An actual brake comparison study

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I think its all down to personal preference, reality is all the decent brakes out there have great stopping power, and which one is "best" is really down to how you get on with them. All of these brakes will haul you to a stop, they just have different feels to doing so.

One thing I do think is critical is initial set up, firstly making sure they are bled properly, and most improtantly bedding in the pads correctly, this makes a huge difference to how well brakes perform IMO. If you dont get this right you will never get the full benefit of whatever brake/pad combo you are using.
 
carlbiker said:
I've been trying to find out what brakes are the best performing and like anything else it's about subjective but here is black and white data. I bought some Zees but I'll be selling this on now and buying the Maguru MT7's after doing this exercise, maybe its useful for some of you guys or will bring about some useful feedback....

They also recommend fitting Trickstuff Power+ brake pads which on their tests offered 20% more performance and were quieter.

ebike-mtb.com

The best eMTB disc brake you can buy

Disc brakes now have it harder than ever before: we’re riding higher modern tires bite harder, and the trails we ride are getting tougher. To be confident in challenging terrain we need to be able to control our speed, so which disc brake is best? Every year, tires get better, our bikes get more...
ebike-mtb.com ebike-mtb.com

Overview
BrakePrice*Weight**Average Breaking Torque30-15 km/h45-0 km/h
Formula Cura€ 124466 g74.3 Nm1.7 s8.0 s
Hope T3 V4€ 235490 g74.8 Nm3.3 s12.7 s
Magura MT5€ 111470 g90.1 Nm1.7 s10.4 s
Magura MT7€ 219488 g99.3 Nm1.6 s5.2
Magura MT Trail Sport€ 219 (set)458 g85.1/68.1 Nm1.8/2.3 s7.6/9.8 s
Shimano Deore€ 73548 g69.9 Nm3.0 s9.6 s
Shimano Saint€ 237594 g83 Nm1.4 s8.8 s
Shimano XT€ 146528 g78.4 Nm3.4 s9.3 s
Shimano Zee€ 157576 g75.2 Nm1.7 s12.0 s
SRAM Code R€ 170514 g69.2 Nm3.1 s11.9 s
SRAM Code RSC€ 270566 g70.6 Nm2.4 s8.5
Trickstuff Direttissima€ 375388 g114.7 Nm1.1 s6.2
TRP G-Spec Quadiem€ 219608 g66.2 Nm2.2 s7.7 s
TRP G-Spec Slate€ 219574 g55.0 Nm3.9 s10.5 s
Tree - Hardwood€ FREE7000000gNot rated0.0 s0.0 s


View attachment 47078

Quite interesting, I was close to buying some hope brakes and looking to sell my Zees until I played around with the table a little and added a little colour scoring and filtered the fasted to stop dead from 45 km/h:

View attachment 47077

I know there's more to just raw data, but its a nice starting point! If this study is accurate then I should be avoiding the hope brakes and aiming towards MT7 (the new levers are meant to be nice) Those Forumla Cura look good bang for buck although they recommend the Zees for the most cost effective option if your on a budget!

Finally here is their summary



Moderator Edit : Added Tree to comparison table.
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???? I just noticed the tree edit!!!

Jackware said:
How often do you brake to a stop from 45km/h on your mountain bike?

Are you finding the Zees wanting when braking?
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I've not tried them, sending back I think or selling.

Gary said:
Disappointed not to see "TREES" at the top of your spreadsheet as the control data ;)

Glad you're feeling better and back to your usual good self.
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I'm still out of action ?! My backs recovering nicely but it's my rotator cuff that's stopping me doing anything, one physio says Xmas week then another over the phone (nhs) reckons weeks or months! I've another visit later so will see.......cheers
 
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The MT7 levers are aluminium I think. Anyone here with MT7 levers with any feedback compared with Shimano? Maybe Shiguru is old news if the levers are adequate.

I've just pinged to see if I need an adaptor but all being well I'll be ordering Magura MT7 Pro HC Carbotecture SL® Disc Brake Set | Disc Brake - Sets Shop under £300 seems decent value, their rotor version had a 203/180 mix, it's £50 more but maybe a better smaller rotor is better than my stock 203, I'll stick to what I have for now and see if I can find a set of 203s maybe, lastly some pads.

Now if I learn how to use them, life should be much less painful going forward (for the trees ofc!)
 
carlbiker said:
, it's £50 more but maybe a better smaller rotor is better than my stock 203,
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If by better you mean more braking force, then no , any 180mm rotor (not even one made from gold )will not be better than any 203mm rotor - unless the 203 mm rotor is broken in half or something

If I were you I would stop chasing this notion/illusion of "the best" and just fit what you have, they will be fine. Would you change your mind if I could show you another article that says zee's are "better" than Mt7's?
 
Mteam said:
If by better you mean more braking force, then no , any 180mm rotor (not even one made from gold )will not be better than any 203mm rotor - unless the 203 mm rotor is broken in half or something

If I were you I would stop chasing this notion/illusion of "the best" and just fit what you have, they will be fine. Would you change your mind if I could show you another article that says zee's are "better" than Mt7's?
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I did wonder why they did the mix, there will be a reason I imagine, maybe it's to dampen the brutal breaking power of these brakes?

Zees were £200 plus the adaptor, MT7 are 1/3 more but clearly very good, all positive regarding mt7 here and some negative about the zees.....comments here of just a select few aren't the be all ofc, useful but you still need to check sources like this report (or others) too.

The mechanic warned me not to fit them over my brakes (like I said before) as they wouldn't be much better than the stock ones, he said this when he was about to fit them! So there's a risk of having new brakes with marginal improvement if any....too risky. Judging by this report he may be right.

End of the day all you can do is hedge your bets unless you want to try trial and error over and over like I just nearly did on this occasion
 
Rob Rides EMTB said:
Out of all the brakes I’ve used, for the riding locations I go to.... my favourite brake is

Shimano Deore

based on price / performance / lever design and feel / ease of fitting / easy integration with other Shimano EV stuff / modulation / feel

£150 for a pair of 4 pot Deore M6120 brakes is a pretty good bang for buck. And to me they are the same in terms of power to XT (I’m sure they are the same brake but with less adjustment and prob slightly heavier??).
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Out of interest which brakes have you tried before? I nearly got those Deore ones when I first started looking into things
 
The levers on all magura MT brakes ( 4 ,5 and 7 ) are all aluminium by default - its the lever body (aka master cylinder) that is made of that wierd plastic stuff they call carbotecture, and thats what people are referring to when they say they have plastic levers , not the actual lever itself.

On the Mt 4 & 5 the plastic stuff is called carbotecture, on the mt7 its called carbotecture SL.

I think with the magura brakes , its fair to say that its the shape of the levers and the geometry of how the lever moves that are not for everyone. I've got Mt5 on one of my bikes and I find them fine, not as good as the code RSC (my favourite), but still fine.
 
I've gotten to the point now that, since I haul my bike on the back of my truck and pick up all kinds of road spooge during transport, I clean my rotors with an alcohol wipe almost every time I ride, after lubing the chain and checking tire pressures. Occasionally I'll pull the wheel and clean out the calipers and give the pads a look too. It's become habit. It doesn't matter what kind of brakes/pads/rotors you have if they're all doused in greasy slime!
 
RickBullotta said:
I've gotten to the point now that, since I haul my bike on the back of my truck and pick up all kinds of road spooge during transport, I clean my rotors with an alcohol wipe almost every time I ride, after lubing the chain and checking tire pressures. Occasionally I'll pull the wheel and clean out the calipers and give the pads a look too. It's become habit. It doesn't matter what kind of brakes/pads/rotors you have if they're all doused in greasy slime!
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*Stupid question alert:

Is there a way to clean the calipers easily without removing or destroying with a jet wash? There like a specific brush kit or something, I can never clean them properly
 
carlbiker said:
*Stupid question alert:

Is there a way to clean the calipers easily without removing or destroying with a jet wash? There like a specific brush kit or something, I can never clean them properly
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I just use an alcohol wipe or a blue disposable shop towel, fold it up, and "floss" it.
 
I put standard 8" zip-lock sandwich bags over my discs. It keeps the discs clean from road grime and exhaust crap when the bike is on my tow bar rack. I cut one side of the bag half way down so that the bag goes on further. Close the zip and the bag stays on. You should see the amount of brown greasy grime that collects on the windward side! :eek:
 
Carl won't be happy unless they're bike specific wipes or you've tested a least 20 different brands, sadly I don't think Magura have branched out yet.

1608040752662.png
 
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apac said:
cant even find trick stuff pads for my mt7.
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i wouldn't bother, magura uses organic pads even in their performance line, and those bite hard and don't fade, only down side like soft tires is they wear fast.
 
Unfortunately that study does not have the most important data for me about brake pads and brake disks longevity.
 
TPEHAK said:
Unfortunately that study does not have the most important data for me about brake pads and brake disks longevity.
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I really don't care about longevity as long as they work. But then again, I've never had any pads that wear out rapidly.

Well there was one! I had just fitted a new pair of resin pads to the rear on my hardtail and I got a phone call that distracted me and then a few other things and I forgot to bed them in. By the time I remembered, it was dark and raining and I couldn't be arsed to go out and do it. I was lending the bike to a mate the following day and I told him that they needed bedding in. After a very wet ride on sandy ground, he went clean through the pads and into the metal backing plate. He destroyed the springs, obviously. In just 12 miles! Then the following day he went back to Greece, before I had spotted that the pads were gone. This is what happens when you don't bed in new pads.
 
Jackware said:
Carl won't be happy unless they're bike specific wipes or you've tested a least 20 different brands, sadly i don't think Magura have branched out yet.

View attachment 47202
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Do you know if they do an e-bike specific version of those ? They look like normal bike ones and I don't think they'd be compatible with e-bike disks :unsure: ;)
 
My rear wheel brake pads in the 2 pistons Magura caliper last only about 1-2 months. I live is hilly landscape and do wheelies all the time and use the brakes a lot. I'm wondering if I install 4 pistons and bigger 210 mm disk brake on the rear wheel the 4 pistons caliper pads will lasts at least twice more? As long as the real wheel braking performans is not such critical as front wheel I would prefer to install the most durable brakes on the rear wheel rather than the most high performance brakes.
 
No. It won't result in less pad wear.
Just stop dragging your brake so much.
 
carlbiker said:
Anyone know if these would fit my Orbea Wild? Magura MT7 Pro HC Carbotecture SL® Disc Brake Set + MDR-P | Disc Brake - Sets Shop I can get a deal on them
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The brakes will fit, but what type of brake disc mounting do your hubs use? 6 bolt or centerlock? the discs that are part of that bundle are 6 bolt discs.

My Orbea wild fs uses centerlock, so those discs won't fit mine, not sure what your model uses though.

You would also need a 220mm adapter for the front caliper.
 
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Mteam said:
The levers on all magura MT brakes ( 4 ,5 and 7 ) are all aluminium by default - its the lever body (aka master cylinder) that is made of that wierd plastic stuff they call carbotecture, and thats what people are referring to when they say they have plastic levers , not the actual lever itself.

On the Mt 4 & 5 the plastic stuff is called carbotecture, on the mt7 its called carbotecture SL.

I think with the magura brakes , its fair to say that its the shape of the levers and the geometry of how the lever moves that are not for everyone. I've got Mt5 on one of my bikes and I find them fine, not as good as the code RSC (my favourite), but still fine.
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My Magura MT 5 levers are carbotexture .
I can see the scratches and fraying of the material where I have dropped it in the dirt .
The lever and the body . That is part of the Magura system . The modulation comes through the flex in the lever blade . IME .

Funny story a mechanic at the LBS tried to tell me to use two fingers on the Magura brakes if they didn`t have stopping power !!
Roadies giving advice to MTBers not a good mix ...

When they eventually bled the system 3 times and got the air out of the hydraulics they worked a vengeance with just the index finger .

Not a fan of the MT5 levers I swapped them out for Shimano XT on my current steed .
 
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