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Does anyone use the Magura MT5 or Magura MT7 disc brakes?
What do you think?
Consistent bite?
Consistent travel?
Powerful enough?
I see that Danny Macaskill and Ali Clarkson are using them - does that mean they're designed for Trials/Street Trials use instead of mountain biking?
I've had Mt4 and Mt5 on a few bikes. I like them, very powerful with 203&180mm discs, lightweight and cheap (from Germany).
Negatives are that you need to be a bit switched on mechanically when tinkering with the levers due to their plastic construction and that they need Magura discs as they are thicker at 2.0mm than the industry standard 1.8mm
The MT7 lever blades are known to break easily. I got one on a 2nd hand bike broke the end of the lever blade. Previous owner already replaced one of the MT7 in the pair, I tried bleeding the other one a few times, gave up and replaced with Zee. Not sure how old they were. Aren't the MT5 calipers the same as the MT7 it's the levers which are different with the MT5 levers being tougher?
Oh yeah - the standard MT5 levers are huge but that suits me as I have coal shovel hands
MT7 owner. There's a knack to bleeding them but they are awesome when done right. At least as good as hopes. I'm running hope floating rotors which are standard and not the slightly thicker Maguras. Have coped with vegan Valleys steeper trails just fine.
I'm struggling to get a decent feel on the lever so it doesn't get so close to the bars
I had MT4 and deeply regret selling them on the bike.
Modulated, powerful, lack of pad drag, magnetic pad holding, just great.
The set of MT5’s that came on my Radon Swoop were terrible until I bled them and replaced the awful ‘2 finger’ levers (too long and too flexy). Since then they have been the most reliable brakes I’ve owned, the bite point is consistent, they haven’t faded so far and the pads are lasting well.
A friend had trouble with a set of MT5’s that needed regular bleeding from new. Eventually he figured out that there was a small leak from the master cylinder piston and got it sorted under warranty.
Pal in my biking group has an four pot MT 5.
Think he uses original Magura metal pads.
Those brakes have a crazy bite.
I have the low cost Deore brakes on all of my bikes (and I'am happy with those) - and other pals in my group have XT or SRAM guide or Tektro or or or. My impression: the MT 5 outperforms all.
But I like the cheap spares and easy bleeding of my Deore.
I love my MT5's which I got 2nd hand on here last year. I kind of agree about the lever length but got used to it after a few rides.
I've got the 4-pot MT-7s and they are phenominally powerful. When I get back on my hardtail, the XT brakes on it feel like an old set of V Brakes in comparison. Never had an issue with lever length, and I've got hands like an orangutan.
I buy a job lot of brake pads from one of the German shops. They're cheap as chips
I run MT Trails (MT5 up front), and once I'd sussed the bleed (piece of cake when you know how), the lever firmed up properly and I now find them the most progressive and powerful brakes I've owned.
Plus, the ergo levers on the MT Trails are super comfortable.
Genuine one finger brakes, even for a lardy.
Superstar semi-synth pads are cheap and plentiful and work great.
I have two bikes fitted with Maguras - one has MT5's front and rear, which I changed from the 2 finger lever to 1 finger HC's, when bled properly (there is a knack but videos online to help) and fitted with the individual sintered pads they are awesome - I'm near 100kg when kitted up to ride and have had no issues anywhere I've ridden with fade or lack of confidence in them.
On the other bike I have MT5 front with a MT2 rear on standard organic pads, these came with the HC single finger levers are are also really decent - a little noisier than my other bike when slowing down but I think this is because the standard organic MT5 pads are conjoined and not individual pads for each piston, have some individual sintered pads to go into these also when worn out.
Tried them with Uberbike race matrix pads and they just howled and didn't offer any better braking for me, plus didn't like getting wet whereas the sintered pads just shrug it off.
Downside is the plastic body of the brake, after an off I did have to replace one of the levers as the thread in the plastic had become damaged, also I don't tighten them up to the torque recommended by Magura, these seem high for plastic parts.
I have the 5's on my Ebike and they managed to stop all that weight easily. I did struggle with changing the rear pads as they were to thick to go in the caliper. That's more likely due to independent pads than caliper design.
Do you really need the blue magura mineral oil, or will shimano oil do?
Shagura.
I have the MT5s on my fatbike with the HC levers and I love them. I've tried plenty of others and currently have Hope M4s and XT M8000s on the other bikes and the MT5 would be my choice. not as nicely finished as the hopes obviously but noticably more power and better then the XTs in every regard. The carbotechture (feels like plastic) levers put too many people off, the lever (with the HC lever blade) feels just a stiff as the XTs and if you are squeezing the lever hard enough to flex it then the power of the brakes would have thrown you off long before you got that far. Bleeding was tricky but you get the hang of it quick enough.
I find it a bit annoying really, if these brakes had Shimano or Sram printed on them they would sell like hot cakes. Same as Manitou forks at the moment but too many new people in biking who just aren't familiar with these brands as they have been a bit quiet over the last few years and don't get the press coverage.
John
Mulv76, I've been using LHM fluid I picked up from halfords for all my mineral oil based brakes. Works fine. I even spoke to Magura about it and they said whilst they recommend their own blue stuff, lhm will work and they wouldn't void the warranty for using it.
John
Quite a few top drawer xco riders are on Magura too...
Happy with my MT5's, but I think you need Magura rotors to get the best out of them as they are thicker. The bleed process was quite easy and has been rock solid since I did it.The long levers seem fine to me, you get used to them and don't think about it. My previous brakes were zee which were great when used regularly, but would spaz out if left too long.
So has anyone got any real world experience of a Shigura setup? (Shimano levers with MT5 or 7 callipers) seems a popular thing in Germany and it’s peaked my interest, but wondering if anyone U.K. based has actual experience?