This is the brake that everyone was waiting for, and indeed there is a lot to like about the SRAM Guides. The neat, narrow levers are well shaped for a variety of hands and the Contact Adjuster functions really well, allowing you to dial in the bite point just where you need it. It’s easy to tell that SRAM have spent a lot of time on the ergonomics. The same cannot be said about the tool-less Reach Adjuster. Even though it lets you set the lever exactly where you want it, we found it was often sticky and uncomfortable to use without gloves — and one fell out altogether. We like that the levers are ambidextrous, allowing them to be run on either side, and the use of bearings in the lever pivot give the lever a smooth and precise feel. The four-piston caliper uses dual diameter pistons, 16 millimeter at the front and 14 millimeter at the rear, providing powerful braking performance, averaging 96.3 Nm of torque in testing. However, we did observe the largest amount of brake fade during the 45-0 km/h test.