So I have three bikes with 4pot xt and I'm just done to death with dealing with what seems like leaky calipers. Decided to ditch Shimano. Seems to effect xt and slx. Bikes running deore and below seem fine.
I'm stuck on deciding between which brakes to go for.
Formula cura 4
Mt 7
Mt 5 + hc levers + 4 piston pads
Mt trail sports + 4 pot rear + 4 piston pads
I'd probably get 2mm rotors for the magura options. Formula's I'd reuse the rotors I have.
They all cost about the same apart from the mt7 which is about €30 more.
I have a trail hardtail, a trail dual suspension and a Levi sl ebike.
Anyone care to help share their comparisons and help me decide?
I don't have Cura's but my Formula R0's are still going strong after a decade and minimal maintenance, I'd definitely buy Formula again.
Formula look nice, feel nice and get good reviews. They're going to be my replacement when my Code's die.
Personally, I hate how plasticky Magura are. They feel so cheap and naff. Do they still make the bleed port screw from the softest plastic ever known? Do the hoses still feel like drinking straws? Not a fan at all.
Bird seem to be recommending the Cura 4s as one of the best takes going both for power and feel and reliability
I have Cura 4's they are lovely when i can get the biggers to work (friends don't seem to have this sisue so it;s clearly me).. However i did want some Hayes Dom A4's - they are very nice -very powerful - possible too much.
I have magura mt7 on my hardtail and formula cura 4 on my full suspension. I much prefer the formulas, I have changed the levers to a set of CNC items with bearings as the plastic bush wears in the standard lever and make the levers slightly sloppy but that's after 3 years of use. The maguras are good but not as much modulation and slightly less power.
Shigura, assuming your Shimano levers are still OK?
Just add the Magura calipers, hoses and attachments, keeping the (nicer feeling IMO) Shimano levers. I was tempted to do that with my older 2-piston SLX but was seduced by a bargain on 4-piston Deores instead recently.
The thicker 2mm Magura Storn HC rotors work well on pretty much anything though. I have them with Zees on one bike and SLX (soon to be Deores) on another.
I've got Cura 4's, which I bought from Bikester.
They are plenty powerful - enough to have the odd OTB moment while getting use to them.
They are also fairly easy to bleed using a SRAM kit (use a new one so you don't mix oil with DOT) and feel bomb proof.
Brake pads are not ubiquitous, but seem to be getting easier to find in the UK in various brands.
joebristol
Bird seem to be recommending the Cura 4s as one of the best takes going both for power and feel and reliability
Geometron (who are distributors, so call them biased :)) would agree. STW and NSMB have given them glowing reviews.
I'm a big lump, and have found them really good, never had them fade across multiple trips abroad and bike park days, loads of power and feel
Seems like a lot of love for formula brakes. The cura 4 seem to be a good deal at the moment. I like the look of the magura hc lever and tbh the plastic doesn't bother me although I've never crashed in them. I did crash with a bike running cura 4s and bent the lever blade outward which needed replacing but the lever body was fine.
@luke0912 what levers did you buy/fit?
I have Cura 4. Coming from Shimano the feel will be ok. They have a very direct feel, the polar opposite of Sram brakes. They're reliable and easy to bleed. I replaced the levers after 18months to alleviate the wobbly bushes, but the new ones were cheap. Only niggle is that a hex key fouls the caliper when tightening the mounting bolts.
My girlfriend has MT7, which need a bit more care. They have insanely tight pad clearance, which means it takes a while to set them up. And the original lever blades are rubbish. She swapped for OAK levers, which are lovely.
I originally used Magura Storm HC 2mm rotors. They were ok but the varying surface area does create some fork flutter. I now have 2.2mm Formula rotors. They're 70g heavier per end, which is a bit much.
Geometron (who were distributors, so call them biased :)) would agree.
Edited. They used to, but new distributor: https://www.elro.uk/
Still correct though: Geometron wouldn't have tolerated them if they were shite!
Didn't realise they had moved. Elro don't seem to list a postal address, which is a tad weird for a distributor.
I was just about to post that^^
Geometron were the UK distro but they certainly kept it secret! Everyone I know was buying them from Germany.
The Bird demo bikes were the first place I saw and felt the Cura. I only had a quick bounce around a carpark but they felt nice.
I was looking to pair the cura 4 with trickstuff UL rotors, just to get both thick and light rotors.
Elro is a spin off by one of the (ex?) geomatron people, Paul Shepherd. May still be using Geomatrons place to handle everything, perhaps the association didn't of Formula didnt work with Geomatron so had to firewall the business??
The levers I have are RG bike components though eBay,the originals are fine but these just remove some play that creeps in over time and have a slightly nicer feel to them. I think I have bleed my formulas once in three years due to a cut hose.
I have Cura 2pots on 4 bikes, never had an issue with them. I prefer 2 pot over 4, with 4 pots from any manufacturer, there are always lazy pistons which lead to weird brake feel.
The Cura 2 pots have more than enough power, loads of modulation, they are a direct feel with not a lot of lever travel.
I have the Cura 4's on one of my bikes and Saints on all the others.
While I like the Cura every time I ride them after being on the Saints it takes me a few runs to adjust to them.
They have plenty of power it just isn't as instant as the Saints.
On the + side they have been ultra reliable and very easy to set up.
I still can't fully make my mind up about them though running Trickstuf pads has helped with the instant bite a fair bit.
The Cura 2s are much more instant, they might suit, honestly think they have the same power as the 4s, but I prefer the 4s
Don't own either brake, so canny comment from that perspective, but I live in the French alps and I have plenty friends on both Mt5, Mt7 and Cura 4 brakes, and guided a few clients run either of those brakes too. The Formulas pretty much never give anyone any problems, are plenty powerful (with Trickstuff pads in particular, which last well too so it seems to add up costing about as much as cheaper pads) and aren't too spendy (in France) and that's across a variety of riding styles, rider weights and diligence to bike maintenance. But then, the maguras are pretty good too, so it's not like going back to cantis! If I had to go out and get new brakes tomorrow with my own money it'd be Cura 4s, but alps riding isn't the same as uk riding, so I wouldn't put as much weight on that as the uk based recommendations above.
I've had Cura 4's for the past year and a half on my G1 and they're really great. Bled them once in that time (the process was ridiculously easy) and they've been pretty faultless. More than enough power and they feel great to me.
Overwhelmingly cura 4. Looks like I've decided! Thank you all.
Now to decide on rotors 🤣
crembz
Free Member
Overwhelmingly cura 4. Looks like I’ve decided! Thank you all.Now to decide on rotors 🤣
make sure you get the formula rotors or at least other 2.2mm ones - they are thicker than normal!
Formulas don't need thicker rotors.
I'd thoroughly recommend the Galfer Rotors, not too expensive, really good.
https://www.bike-discount.de/en/galfer-bike-wave-fixed-mtb-6-bolt-disc-rotor
Interesting comments about the 2 pots.
Might have to give Paul a ring and take him up on the kind offer he made the other day.
Formula rotors are made by galfer. The thickness doesn't matter that much with formula, they're not prone to differing feel and not very heat sensitive. In fact they (formula) supply different thickness rotors depending on size (kinda sensible when you think about it).
If anyone wants a galfer/formula bundle gimme a DM - we're dealers for both 🙂
Can anyone suggest where to look for Cura availability and a good price? I am expecting it is not the norm to buy direct from the distributor.
I am not sure which German sites to look at and Bikester who got a mention do not seem to have them listed.
Bike24, r2-bike, bike-discount, starbike and alltricks all sell Cura 4s - r2 and bike24 have had them on sale recently.
That Elro site lets you choose a quantity but doesn't tell you what you're buying. No front, rear, left or right.
sharkattack
Full Member
That Elro site lets you choose a quantity but doesn’t tell you what you’re buying. No front, rear, left or right.
There's only one flavour of Cura, levers are flip flop, and they all come with long hoses, you cut as needed, so you just need two brakes, job done.
There’s only one flavour of Cura, levers are flip flop, and they all come with long hoses, you cut as needed, so you just need two brakes, job done.
That really does make a LOT of sense. Thinking back even the Formula RXs I used over 10 years ago were flip-flop levers to account for us Brits who prefer levers on the correct side.
I had MT7 for a very short time. Were tricky to bleed and very plastic feeling levers. Sold and got Cura 4s, which are great. Uberbike now do replacement pads if your struggling for them. Easy to bleed and have great power and lever feel. If your struggling to find them in UK, buy separately from Germany to be under the £135 vat limit and you'll end up with a set for circa £200 👍
Donmt Geometron distribute EXT suspension? Maybe Formula wanted them to push their suspension more?
Perhaps decision made and so now irrelevant, but I replaced my shimano 4 pot slx with MT Trail Sports plus a 4 pot rear (bought two sets the same and swapped a caliper) and I think they're a big improvement in power/feel/consistency as well as being great value for money. I've had no problems bleeding mine with a generic kit.
Thanks, I think the mt trail sports are unbeatable at their price. Right now, by the time you add a magura 4 pot caliper you're at the same price as cura 4 and €30 less than mt7. At that price they're less attractive.
I saw magura released the mt5 hc ... Basically mt5 with 1 finger levers but I can't find them for sale anywhere. Assuming they're the same price as mt5 I think they would be a killer option.
I have Cura 4’s they are lovely when i can get the biggers to work (friends don’t seem to have this sisue so it;s clearly me).. However i did want some Hayes Dom A4’s – they are very nice -very powerful – possible too much.
I read tons of reviews and threads, narrowed it down to these two and went for the Dominions. Very powerful but not too powerful even for my 70kg on a trail bike with 203/180 rotors and semi-sintered pads. Highest leverage ratio of all available brakes - in theory 15% more powerful than the Cura4.
Dominions are outside of my budget for 3 bikes unfortunately. I hear they are very nice brakes also
I'm a long term lover of Maguras, having had a set of Louise FRs for a long time, then after various Shimano sets and a recent very brief flirtation with some Hopes, I've recently gone back to Magura and I'm utterly satisfied with my MT7 Pros and 203/180mm Storm rotors. I've never had any trouble with the hoses or bleeding Maguras either, and they almost never need doing, in my experience. I also love the lever shape and really direct feel, but that's totally subjective.
I understand peoples' dislike for the "plastic" elements but as an engineer that designs and utilises reinforced plastic parts extensively in my day job I have no qualms. I've never tried Curas so couldn't comment on them but I thoroughly recommend Maguras.
I have Cura 4’s they are lovely when i can get the biggers to work (friends don’t seem to have this sisue so it;s clearly me).. However i did want some Hayes Dom A4’s – they are very nice -very powerful – possible too much.
What are they doing?
https://www.lordgunbicycles.co.uk/formula-cura-4-disc-brake?color=Black.
This was the cheapest place I could find the Cura 4s.....do 2 separate orders so you don't get hammered with import taxes.
They're 35 euro less at the Bike24 link I posted above
Wasn’t the consensus of the various reviews that the two-pot version was more than adequate for trail, even also riding. Just two big 24mm pistons rather than four littler ones.?
Paul Aston on his YouTube channel is running the Cura 2 on his DH bikes and swears by them. He suffered from the lazy piston syndrome on the 4 pots.
He is a professional contrarian though so I take his opinions with a pinch of salt.
Yes I keep reading the same regarding the power of the cura 2. I believe the more attractive difference to me for the cura 4 is the increased modulation over the 2.
Same, prefer the feel of the 4s, 2s are much more on/off
I really like maguras I run mt7 4pots on two bike one with mt8 two pots on the rear.
Always feel good a bleed has a couple of wee truckers but I can now bleed a pair in under 10mins and they end up solid.
I had formulas on an older bike and they weren't great but then they probably were doing a job they weren't fit for. Sierra Nevada basically killed them
sharkattack
He is a professional contrarian though so I take his opinions with a pinch of salt.
He's sung the praises of Newmen rims, and he's been absolutely right IME. I'm with him on the Geometron too, and Ive only run the Cura 2s on my trail bike so they haven't had to deal with trips abroad and uplifts, they definitely don't lack power versus the 4s. He does love odd stuff, though.
He is a professional contrarian though so I take his opinions with a pinch of salt.
You mean he's not paid by the bike companies so gives an honest review.
I'd say there are more bike companies keen to sue him than pay him 😉
I’d say there are more bike companies keen to sue him than pay him 😉
The truth burns!!!!!
I’m with him on the Geometron too
I was also an early adopter of a Geometron. The first one I saw was in Morzine and belonged to Paul Aston himself.
You mean he’s not paid by the bike companies so gives an honest review.
I appreciate that element. Much more than all these selfie stick, gopro trail centre warriors gushing about their new free bike.
