Looking to replace the brakes on my Levo and not sure which way to go.

Ive had Shimano XT 4 pots on my last 5 bikes and really like them. However due to pricing the Magura MT7 is now almost the same price.

I used to have MT5 on my Cotic hardtail and they were great, however the MT7 are meant to be even better.

I will initially be running the Sram discs my bike came with. Would this be a problem on either brake?

Which way would you go??

What do you have now ? and why are you replacing ?

Ive got SRAM code RS and whilst they are ok Ive gone through 2 sets of pads in 200 miles and they have gone spongy.

Whilst reading up on this it mentions sticky pistons and how to exercise them to free them up. Dont ask me how but Ive managed to snap the tang off that the pad bolt goes through on my front caliper.

I also prefer a slightly firmer feel at the bars too.

Can’t comment on either brake, but Magura use a thicker 2.0mm rotor compared to the 1.8mm of Shimano/SRAM. Not sure it’d be much of an issue running a thinner rotor with Maguras (more piston extension) – I have the opposite with Magura Storm HC 2.0mm rotors with Shimano brakes.

Might sort of help… I’ve just fitted the Magura Trail combo to my 29er fs.
After going through so many pairs of Shimano brakes, these Maguras are a breath of fresh air! Powerful and predictable. Yes, no random lever bite point. Hooray!

Hmm.

Tricky. I’m a believer in powerful brakes and have run Zees for that last few years.

I’d be sorely tempted if prices were similar for MT7s which seem to be regarded as the most powerful of the bunch.

I rode my friends Codes a while back and they seemed more powerful than my Zees in the carpark but no different in actual use.

They all seem to have their foibles too.

They all seem to have their foibles too.

This is so true, many people complain about the wandering bite point on the Shimano. Ive never had it occur on 5 different sets of brakes.

I just want fit and forget. If I went Magura I would eventually update to their rotors too.

https://www.magura.com/en/components/techcenter/faq-are-the-mt5-and-mt7-brake-calipers-really-different-how-are-they-different/

It shouldn’t be that hard to buy consistent brakes should it ?

I’m running SRAM guide with updated lever pistons which work fine, but i know there’s complexity one day…. but then do i go for X Y or Z… i don’t really know.

Like above, i just want fit and forget, new pads every now and again and happy.

All or bikes apart from the Levos run Saints or or mixture of Saint caliper XT/XTR levers.
The Levos came with Guide REs. The intention was to swap them out to Saints however it so hard to tell the difference that they are still on and have had no problems with either of them.

We have for years run Uberbike Race Matrix pads in all the bikes which again seem to work better than any other we have tried.

I rode my friends Codes a while back and they seemed more powerful than my Zees in the carpark but no different in actual use.

My Code Rs were less powerful than Zees, for sure.

Magura brakes have great feel & power and I’d consider them as alternatives to Shimano, but I decided to stick with what I know and buy Deore 4-pots when I was replacing the Codes.

Do you need the extra features on the XTs?

My first ever set of disc brakes were Magura – Louise FR – if I remember correctly. Other than pads they never needed any attention whatsoever. Since then I’ve had:

Shimano 2 pots – ok but don’t actually stop you on anything approaching technical downwards pointing
Sram levels – OK but sticky pistons causing permanent brake rub – **** annoying
Sram Guide REs – OK but bleeding is an absolute PITA
Shimano Tiagra discs on my gravel bike – no issues whatsoever

So in summary, I reckon I would be tempted to go Magura again, in the hope of fit and forget

I have MT7s, whilst they’re good, they need far more regular bleeding than any other brake I’ve owned.
Zees on previous bike were far lower maintenance and not much difference in power.

Why not Formula Cura?

I have MT5’s, front and back, on both of my mountain bikes. They are running on Shimano discs.

I fitted and bled them, last set was two years ago, and since then I’ve done nothing except replace the pads occasionally.

I would definitely buy again :o)

I run XT 4 pots on my bikes, just seem to be standard issue, but work well and i like them, apart from the levers breaking on the newer ones, i’ve had to replace them 3 times and spares are a nightmare, but the XTs are easy to set up, bleed and have the power and feel i like.

I did have some MT7s on a previous bike, they were nice, feel was good, not like a SRAM vs Shimano difference, closer to the feel of the shimano when bled properly. Downside, the levers are plastic and the bleed port thread can get mangled with the required bleeding, the levers on the MT7 felt meh, so bought the Pro levers (1 finger), which was way better.

Overall, if you’re a 1 finger brake user, the MT7 Pro’s are pretty good, i would probably choose them over the XT due to the look of them and the much stronger lever, they are pretty much on par with feel and power, but the weakness for me in the XT (that bloody crap lever) is worse than the weakness on the MT7s (that bloody plastic lever assembly). If you get the MTs, just be wary of being very very gentle when bleeding!

I’ve run magura, Shimano SRAM and formula and the nicest of the lot were the formulas. Even tho they are the oldest. Magura a close second but the levers can be fragile. The new hayes dominion is supposed to be really really good.

I’ve replaced my last hateful Shimano set with my trails. They are a much better brake. If I had to go to one bike if struggle to choose between keeping the maguras or hopes. Not had to bleed even when I shortened the hoses.

I don’t dislike shimanos, but they go wrong too often, so recently swapped to mt5s. Much better, but the levers were too long to get the shifters in the right place. Now have some loic bruni levers on and they are spot on.
I also had louise fr bitd and they were great too. No maintenance needed.

We have had  both.

Shimano XT – easier to live with from disc rub point of view. Feel more robust.

Magura MT5 or MT7 – much more powerful and less fade, much more feel, even on big alpine days. They rub a tad more, and bleed you need to learn a technique. Feel less robust, but are not in use..

I personally would buy Magura from new if I had the choice.

Maguras here (MT Trail but another 4piston caliper on the rear now) so short levers and lots of power. The long levers are a weird feature on the higher end stuff.

Never had any problems with robustness, yes they aren’t metal but treat them right when tightening etc and no issues.

I use Magura rotors and aftermarket pads (although stock Magura pads are good) and rotor alignment is a bit more crucial.

Used Shimano lots in the past but cracking pistons and wandering ite point got boring. Got Deore 4 piston on the hardtail but too new to comment on reliability yet

I have MT5 and saint with Uber pads, if the MT7 are the same as the five with h better levers, I’d go for that. Hey are both ace but the Magura really make you go OOOOOF when you pull out them on whilst having great subtlety when needed.
The saints are on my best bike and I love them enough not to go through the kerfuffle of swapping.

I have MT7s, whilst they’re good, they need far more regular bleeding than any other brake I’ve owned.

Have you had to bleed them when you put new pads in, or just generally? I’ve had mine on the bouncy bike for 5 years and they haven’t need bleeding once. They’ve just needed new pads which have gone straight in with no bleeding required

They are ferociously powerful. Much more so than the XT’s I’ve got on the hardtail

brakes are a funny one!
I always rode shimano (XTs mainly) and had them oa few bikes..
When I got my stumpy it had guides..they were OK, not as good as shimanos.. I swapped them for CODEs and think the CODEs are great! as powerful as shimanos I run on other bikes.. The lever feel certainly is different..softer.
I like teh feel of both TBH – the ‘on off’ nature of shimano, and the more controlled feel of CODES..

Never tried Magura, but LOVE the look of them! Bling!!!

It’s interesteg everyone has a tale or two about bad brakes eh!

DrP

Thought I’d give it a try so two sets of Maguras bought last year as the previous shimano sets had become really hard to keep ‘nice’ (they were years old so no great complaints). Mt4 and MT trail (the four front two rear with the short levers).

I like the feel of both types of levers and actually swapped the short levers onto the mt4 (mostly to do with shifter positioning on that bike). Short levers edge it for the shifter placement thing.

If I were doing it again I’d buy two sets of the mt trail and make an mt5 and an mt4 with the shorter levers.

It’s interesteg everyone has a tale or two about bad brakes eh!

You only hear the tales from people who have a tale to tell. I’ve had loads of brakes over the years and barely any issues of note. For the last 15 years or so I’ve had Shimano and not had any issues. Recently put on some Tektro 4 pots and they’ve been great, too. I suspect most brakes work for the vast majority. I’m very happy with all the Shimano brakes I’ve had, but that said I’d be tempted by the MT7s

Always used Shimano
Older XT Zee Newer SLX and XT
The Rear on my XT was hit n miss
I went for Magura MT5 but with 1 finger levers
Snapped the bleed screw in the lever after a month
Was a right PITA to dig out
The levers being Plastic never filled me with confidence,Eventually went for SLX levers and done Shigura
Best of both worlds
Great braking and lever more sturdy
And the braking is amazing

Magura = ride like Danny.

😁

Eventually went for SLX levers and done Shigura

Yeah, the fella I got the secondhand loic bruni lever blades from was also selling off complete levers too, so guessing he went full shigura. I would have done that if the shorter levers weren’t good, but so far they feel great.

@Yak I have had MT5’s for a while now and never been happy with them. Look great, haven’t needed a bleed, but my god they feel sh!t. All I get is vibration and squealing, and have tried a billion different pads. What process have you used to bed them in? I will also check the YouTube link above.

Cheers for any tips you can offer

MT7s on fs MT7withMT8 on back HT.

Great, found them better in the Alps and generally really powerful. Does need a bleed technique but sorted that now.
Only lever issue was a drop into rocks that would have broken any lever. Never had an issue with bleed screw.
There are no service kits though. Did have a weeping caliper, after a crash. Magura replaced it foc.

@johnjnj2000 I just did 20 or so sprints and firm stops. No vibration or squealing.
I did have to bleed them twice though. I got a tip that after bleeding, lay it on the side so the lever blade is pointing up. Do a whole load of tapping then back upright and do a shimano style lever bleed with the syringe open as there is a spot in the reservoir that can trap bubbles. Doing this frees them up.

Cheers, will fit my billion and one set of pads tonight and have another bash

I’ve not had a great time with Shimano brakes (3 calipers worth of micro leaks so far – binned off the deores and changed the Shimano road caliper that went wrong for a Hope RX4), and really like my Code R’s.

Given your choice I’d go Magura over a Shimano but make sure they have the 1 finger levers.

Formula Cura 4’s seem to be getting a lot of love at the moment so I think I’d consider those too – and perhaps a Hope V4.

Long time Hope user (25ish years) and up until about 6 months ago I wouldn’t have looked anywhere else. However, I needed some brakes for my bike packing rig and Hopes are too £££ and Shimano are limited supply so I took a gamble on MT4s and haven’t looked back, they are simply brilliant. So much so I am seriously considering ditching my Hopes and getting some MT7s for my big bike.

Magura FTW here.

We have both Shimano, my bikes, and Magura, wife’s bikes. The only comment I would make is that Royal Blood has a really low boiling point. Whilst they didn’t fade the fluid had gone black after 1 day in the Alps. Replaced the fluid that evening the fresh was black again be the end of the following day. Didn’t bother bleeding as it didn’t seem to affect performance.