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mt7's specifically.
2nd hand bike - rubbish brakes.
bleed them - rubbish brakes.
change pads - they seem ok actually.
does 2 weeks in the alps without any real problems, brake point may have been a bit inconsistent but never a ZOMG im going to die moment.
split rear hose - changed & bled. Union not tight enough into the plastic lever. Re-bleed.
Now the rear brake just isnt right. I can get a good lever pressure and it works ok, but holding it tight it gradually sinks back to the bars after 30 seconds or so. No such issue on the front. To me this indicates a leaky piston on the master cylinder. I cant say 100% that it didnt used to do this & I never noticed.
Ive bleed them till im blue in the face.
I dont know how much more time & money I can be bothered to put into them. A set of shimano levers are supposed to work well with magura calipers, but it may just be easier to bin them off & whack a set of zee's or saints on it?
I thought mt7’s were meant to be pretty good? I’m not sure moving to Shimano would be my first choice to swap to for a consistent lever feel....
I remember just how shite Magura Julies were 2 sets YES 2 sets.
HS33s although tricky to set up a bit were great when working.
I was close recently to giving the MT carbon trails a go but opted for something with even better modulation and a brake that if fit for a Pro must be good enough for me.
Oh and the pricing on new Maguras is absolutely mental bonkers, batshit crazy!
I kinda like them - I had some Gustav's on my Brooklyn Racelink which were effectively motorbike brakes! and been running some MT4's (2pot calipers) for 2 years, sintered pads on 203/180 been great brakes. Just bought some new MT5's (4pot) for alpine duties for £62 and end from Germany. Not much can touch them for that price and they are lightweight, the levers arnt for ham fisted people though.
I've MT trail sports on my solaris and they're great
Needed to bleed after I shortened the hoses but once I'd learned how to bleed them they great.
I used to run a set of Julies and they weren't that bad for me. I am light though.
I initially struggled to bleed them, experiencing the lever that felt solid until you held it, backed off the pressure a little then re applied constant pressure. It would always result in the lever pulling back to the bars.
Eventually I took the brake off the bike, mounted the lever about 5 feet off the ground and had the caliper vertically below it, pads removed and spacer in place. I removed the reservoir cap, then filled a large syringe fitted with a bit of tube and an appropriate bleed nipple with mineral brake fluid and forced it through the caliper bleed port until I'd almost emptied the syringe. I then pumped the lever a few times, then pushed a bit more fluid up, repeating until I was certain there were no more air bubbles. Finally I replaced the reservoir cap, removed the syringe and refitted the brake. You have to be quick refitting the bleed port screw to prevent fluid loss, and keep checking the reservoir has fluid in when pumping the brake.It's messy too.
I'm not sure if that's applicable with the newer Magura brakes, but it worked for me with the Julies.
Danny macaskill also seems to get on with them ok.
Danny macaskill also seems to get on with them ok.
He doesn't have to pay for 'em, does he?
I have had a few sets, never learnt my lesson. I'd rather have old style Avids!
Rusty - got a link for those MT5's?
By contrast, my MT2's just worked and worked well for two years, nothing but new pads needed.
POS forum for trying to do links on an iPhone!
Took 3or 4 days to arrive, proper aftermarket boxed with the spare olives and hose insert included. The levers are reversible so just order 2x2200
I loved my Mt4s. Then I crashed them and a replacement lever was almost the cost of a new whole brake, so I bought a whole new brake. Then crashed then again. Then bought another, then they started leaking from the body of the caliper.
Went Shimano after that.
Mt2s on a commuter for two years, faultless.
Mt6 for 5 years till i fell off and smashed a lever to bits. Replaced like for like, terrible at first but a patient and through bleed and back to being awesome.
Mt trail carbon on my new build, bought 2nd hand. Took some fiddling to sort out, but now perfect. I do need to re hose the rear though.
For all your complaint at least they're consistent by your description, poor in the workshop, poor in the field, good in the workshop good in the field. That's not something anyone who complains about shimano brakes is likely to say. They've got their fans but those that do have problems have a lot of problems, certainly I wouldn't be looking at the big S if i were fed up of faff and failure.
I should say I'm a massive fan of saints. Nearly 4 years on another bike with zero issues. Like the feel, love the power.
I have a financial commitment to the magura though, £100+ on pads and a brake hose so far. So I either throw more money at them by changing the lever assembly with the risk that doesn't help, or just splash out on saints and be done with it. At least I would have the same on both bikes then also.
We used to run Magura. If I could still run a Marta SL I'd be happy. And Gustavs.. good lord they were astonishingly powerful
The problem I found with Magura is once you get into a bad bleed cycle you're chasing your tail.
Factory vacuum bled they are superb.. once you've had issues, you've had it
I've a set of NIB Gen1 MT8's kicking around.. waiting for the right project where reliability is less of a concern. I've found my current FSA K-force to be the only thing anywhere close to the modulation of Magura of old.. but its hard to get past XT for fit and forget (ime)
My hs33S are good. Noisy, though
My MT5s are more powerful than my previous Zees. They are a pain to bleed though.
He doesn’t have to pay for ’em, does he?
How does this affect their ability to stop him though?
I’ve always like my MT5s, but they’ve been greatly improved with some XTR levers. Much easier to bleed and much less fragile with a bettter lever shape. I’m not a fan of the Shimano servo wave stuff which is why I went Magura and why I had to go with the XTR levers.
I’ve always like my MT5s, but they’ve been greatly improved with some XTR levers
Shimano or magura hoses/olives fittings etc?
Certainly the shimano hose has a much bigger dia hole in the rear banjo, so would not be a great fit to the mag caliper, which leads me to believe it would be better to stick with the magura hoses & hope they fit the shimano levers.
Magura hoses with Shimano fittings. Not had any issues, it all fitted together no trouble.
Magura brake have two states, flippin fantastic or shite ime. There some of the most powerful brakes I've tried & can be reliable as hell but once they have issues it's time to bin them or expect to high parts bill & still potentially not fix them. I thought this might have changed but my m8's current bike has a fantastic front but dire rear, even after a new caliper. The bike shop at C-Y-B even bleed it but wouldnt charge as they still thought the performance was rubbish
Above some positive posts about the MT2.
I only had trouble with my MT2s. Fragile stuff and all sorts of crazy problems. I expect the brakes to last around 2-3 years (biking all year, lots of mud biking).
All my bikes have now low cost Deore brakes. Very happy with those.
After many bleeds of my mt7s I started the hunt for some hopes but then found a video from magura in French overdub of the original German where the magura technician rocks the lever as the last part of a bleed. Tried that and they are chuffing brilliant.
Also wind out the bite point and reach before bleeding and wind them back in after makes a huge difference.
Mine went from pulling to the bar with me still rolling down hill to becoming the stoppie king of here.
The original video in German. This is the trick.
I love Magura brakes but you do have to follow the instructions when you bleed them to get the best out of them.
I'm seriously considering ditching my Shimanos (after another caliper leak discovered yesterday) for a set of Maguras. Can any one comment of power equivalence between a set of SLX and a set of MT4's? This is for a bikepacking/ winter bike so doesn't need crazy power just don;t want to loose power.
Another happy Magura user here. MT5's with the 1-finger levers on one bike, MT trail sports on the other. They're more powerful than the Shimano equivalent, with better modulation. I did destroy one lever in a crash a few months ago. But it was a big crash so don't hold it against them.
Found bleeding them straightforward. Magnetic pads are also handy.
Had Zees trouble free and excellent for 3 years before this though, so they're not the only decent option out there.
SLX and a set of MT4’s
Deore and SLX (last gen square) were broadly similar to MT2's - ie a tad down on latest offerings, great modulation.
MT4's = match for any of the current Deore/SLX/XT in power terms, delivered with better modulation.
The set of MT8's I just tried out were outrageous...
You are using royal blood to bleed them aren't you?
Thanks will have a read of those.
I had some Julies back in the day. Utterly utterly shit.
Later I had some forks which were initially good, but fell to bits within the first service interval (probably should've pushed harder for warranty rather than CSU at cost), then (in the absence of being able to find documents to sort them myself) they were never actually fixed despite going back to Magura at least 4 times. The final straw was oil all over the box, and the rebound adjuster in the wrong leg...
On the good side, I got really really good at bleeding the julies (as I had to do it every other week).
My 4 pot MT-7s are great - strong, good modulation and reliable
MT Trail Sports have been my best brake purchase in years (competition: Formula, SRAM, Shimano and Avid in no particular order, several sets of each).
I do wish they’d put an insert in the lever clamps and use machine screws instead of the self tappers directly into the composite body, but that’s about all I’d change that isn’t a model differentiator.
I really like my MT5's swapped them from XT's on the last bike.
New bike came with Guide RC's which TBF are good brakes (again way better than XT's), whilst I liked the modulation they where just missing that last bit of power which the MT5's have in spades.
I've put a new pair of MT5's on now and find the bleed straight forward but would highly recommend chaining out the stock levers for the HC ones.
These are miles better and I'm at a loss (other than making more money) why they don't come as standard.
I had a set of Clara's I got from a mate circa 2002 and they were really nice until they developed a leak from the lever. Had mainly hope or Shimano since but got some MT5s about 6 months ago. They are incredible brakes. I did struggle to get a good bleed from the front one but got there in the end. Swapped out to the HC levers straight away which as above, should clearly be standard. They have loads of modulation and vast amounts of power. I bought them as a cheaper alternative to Hope M4s that are on the other bike and honestly I'm not sure which I prefer.
To me it's another example (Just like Manitou forks at the moment) where people really need to look past the brand's that are OEM.
Oh yeah, due to the lever it's not for the ham fisted mechanic though.
John
P.S. if you hate the MT7s that much then feel free to post them to me!
Yes the brakes are very strong particularly with uber race matrix pads.
Yes bleeding is a massive pita compared to saints which can be done easily with the marshy syndicate gravity bleed.
What I should have asked is why does the lever creep back to the bars after maintaining pressure on it for 20 seconds or so?
If air was in it I would have though the lever would be spongy - its not.
All I can think of is the master cylinder seals are leaking allowing fluid back from the pressure side to the reservoir?
I’ve no experience of the MT range but I’ve got 2 pairs of Louises, one the standard BAT and the other Louise Carbons. I bought the carbons used probably 8-10 years ago and they’re astonishing things. Utterly utterly dependable and one finger powerful. They sized up when I used them in the snow and left them for 3 months...! I freed them off and they’re like new again. They’re easily a match for any modern SRAM or Shimano brake. I really don’t know why they ever stopped making them to be honest. God knows what I’ll do if they die.
I'd be Contacting magura. There's no service kit so...
Well im going the shigura route, or shagura as it suits my puerile mind better.
Shimano lever with a magura caliper. The mt5/mt7 calipers are identical.
Info below to help others who may be considering this.
The exact information is scattered across the internet but a huge thread here helped massively.
https://www.mtb-news.de/forum/t/magura-mt7-mit-shimano-xtr-trail-hebeln.751103/page-53
Use a magura hose. Why? The shimano hose has a bigger dia banjo hole and will be difficult to seal on the magura caliper.
Use a magura barb. Why? The barb is the best fit into the magura hose. The shimano bh90 2.1mm barb will work, but is a little loose. The bh59 2.3mm barb may fit but will be very tight.
Use a shimano olive. Why? Its the best fit into the shimano lever. Shimano olives appear the same, so 1 from either kit above will work.
Use a shimano compression nut. Why? The magura nut is a different size and wont fit.
You will also need the shimano compression nut cover.
Oil is personal choice, magura blood or shimano oil.
Lever is personal choice. Saint is my preferred option.
Hmm Shigura you say?
This post was originally of academic interest only, as my mt4s and mt7s have been problem free..
Up to now..
Just re bled the mt7s and found fluid coming out of the front lever. 🙁
Can't get seals it seems. New lever eyewateringly expensive... Does anyone know if the seals are the same on mt2 levers?
Looks like it's time to get my hands dirty..
Anyone for any old Magura or Shimano levers they want to sell me??
Just back after a week hammering the MT5's in Morzine.
Worked perfectly - loads of modulation for speed checking but backed up with shed loads of power if needed.
Followed the Magura bleed video when shortening both hoses.
I really like my MT7’s, now. Came stock on my bike a few years ago. Braking never did seem that impressive, so i bought a bleed kit, replaced the pads with SS Kevlar and fitted some Uberbike rotors and they are now brilliant.
I honestly haven’t touched them in 18 months, not even replaced the pads.
I am convinced that the ‘SL’ rotors it came with were the problem, not much braking surface due to massive cut outs to save weight and me being a lard, doesn’t help.
Looking to replace my Guide R’s on my hardtail to the MT trail sport in the near future.