A good set of mountain bike brakes can transform how you ride – they can be the difference between confident shredding and holding on for dear life.
There are dozens of brands making brakes for all types of riding, with a gazillion piston arrangements, rotor sizes, pad compounds, lever ergonomics and, of course, prices available.
At BikeRadar, we’ve tested just about every type of brake worth talking about – from lightweight XC anchors to World Cup-proven gravity stoppers.
The best of these feature in our buyer’s guide to the best mountain bike brakes – and that should be your first port of call for in-depth buying advice – but what about the brakes we’d buy with our own cash?
From budget-friendly bang-for-buck options to high-powered premium stoppers, here are the MTB brakes our tech team would choose for their own bikes.
Still not sure what to buy? Check out our full buyer's guide to the best mountain bike brakes.
Will Soffe – Shimano Deore M6120
SQUIRREL_TEXT_13139367
When it comes to my own money and my bikes, I like to keep things simple. There are some amazing brakes out there that come with a hefty price tag, but for me, in terms of bang for your buck, Shimano’s Deore brakes are my go-to.
Paired with 203mm or 220mm rotors, the 4-piston M6120 versions offer all the power I can imagine needing. Shimano’s excellent Servo-Wave levers mean that feel is top-notch, too.
It’s important to acknowledge that these entry-level brakes don’t come with as many adjusters or as high-spec materials as top-end brakes. But if you don’t mind using an Allen key to adjust them and you don’t mind a few extra grams, these are seriously effective stoppers.
They’re also easy to work on and repair, because parts and fluid are readily available, and components are modular, allowing for easy replacement if, for example, a lever breaks.
SQUIRREL_13139367
Tom Marvin – Hayes Dominion T4
SQUIRREL_TEXT_13134405
It’s a bit of a toss-up for me between the lovely feeling Formula Cura 4 and the powerful Hayes Dominion T4 – but the American brakes take it over those oh-so beautiful Italian stoppers.
Hayes’ Dominions are powerful four-piston brakes, used extensively on the World Cup DH circuit. They offer a wonderfully light lever feel. The power and feel mean that on prolonged, brake-heavy descents, arm pump is minimised.
Mated to 200mm-diameter rotors, their performance barely falters when temperatures rise, ensuring predictable, consistent performance on the longest downhills.
Pairing with 2.3mm-thick rotors reduces lever throw before their bite point, which I prefer.
The setup process can be a touch more long-winded than some, but that’s only because there are a couple of features to further enhance performance.
A pair of bleed ports on the caliper means purging the very last bubbles of air from all four pistons is possible, while the Crosshair grub screws on the mount ensure that caliper alignment issues can be easily tuned out.
- Read more: Hayes Dominion T4 brakes review
SQUIRREL_13134405
Nick Clark – SRAM Maven Bronze
SQUIRREL_TEXT_13321670
While I’ve had the luxury to test out some seriously spendy stoppers, SRAM’s Maven Bronze brakes would have me putting my hand in my pocket.
My outright favourite brakes remains TrickStuff’s Maximas, but I’d have to come good on the pools or finish my dentistry degree to ever consider speccing them on my own bike.
I love those brakes for their serious power and excellent modulation, something SRAM has nailed with its Maven range of brakes.
Combined with SRAM’s 2mm-wide HS2 rotors, the feel and modulation of the Maven Bronze brakes is excellent, and while they miss out on some of the adjustability you'll find on their flashier siblings, it still makes for an excellent brake.
At around £180 / $185 / €220, they aren’t the cheapest brakes out there – but on a power-to-price basis, they rank pretty high.
SQUIRREL_13321670
Rob Weaver – SRAM Maven Silver
SQUIRREL_TEXT_13321671
Because Nick has beaten me to it and snaffled the Bronze version of these incredible stoppers, I’ll opt for the Silvers.
Now, if I win the lottery, I’ll take the Ultimate version as part of the ‘Expert kit’ that comes with just about everything you could ever need for setup and maintenance. But I haven't won the lottery, so it’ll have to be the Maven Silvers for now.
While the full retail price is listed at £285 / $265, I’ve already found them for less than £200 each online, which is quite the saving. I’d just need to pair them with the sturdy HS2 rotors for the best braking possible.
These differ from the Bronze brakes in a few ways, including the inclusion of the contact-point adjustment. I tend not to use this a whole lot, but sometimes find myself missing it when it isn’t there. So having it can only be a bonus, even if I am a little poorer for it.
While the bleed may need some patience to get them feeling just right, when they do, these brakes are ridiculously good.
They have masses of power that (once you’re used to it) is easily controlled, no matter how long the descent. When I think back to the brakes I started on, I feel bad for my braking fingers. The effort those poor things had to put in makes me tired just thinking about it.
Any time I get a test bike with Mavens bolted on, my hands would breathe a sigh of relief if they could. They’re about to have (in terms of braking, at least) an easy time of it.
The Mavens might not offer the lightest lever feel going, but the power and consistency are hard to match.
SQUIRREL_13321671
Jack Luke – Shimano Deore XT M8100
SQUIRREL_TEXT_13321674
I’ll admit I haven’t had the good fortune to test as many brakes as some of my fine colleagues.
Even so, even if I had the chance to fondle the lever of just about every brake on the market, I expect I'd still be hard-pressed to look past Shimano’s incredibly dependable – and affordable – stoppers.
The familiarity of the bleed process, the much-appreciated modularity between components and the excellent lever feel always draw me back to Shimano’s brakes – both on- and off-road.
- Read more: How to bleed Shimano disc brakes
I’ll go a step further than Will and opt for the XT-level stoppers.
The additional adjustments are nice to have, but for me, it’s really a matter of aesthetics.
I’d also pair these with IceTech rotors. Not only because they look class, but because they make a meaningful difference to braking performance on long, draggy fire-road descents – a common feature of my preferred, longer cross-country-style rides.
At around £300, the RRP is a little rich for my blood. But as with nearly every Shimano product ever released, real-world pricing tells a very different story.
At the time of writing, a pair of single-piston XT brakes – albeit without rotors – is available from Merlin for only £135.
As a side note, I have no doubt the newer M8200 brakes are even better, but I'd take the savings of the dependable M8100 option over any marginal improvements to power.
- Read more: Shimano Deore XT M8100 review
SQUIRREL_13321674
