Ryan Berrecloth and his Magura Brakes.

by Tyler Maine
Oct 22, 2009


Source: Redfern Media

Ryan Berrecloth and Baxter Redfern recently teamed up with Magura and Knolly bikes to put together this quick web short about the superior stopping power of Magura brakes. If you take a look at some of the riding in this video the proof is obviously in the pudding. Filmed in locations like Mt.Seymour, Victoria and the BC interior Ryan puts these brakes to the test every time he goes out to ride!

Video inside,

Ryan, his Magura brakes and his Knolly bikes:






92 Comments

flag gooieshred (Oct 22, 2009 at 16:52)
 Sweet. solid filming
flag Jojojof (Oct 22, 2009 at 16:57)
 SICK END OF STORY
flag Colin994 (Oct 22, 2009 at 17:39)
 place looks like the hills have eyes. but the red knolly is sick
flag corsair711 (Oct 22, 2009 at 18:20)
 I want that trail.
flag Atrak (Oct 22, 2009 at 19:54)
 brought to you from the cutting edge in motocross.
They are easily up there with the good avid, hope, saint, and formula brakes forsure.
flag dray (Oct 22, 2009 at 21:05)
 I like chilling with ryan wayy more then his brother... he's so much more down to earth..
flag bunkey (Oct 23, 2009 at 4:27)
 I'd never use Magura brakes again - Not after my HS33 lever snapped in two places when I slid it up my bars the first time fitting, then after complaining, Magura replied with an email basically telling me to f*ck off because their products never break! Rolleyes

Might add this was with the pinch bolt completely removed, it wasn't at all a case of over tightening.
flag kansasmountainbiker (Oct 23, 2009 at 15:04)
 sounds like that sucked
flag bunkey (Oct 23, 2009 at 16:05)
 Pretty much. Still rocking the HS33 calipers, but got a beautiful Echo lever on my bars now Smile Oh so much nicer - sooo crisp!
flag beneli (Oct 24, 2009 at 1:03)
 I love the wood section, perfect trails
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flag me2menow (Oct 22, 2009 at 16:57)
 magura brakes are awesome. idk y not many ppl ride them
flag z-man (Oct 22, 2009 at 17:52)
 they are awesome, i rode them for a season and i loved them
flag bdellsworth09 (Oct 22, 2009 at 18:48)
 song anyone?
flag z-man (Oct 22, 2009 at 20:45)
 it's brother ali, not sure which song. but he's sick so just go buy his album
flag windowlicker (Oct 22, 2009 at 22:06)
 It's Truth Is off of The Undisputed Truth.
flag olynch (Oct 23, 2009 at 7:21)
 From all the magura brakes i have seen they look tacky and plastic. Some people saying there good i imagine if theres a shimano brake for the same price and quality but better looks they'll buy them.
flag liveless (Oct 23, 2009 at 13:40)
 Typical... "OMG ITS PRETTY LETS BUY IT!" Maguras are fine. People just prejudge them by the other stereotypical comments from "T3h internets11"
flag bunkey (Oct 23, 2009 at 16:14)
 Like I stated further up the page, my HS33 lever snapped in 2 places as I was sliding it up my bars first time fitting, with the pinch bolt completely removed. Magura weren't exactly helpful either, I think arrogant, unfriendly and cheap are 3 things I would associate with the company, staff, and their products.
flag liveless (Oct 23, 2009 at 18:50)
 Ye i readed your comment above. It sounds just too odd to be true, i would think about mistake made by user. BUT i wouldnt start a campaign to say all maguras suck... It definately was a bad one, and mistake was made up at the factory. Did you talk to the people at magura or UKs magura dealer or somesort? You know how different people can be...

1 more note, HS-33 is as old as i can remember. It might be still the best rim brake around even today! Why would every single trials rider without disks being using them?
flag bunkey (Oct 24, 2009 at 3:59)
 Because its also about the only hydro rim brake on the market unless you want to spend more than twice as much on a CNC'd echo brake. I spoke directly to Magura in Germany about it. The material they use is extremely poor I might add, same as you get in really cheap square taper crank arms that round off after a week or two.

The guy who replied to my complaint said that their products were so good that it couldnt possibly have been poor manufacturing/materials and that it was a case of overtightening. Well as I stated, this was before I had the lever in place, I had the pinch bolt completely removed, I was merely sliding it up the bars and the f*cker cracked in two places.

i'm not trying to start a campaign here at all, merely stating a point worth considering before kids think Magura's are amazing just because theres a neat video to go with what is essencially an advert here.

How people can trust a company that thinks theyre some sort of biking prodigy with perfect products, I have no idea...
flag olynch (Oct 24, 2009 at 11:21)
 liveless-

Are you going to buy a brake with works amazing, looks amazing and costs the right amount
or
A brake which works amazing, looks shit and cost the same as the previous...

I know most people would make up there minds on which one to go for pretty easily on that.
flag liveless (Oct 24, 2009 at 16:22)
 Olynch, im gonna buy the best possible brake in my budget, like most would do =).
And Bunkey... I quess it's no worth to say anything anymore, since you just wipe my text all over and copy paste the previous statement you just did.
OK, no props for customer service! But still 99/100 brakes work, you just had poor luck. (6kseries aluminium = better than 7k for brakes, because they might take down some beating and crack) HS-33 IS OLD AS SHIT! DON'T COMPARE IT TO MODERN BRAKES OK? Have a nice day!
flag bunkey (Oct 24, 2009 at 16:41)
 Im sorry but your wrong. How is a 2008 brake old as shit? For example: Hope has been manufacturing the M4 in one form or another since the turn of the century, and you're going to tell me that the 2009 Hope M4's are old as shit too? Brake companies review their line up and make changes every season! Just because it has the same name as it did when it first came out all those years ago, doesn't mean it performs the same or is acceptable to be built to the same standards. Forged brakes just can't cut it against CNC'd brakes, Magura ignore this fact and continue to use the same weak materials and yet still charge the same prices as companies producing much better brakes. It wasn't a manufacturing flaw, it was merely Magura making another cheap-to-produce product from weak ass materials! Every single HS33 lever is the same. Another example of poor magura products would be the TCP Adjuster, I'm pretty sure every single trials rider who has owned an HS33 for a reasonable period of time has had to replace that at least once due to it packing up and not working, are they all 'unlucky' batches of brakes too? It's pretty plain to see that Magura's just can't cut it in todays market unless they up their game.
flag bunkey (Oct 24, 2009 at 16:44)
 *TPA Adjuster. My Bad.
flag liveless (Oct 24, 2009 at 18:17)
 The design is old as shit. GOT IT? Big Grin
flag bunkey (Oct 24, 2009 at 18:56)
 only as old as any other hydro design Wink HS33 is just a closed hyro system. open bath systems in other more widely used brakes are just as old Wink
flag liveless (Oct 24, 2009 at 19:39)
 Hs33 LEVER design...
flag bunkey (Oct 24, 2009 at 20:11)
 Haha, I could do this all night Wink
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flag Alex-Mtl (Oct 22, 2009 at 17:08)
 Because they're expensive and relatively hard maintenance. But they do work extremely well...
flag z-man (Oct 22, 2009 at 17:53)
 ummm, the magura was the most worry/maintenance free brake i have ever owned. never had to bleed them, ever!
flag Alex-Mtl (Oct 22, 2009 at 18:09)
 Hum, at the shop we had to bleed some once...ha, we we're so pissed off at them after a while we almost gave the customer a new pair, but yeah, they we're old, maybe the new ones aren't as bad.
flag seraph (Oct 22, 2009 at 18:14)
 Are you drunk? Magura brakes are awful. Every one we've had to bleed has taken at least twice as long to get right as any other brake on the market.
flag hottuna1 (Oct 22, 2009 at 19:34)
 ya i have to agree magura brakes are very hard to bleed. they're good brakes but not very user friendly
flag z-man (Oct 22, 2009 at 20:44)
 that's the old ones. the new magura's bleed exactly the same as shimano's.
if you can't bleed them, then you're a pathetic mechanic and shouldn't be at a shop.
flag seraph (Oct 22, 2009 at 20:51)
 They're not hard to bleed, but you have to bleed them so many more times than Shimano or Avid to make them feel decent, and in the end they don't feel as solid as something like an XT M770.
flag rizz121 (Oct 23, 2009 at 6:08)
 Maybe they are powerfull... but they are ugly as my a**
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flag nightfox (Oct 22, 2009 at 17:11)
 Something tells me he'll become as good as his brother some day. Nice video.
[Reply]
flag sam264 (Oct 22, 2009 at 17:34)
 all the magura brakes i tried sucked.
flag brule  (Oct 22, 2009 at 17:39)
 What were the models and how long ago was that? 7-8 years ago I'd agree with you, but today's brakes are so strong and easy to work with.
flag fall0ut (Oct 22, 2009 at 17:41)
 probably because u tried Julie's or something. the new ones are amazing
flag sam264 (Oct 22, 2009 at 18:06)
 i tried some louises and i had a julie for a little while. They were both used so granted they may have needed new pads or something, but even then they had no power at all, i mean less than i would expect for something that may need new pads. I'm an avid lover, pure and simple.
flag heldt (Oct 22, 2009 at 20:21)
 I have magura gustav's, and the only problem's I have had with them is the floating calipers need to be cleaned every few weeks, and there heavy. other than that, they have good modulation and power, and they look awesome.
flag AmirB (Oct 22, 2009 at 22:35)
 sam, are you high? i tried magura julies with 6 inch rotors when i had hayes nines with 8 and the maguras were way stronger and felt better
flag fall0ut (Oct 23, 2009 at 8:11)
 yea really sam, i dont think that you have ever really tried them if you say they all suck...
flag sam264 (Oct 23, 2009 at 8:38)
 if you don't believe me have a look through my photos. I've tried both magura and hayes and they were both crap IMO. I much prefer avid.
flag fall0ut (Oct 23, 2009 at 9:21)
 i prefer avid too, but i definitely think magura was pretty nice
flag saso (Oct 23, 2009 at 11:47)
 dude avid sucks balls u have to bleed them evry half year and its hard to bleed no id use maguras or shimano even tho i ride strokers... but defenetly no avid!
flag sam264 (Oct 23, 2009 at 12:10)
 avids are easy to bleed if you do it properly, and i don't mind having to bleed them every so often if it means better performance, and they perform!
flag fall0ut (Oct 23, 2009 at 12:10)
 wow, saso, thats complete bullshit. i have owned my elixir r's for about half of a year, and thats riding almost every weekend at northstar for 8 hours a day, and a week at whistler. i havn't had to bleed them at all. my friend had to bleed his juicy sevens and he did it in 5 or 6 minutes and they felt super solid. im not saying shimano or magura suck, im just saying avid makes great brakes, and i wouldnt even talk about great brakes if you ride strokers.
flag odin333 (Oct 23, 2009 at 19:47)
 i have had to bleed my Juicy 3's and Code 5's a few times this season. though Avid does make it really fast and easy to do so. I have only ever tried a set of Marta's on a demo bike but they felt really nice. Magura also has a 5 year leak warranty. plus the fluid they use is friendly to the environment and won't eat away at your paint if spill it.
[Reply]
flag z-man (Oct 22, 2009 at 17:55)
 Sick, brother Ali making it into the bike videos!
Magura's are the best of the best.
flag seraph (Oct 22, 2009 at 18:15)
 I think you mean "the best of the worst."
flag z-man (Oct 22, 2009 at 20:45)
 nah, the best of the best. never had anything better.
my Elixer CR's pale in comparison
flag seraph (Oct 22, 2009 at 20:50)
 Then your Elixirs aren't set up correctly.
flag Ishatawk (Oct 22, 2009 at 21:46)
 Not to break your bubble or anything but Elixers are loud, cheap, decent brakes. Gustavs are unstoppable and controllable. End of story.
flag seraph (Oct 22, 2009 at 22:05)
 On the contrary, I set up a pair of Elixir CR Mags not 2 hours ago and they are cherry.

You're right about one thing regarding the Gustavs though: they are "unstoppable," as in "they won't stop you."
flag Ishatawk (Oct 22, 2009 at 22:17)
 You're the first person I've ever met to claim that Gustavs don't have power.
flag seraph (Oct 22, 2009 at 22:42)
 I'll concede that they do have some power. I was more interested in making fun of your use of the word "unstoppable" in a discussion about brakes.
flag WAKIdesigns (Oct 23, 2009 at 8:51)
 As to say something bad again about some stuff as I use to do here all the time I would say that the bad thing about Gutsavs is that they have too much power. They're great friends of all disc burners, 3" Gazza lovers or those who just like to have nearly no fading. However... just hit the slippery steep with dry tyres with these brakes and taste the lovely feeling of front wheel locking all the time mmm. If in the 99% of riding situations on 99% of bike park tracks, brakes like the new XTs or Elixirs fade so much that U can't hold the bars any longer - then clearly: it is not the problem of brakes but ones riding skills. If Ur from Champery and can't ride anything else than the WC track then maybe U need Gustavs.
flag Ishatawk (Oct 24, 2009 at 11:57)
 I never said I thought Maguras were the best. I'm a Shimano/Hope rider; I was just disappointed with the job Avid did with the Elixirs.
flag seraph (Oct 24, 2009 at 12:26)
 I think Elixirs are nigh perfect. The only shortcoming (as it is with every Avid brake) is their tendency to fade if you store your bike vertically. A few pumps of the lever clears it right up, though.
flag heldt (Oct 24, 2009 at 20:40)
 "You're the first person I've ever met to claim that Gustavs don't have power." same with me. ive never heard that before.
flag heldt (Oct 24, 2009 at 20:43)
 ... ive never heard that gustav's dont have power.
[Reply]
flag brobinson56 (Oct 22, 2009 at 18:41)
 avids are a much better brake, more modulated, more stopping power. Quite simpply maguras are undergunned on any bike and the levers break
[Reply]
flag justderek (Oct 22, 2009 at 18:56)
 POD POD !!!!
[Reply]
flag rileyw (Oct 22, 2009 at 19:00)
 i had some hs33's and after a year the leaver broke
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flag CTfreerider6 (Oct 22, 2009 at 19:53)
 I once rented a bike with Magura brakes and loved them. they had the right amount of power and never faded.
[Reply]
flag jonlakephoto (Oct 22, 2009 at 20:42)
 Yeaaaaaa Baxter
[Reply]
flag gomez9 (Oct 22, 2009 at 21:02)
 can anyone tell me the name of the song?
[Reply]
flag RedfernMedia (Oct 22, 2009 at 21:18)
 "Truth is" by Brother Ali
Go out and buy some of his music, he's super sick, Glad you like the vid.
[Reply]
flag oilcan (Oct 22, 2009 at 21:22)
 Pretty sick video i like the section(s) where he's going between the cliffs
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flag rippingrealtor (Oct 22, 2009 at 21:35)
 I have been running Gustav's for 3 years and here are the FACTS.... They do take slightly longer to dial in due to the floating caliper system but once you get your alignment/shimming correct you are good to go. I have not bled my brakes in 3 years and they are still powerful, quiet (even in the wet and snow) modulation is good and they NEVER fade on long descents. If you ride big mountains Gustav's are perfect.
flag audeo03 (Oct 23, 2009 at 6:09)
 Having to use shims is a big NEGATIVE in my book. How about designing adjustment into the caliper?
flag ljack (Oct 24, 2009 at 8:02)
 Because shims just work. I can shim your brakes in 2 minutes, so time is really no issue.
Adjustment in the caliper would ad unnecessary complexity and still not be as acurate.
I'd rather invest 2 mins have have a troublefree brake for years than save 1 min and have to realign my brakes every now and then.
[Reply]
flag drstepi (Oct 22, 2009 at 23:43)
 Agree- I'v been rocking magura brakes since the ol' days of the HS 33 rim brake, now luoise for FR - and if you just dodn't mess with pads the are super reliable!
[Reply]
flag ctd07 (Oct 23, 2009 at 2:11)
 ha ha, you'd be fine with v-brakes riding in that sandy stuff, doesn't take any power to lock up on slippery terrain. That said, I do think Magura brakes are very nice and seem to be up there with Formula's for some of the most reliable brakes on the market...
flag audeo03 (Oct 23, 2009 at 6:11)
 Sorry, the biggest factor is braking force, not the coefficient of friction. If you are going fast on steep terrain, v-brakes aint gonna cut it...
[Reply]
flag audeo03 (Oct 23, 2009 at 6:11)
 He also just got into the game... He played baseball while Darren was BMXing and freeriding.
[Reply]
flag stever (Oct 23, 2009 at 7:11)
 That chute at the end of the video is epic.
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flag cornstar (Oct 23, 2009 at 8:30)
 Siiiiiiiick man riding!
[Reply]
flag erlkonig (Oct 23, 2009 at 9:01)
 This is just my stupid two cent's worth, but...I've been a bike mechanic for twenty years, and whenever you go through the customer's bikes hanging up, without doubt the leakiest brakes with the lousiest and least consistent feel are the Magura's. They look cool and some of them are very light, but from a mechanic's perspective they seem to give the customer the least reliability for the money. Maybe they've stepped things up, and let's hope they have. Advice for Magura: work on de-bugging the designs you already have instead of throwing the baby out with the bathwater every time and coming back with a whole new set of issues. Hs33's have been treated that way, refined for years, and they're your best brakes. Sorry.
flag seraph (Oct 23, 2009 at 9:41)
 That's basically what I was getting at. I've been wrenching for the better part of my life and the Maguras are always the problem children among our customers' brake choices.
[Reply]
flag slight3r (Oct 23, 2009 at 9:52)
 "...put together this quick web short about the superior stopping power of Magura brakes."

I don'r really see how this video showed that Magura brakes are anything special. It showed some nice riding and some cool shots, but nothing the would show the brakes are superior. Great video, but those probably could have been almost any decent brakes and it would have looked the same.
[Reply]
flag go-tuaco (Oct 23, 2009 at 12:49)
 Well they cant be any worse than Hayes El Camino's Big Grin
flag lel-95 (Oct 24, 2009 at 2:36)
 or any hayes brake
[Reply]
flag liveless (Oct 23, 2009 at 13:47)
 So much magura hate going on Big Grin Get lost you stereotypical POS... Judging them of what they USED to be, is same thing as saying 2008onwards rockshox would suck >_>
Seems like every people there reads the crap some troll has to say, and then carries it forward. Theres good ones and bad ones in every single label.
[Reply]
flag milanboez (Oct 23, 2009 at 16:10)
 wow he's no where near as good as his brother...
[Reply]
flag ljack (Oct 24, 2009 at 7:56)
 I just love the Maguras!
Especially the Gustav M. is virtually indestructible and gives you endless power combined with smooth modulation.
They might cost a bit more than other brakes, but they are sooo worth it.
I agree, that the older brakes were a bit tricky to bleed, but it was no problem if you had a helping hand.
Now the new ones are really simple to bleed.
And the good thing is: once you have done it correct, you will never have to do it again! :-)
flag rippingrealtor (Oct 25, 2009 at 22:03)
 I agreee!
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flag crowdog (Oct 25, 2009 at 11:22)
 holy shit the end of that is huge lol
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flag dhbiker250 (Oct 26, 2009 at 11:08)
 horrible song.
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flag freeride603 (Oct 27, 2009 at 14:50)
 i think all brakes suck! drag your feet like fred flintstone and be a real man (or woman).....
[Reply]

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