I just upgraded to a set of Mavens last week (also from Dominions), and agree that it's one of the best upgrades I've put on my bikes in the last few years. I was hesitant to get them when they first came out because of a few extremely negative reviews at launch complaining about stiff levers.
I can say that I diligently followed the SRAM bleed & massage procedure, and have zero issues with wandering bite point or stiff levers. There's a little bit more free stroke resistance but it takes less force to achieve higher stopping power when you do make contact. I have not had arm pump return switching from Hayes (with sintered pads & 203 Galfer Shark rotors) to Mavens (organic pads & same rotors). I wiped the rotors down with isopropyl alcohol to clean off the old pad compound but that was it. I find I'm riding faster and smoother because I can brake later and for a shorter duration.
One good tip I read (which influenced my choice to buy them) came from Blister Gear review: running the contact adjust all the way in dramatically reduces the force needed to get through the free stroke. That adjuster is actually changing the starting position of the swing link cam - all the way in gives higher leverage (requires less force) but needs the lever to move further. However, even with the contact adjust all the way in, I'm able to run my levers about 5mm closer to the bars (my preference is as close as possible) than I was with A4s, with the contact point at about the same distance from the bars. In other words, the free stroke is still shorter than the A4s, even with contact adjust all the way in.
Sept. 10, 2024, 10:32 a.m. - Andeh
I just upgraded to a set of Mavens last week (also from Dominions), and agree that it's one of the best upgrades I've put on my bikes in the last few years. I was hesitant to get them when they first came out because of a few extremely negative reviews at launch complaining about stiff levers. I can say that I diligently followed the SRAM bleed & massage procedure, and have zero issues with wandering bite point or stiff levers. There's a little bit more free stroke resistance but it takes less force to achieve higher stopping power when you do make contact. I have not had arm pump return switching from Hayes (with sintered pads & 203 Galfer Shark rotors) to Mavens (organic pads & same rotors). I wiped the rotors down with isopropyl alcohol to clean off the old pad compound but that was it. I find I'm riding faster and smoother because I can brake later and for a shorter duration. One good tip I read (which influenced my choice to buy them) came from Blister Gear review: running the contact adjust all the way in dramatically reduces the force needed to get through the free stroke. That adjuster is actually changing the starting position of the swing link cam - all the way in gives higher leverage (requires less force) but needs the lever to move further. However, even with the contact adjust all the way in, I'm able to run my levers about 5mm closer to the bars (my preference is as close as possible) than I was with A4s, with the contact point at about the same distance from the bars. In other words, the free stroke is still shorter than the A4s, even with contact adjust all the way in.