All Mountain Trail, Brakes, Disc Brakes, Guide Brakes, News, SRAM - March 26, 2014

Product News: SRAM releases new MTB brake system called Guide

While component manufacturer SRAM has been on a roll with parts to make you go faster as of late, it appears their new goal is to bring you to a firm, predictable, well-modulated stop. The company announced the release of a new, four-piston hydraulic disc brake system called Guide today, aimed at the trail/all-mountain segment.

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The new brake is a departure from its predecessors in a number of ways, including the abandonment of two of the company’s longtime brake hallmarks—the Taperbore master cylinder design, and the notably absent Avid brand name.

But before we talk about what’s not there, we’ll look at what is—a host of new technologies like Swinglink, TPC Plus, Pure Bladder and Direct Link joining SRAM’s existing Contact Point Adjust and Reach Adjust features

SwingLink

In order to minimize what SRAM calls “deadband”—that part of brake lever throw before you get to any stopping power—they’ve introduced a cam system within the master cylinder body called SwingLink. SRAM purports this little trick of engineering reduces lever throw while increasing modulation, two traits previously thought to be mutually exclusive. The result, according to SRAM, is balance of power and precision that is smoothly and predictably modulated rather than the abrupt, grabby on-off feel associated with a short lever-throw set-up.

TPC Plus

TPC Plus refers to the “timing port connection” where the master cylinder bore and reservoir are connected. When the lever is squeezed, a cup seal passes this area and closes the port, pressurizing the system. It effectively vents out power-sapping air bubbles from the system more-or-less automatically bleeding it. In theory, this should lead to longer service intervals and more consistent performance which was somewhat of an Achille’s heel for its Taperbore predecessors.

Pure Bladder

Also helping to tame the tiny bubbles of bad performance is a reshaped bladder specifically designed to evacuate air called Pure. SRAM says the new design improves braking power, consistency and back-pressure relief, all, again pointing to more consistent overall performance.

Contact Point Adjust and Reach Adjust

Despite a clear intent to depart from prior designs, we were glad to see SRAM carry-over two excellent features from the Elixer 9 Trail brakes. Contact Point Adjust is a feature that uses a large dial on the master cylinder body to adjust how far the pads are from the rotor. This allows you to adjust how soon in the lever-throw the pads engage the rotor.

We frequently use this feature to balance out the feel between levers after brake pads start to wear. With front pads normally going away first, a turn of the dial makes the levers feel equal, despite unequal pad wear.

Somewhat related is Reach Adjust, a feature that lets you dial in bias of how far the lever sits from the bars. This is particularly useful for people with smaller hands or riders who prefer to have their levers closer to the bar. [Editors note: We’re fairly certain this adjustment alone has saved numerous marriages].

Reach Adjust, SwingLink and Contact Point availability

SRAM has essentially used the features Reach Adjust (R), SwingLink (S) and Contact Point Adjust (C) to differentiate the three brake models and price points. The full-featured Guide RSC goes for $199 per brake and includes, predictably, Reach Adjust, SwingLink and Contact Point Adjustments. The $149 per brake Guide RS deletes the Contact Point Adjust, while the entry-level $129 Guide R comes only with Reach Adjust and uses the simplified DirectLink in place of the higher-end SwingLink (see full specs at end of story).

Guide calipers look familiar

Calipers for the new brake system appear to be re-styled versions of the four-piston, dual diameter stoppers on current Elixer Trail models. The lightweight calipers feature the same 14 and 16mm pistons of their predecessors and presumably share the same easy-to-change, top-load brake pads. SRAM says the powerful calipers weigh only four grams more than Avid’s two-piston cross-country calipers.

New Centerline rotors

Not to be confused with Shimano’s Center Lock, SRAM’s new brakes ship with updated brake rotors dubbed Centerline. The six-bolt, one-piece steel rotors feature a twin diameter contact pattern “designed to keep the center of friction consistent throughout the rotation thereby minimizing vibration,” according to SRAM. It replaces the Avid HS-1 and is available in 140, 160, 170, 180, 200MM diameters.

So why not Avid?

As we alluded to in our intro, a significant part of the story here is what’s not on the new brakes. Item one—Taperbore—has been essentially replaced by TPC Plus, so we covered that. But the Avid branding, what of that?

We move from informational to speculative here but clearly Avid and brakes in general have been a headache for SRAM. While we’ve had excellent performance from some Avid brakes, we’ve had our share of mystery maladies as well.

A check through our forums shows plenty of nay-saying, and SRAM’s recent hydraulic cross disc debacle— while well handled by the company—is undoubtedly a costly black eye. But is it enough to force a drastic change in branding? Or were the wheels already in motion from years of cumulative baggage.

Clearly we don’t know the answer to that question nor the future prospects for the Avid brand name, but given the rate and volume of high-level successful product introductions in the last couple years—1×11 drivetrains, the RockShox Pike fork and Reverb dropper post, among others—the lagging brake brand may have simply become intolerable for company management. Time will tell.