish on one half of the caliper (the other side is black), and the lever gets metallic teal accents, too.
Maven Base
New for the Maven range is the budget-oriented Maven Base brake, and it’s an interesting update. At the caliper end, everything is the same — it’s still the chunky, 4-piston Maven caliper, which comes stock with organic pads. The lever is fairly basic, with no pad contact adjustment, but it does make the change from the Maven’s typical SwingLink actuator to the DirectLink actuator. While DirectLink is simpler and likely reduces power a bit, it should also create a slightly softer initial lever feel. As we’ve mentioned in our Maven review, the SwingLink-equipped Maven does have a stiffer initial lever feel, so that could be a compelling change for some folks, even if the lever is a bit basic in other ways.
While we’re on the topic of the Maven, SRAM has also re-launched the Maven Ultimate Expert Kit. Like the old one, it comes in a special edition color, and this time follows the same teal styling of the Motive Ultimate Expert Kit. Otherwise, other components (rotors, bleed kit, etc.) included in the kit are the same.
DB6 / DB4
The SRAM DB8 was SRAM’s first mineral oil-equipped brake, and we’ve tested a few sets over the past couple of years with good results. They’re not the most powerful brakes nor are they the lightest, but they have a light lever feel and are well-suited to modern Trail bikes. SRAM has officially expanded the DB lineup with two new options in the DB6 and DB4.
Both share the same 4-piston caliper with the DB8, but the levers look quite a bit different, with a new reservoir design, left- and right-specific levers, and an integrated split ring clamp. SRAM says that they offer “Code-like” power, and at their very low price points of $75 (DB4) and $95 (DB6), they may have strong appeal to folks looking for a solid budget brake. Interestingly, the differentiator between the two appears to be just the inclusion of SRAM’s MMX shifter and dropper mounts — the DB6 includes them, while the DB4’s lever foregoes the extra machining step and isn’t compatible with them.
Some Questions / Things We’re Curious About
(1) The new Motive brake claims to take the best of the Code and Level brakes, blending good power and low weight. Does it deliver?
(2) The DirectLink design used in both the Motive and Maven Base claims a more linear, lighter power delivery. Given our experiences with the Mavens, that’s a compelling proposition, but how much of a power compromise is there?
(3) Do the DB6 and DB4 brakes actually manage to nearly equal the power of the Code?
Bottom Line (For Now)
The refresh of SRAM’s Maven and DB lineups focuses on the budget end of things (aside from the new teal colorway for the Maven Ultimate Expert Kit), but the Motive is an intriguing new addition to their mineral oil brake family. While power and weight are often at odds when it comes to brake design, the Motive appears to offer a compelling combination of traits.
We’ll of course have to see how that all plays out in a Full Review, but we’ve started spending time on the Motive Ultimate and have some interesting findings so far. BLISTER+ Members and folks who purchase our Digital Access Pass can check out our Flash Review below, and we will be sure to report back with a Full Review once we have spent more time with them on a few different bikes as the riding season really kicks into gear.
Flash Review: Our Initial On-Trail Impressions
BLISTER+ members and those who purchase our Digital Access Pass can check out the Flash Review below to read our initial on-trail impressions. Get our Digital Access Pass to view all our Flash Reviews and Deep Dives, or become a BLISTER+ member today to get access to that and a LOT more, including the best worldwide Outdoor Injury Insurance, exclusive deals and discounts on skis, personalized gear recommendations from us, and much more.
Flash Review: SRAM Motive Ultimate Brakes
SRAM is making some big claims about their new Motive brakes featuring a combination of solid power at a low weight. Do they deliver? We’ll need more time to answer that definitively, but we’ve got a feel for things after a few rides — check out our Flash Review for more.
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