RRP: £250 a set – £500 a pair
www.fisheroutdoor.co.uk

Review by Paddy

With all the team being supplied with TRP Dash Carbon Brakes I thought I would have a try on what the competition has to offer. Freshly arrived are a set of Avid Elixir CR Mags and some matchmakers for my X-0 shifters (sweet).

So why have I got them when I could have the TRP one’s for free? Well I wanted to break away from what everyone else is ridding and I didn’t believe I could give an honest unbiased review of the TRP’s as I work for the importer plus as I have mentioned before I love SRAM products and wouldn’t be keen to ride anything else.

I won’t bore you with any science, its not interesting, let’s just stick to my opinion and look at key facts such as weight, value and cosmetics/performance.

Looks/Performance – well with any high end SRAM product you get what you pay for as far as performance goes, I have had issues with Juicy Ultimate’s (their predecessor) as I found them hard to set up (to my standard), trying to find that sweet spot and had to bleed them several times to get it, also the lever felt spongy and I found the magnesium calipers flexed a bit on heavy breaking. The Elixir’s seem to have resolved all the issues I had, set up was pretty easy, the hoses obviously needed shortening and only a quick bleed of the rear was required so no major worries, braking power and modulation was strong and smooth with no spongy/flexi feel to them. They would suit an all mountain rig if you wanted to lighten up a heavy bike as well as suiting a super light XC race machine. There is also a tool free pad contact adjuster at the end of the master cylinder which is a nice touch as you can adjust them with gloves on if you need a bit of mid ride tweaking, you will still need a 2mm allen key to adjust the lever reach. The Avid Elixir’s look awesome, if you have Sram shifters then the new Matchmakers are a super cool upgrade especially if you have Rockshox forks and push lock system as you cut 3 clamps down to one and clean it up. Avid are still rolling with the traditional lever master piston, not the fancy radial mount that Magura, Shimano etc use now, the new hollow pivot is very nice and they make my bike look the proper job. Overall I’m very happy with them, they are super light and no performance has been sacrificed to achieve it.

Weight – 330g (160mm rotor, post mount front) claimed is very good, noticeably lighter than the Avid Juicy 7’s I took off, not as light as SRAM’s XX or our TRP offering though. TRP Dash Carbons are 320g (Dash 334g)

Value – £250, that’s a lot of cash, £500 a set. Would I pay that or recommend that a consumer would? I don’t think I would to be honest, if I was a high end racer or money was no object I would have what sponsors give me or go the extra £100 for the XX sibling. TRP Dash carbons are £174.99 and Dash’s are £134.99, so SRAM have no brownie points here. Pricey they are, but bling light and perform exceptionally, I think maybe they should retail for £200.

What they say:

Go all the way. The all-new CR Mag features a super-light magnesium lever body, a beautiful new carbon fiber lever with sexy hollow pivot, updated master cylinder, and all-new U-Clamp. Not to mention In-Line Pad Contact-Point Adjustment, Power Reserve Geometry, Elixir power/modulation, an adjustable banjo, and semi-metallic pads. The CR Mag holds nothing back.

*Note: 140 mm G3 Clean Sweep rotor available rear only. Intended use: XC racing