Magura chose the challenging terrain of Sedona, Arizona, to release their
2011 Thor all-mountain fork. Inside you can find all the details and pictures, as well as info on the
new Marta FR brake.
Read on...2011 Magura Thor2011 Magura Thor
Magura's unique dual arch design
For 2011 Magura makes some drastic changes to their Thor all-mountain/trail fork that see it not only gain steerer tube options, but also revised damping to suit more aggressive riders or terrain. The air sprung 140 mm Thor will be available in a standard 1-1/8" steerer tube, as well as both tapered and a full length 1-1/2" options that should make this already precise dual arch fork even stiffer. At the opposite end you'll find a full sized 20 mm thru-axle tying everything together. New graphics also distinguish the 2011 model from previous offerings, but you'll still find the handy air chart on the lower leg that aids in setup. While the above changes are far more visible, aggressive riders may benefit even more from internal changes that are not as easy to see. The Thor gets updated with much heavier compression damping via a revised shim stack that should help it maintain its composure better at speed. Magura had side by side damping assemblies out of a fork that made the comparison between the 2011 system and previous years easy to do - the difference was
massive. For those riders who prefer the original setup, it will still be available aftermarket if you wish to convert your fork to last year's damping. Another change includes the use of a far more progressive air spring that will require lower pressures, thereby increasing small bump sensitivity. From the outside the Thor looks similar to previous years, but the internal changes basically render this version a whole new fork.
Magura compression shim assembly
Magura Thor details
• All-mountain/trail orientated fork
• Air sprung
• 140 mm total travel
• FCR allows on the fly travel adjustment down to 100 mm
• 32 mm stanchion tubes
• standard, tapered, and 1.5" steerer tube options
• 7" post mount brake mounting
• Anodized aluminum adjustment dials
• Improved shim configuration for more low-speed compression
• 20 mm Maxle Lite thru-axle
• New graphics for '11
• total weight: 3.9 lbs. (standard steerer)
Anodized aluminum dials
Sedona offers some amazing and challenging riding that allowed me to really feel what the Thor had to offer. Trail conditions varied greatly from smooth and fast slick rock that offered near limitless traction, to rough, rocky sections that would tax any bike when hit at speed. All of the rides involved a fair bit of climbing, some of it up some very technical pitches that required lots of horsepower and the right line choice. My bike for all of this was a 140mm travel Magura Thor equipped Cannondale RZ140. My last experience with a Magura fork was a Wotan, which I was fond of, but wished it had a more controlled compression stroke. The Thor was a revelation in this regard with its new higher level of low speed compression damping. I tend to push suspension in this travel bracket quite hard and therefore find myself having to run higher pressures than the manufacturer recommends due to light valving that is intended for tamer riding, but the new Thor performed admirably in this department. While the fork was supple enough to deal with the small ledges and steps that littered all of the trails we rode, it rode high in its travel and didn't suffer from excessive diving under hard braking, something that not a lot of forks in this category can brag about. Riding fast on unfamiliar terrain can often result in some surprises, but the Thor never once bottomed hard enough to cause any concern, and in fact felt much more progressive than I had been expecting. The Albert Select system works as advertised and the dials are high quality anodized aluminum pieces, although they were a bit hard to turn. The Thor's rebound adjuster is a plastic dial located at the bottom of the damping leg and has a usable, if a bit small, range of adjustment. The Thor is an incredibly torsionally stiff fork, especially for its 3.9 lb. weight. The fork's stiffness, combined with its ability to stay high in its travel under braking or on steep sections, meant that it was confidence inspiring on the difficult Sedona terrain. While far from a proper test, I only had three solid days of riding on the 2011 Thor, I was very pleased with how the 140 mm travel fork handled the challenging terrain.
Mike Levy enjoying Sedona
2011 Magura Marta FR Brakes
Have a look at this neat video of some Magura rotor "testing" that was made by grinsekater.pinkbike.com
2011 Magura Marta FR brake
Magura's venerable Marta brake is back for 2011 with an updated FR version that comes stock with the new 180 mm Storm SL rotors that keep the weight low and the power high. The Marta FR is a mid-weight brake that comes in lighter than a DH specific model, but still has the power to slow down any long travel bike when used with the appropriate rotor size. Magura was also showing off their brand new Storm and Storm SL rotors that shave grams and improve braking performance. The new SL models are claimed to be up to 50% lighter than last season's standard rotors! The new rotors are available in all common sizes, including a pint sized 140 mm version. They will only be offered in standard six hole mounting patterns, although a Center Lock adapter is in the works.
2011 Magura Marta caliper
2011 Magura Storm SL rotors
Visit
Magura.com to see their entire lineup of brakes and suspension.
I am riding it now for a while and i will never give it away again.
www.pinkbike.com/video/132940
The new Marta and the new rotors look awesome!
I'm riding the Thor fork for some time now and I have to say, it really feels like a much "bigger" fork.
On my daily ride to work I use a Magura Menja all year round, never have to worry about it, works like a charm.
For me it is worth paying for the "Made in Germany" quality. :-)
The forks have had maxles for a while, it's not really a new concept, the dual arch is odd looking to some but it is reaaaally stiff, and it adds a bit of weight but it's not too bad.
I've put mine through some abuse I doubt it was ever intended for.
True I have a different model but the design is similar so I suppose there will be a bit of crossover in feel between models.
Hope that addresses some of your comments.
Stick with brakes Magura or find some protege like Shimano, as now you just can't compete with RS and Fox having so much more money for R&D. Sooner or later they will be far faaar ahead.
To compare a thor to a revelation is also - well... compare a fork with damping (thor) with a pogostick. I've ridden a lot of forks and the thor can play (despite it has less travel) in the same game with the lyrik. As meantend in the review above it stays higher in the travel with superior daming and I would say it feels way more like an DH fork than an allmountain plaything. Actually pretty similar to my Boxxer Team.
You hammer into the hard stuff and you never got the feel you loose control.
I switchted from my 2011 Lyrik to the Thor and didn't regret it for one second! Lighter, even better damping and and now with the tapered steerer incredible stiff.
A short clip with the Thor in aktion (200fps) at a pretty rocky section at Lake Garda/Italy:
www.pinkbike.com/video/140395
Most Rockshox forks are pogo sticks, even my Lyrik Uturn, if I compare to my previous Marzocchi 66 2006. I don't know how is it with the new Mission Control DH. Comparing to that 66, FOX 36 and 40s are rough like sex in two condoms. However 2,9kg single crown fork that 66 is, smells a bit of New World Disorder 3 era and ZOcchis low speed compression is not as good as RS and miles from FOX. - can't forget about that.
What I meant was (i havent' stated it clearly, sorry for that) is if I pay so, sooo much money, I'm into something tested by 10 000 people, rather than small company such as Magura or DT Swiss (aka Pace). Yes I am a bit of a insecure person, but I'm not the only one.
You can't expect regular people (like me) to not see you as something extravagant, and go around asking so much price as it discourages them to buy something from less known company. Then you will never get enough people to encourage other people to buy it. It's mostly people wanting something different that will buy Maguras, and as far as I am concerned (as I know one owner) these people are also different in a way, so it's just hard for them to convince others. And this is how business works, people tell people to buy from certain people.
people ple ple poeple ple ple ple - sad but true, but I don't mean that you should not do forks at Magura, have your own segment, we people need it.
And our fish.
Much appreciated.
Schism: when who saved ass of Polish country throughout the course of planet earth's history?
JamesIDK - you can blame me for saying something bad about the product that I haven't tried, yes mea culpa. However your pathetic, attempt to connect my act of graphomaniac stupidity to some drunk wanker on a bus, furthermore verbaly attacking the whole polish country is just irrelevant, indicating you to be some homophobic redneck. I hate country-country bitchin' as it can be only good as a comedy as every single one of us has something smelly in our closet. I'm also disgusted with collective responsibility, as I am not going to rip on you for what others do around, and trust me if I would ever care, I could cast some serious crap at anyone for what I saw or in my country or during trips.
Now my stupid talk about that piece of metal makes me another internet nerd. Now your digression makes you a homophobic redneck, in a way sh*tting at you own country. Was that worth it?!
Therefore I apologize to everybody I will not reason anymore while being negative, as definitely this time it wnt too far. I revised my misbehaviour and I will try to not be negative anymore.
lauwe pokoe how brilliant was that? Did you spent all night with english dictionary to sort that out? How should that word make me look stupid?! I took this nickname both for my PB profile as well as for my company among other reasons, because of that resemblance you twit.
Thank to these cheer lads here, I made some more thinking and I shall say to you all
B> 2011 Magura forks are going to be probably the best ones out there /B>
That's it, I'm done here.
meaning you can't judge a company's products based solely on budget i.e. telling magura to keep their hands off suspension without having tried any of their products is just plain dumb.