I loved my MT5 brakes, when they were working. Seemingly out of the blue one lever started to malfunction during my 5th ride with them, and to send them to be inspected for a possible warranty cost as much as replacing the lever with a Shimano unit. They worked great with the Shimano lever for some time, but I'd have issues with the caliper pistons sticking when temperatures were around freezing, and maybe it was just bad luck but I managed to contaminate and ruin pads every other ride. I'm now using mechanical BB7s with nice levers and compressionless housing and loving them. I gave up a little fine modulation, but ultimate power seems on par, and reliability, serviceability, simplicity, are all big improvements for me.

Same performance for less money with the downside of more weight is an amazing tradeoff! Amen!

They are good, until lever snaps or whole lever assembly snaps on a lever pivot point

18 күн бұрын

what is the lever assembly? how would they snap ?

I'm running MT5s on all my bikes. Absolutely love them. It has been very reliable for me. Tricky to bleed, but I only have to do it once a year. I like the 2 finger levers, but I see why people might not like those.

The value of these is bloody decent. Paid $299 New Zealand peso for MT5’s with the HC3 levers new… that’s like 100 pound or so. I paired them up to 2.3mm Tektro rotors. Fits fine.

I had a set of trails and my experience was not a good one. They mounted up and bled fine, but they made a horrible warble/squigle/gurgle noise when the pads hit the rotors. All brand new performance pads on brand new rotors. The pads were taken out and placed in the house during the bleed process as were the wheels with the new rotors.... contamination was not the culprit. I then tried a set of red label MTX ceramic pads on brand new Magura rotors that were sent to be by Magura USA and I had the same weird noise. (other people on NSMB also had the same weird noise) The overall power of the trails was just OK and my 2 piston Deore 6100s are more powerful as a complete system. 2 tips for Magura owners: 1) The lever's clamp is a no gap design! With the arrow facing up on the clamp face, tighten the top bolt fully until there is no gap, then snug the bottom bolt. (it's all right in the manual but most never even read it) 2) Just snug the bleed port fitting until it stops and the top of the screw is level with the lever body. Two fingers only on a screw driver shaft and once the screw stops turning, that is it... no tighter!

@mtbboy1993

Жыл бұрын

I use the same method for closing the bleed port.Eventually seals wear out or can fail, so good to have some spares. But those are simple O rings so sohuld be easy to get.

@siriosstar4789

11 ай бұрын

i have the same issue on my MT5s but discovered that it usually only occurs on the beginning of a ride . i live on a step hill so on the way down to the trail area i ride the brakes lightly until the bottom (about 300 M ) and then the chattering and clunking stops . its very weird but i'm use to it now .

Loving my “Shigura” setup of M8100 levers and MT7 calipers.

@theAdventurousCyclist

Жыл бұрын

I even got Shigura on a Cyclocross Bike with GRX levers.

I've got 4 of my bikes running on Magura - MT5, MT5 pro, MT7 and MT Thirty. No problems so far, they all run in combination with Galfer fixed 2.0 discs. Can't really understand the people complaining all the time.

Good brakes IF you can handle the annoying bleeding process. It took me ages to get them working right. why can't Magura use a bleed nipple at the caliper instead of having you removing the adaptor and screwing in a plug while fluid dribbles everywhere.

I've been using these on my e-bike and they've worked great and problem free for a bunch of years. I did crack that mounting bolt which you warned for, good tip there! My front lever did lose the biting point and releases the brakes even after grabbing the rotor, it feels as if air is trapped in there but it won't get fixed even by a full bleed, which makes me think I might have blown up that seal which you also mentioned.

@Mapdec

Жыл бұрын

If you blew the seal, nothing would work. Most likely is you need to align the pistons, or one has got a little stuck.

@gokaygs

Жыл бұрын

@@Mapdec cleaned the pistons multiple times with qtips and mineral oil and pushed them back, one still seems to move less freely than the other. It is likely the seal you mentioned or some other piece of plastic has lost its properties over time and I need a new set of brake lever and caliper, not much can withstand the vicious south California sun.

Thank you for reminding Deore can be 4 pot rear! 75 euros cheaper too (no discs added though)

Hi, love the videos you post, very useful. I've seen mt5 pro set for £199, it it worth the extra £100 plus to get mt7, I ride steep technical terrain and need to upgrade ebikes db8s. I have mt trail on my Hardtail and they're perfect for how I like my brakes to feel (running uber pads). Cheers

@Mapdec

3 ай бұрын

Not really. Use the cash to get the better rotors.

@gr1809

3 ай бұрын

@@Mapdec thanks 👍🏻

i can't even install the mt5 estop because they touch the brake pads already, if i dont break yet. hoe to loosen up the pistons? you can not fit more oil in the line then there is.. how do you fast looser or tighten the mt5 estop ? i dont even have the green nubs on it...on the outside of calaper the yellow you see in video

Shimano calipers are pretty crap due to galvanic corrosion. My grx calipers are wrecked. Is magura better?

I have used Magura Brakes now for many years, and have never had any issues. Great quality, good price points and customer service is incredible.

Good Morning, I have owned a Magura MT5 front and rear for about 3 months. There has been a problem with the brakes from the very beginning, especially in the front. The pads have been rubbing against the disc since the beginning - I've driven about 500 km. Yesterday I took off the pads in both and after inflating I noticed that the pistons slide out unevenly. One practically does not move - it is the same in both calipers. In addition, during braking there is a strange sensation of the disc passing through the pads - there is such a strange resonance on the steering wheel that goes from the handlebars. In the rear it feels a little less but it is the same. Is it possible to send the calipers back for warranty? What could be the cause? Should the pistons on this model slide out evenly?

@Mapdec

10 ай бұрын

Yes. They should move evenly. They can can sticky in all brands, but that’s usual for dirty and older calipers and is part of a regular service. If they are sticky from new, sure. Send them back

Are the MT5 Pro as good as MT7 Pro? They look quite similar. The calipers are the same (at least at first glace - Magura do specify on their website that caliper construction is a bit different due to piston retraction etc). Other than that the MT7 Pro has that toolless reach adjusment on the lever - something I can live without. The MT5 Pro are cheaper but do they deliver the same power as the MT7 Pro?

@Mapdec

5 ай бұрын

Yeah. I think so.

Sell that bundle of 2-piston callipers with Shimano road hydro owners. Shigura on road > Shimano levers + Shimano calipers. Magura callipers less prone to leaking. For 250GBP I'd much rather the Hayes Dominion A4, with disks would be maybe 40GBP more or if you're strapped for cash (say 250) I'd rather the Forumla Cura 2 with their oversized pistons. The Dominions are much easier to bleed and have a significantly lighter deadstroke and not as much mush vs. Magura MT5s when you actually pull to hit a wall. Formula Cura 2's are a little lighter duty (but has won a DH World Cup...) but have fantastic feel and power (especially for a 2-piston). Don't think Magura deserves such lopsided praise for offering this product. Yes, it's a good product but there are arguably a few better constructed, easier to bleed brakes for same or less money as these MT5s. If anyone deserves an award for providing LOTS of brake for very little $ it should be Shimano with their fantastic (same as Saint construction) M6120 Deore 4-pot brakes: 150 GBP for a pair with rotors. About 40% less than this Magura set with the majority of the benefits.

Heard a lot slag them off saying the levers feel like cheap shit.

@Mapdec

Жыл бұрын

🤷‍♂️

Are these good brakes, I’m looking for fairly cheap and reliable hydraulic disc brakes for my dh bike, I’m rocking the classic Hayes Stroker Trails and I’m thinking about upgrading mt5’s, is it worth $419 Aud with the rotors

@Mapdec

8 ай бұрын

For stopping power for cost these are excellent. You have to spend quite a bit more for something significantly better. Although everything is on sale right now so the whole value thing is a bit skewed.

Its weird that the Campy brakes are so bad since they are made by magura... I've seen a lot of ekar and eps brakes split in the middle where the caliper halfs are bolted together...

@dylangrantz8124

Жыл бұрын

Really have not had a problem with mine they work great have ekar on my gravel bike and have them on two motorcycles. Great brakes they do wonders for everything. I guess I have been lucky. I also have been lucky my campy cranks don't split in two.

Just go with MT200 no issues, good power braking.

I run the mt5pro absolutely superb brakes . So easy to install bleeding was child's play A big plus for magura is the length of hose is long enough to fit anything out there Spare olives and I inserts are also included Along with a comprehensive sticker pack to keep the kids entertained for 4 minutes I did swap out the one piece pads for some galfer 4 piece (galfer make the magura Pro pad that comes as standard) bolts are included too My reason for this was on the front brake with the 203 rotor it made a buzzing noise when your really anchoring on,this is the cutaways in the rotor that are there for various reasons including keeping debri off the surface of the pad .it was a minor niggle that was fixed with the 4 piece pads . The costs of the mt trail sport is kept much lower by using the same caliper as mt5 mt7 but its manufactured in the far east keeping labour cost much lower .

@mtbboy1993

Жыл бұрын

Interesting. A lot of hate on Magura due to being hard to bleed. So seems like people are just not doing it properly?

@knott4me561

Жыл бұрын

I worked on the wc circuit from 2016 to 19 and the last year the team switched sponsor to magura and never had a single issue bleeding them.

My Formula Cura 4 experience: Plastic bushing at lever wore out in in maybe 300km, but in 400 km it for sure was worn out, annoying play and dead throw. But I upgraded to RG components lever, it has bearings. i knew of it, and knew I should buy it, I suspected the lever bushing would fail, and it did. RG lever upgrade resulted in smoother and lighter action. I had the brakes 2 years, the front brake was failing, soft lever and loss of power, eventually did a bleed did not help, I noticed the O ring failed despite only bleeding the brake once before. Bad O -ring I guess, unless i overtightened it, but i don't go crazy. Pistons were leaking. So had to swap the sweals, the seals were deformed and pistons got stuck, so locked the brakes, or would not push out fully, and pushed out different distances. but after new seals were installed it worked well. lever did not fully return every time, but after getting all air out and new pads it seems to work. will see how it goes. not test ridden it yet. rear also had bad seal, but that was after several bleeds, so brake worked, but a bit soft, air in system, but was functional. Rear did not have leak at piston seals. Shame Forrmula did not have bearings in lever on new lever upgrade with adjustments. I don't need adjustment, i want a grabby brake just how it is.

@marcinbalcer1772

10 ай бұрын

My fomula cura 2 experience: I bought them at begginng of april, they worked flawlessly for two or maybe three weeekends on trails. Lever bushings has wornout making more dead throw, one caliper started leaking oil on o-ring between two caliper parts that are screwed togheter, pistons weren't rectracting properly during pad wear making lever throw to handlebar, I changed quad rings but it get evern worse and I need to bleed them very often about 5 or 6 times from april. I contacted formula with my issues thru instagram, but i didn't feel happy with customer service. For me that's too much maintaince for breaks and decided to sell them.

@mtbboy1993

10 ай бұрын

@@marcinbalcer1772 I rebuilt front brake, kept them. Might try other brakes later. The bushing is stupid. My brake did not leak at the start, not sure why it leaked, but the seal had a taper to it. I guess I just wore it out. 🤔 But seals wear out on any brake, rear was perfect so did not touch it. Also had the rings a bleed port fail. Even the one I only bled once. I guess it's faulty seals. With the lever upgrade and good seals this brake is nice. But stock it's not so good. The leve upgrade is a must! I am limited in my brake choices as I want mineral oil, so this was the bes compromise for me at the time.

@mtbboy1993

10 ай бұрын

@@marcinbalcer1772 sound slike you had worse issues than me. But the bushing is obviously not good. You probably had faulty seals, I am not ust eif i just wore mine out or faulty.

Yee, not too much of a fan of the 4 piston magura offerings to be honest. I really am no fan of their magnetic pistons which causes unnecessary hustle when changing pads. Driving magnetic pads close to the wear limit can see you go over the bar due to fallen in brake pads. Distance of pads to rotors is tiny, which makes brake setup difficult. Especially once pistons start getting sticky. Having to take the wheel out to get the pads is another annoyance. The levers really are not my type. To me, they feel incredibly cheap and the blades tend to flex in my hands at least. Finally, the magura rotors are not my favourites either. I don't know if it is down to the rotors that i hear tweeting MTs on the trail so often, but I do think it is. No idea what the pricing situation is over there in the UK, but at least given constant offerings of new sets of TRP Slate T4 and TRP Quadiem on eBay for 120€ resp. 200€ here in germany, there are other brakes I would fancy on a budget. Especially the Quadiem is a fantastic brake for the price. Bleeding is easy, pistons are made from stainless steel and thus mostly indestructible, lever feel is nice, modulation is there and the power is there, too. The standard organic TRP brake pads are exceptionally good I feel.

@knott4me561

Жыл бұрын

Love the trp brakes but the budget versions with hollow steel pistons just overheat to quickly ....the more expensive dhr evo etc have hybrid ceramic pistons

@Soviet_Elmo

Жыл бұрын

@@knott4me561 Ah nice to know. But isn't this mainly a question of braking pads and to an extend discs? I generally only run organic pads; either the blue TRP or Trickstuff power

We need a Yeti Arc update! How are you getting on with the bike?

@Mapdec

Жыл бұрын

Oh. I have some new wheels on the way. Update inbound.

Pros and cons of brakes fro various brands: Feel free to add something else you noticed or I forgot to mention. Features I like from various brakes: Formula, Sram: flip flop design, so can flip the levers over let to right, so two bleed ports, no upside down. Hope tech: Pistons can be removed by pushing them out from the inside. The new MTB brakes have bearings in the lever pivots. Magura: Magnetic pads, pistons. Formula: All metal construction, light weight. Can get every single part as a spare. Yes, pistons, internals, seals. only thin you can't get is the bleed port O ring, without getting new bolt. Easy to bleed, if not, the system has a leak. TRP: Semi metallic pads bite as well as Shimano, but don't crack.Can't take pads out on their Quadium brakes. But they solved that on TRP G-Spec E-MTB. The caliper design make sense on that one. But TRP slate has a nice caliper design. But shame lever master cylinder doesn't have a flip flop design. They come stock with red semi metallic pads, those are great. Bad things: Formula: Plastic bushing wearing fast, brake lever has to be upgraded, I got dead throw and play after few hundred km. but RG components lever solved that, super light, and smooth lever action, zero play, and has grip holes. lever feel is superb. Shimano: Can't get spares, even shops can't, unless you measure the seals, but you can't get every thing anyway, but some kits on Aliexpress exist with internals for certain brakes, so pistons, seals, both for caliper and master cylinder. Metallic pads crack, I've had many pads, they all cracked. But bite is great. The resin pads are horrible, even Pinkbike says so. Horrible bite, wear fast. lasts about 4 weeks. They offer brakes with Servo Wave without bite point adjustment, Like Deore, no counter measure for the reach adjustment effecting the power, how far the piston can be pressed. So the brake is useless adjusted for short fingers, but powerful with long fingers. They should discontinue those redundant models. But they offer levers with direct reach adjustment, on the push rod, so power won't be effected. Magura: Can't get spares, need to send in the brake. Had plastic master cylinder, I am sceptic to the carbotexture, but in theory it should be strong, but I am still a fan of metal, you can do major abuse to it and it won't fail. people complain about Magura being hard to bleed. Hope: No mineral option, only mineral oil compatible seals in road/gravel calipers intended for use with Shimano levers. DOT only option. Sram: DOT brakes, apart from one model. Toxic, paint eating, blinding. I don't know how bad Dot5 is, but seen how DOT3 is, that east paint in seconds. TRP: Plastic cover on brakes, no spares for hydraulic brakes. They have spare pistons for mechanical brakes, but hard to find. Mechanical brake levers have plastic bushings, so they wear fast, no easy way to change them, might not be possible i don't know. Too strong/heavy return spring on TRP Spyke mechanical brakes, can't take pads out from the top. Trickstuff: You can't currently buy them as the store is closed. But you they were out of stock, and price is steep. Intend: Steep price, clamp is part of the master cylinder for weight reduction, so need to slide it on.

@mtbboy1993

Жыл бұрын

Braking brakes by Sunstar Engineering: no that's not a type, they are actually called Braking, Cedric Garcia is promoting them. I've only seen them on one bike in real life. The brake has massive master sylinder reservoir. Similar to Hope. The pistons are metal. Things that they do differently: brake hose is connected at the bottom of the caliper.Massive bolts clamping the top reservoir cover. Like Hayes they have caliper alignment bolts at the mounting holes. The bleed port is different, you connect the hose to a plug that sticks out, the bleed port plug is part of a nut you can loosen, without disconnecting the syringe. Good: They do Moto and ATV brakes too. Direct reach adjustment at the push rod. Clamping plate can be removed for easy install and removal. Bad: They use DOT, so toxic, blinding, paint eating. Only two piston version.

@rosomak8244

Жыл бұрын

I don't think much about the brakes. They just work and there is no brand name put on them. I don't ride intentionally in heavy rain and therefore I'm one of the very few who are able to stay away comfortably from disc brakes.

@mtbboy1993

Жыл бұрын

​@@rosomak8244 Which type of brakes do you use? Rim brakes? if so V brakes? cantilever brakes? Disc brakes? mechanical? hydraulic? I ride in all conditions, -10C winter, snow, salty roads, summer heat 30C, heavy rain, mud, deep puddles. I ride a enduro bike, so have massive rotors 220mm, proper big rotors, hydraulic brakes, I use Formula Cura 4 with RG components lever. Got the expensive Trickstuff rotors, got them for half of retail second-hand.

@mtbboy1993

Жыл бұрын

@@rosomak8244 Any numbers or anything to identify them anywhere? Great you have brakes that work. Proper brake pads should work well in the wet too. I am not a fan of rim brakes as they are easier to contaminate in the wet due to oil spills on a wet road or a puddle. But V brakes have nice light action and are powerful. I prefer Hydraulic 4 piston brakes for power and light lever action, and less fatigue on long rides. I like sintered/metallic pads as they bite well and wear slow, nice in wet conditions. But some resin/organic pads are good, still provide good bite, Formula pads do that. They of course get powdery and wear faster, but not as fast as Shimano.

@Mapdec

Жыл бұрын

Great post. Thank you.

Not a fan, the levers feel cheap and plasticcy (is that word?) and flex too much for my liking and in my experience they develop sticky pistons too often which usually isn’t fixable unlike other brands. If you accept the fact that they’re disposable, shimanos are the way to go. Never had that dreaded wandering bite point in over ten years of running them.

On the other hand , the worst mechanical disc brakes are Promax junk that cannondale puts on their entry level disc offerings.. total garbage

@Mapdec

Жыл бұрын

Death traps

@_Zane__

Жыл бұрын

@@Mapdec the pads are not even parallel in the caliper, let alone getting them parallel with the rotor with good brake engagement and no rubbing...

@mtbboy1993

Жыл бұрын

I probably had similar junk on my child hood bike. single piston, and required a lot of force to press, I had to use all fingers to brake, my hands hurt. Pads were like a tiny coin. I see they still make similar models. Won't surprise me if it's as bad. The bike I had had the combo Shimano brakelever and shifter, combined with the Promax garbage caliper. absurd. So far it sohuld be forbidden by law.

@mtbboy1993

Жыл бұрын

BTW, Promax is the sister company of Box Components, it's their budget brand. But Avoid Box Components drivetrains, the BOX 3, is awful, saw a review of Box 3 Prime 9, plastic rear derailleur with screws getting out of adjustment. And I had Box One X-wide rear derailleur, the bushings wore out so badly in about 70 km that the rd would not shift. Box sent me replacement from USA. same thing happen. They must be losing money on these junk products when people warranty them. I've been told their shifters fail too. I've seen a video on Instagram of a rider riding down stairs and a Box Two rear derailleur failing, it fell apart, good he was able to stop before it went into the spoke along with the chain. Avoid all BOX Components drivetrains. A new drivetrain will eventually come, I don't know if that will hold up. If you want more reliable, cheap but robust stuff that performs well Deore M6100 SGS is a great choice. But if cage fails or you destroy it you can get spares anyway, not that costly. Box is fully rebuildable, but that's redundant as you would have to rebuild it every month to change bushings. And clutch can't be turned off. absurd.

In my option nothing on a brake should be plastic. All parts need to be easily accessible without sending brakes in for repair or service. So it's a no go for me. I want to be able to repair my brakes anywhere any time. I've seen pic of MT5 that failed after bike fell over, and brake got hit. I would not even put this brake on a city bike.

@knott4me561

Жыл бұрын

It's not plastic it's carbo which is a mixture of plastic composite....bmw Mercedes audi Toyota Honda all use the same magura composite on the cars bike assembly and motorbikes and have done for nearly 25 years .we had 4 riders do 7 rounds of dh wc in 2019 who only broke levers in crashes that would of broke any lever.

not to mention the potential for shiguras

@knott4me561

Жыл бұрын

I can see why many do it with the std mt5 lever as uts a poor 2 finger lever but it's not something needed on the 1 finger hc lever and unless you get the xtr9100 lever which doesn't use servo wave your at the mercy of the wondering bite point gods

@Soviet_Elmo

Жыл бұрын

@@knott4me561 Wandering bite point on shimano brakes has little to do with their levers. Its braking fluid viscosity. Especially rear brakes are prone to it due to hose length. Thin braking fluid like Putoline HPX 2.5 or Redline Likewater do the trick.

i have magura brakes on my tt bike...truly awful.