Magura MT7 brakes drive me crazy

[Alpsrider]

I have a new Amflow Carbon PL Pro. It would be a great bike if it weren't for...

I've done my first 10 tours (13,000 metres of elevation gain and 320 km). I've taken the bike to the repair shop three times, watched three videos about the well-known Magura problem and spent at least five hours in my workshop myself.

-Cleaned and finely sanded the brake discs.

-Sanded and replaced the brake pads.

-Aligned the brake caliper countless times.

-Reduced the amount of brake fluid.

-Pushed the brake pistons all the way in countless times.

Nothing helped. The brakes continue to squeak and roar merrily along. It's almost unbearable!

If it's a defective part, that can't be normal on a € 10k bike, can it?

 

[TQFreak]

Maybe try to use different pads, maybe sintered metal pads. I guess it is normal and does not depend on price of the bicycle. Just let them rub in and maybe after some time it will be gone.

Brakes are more like tires, you can pay $100 or $10000 for a bicycle, but in both cases you have equal chances to have flats.

 

[Rideit]

It’s simpler than that, they suck.
Just get Mavens, and check yoself before you wreck yoself!

 

[Astro66]

Couple of things.

If you are not using them, try the individual 4 pads per caliper.

Aligning the MT7 calipers is not very successful using the same method as Shimano. I align them by eye. doing one end bolt at a time, lightly niping them up, checking pad to rotor gap at one end at a time, by wiggling the pad, to see if there is a gap on both sides. When both ends are the best you can get. Tighten properly.

I am running 203mm SRAM Centreline Rotors instead of the Magura. So also check you haven't got some sort of rotor contamination. Rotors are not expensive. So maybe just try a different set with fresh pads. I get all my rotors and pads on Aliexpress. So it quite cheap to try different things. Pads are about AUD$4 per caliper. 203 SRAM Centreline Rotors AUD$30 a pair.

I am running soft resin pads. My front pads started singing after a ride. I took a file to them, and it stopped.

Oh BTW ...... I removed my pads completely, one end of the bike at a time, to confirm the singing was coming from Pad to Rotor contact. This also helped me work out it was one of the front pads, as when I removed the front pads, the singing stopped. Filed all 4 front pads well, replaced and noise gone.

 

[Astro66]

It’s simpler than that, they suck.

I disagree. These are the best brakes I have had to date. I think trying some simple and cheap solutions like, alignment methods, pads and rotors, before committing to the expense of the entire braking system, is warranted.

My MT7s, have been just brilliant. Allowing me to fully convert to single finger braking always. Something I didn't have the confidence to do on my Shimano XTs.

 

[Ndanger]

I disagree. These are the best brakes I have had to date. I think trying some simple and cheap solutions like, alignment methods, pads and rotors, before committing to the expense of the entire braking system, is warranted.

My MT7s, have been just brilliant. Allowing me to fully convert to single finger braking always. Something I didn't have the confidence to do on my Shimano XTs.

I really like the braking feel of the Mt7s so I get how much you enjoy them. I just wish that they were a little less hassle unlike the 8120's which don't have the ultimate braking force that the Magura's in my experience. The Shimano have been bullet proof. I exclusively use one finger braking on the XT's comfortably.

 

[Astro66]

I really like the braking feel of the Mt7s so I get how much you enjoy them. I just wish that they were a little less hassle unlike the 8120's which don't have the ultimate braking force that the Magura's in my experience. The Shimano have been bullet proof. I exclusively use one finger braking on the XT's comfortably.

All my lesser spec'd bikes have Shimano brakes and Transmission.

I love Shimano. If I could get the wireless Shimano derailleur to interface with the Avinox Motor and give me Coast shifting , I'd piss the SRAM XO AXS Transmission off and get the Shimano. My bike with the AXS XO transmission took an innocuous fall on the weekend, and it bloody bent the top arm, which was supposed to be un-bendable. That's why they ditched the hanger.

It's a bloody $800 derailleur. Anyway. I straightened it enough with a pipe wrench to allow the Micro-adjust to tune it properly. But another whack and it will be cactus. What I'd give to be able to hanger mount it. Hangers are a piece of cake to straighten with the alignment tool, when you whack the derailleur. And cheap as chips to replace. Sure beats bending bloody $800 derailleurs !!!

 

[Alpsrider]

sintered metal pads

Thank for your quick response. Certaintly I'll try it, even if, AI says:

• Noise: Sintered pads are known to be noisier than their organic counterparts.

Ernst

 

[Svarun]

Definitely noisier in the wet, but during regular use I find them quieter and more predictable than resin. I am on Shimano XTR brakes, but the same principles apply...

 

[robikinkela]

What you say seems very strange to me because I've been using Magura MT7s for about three years with great satisfaction, never a problem, one of the best braking systems I've ever tried. I paired them with Magura MDR-P discs, try doing the same, maybe the problem is with the discs. The pads are the sport ones, the green ones, never a problem.

 

[dadeadduck]

Interesting that Dale Stone struggled with MT7 and switched them out immediately on his Amflow.

 

[Polar]

Interesting that Dale Stone

Even more interesting that some swollow what influencers say with hook and sinker.

 

[dadeadduck]

Even more interesting that some swollow what influencers say with hook and sinker.

Who has done that?

 

[DylanJM]

Even more interesting that some swollow what influencers say with hook and sinker.

Magura brakes are well known for being finicky and difficulty to set up. People have been posting on forums about it long before influencers came into existence.

 

[Ndanger]

All my lesser spec'd bikes have Shimano brakes and Transmission.

I love Shimano. If I could get the wireless Shimano derailleur to interface with the Avinox Motor and give me Coast shifting , I'd piss the SRAM XO AXS Transmission off and get the Shimano.

It's a bloody $800 derailleur. Anyway. I straightened it enough with a pipe wrench

I'm a bit slow on the wireless uptake and having Scottish heritage, I like the affordability of Shimano. I'm keeping an open mind and will not rule out moving away from cable shifting. I'm intrigued by the durability of Link glide as well.

Was it steel or aluminum that you were able to straighten, I'm impressed with the ingenuity. I have a feeling I would be very ingenious with the prospect of chucking an 800 dollar item.

 

[Astro66]

Was it steel or aluminum that you were able to straighten,

Alloy.

 

[Mikerb]

I have a new Amflow Carbon PL Pro. It would be a great bike if it weren't for...

I've done my first 10 tours (13,000 metres of elevation gain and 320 km). I've taken the bike to the repair shop three times, watched three videos about the well-known Magura problem and spent at least five hours in my workshop myself.

-Cleaned and finely sanded the brake discs.

-Sanded and replaced the brake pads.

-Aligned the brake caliper countless times.

-Reduced the amount of brake fluid.

-Pushed the brake pistons all the way in countless times.

Nothing helped. The brakes continue to squeak and roar merrily along. It's almost unbearable!

If it's a defective part, that can't be normal on a € 10k bike, can it?

I think it is worth separating the symptoms of brake problems in order to focus on the solution.
Brake pad/calliper alignment problems will cause brake rub and if more extreme vibration you can feel through the lever...as well of course as poor braking response. None of that will cause squealing on brake application.
Noisy pad on rotor problems are due to poor grip between the pad and rotor. The classic causes for that are
1. Contamination on the rotor. That can be caused by a variety of aerosol cleaners/polishers even if sprayed well away from the bike but in a closed space. It also includes some general non aerosol cleaners and of course oils. If using any cleaning/lubricating products on a bike it is best to cover the rotors first. Even touching the braking surface with your hands can contaminate the rotor. Other causes include road/exhaust contamination if the bike is carried on the back of a car/van but probably by far the biggest cause is poor brake pad bedding in procedure. Sintered pads are the hardest to bed in properly.
2. Using mismatched pads and rotors. Some rotors are designed only for resin pads.

So how to bed in pads? The process involves transferring a sacrifice layer on the pad to the rotor whilst a voiding heating the rotor. So the best way to do that is to spend 10/15 minutes on a quiet section of road riding at a moderate speed and then applying one of the brakes hard until you nearly come to a stop and then release. Repeat several times. After each application you should feel the braking efficiency improve. Repeat with the other brake. The classic sign of not having done that correctly is a black deposit on the rotor......caused by heat!

How to get rid of contamination? Use shop towel with a section soaked with IPA and rub both sides of the rotor using more clean towel if necessary until that wiping leaves no marking on the towel. (In my experience using supposed brake cleaner fluid for this is worse that useless!). I see no reason to use any abrasive material on a rotor unless it is scored. I have never sanded a rotor!.
Pads can be cleaned firstly with IPA and a cotton cloth, then with c 1200 grit wet and dry, then with IPA again. Dont use sand paper!!
You will need to bed the pads in again now, although it will be quicker second time a round.

 

[Winford]

Nothing helped.

Try switching rotors, the cheap ebay 2.3 220 rotors transformed the riding experience. These are the best brakes I have ever ran. My Shimanos are pretty good too, but not this good. The 2.3mm rotors are very heavy and I will switch to 2mm 220 rotors when these wear out. On a side note I do a lot of 1000' drops in 3 miles running onto a canyon, and the 2.3 heat wise are the best ive ran

 

[Winford]

they suck.

I question your knowledge

 

[Winford]

203mm SRAM Centreline Rotors

HS2 are the trick, I dont like centerlines because they are so thin.

The 2.3 are heavy but they do handle the huge amount of elevation I drop, and they handle it quite well. But ill definitely switch to lighter 2mm 220 rotors when I wear these out

soft resin pads.

I bought 10 pair myself from your same watering hole. They are really good pads IMHO

On the Shimano they wear to halfway rather quickly, but then hold for a lot longer past that. My buddy made alloy shims to go behind his pads, so that his levers dont get so close to the bars. This is something the MT7s are not doing with wear

 

[Winford]

Magura MT7s for about three years with great satisfaction, never a problem

Mine were singing like a song bird from harmonics, which a rotor change fixed. Im surprised these work so well. But they do take a lot more time to bed in than Shimanos.

 

[Winford]

I'm a bit slow on the wireless uptake

Best thing I ever did was switch my manual shifting Shimano to electronic shifting. Decreased times on every trail I ride.

But t was not just faster riding, the longevity of the cassette and chain has paid for itself.

intrigued by the durability of Link glide

Pass on that, I have a buddy that got over 2500 miles on his original cassette and chain, with electronic shifting 12sp. But he does ride in trail and eco a lot.

I was getting 800-900 miles with manual shifting riding at race pace, [turbo/boost 99% of the time] and with electronic shifting it literally doubled my miles. I did use MSW and dip every two rides, and pressure wash the chain and dry before waxing.

 

[Astro66]

HS2 are the trick, I dont like centerlines because they are so thin.

I measured them with a Vernier. They were actually 0.1mm thicker than the Magura rotors I took off. I think I would have constant rubbing issues if they were any thicker, and you fitted new pads.

 

[Winford]

I think I would have constant rubbing issues if they were any thicker, and you fitted new pads.

When the bike was under 100 miles I fit 2.3 rotors, so unlike Shimano, these pistons go back a lot further. You wont have any problems fitting any size you can find.

 

[addierwerk]

Hi! I had the same experience on my Amflow with the MT5. I have a lot of experience with SRAM and Shimano and lately only used Shimano XT Ice-Tech and hadn't had any squeaking in years. First time that I had Magura and it squeaks like crazy. I never paid much attention to braking in since my home trail usually does that for me, but not so on Magura. I resanded everything and tried to brake it in properly but that didn't help for long, after a few rides the squeak was back. I also tried other pads from Magura, same squeak. I almost switched back to my beloved XT BR-8120 (I also prefer the Lever and the On/Off Feel on the XT) but the Magura Calipers look so much better. I did lots of googling and Forums and stuff, the Internet is full of Magura Squeak Advice - so it seems to be a thing.

I found a working solution for me: Swiss Stop 33C Pads and Trickstuff Dächle Discs. Non squeak anymore, did 20000 hm on it and still silent. I think its mainly the discs, I had the same pads on the original MDR-C Discs and it did squeak.

Hope that helps,
Herbi

 

[Winford]

squeaking

probably harmonics that come off the 6b rotors, I have a feeling CL rotors would also stop it

 

[Pentti]

I had massive noise problems with the same sintered pads I've used on all my other bikes.
Solution was to fit GENUINE MAGURA MDP 8.R RACE Pads - Gold/Yellow colour code.
4 Pads per caliper, they are "Semi-Metallic" but they work fantastic for me, quiet & powerful

 

[Amber Valley Guy]

I find using a light from underneath the caliper and visibly checking the pads are parallel to the disk is the only way to ensure alignment, ensuring all the pistons are pushed fully in the caliper first.

Any misalignment from the pads first set up will wear the pads at a slight angle which will become noisy as they try and warp the rotor, then you'll get the squeaking/groaning noise when you try and adjust them true again (your pads are no longer truly flat), as the pads will now have only have a small contact area and, if four piston brakes, the pistons will be bending the pads slightly, or again trying to warp the rotor hence the noise.

Sanding them down on some wet and dry will not help, as you'll be keeping the same angle of misalignment. That final torquing up can slightly twist the caliper on its posts so double check with a light from underneath AFTER torquing up that they are parallel and equispaced each side to the rotor.

 

[Bomble]

I’m a big fan of mt7’s, had them in a few bikes. They came stock in my Whyte and were terrible for noise. I swapped the stock pads for purple galfers, still noisy.
Swapping the discs finally cured it and they are back to being awesome.

 

[Fangs2k]

I run Magura, TRP, SRAM, Clarkes and Hope brakes of various sorts on mine and the families bikes, they all squeal or ‘suck’ if not setup properly.

On one occasion I was struggling to quieten down some front Magura MT5s, they were squealing like mad. Turns out the post mounts on the fork were out of alignment, diagnosed by switching out the fork. The local bike shop faced the misaligned fork mounts properly using their fancy Park tool thingymajig and when I refitted and aligned them they were perfect.

If you’ve tried everything else obvious or mentioned, might be worth a closer look at the fork or frame mounts. The one piece long pads in the MT7 can exacerbate any misalignment issues.