What is a good source for (cheap) magura calipers?
I am curious to try out a shimgura setup after havingbeen beaten reading kidwoos signature
I am curious to try out a shimgura setup after having
Frankenbrakes and brake improvement discussion
- Thread starter Udi
- Start date
Never seen used Maguras as cheap as new ones from Germany https://www.bike-discount.de/en/buy/magura-mt5-disc-brake-set-528592
This is where I got mine. But don't forget to factor in the cost of:
- new discs
- proper spacers (ime, the Shimano ones didn't quite line up the calipers correctly)
- new pads (if you want sintered vs the organic ones that come stock)
- new bleed kit
- (and potentially, down the line) new levers.
still, overall, it has been worth it for me. I will give the levers a bit of time before deciding whether I need new ones.
Well the Hayes care package showed up today.
No shipping label, RMA or anything indicating they want the old brake back. No correspondence at all, just a brake, bleed kit and a box of parts.
So, do I cut the line, put in a new olive and bleed up the old set and hope for the best, or do I install the new brake?
Thoughts...
No shipping label, RMA or anything indicating they want the old brake back. No correspondence at all, just a brake, bleed kit and a box of parts.
So, do I cut the line, put in a new olive and bleed up the old set and hope for the best, or do I install the new brake?
Thoughts...
Ya, I have decided that is what I'm going to do. No faffing about, just measure, cut, olive, torque, bleed and ride.
Then I will dick around with the other one on the bench. I have the spare line, so if I need to put it on a rear in the future, I'm good. Assuming I can figure out what is wrong with it. I received a caliper piston rebuild kit, line, olives, banjo and bolt and an ok bleed kit, but nothing for servicing the lever outside of a reservoir cap and bladder / seal. Hey beggars can't be choosers, and I made out like a bandit on this occasion.
Thank-you Hayes.
good to know. I'll keep the old rotors handy in case of emergencies then.
Quick update, a friend, who is a helluva mechanic, jumped shark and rebored a customer's XT master cylinder. He also machined a new piston and put in a new c-cup and o-ring (from a Honda CRX MC if memory serves me well). The hybrid contraption is working as intended after two weeks of daily usage. The MC bore had deep groves from the piston scratching it due to the Servo Wave pushing it off center. Since this brake was less than a year old and Shimano warranties are non existent here in Argentina (or the whole South America for that matter) it was a compromise solution. I'll keep asking him for updates and post the results here.
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I've found some BL M6000 levers for $30 AUD each on one of the German sites.... Will they work with my old M810 Saint calipers (which are trouble free, unlike the levers...)? I'm coming from the 2 pot lever to 4 pot caliper angle, which I believe was mentioned before as an issue.
NSMB.com - Formula Cura 4 Brakes Ridden; teardown and first impressions.
Formula's EWS and World Cup DH proved four-piston brakes bring Italian made beauty, power, and indeed value to the big-brake market. Teardown with Jeff at Bikeroom and early ride impressions within.
nsmb.com
just to add to the data... and everyone loves a tear-down article, amirite?! Interesting comments at the end of the article about running changes in production to seals affecting roll-back.
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And now for something super nerdy: I wrote a little app to pull data from Udi's master brake spreadsheet and visualise this in a nice customisable bar chart. Also has the option to play around with different lever/caliper combo's, to see how they stack up to standard brakes.
As the data is pulled from the spreadsheet, the same disclaimers apply obviously; data might not be 100% accurate, so hopefully you guys can help flesh this out further. Check it out: https://brakes.ddzyne.nl
As the data is pulled from the spreadsheet, the same disclaimers apply obviously; data might not be 100% accurate, so hopefully you guys can help flesh this out further. Check it out: https://brakes.ddzyne.nl
Very cool gadget, certainly needs the backing data polished to become practically useful, but there's some nice potential there!
I'd be interested to hear a little about what tool/s you use to do this stuff (as per my earliest response to your PMs I think), or if it's hand-coded? I have a few silly spreadsheets like this one, and less complicated ones would probably benefit from it more - as simple data can be taken at face value with no caveats. The fluids table for example, simply a few viscosities and a boiling point. Inverses could be taken of things like viscosity (and call it something like flow or fluidity @ xx temp) to create a "more = merrier" graph item.
A couple minor suggestions:
Last little side thing, something about the RO-R is off and it shouldn't be decimating every other brake like that, they're on one of my bikes! But your JSON integration is great because now I can just zero out or modify bad values centrally.
Nice work, a little inspiration here to polish up the messy original thing we made, thanks for sharing.
I'd be interested to hear a little about what tool/s you use to do this stuff (as per my earliest response to your PMs I think), or if it's hand-coded? I have a few silly spreadsheets like this one, and less complicated ones would probably benefit from it more - as simple data can be taken at face value with no caveats. The fluids table for example, simply a few viscosities and a boiling point. Inverses could be taken of things like viscosity (and call it something like flow or fluidity @ xx temp) to create a "more = merrier" graph item.
A couple minor suggestions:
- It's probably good to just use a single (total peak) leverage value rather than visualising the mechanical/hydraulic components individually, purely because it hints there's some importance to it when there's very little (and often confuses people) - or maybe visualised in a way that shows the total is the important thing, with the mech/hydraulic portions thin/faded bars inside that or something.
- To be a functionally useful tool (ignoring the obvious requirement of some reliability data, hard to measure objectively) the one thing it really DOES need is a lever throw visualisation. Purely because that's the tradeoff for peak force, and the hard part about brake design is getting high peak force AND low free stroke.
- I think weight is another important one, there's huge % variations and it'd definitely be a nice one to graph alongside the other two things.
Last little side thing, something about the RO-R is off and it shouldn't be decimating every other brake like that, they're on one of my bikes! But your JSON integration is great because now I can just zero out or modify bad values centrally.
Nice work, a little inspiration here to polish up the messy original thing we made, thanks for sharing.
Good points! I implemented number 1 right away, it's now a stacked bar for each brake, less cluttered too (and you can still unstack them using the switch below the chart). Weight would definitely be a nice addition too, not hard to implement either. I'll have a look at some weight databases with pics to see if I can update the spreadsheet a bit with reliable info. Number 2 is a good one for a rainy day (or season).
The tool is hand coded, thought it'd be a nice demo for my portfolio, while also being useful (well, somewhat) and fun to do. It's got pretty much reusable components, so extra charts shouldn't be too hard to generate. I'll have a look at the fluids table when I've got time
The tool is hand coded, thought it'd be a nice demo for my portfolio, while also being useful (well, somewhat) and fun to do. It's got pretty much reusable components, so extra charts shouldn't be too hard to generate. I'll have a look at the fluids table when I've got time
Added some weights in the master spreadsheet, taken from a quick run through a German weight db (https://gewichte.mtb-news.de/). Modified the tool to display these weights on a secondary x-axis.
Hose weight substracted from the total weight to make for a fairer comparison. Might make something later on to calculate total weight with customisable length and type (plastic, braided ss) of hose.
Hose weight substracted from the total weight to make for a fairer comparison. Might make something later on to calculate total weight with customisable length and type (plastic, braided ss) of hose.
Looking to replace wifes Saints this off-season, should I Cura4, MT7, something else, risk more Saints?
Cura4s are ~$260 shipped, Magura's are ~$300 shipped, haven't looked what Saints are now that you can't get them cheap from Germany...
Cura4s are ~$260 shipped, Magura's are ~$300 shipped, haven't looked what Saints are now that you can't get them cheap from Germany...
Goddamn it, just looked at my usual Shimano sources and none will ship to Freedomland anymore, I guess I'm putting off dumping my GX drivetrain for XT a little longer, thank's for ruining my life.
As for brakes, I think I'd pick up MT5s if I had to do it again. My Cura 4s are great, tons of power, level feels the best of any I've used, but they're a bit finicky to bleed compared to Maguras, still haven't gotten the rear really dialed, but they're gold and shiny, so I'm willing to overlook all of their flaws. Rode saints for the first time in a long time a couple weeks ago, fuck those things and their total lack of modulation and mystery bite point, they did however seem to have more raw power than pretty much anything else I've ridden recently, but it didn't translate to better braking because I couldn't figure out how or when to brake for corners. My MT5s on the previous bike kicked ass. The levers are dogshit, but I got used to them pretty fast and didn't notice it anymore, the power and heat management were killer, the couple time I bled them it was a 5 minute job for a perfect bleed. I can't see myself shelling out double the price for the MT7s.
A bonus for the Cura's versus the Magura's is that there's an adapter that will work with her existing I-Spec B shifter. I think Magura's I'll need to pick up a new 10 speed Shimano shifter for her too.
Yup, Shitmano has joined SCAM and no longer allow sales into NA.
We knew it was coming - CRC was the first to fall, just glad it took the Germans a bit longer. Got some XTR Trail pedals a couple months ago - Germany 130, Canada 240, and that is in our Monopoly money. Germany wins. About two weeks ago I did a trawl of the German shops for a buddy looking for some XT brakes and stuff and they were all saying the same thing - Canukistani - sorry eh.
So my question is how can they justify the NA prices?
Seriously WTF?
We knew it was coming - CRC was the first to fall, just glad it took the Germans a bit longer. Got some XTR Trail pedals a couple months ago - Germany 130, Canada 240, and that is in our Monopoly money. Germany wins. About two weeks ago I did a trawl of the German shops for a buddy looking for some XT brakes and stuff and they were all saying the same thing - Canukistani - sorry eh.
So my question is how can they justify the NA prices?
Seriously WTF?
After a few months on Cura 4's I thought I'd put down a few of my thoughts.
- Lever feel is super consistent (jumping on my hardtail which has Guide's on it feels very vague and inconsistent now)
- I did a bleed after cutting cables and was pretty easy - used the syringe method with Shimano fluid
- Modulation is excellent, harder you pull the harder they bite without a feeling of hitting the wall in terms of power - unlike the Guides I was previously on
- Stock pads seem to go pretty well - I have some Trickstuff Power pads which I will try out next
- Happy with the decision to run with Cura4's over Cura2's for the modulation
- Mineral oil is so nice after years of dealing with nasty Dot fluid
- Cheap brake pads aren't easy to get as the pad shape is new with Cura4
Overall super happy with purchase... I just wish my 2nd bike had them too!
- Lever feel is super consistent (jumping on my hardtail which has Guide's on it feels very vague and inconsistent now)
- I did a bleed after cutting cables and was pretty easy - used the syringe method with Shimano fluid
- Modulation is excellent, harder you pull the harder they bite without a feeling of hitting the wall in terms of power - unlike the Guides I was previously on
- Stock pads seem to go pretty well - I have some Trickstuff Power pads which I will try out next
- Happy with the decision to run with Cura4's over Cura2's for the modulation
- Mineral oil is so nice after years of dealing with nasty Dot fluid
- Cheap brake pads aren't easy to get as the pad shape is new with Cura4
Overall super happy with purchase... I just wish my 2nd bike had them too!
MT5s and race pads are a solid affordable choice.
anybody tried ordering from merlincycles for shimano gear? they allow you to add the item to your basket, but I haven't tried checking out yet.
I ordered some Shimano rotors from Merlin a couple months ago, with no problem.
Help wanted from those monkeys on Cura 4s. A friend bought a set and we have been struggling with the bleeding for three days, trying to give them a decent feel.
Is there any magic words we are missing? Shall we kill a goat/chicken/little kid before we bleed them in order to make the mushy lever feel go away?
Is there any magic words we are missing? Shall we kill a goat/chicken/little kid before we bleed them in order to make the mushy lever feel go away?
Early to be festivus shopping for wifey, but I think they were slightly cheaper in a sale which ended today.
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*places hand upon shoulder*
Just want you to know
You're not alone.......
Get to the point where you're convinced you have all the air out (bleed ports same elevation as recommended helps a lot) and then go ride them. Get the pads bedded into the rotor. They seem to settle out quite a bit going from 'feels shitty in the garage' to 'starting to feel like brakes'
I don't know if it works for the Cura but I do sometimes as follow to remove some air bubbles trapped in brakes: have the lever higher than the caliper, it's even better if the brake line is completely vertical. Squish the lever with some rubber bands. Leave it there overnight. The pressure is theoretically making the air bubbles smaller so that they can rise more easily. The next day, activate the lever a few times and top out the reservoir with fluid.
Let me know how it fares out for the Cura, I have a pair at home that will need bleeding one day.
Let me know how it fares out for the Cura, I have a pair at home that will need bleeding one day.
oh, hello!
I have not, but there is no need to. I've resolved to just jam my foot between my front tire and fork arch.
Which pads are you using?
Magura website implies the Race have a small amount more bite in the dry, but are more liable to fade...
They were so cheap coming from Deutschland compared to buying in freedumland I ordered a couple of sets of spare Performance and Race pads with wife's new MT7's.
I've pedaled around on a friend's bike with them. They seem to function well. The lever is stupid.
But no, no long term real use for me.
I’m not sure to be honest. The most metallic ones, I think ...
The HC3 lever is very Shimano-esque.
Wow those are cheap
What is your time worth?
With all the time I’ve spent NOT dicking around with my XTRs, these Maguras have paid for themselves many times over.
Not saying anything about the Curas, but these recent rumblings are making me glad I pulled the trigger on these MT7s
I have zero gripes with my stock cura 2s, other than you need to figure out a bleeding system.
RTFM goes a long way with those things.
RTFM goes a long way with those things.