Just about to get a set of 2-pot Formula Cura to replace my old XTR 985s. Already have Magura MT5s.

Now i need help deciding which steel hardtail 29er should have which brake set:

Bike 1: Fortus 30s, 36mm fork, rowdy single track and bikeparks

Bike 2: Roval Control, 34mm fork, gravel, XC and a bit of steep tech.

Logic says 2-pot XC, 4-pot rowdy … but logic may be an ass given Cura 2-pots are supposed to be great (Dickens would be pissed off with this).

So what do you think? Your opinion will have extra weight if it includes Dickensisms.

A Tale of Two Brakesets?

The Old Curiosity Stop?
Brake House?

Buy the Cura 4.

Brakes aren’t the place to be conservative.

The Cura 4, while aspirational, is a touch-woody compared with the Cura 2 and deliver their power quite abruptly by comparison. So if you want a brake you can use with careless abandon then the Cura 2 are a good bet for featherweight stoppers.

Cura 2 is a given as I can get a brand new set for well below retail price. The question is, are they better suited to the rowdy bike than the MT5s?

I’ve had Magura MT Trail SLs and replaced them with Cura 2s. They are more powerful than the Maguras and the feel is very different, which you may or may not like. I hated the Maguras for their vague lever feel, long lever travel and low power. The Curas have hardly any lever travel and a very firm feel. This disparity may mean you don’t like them if you like your Maguras.

I run them on an Evil Calling that I use for big mountains, Scottish off piste stuff and so on.

I have cura 2 on my rowdy FS, my rowdy HT and will soon be on my downcountry epic xc bike.
HTH 😁

benpinnick

The Cura 4, while aspirational, is a touch-woody compared with the Cura 2 and deliver their power quite abruptly by comparison.

As someone who rides 4s on the bike bike and 2s on the trail bike, I would say the exact opposite, the 4s have much more modulation

Out of interest do the cura 2 feel like shimano 2 pots then?

jsync

Out of interest do the cura 2 feel like shimano 2 pots then?

I’d have said yes – and the reviews I’d read before I bought tally with my experience, in terms of the Cura 2s being more immediate in their feel.

That said, ben has probably built thousands of bikes and I’ve built about ten for myself, so it might be something that varies with setup.

munrobiker

The Curas have hardly any lever travel and a very firm feel.

Yep, my 2s are the same, the 4s have more lever travel, the power comes on more gently

If they’re similar to Shimano in feel they can go on the lighter bike I think. As that’s what they’ll be replacing.

Just discovered they have a SRAM matchmaker included too … which suits the shifter on the lighter bike, so that solves that.