Magura Marta SL Magnesium

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Magura Marta SL Magnesium
Price: £279 per end Correction – they’re actually £259
From: Magura www.magura.com
Tested: 2 months

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These are the best brakes in the world. Do you need to know anything else?

Okay then, they’re light (a genuine 315g ish), they’re powerful, they’ve got excellent modulation and feel, the lever shape is lovely, they have adjustable lever reach and they look cool. Once bedded-in properly the pads will last for months. They sit next Shimano and Sram shifters perfectly well (and the angled hose exit on the lever makes for good hose routing too). They have “proper” wavy rotors that deal with filth very well (160mm, 180mm and 203mm sized rotors are available). They’re easy to shorten the hose; there’s spare olives and stuff in the box so all you need to find is a Stanley knife, a 5mm Allen key and an 8mm spanner.

Yes, they are double-take inducingly expensive but they are the best brakes in the world. So that’s fair enough in my opinion. You can also get cheaper virtually-as-good as non-magnesium non-carbon Martas.

Overall: The benchmark brake.
Benji

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Orange Switch 6er. Stif Squatcher. Schwalbe Magic Mary Purple Addix front. Maxxis DHR II 3C MaxxTerra rear. Coil fan. Ebikes are not evil. I have been a writer for nigh on 20 years, a photographer for 25 years and a mountain biker for 30 years. I have written countless magazine and website features and route guides for the UK mountain bike press, most notably for the esteemed and highly regarded Singletrackworld. Although I am a Lancastrian, I freely admit that West Yorkshire is my favourite place to ride. Rarely a week goes by without me riding and exploring the South Pennines.

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Comments (0)

    Are they really that good, they justify £500+. I expect to pay for the top end but thats mental pricing a bit like there forks.

    Might have to try to believe first.

    Love my non-magnesium, non-carbon ones and the wavey rotors look cool 🙂

    what are they comparable with regards stopping power?

    I’ve had a set of these for a while. Really impressed with them. Simple to install and have been very reliable and have plenty of power. But I would say that….

    I have 3 sets of Marta SLs in my bike fleet – highly recommend them..

    jeez, for the price of one brake, you can get a full set of XTRs and have £50 to spare.

    I must avoid trying these out, otherwise i will want some 🙂

    They are pretty good stopping wise considering they’re an xc oriented weight weenie brake. I run them with R1 lightweight rotors, and they can overheat on long descents – the marta rotors are better if you can live with the ABS. They offer no major performance improvement over ordinary SLs really bar a small weight reduction. The maintenance really is simple as well which I appreciate.

    … but they do have magnesium written on them 🙂

    £280 a brake! They’re not really that light for the price, would be interested to see hoe they fare against the new Hope race model.

    The hope race is under 300g and £80 cheaper and british. Could be lighter with a carbon blade also. X2’s have lots of power so I would assume the race version does also.

    O well think I’ll stay british on the braking front

    Would expect them to be compatible with some sort of matchmaker system for that price too.

    We shall see if the Hope Race functions as well as the Marta SL Mags. The weight is not the be all and all factor with Martas, they have power and feel too. Hopefully the Hope brakes will impress.

    Mineral oil was a deal maker with me too 🙂

    Still loving my SL Carbons after 2 years use on the Mojo. Reliability, feel and pad life all excellent.

    I have been running Magura Marta’s for nearly 2 years and not once had a problem. Basically fit and forget. Trouble free braking. Would recommend to everyone.

    I’ve got the regular versions on my bikes, even with big rotors on the Hemlock. Switched over having used Hope M4’s and these blow them away, power-wise. Like the man said, power, feel and great weight.

    Great brakes for sure, slick etc BUT what’s with the ABS feel on the front and how the hell do I get rid of that????

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OFFER ENDS 31st MARCH