SRAM Level Ultimate Disc Brake and Lever [Rider Review]

Our "Rider Review" article series features the honest reviews from verified purchasers of Worldwide Cyclery. They contain the photos, thoughts, feedback & overall review you are looking for.

If you're looking for a really light weight hydraulic brake set that still packs a punch in power, the SRAM Level Disc brakes have your back. Our customer just installed them on their bike. See what they think about the Level brakes! 

Overview

About me and my equipment: I am an XC/Trail rider, 170 lbs. I am running a 160mm rear rotor and a 180mm front. Running Hope rotors with a Fox 34 Stepcast on a 2019 Intense Sniper T. I only have a few rides on the brakes but enough to do a review.

I got these to replace my XTR brakes. In my very unscientific testing, I guess they have 20 to 30% more power as well as a nicer modulation. The lever feel is quite different in the sense that the lever blades are wider and longer than the XTRs. Thus under heavy braking over a long period like a big descent, they will be more comfortable. My unscientific testing consisted of the fact that under most conditions with the XTRs I could not do a stoppie, or if I could it took a big force that kinda made my finger joints hurt. But with the SRAM I can do it pretty easily.

As part of the installation, since I had to shorten the rear brake line, I bled the brakes which with a SRAM bleed kit is a very easy process. The bleeding edge tool is seamless, with a bit of brilliant engineering.

Had a slight issue with clearance on the Hope rotors because the rivets on the rotor hit the brake caliper where the bolt boss is. Nothing that a little file work didn’t solve (be sure you know what you’re doing if you’re trying that!) From what I’ve read this is a common Hope rotors problem and not the fault of the brake.

I also have some squeak or squeal when the rotors are wet but as soon as they heat up that goes away. Not sure what compound these brakes shipped with but with the Hope rotors I did get that squeak in the wet.

Love the build quality and engineering on the brakes. For example, the lever pivot has a sealed cartridge bearing. Again this is superior to XTR, which has bushing and which squeaked especially with hard braking. Same with the bleeding edge port and stealthamajig line fitting. I also like how well the lever clamps work and how they allow adjustment of shift levers without requiring you to adjust the entire clamp (it uses a separate screw to allow you to rotate the shift lever clamp independently of the brake lever clamp yet they are still integrated). If you’re looking at weight differences between these and XTR, make sure you’re considering the additional shifter clamp weight if you go XTR. I think the one clamp looks better and cleaner too. SRAM just does stuff right. They also publish very good how-to videos on the installation, maintenance, brake bleeding, line fitting, etc.

Longer-term testing will show if they need frequent bleeding or start leaking or anything like that, but so far everything looks good.

Final Thoughts

Overall, the brakes have good braking power and high overall quality. Not a 4-piston mega monster stopper but good power-to-weight ratio.