We’ve long been fans of Avid’s Elixir series brakes and there’s now a new range topper to replace the Juicy Ultimate.
The Elixir CR Mag loses some weight thanks to a new magnesium lever body. Further grams are skimmed as the tool-free lever reach adjuster disappears in favour of a 2mm Allen bolt and the inline pad adjustment is downsized.
The perfectly profiled carbon lever remains the same as on the previous flagship CR, but now gets a hollow pivot. Weight is down to just 326g with 160mm rotors (plus mount plate).
The U-Clamp is also new. This is a single-bolt lever bar clamp which looks super-neat and removes knee-denting Allen bolt protrusions.
The clamp is a little more difficult to fit and doesn’t lock the lever in place as solidly as the previous two-bolt split clamp.
This manifests itself more notably on carbon or painted bars, where the lever digs into the surface and rotates slightly around its bolt, losing a small amount of power and feel.
That said, Avid’s Taperbore master cylinder still offers some of the most superbly modulated braking known to man. The power ramps up evenly from a tickle on the rotor to endo-inducing power with sublime feel.