The SRAM Red Aero Link Brake Caliper Set positions the Red braking experience apart from the herd with reduced weight and higher braking power. As the name implies, it also has a sleek front profile that boast increased aerodynamics over its Red predecessors and current cousins in the Force and Rival families. The Red calipers utilize SRAM’s patented AeroLink arm, hinging on a tiny pivot joint that hides behind the svelte calipers and multiplies braking power and modulation without increasing required lever squeeze force. This unique innovation allowed SRAM to significantly reduce the caliper’s frontal area, evident in the simplified cable routing and single arm in comparison to the former dual-arm triangular structure still found in the Force and Rival calipers. In addition to the reduction in front surface area, SRAM attended to every detail of the caliper to ensure maximum aerodynamic efficiency. From the spring adjusters to the cable clamp to the caliper’s overall face, no detail was overlooked in its potential to reduce drag. This attention to detail is apparent in tiny details such as SRAM’s redesign of the oft-overlooked shaping of each caliper’s two-position barrel adjuster, which now takes on a shark fin profile to literally slice through the wind. SRAM accounts for in-ride brake adjustability with an easy to access four-position indexed release lever that makes quick positioning changes a breeze but sits stealthily out of the wind when fully locked. The SRAM Red Aero Link Brake Caliper Set is compatible with SRAM road shift-brake levers and will accommodate tires up to 28mm in width. Each brakeset includes SRAM’s aero pad retainers and ships with SwissStop Flash Pro pads.

We’ve been running SRAM’s recently released Guide brakes on everything from four-inch 29ers to six-inch enduro sleds without any complaints, but with the release of the Level Ultimate Disc Brake, SRAM has come up with a solution to problem that we didn’t even know we had. The Level Ultimate adapts many of the Guide Ultimate’s features with a minimalistic design that sheds unnecessary bulk and drops from four pistons to two, marking a clear delineation between the Guide Ultimate’s all-mountain and enduro designation and the Level Ultimate’s XC and trail focus. While the Level Ultimate does weigh around 28g more than the XX1 model it’s effectively replacing, the claimed weight of 318g for lever, caliper, and hardware knocks a full 42g off of the Guide Ultimate. The most weight-conscious XCers might be put off by the weight gain compared to XX1, but we contend that it’s worth it for the Level’s functional improvements. Instead of the two-part body used by almost every other member of the newly minted Level family, the Level Ultimate houses its pair of 21mm pistons in a forged, single piece caliper for net gains in braking consistency and heat management. It’s also the only Level model to include a carbon lever and titanium hardware, features that account for a claimed 38g weight difference compared to the Level TLM, the Ultimate’s closest in-house competitor. The lever action is also smoother, as the Ultimate upgrades the TLM’s bushings to full-blown bearings, making it the only Level brake with bearings. Like with the all-mountain/enduro-specific Guide brake, the Level design features a host of improvements compared to the oft-maligned Avid Elixir. Among these is the notoriously finicky bleeding of the Elixir, and the Bleeding Edge redesign seen on the Guide brakes carries over to the Level. Bleeding Edge involves a complete re-imagination of the port and fluid path. It requires a specific adapter, but that adapter ensures a tight seal to keep air out and fluid…