Magura MT Trail Brakes – Review
Blue highlights signify Magura's MT Trail Brake – four pistons up front, with two pistons in the rear caliper, paired with 180mm rotors (Pictured: Storm SL front and a Storm HC rear).
Magura's MT Trail Brakes came into being because their employees were mixing and matching the four-piston MT7 and two-piston MT8 calipers on their bikes to balance the braking forces and to enhance modulation. Magura took the hint and started packaging the combo as its "MT Trail" system. According to Magura, the difference in stopping power between the hard-gripping four-piston caliper and the softer action of the two-piston MT8 caliper closely match disparity in traction produced by the front and rear wheels. Because most riders tend to drag the rear brake, Magura specs equal-diameter, 180-millimeter rotors, which adds some cooling mass to the rear brake and further balances the feel at the levers. MT Trail brakes are offered with either carbon or aluminum lever blades (reviewed), and weigh 660 grams for the pair. MSRP is 585 a pair (carbon blades), plus $64 for a pair of 148-gram Storm HC 180-millimeter rotors.
Magura's MT Trail lever with the new OEM one-finger aluminum lever blade option. MT Trail brakes have a five-year leak proof warranty, largely made possible by the precise fitting components inside its fiber-reinforced, injection-molded master cylinder.
MT8 and MT7 brakes share the same lever/master cylinder unit, so to balance the feel at the lever, the four-piston caliper has smaller pistons. The asymmetric calipers also require different brake pads. Four small pads are used on the MT7 in order to facilitate top-loading while providing clearance for the caliper's central reinforcing arch. The two-piston MT8 uses conventional rectangular brake pads.
Magura's MT7 front caliper uses four small top-loading pads.
The rear caliper is also top loading but has two conventional rectangular pads.
Front pads (left) compared with the rear. Colors are used to indicate pad compounds.
Magura says that all of their brake pad materials are organic. Three compounds are offered: gray "Performance" pads are standard, with softer-gripping blue "Comfort" pads and their grippiest gold "Race" pads offered as aftermarket options. Our review brakes used the standard pads, which provide powerful stopping and are longer wearing than Magura's high-performance Race items.
The reach adjustment is flush with the lever blade.
Perches can adapt to SRAM or Shimano direct-mount controls.
DIY Trail Brakes
Magura's disc brake range is interchangeable, so savvy customers who can live without the blue colorway can mix and match their own Trail Brakes by cherry-picking from their upper-level MT7 and MT8 systems—or save some money by piecing together a kit using MT5 and MT4 components. For the less inclined, Magura already packages that mid-range MT4 and MT5 combination into the Trail Sport kit for $275 USD.
Magura initially launched the MT Trail brake to aftermarket customers exclusively with their carbon fiber lever blade, which has a wide and comfortable profile. For 2017, they plan to offer the new one-finger HC aluminum lever which was previously an OEM-only option. My brake kit had the aluminum blade, and after experiencing both, I now prefer the feel of the metal lever. The grip length is about half way between a tiny one-finger lever like Shimano XT, and the longer, two-finger types from both SRAM and Shimano. The Magura profile offers one-finger braking, with slightly more room on the flats, so braking action feels just right from more than one position on the grips.
Magura's Performance pad material doesn't offer much grip until the pads are properly mated to the rotors. After a few hard stops, however, the pads bite into the rotors with a lot of authority. There is no bite point adjustment on the MT master cylinder, only an Allen-screw reach adjustment on the levers. The adjustment function is flush, so it will survive many crashes and it proved to be all that I needed. The master cylinder's bite point is precise, so I could set the lever close to the grip and be assured that the pads would contact the rotors consistently. For most of this season, I have favored SRAM's Guide Ultimate brakes. MT Trail brakes surprised me with their more precise feel, and with braking power and modulation that was pleasantly similar.
While I was happy to discover that Magura has achieved significant performance gains in the MT brake's feel and stopping power, the real story about MT Trail brakes is whether or not the four-by-two caliper arrangement can deliver better modulation and balance than a matched pair of calipers. The short answer is "yes, they can." An unusual-for-California rainy season provided exorbitant traction, and a rare opportunity to brake like a boss on high-speed descents and put some heat into the rear brake. There was plenty of power available, and I never felt any fading, but honestly, I didn't notice any advantages over matched-caliper brakes.
After the sun eventually baked the clay trails into their usual gravel-covered concrete, however, the asymmetric calipers, paired with same-sized rotors stepped up to the plate. My home zone's slippery soil and steep rock rolls require a sensitive hand on the levers and a lot of coordination between the front and rear brake. With Magura's MT Trail stoppers, I could intuitively nurse the tires to the razor edge of traction and control. In any situation where traction was compromised, they were a delightful improvement.
Pinkbike's Take:
 | Magura's MT Trail brake system is not going to impress ham-fisted riders who use the rear wheel like a rudder to mash down steeps. Top bike-handlers with well developed braking technique, however, will appreciate the balance and enhanced modulation that asymmetric calipers bring to their games. It's not rocket science, but it makes a good brake even better. |
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"Something is only worth what someone is willing to pay to pay for it."
Sorry car
And yet all you're ACTUALLY doing is sitting in front of your keyboard in your pants, bitching.
Not sure if this applies to you since you didn't explain why they where bad, although it applies to most who manage don't like them...
Parts everywhere , flawless performance, insane power, super easy install and in comparison ...cheap as hell.
The only brake that entices me occasionally is Hope Tech3 V4's but really only for the blingage.
What was the warranty issue?
For us mortals we can rejoice in the fact that Shimano exists, and is not like making a compromise, like pay less for worst braking. Shimano makes damn good brakes. I will probaly never buy this, but I am glad there are more options. remember kids more choices is never a bad thing.
How is cutomer service?
How many shops will carry or service these brakes?
Fiber renforced plastic injection is a long winded description of plastic.
Mind you if it was carbon fiber plastic matrix.
That sounds cool.
My joke. Terrible. Sorry. My friend from Paris knows many jokes. Very fun.
As for running different brakes front and rear, I don't think I have ever run the same type of brake front and rear. The usable envelope is just so different. In the front you can apply quite a lot of force and it usually doesn't make sense to use just a little. In the rear using too much will make you lock the rear wheel too easily (which might actually be nice if you've got the trials skills) but applying just a little to smooth out your stroke on slippery climbs and the like is really usable as well. If you need to use your rear wheel as a rudder, get one of those closed aero wheels and a very narrow tire. Will work a charm, if that's your take on trail respect.
TL;DR: You can't just call composites "plastics" as the mechanical properties of the fibers are too significant to ignore. And using different brakes front and rear is the way to go.
Take some 7075 heat treated aluminium and smash it with a hammer. Small dent perhaps.
Carbon fiber plastic matrix sounds cool thats all.
Realy plastic has no place on hi performance hydraulic disk brakes.
Unless the price reflects the materials being used.
As in 50$ disk brakes.
Now back to bicycle parts. If you take a composite brake master assembly as reviewed here and similar master made out of aluminium and smash both with your hammer, neither may crack right away. The plastic master will only show elastic deformation, that is, it will spring back to its original shape and retain its function. The aluminium master may also show plastic deformation. That is, the bore may ovalize, causing the piston to jam and/or the system to leak. Yes if you smash harder the plastic master may crack whereas the aluminum one has merely deformed. Then still, both have become useless.
More importantly however, I question your means of testing. Smashing a brake with an hammer isn't comparable to normal riding conditions, including crashing. If you leave the handlebar clamp loose enough for the master assembly to swivel around your handlebar, it wont break when subjected to impact.
Otherwise you really can't go wrong with Zee or XT depending on how much power you want. Even SLX are sh*t hot brakes for the money.
Performance is very precise, great 1 and 2 finger modulation control throughout the braking profile from zero to full skid.
I have having one problem though, I have smoked the pads 4 times. usually just the rear but once on the front rotor.
I am 237lb and I suspect that 30 miles to zero on the steeps is just to much for the dual piston rear.
I am switching to RACE pads and a Hayes rear rotor(more metal) and hope that solves the issue. Otherwise I ONLY trust magura brakes since 2006.
They are difficult to bleed or install when compared to shimano or sram, but the bleed holds much longer. Pads last much longer than other brands. They don't do that thing that every single XT brake does--i.e. leak small quantities of mineral oil past the piston seals and contaminate the pads. Power is higher than the 8000/9000 series. Modulation is on par with guides. Unlike other brakes, I don't have to constantly worry about Maguras. The one time there was a problem with a master cylinder, Magura USA provided top-notch support.
203 up front, 180 in the back. Brakes = balanced.
$600+ great? No.
For a little more than half the cost of these, I can have a full XTR or Saint setup.
The next paragraph explains that, after the trails dried out to marbles over hardpack, there was a very noticeable improvement, so, "yes".
Ya ya that's probably not what you want.
I'd rather have my brakes feeling different every time I grab them because the oil they use is intended for medical purposes.
Nice one pro perp.