There’s no stopping the momentum of Magura’s MT Series brakes. Since its press introduction in the spring, the carbon MT8 has received rave reviews everywhere and we are now hearing a lot of buzz about manufacturers looking to include them as OE equipment in their bikes. The SRAM and Shimano scale and component bundling power are very hard to displace but Jeff Enlow of Magura has made good progress in convincing manufacturers that this is a world class brake that will help them differentiate and sell bikes.
The MT-8 is the Ferarri of the line but all the way to the $260/pair MT2, the technology, power and reliability is shared. Riders can go for the more affordable MT2 and MT4 brakes and still share in all the developments spearheaded by the MT8. In a nutshell, the power is similar. The difference is in grams and materials. And the the 335 gram MT2 brake is no heavyweight either as the Avid Elixir CR 2011 weighs in at 479 grams in comparison.
At Mtbr, we have used the Magura MT8 for the last 6 months and we are still floored by its performance. Its best features are:
- powerful and consistent stopping performance
- minimal squealing
- easy to control and modulate
- does not drag as the spacing between the pad and the rotors is maintained
- good lever design and ergonomics
- good heat dissipation with no brake overheating during long descents.
Can you tell we are happy with the product? We are getting the MT4 soon and we’d like to verify that the good experience is duplicated in the lower cost models.
A summary of the MT lineup is as follows.
Model: MT8
Price: $399
Weight: 278g (160mm rotor)
Master body: Carbotecture SL
Lever: Carbolay
Model: MT6
Price: $299
Weight: 310g (160mm rotor)
Master body: Carbotecture SL
Lever: alloy
Model: MT4
Price: $199
Weight: 320g (160mm rotor)
Master body: Carbotecture
Lever: alloy
Model: MT2
Price: $129
Weight: 335g (160mm rotor)
Master body: Carbotecture
Lever: alloy
