Submitted by
Blackmore
a Weekend Warrior
from NY, NY
Date Reviewed: October 3, 1999
Strengths: Zero maintenance, always dependable.
Weaknesses: Fiddly setup, very tight clearance w. wheels, especially if you have slight misalignment of wheels. Also, you have to take one side of brake off to get wheels off (no biggie w. quick release, but you can easily loose the little washer that comes w. brakes).
Bottom Line:
Actually got these when I was doing a lot of city riding in Copenhagen, later Boston and NY, and wanted to be able to stop before I turned into a hood ornament in wet weather. Also had had a lot of trouble with wear of brake pads, constant re-adjustment etc. of ordinary side-pulls. My C500 is now going into retirement - everything on it is shot to hell after four tough all-year seasons. The only thing that I will be transferring are the Mag's - with the original pads. Except for the paintwork I think these things are indestructable. And always dependable in any terrain any day.
Bike Setup: Black Chute, Z3's, Tomacs, D521's Trials setup!
Overall Rating:
Submitted by
Paul Knox
a Weekend Warrior
from Banbury
Date Reviewed: May 23, 1999
Strengths: Very Powerful, loads of modulation, great in the wet, look really nice, 1 finger stopping power
Weaknesses: Tricky to set up at first, not much clearance with tyre
Bottom Line:
Awesome brakes, gives me loads of confidence scrubbing speed off with one one finger when negotiating fast trails, great for wheelies and rolling endos, all round wonder brakes, i suggest you go get em!!
Submitted by
Joe
a Cross-Country Rider
from Montreal
Date Reviewed: May 19, 1999
Strengths: POWER!! Sexy looks!! Not to expensive!! Great Customer service..
Weaknesses: Weight is shit.. i went from a set of Dia-Compe U-brakes to these babys!Unless you got your sponsor buying everything for you, don't complain! it is nothing!
Bottom Line:
I ride BMX a lot ... and these are AMAZING! i can stay on top of a pipe and not worry about these giving out... front fakey - NO probs .. wheel grabs are easy ... everything is made SO much easier with these babys! They get a fat 5 flaming Turd action!!
Similar Products Used: Avids 2.0 / XTR / LX Vees ... Diacompe U brakes
Bike Setup: BMX - Gt Trials w/MaguraVoodoo Bantu, Z2 Atom Bomb, Maguras, Crossmax, Plasma rear der.
Overall Rating:
Submitted by
Tony Montana
a Cross-Country Rider
from Notts UK
Date Reviewed: April 13, 1999
Strengths: incredible feel impossible to lock wheels piss on the V's
Weaknesses: Fiddly setup frame flex boosters don't fit with wide tyres tioga 2.3's
Bottom Line:
These brakes are great, modulation is superb feel is plush, totally sealed system low maintainence, they look great Tioga DH 2.3's don't fit with the boosters
Similar Products Used: LX V's XTR V's Cable Disc systems
Bike Setup: Proflex 857 CF swingarm Z1 BAMS XT gears
Overall Rating:
Submitted by
Jeffery Gabbard
a Cross-Country Rider
from Grayslake Il
Date Reviewed: March 29, 1999
Strengths: Strong...Simple....Durable...Sexy..! Once set up, you forget about em! Super easy on the fly adjustments!
Weaknesses: they'll make even the even the strongest frame flex! You should have them set up properly by a qualified Magura machanic. They can have, and make problems if you don't.
Bike Setup: Set up on a Litespeed Obed, and another set on a Custom elite3 tubeset.
Overall Rating:
Submitted by
Jon
a Cross-Country Rider
from State College PA
Date Reviewed: March 22, 1999
Strengths: great modulation easy maintenance simple adjustments no toe-in dependable
Weaknesses: slightly heavier than v's hydraulic lag in levers
Bottom Line:
These are awesome brakes for all but weight-weenies, and even some of them run magies for the braking. I use the red pads in everything, and have never been happier. The lag I mentioned is only noticeable in the parking lot test, once you're riding it disappears. Nothing but smooth, controlled braking, and an oil change once in a blue moon. Even the pas last forever. I do wish the paint was as permanent, but next winter i might polish and clear-coat them anyway- I have the neon Johnny T's, and they do burn the retinas in the sun. Get a set on sale, and never go back.
I got the jt maguras for christmas and put them on. They were pretty tricky, and they arent as wasy to work with as vees, but it is made up in thefeel and power. They are powerful, and they feel great. Pads are easy to change, which is good, but you dont need to do that often in a race. If you flat, it is hard to change tubes quickly.
I got these brakes about a year ago for my stock trials bike and they've been incredible. Tons of modulation and more power than I seem to be able to use up. They're a little tricky to set up, but after a while you kinda learn the little tricks. The one problem I've noticed is that one of the pads doesn't always return, usually on the side opposite the tube running from the lever. It's not a big deal, but it gets a little annoying sometimes. Aside from that they've been the best brakes I've ever used, blowing away the XT V-brakes that I have on my xc bike. I strongly recommend them, and so does the guy whose name can be found on the lever. Hey, Tomac's the man, right?
Submitted by
Crayfish
a weekend warrior
from Cleveland
Date Reviewed: January 8, 1999
Bottom Line:
What could I say but Excellent!! Better modulation and power that XTR V Brakes. I have the racelines. 5 flaming doggy doos. Blah Blah 30 words Blah Blah 30 words Blah Blah 30 words Blah Blah 30 words Blah Blah 30 words Blah Blah 30 words Blah Blah 30 words Blah Blah 30 words.
Submitted by
Albert
a cross-country rider
from Quebec, Canada
Date Reviewed: December 14, 1998
Bottom Line:
Hi there everyone, I would like to say that I am extremely pleased with the performance from the Tomac Magura's. I had a Titanium hardtail with some Avid Tri Align II's and Ultimate levers. I couldn't stand going downhill with them. Even pad changes didn't help even though I had ceramic coated Mavics. Well, finally I broke down and bought the Tomacs and while they don't stop like my Formula Disc on my other bike I was extremely pleased with the modulation, which is more controllable than the Formula. I installed them myself and I was pleased that I never had to make any adjustments afterwards, they always worked great. When my bike got ripped off I got a Raven which came with XT v's, which I thought would be alright...Aside from the squealing and the lack of power I would say that the v's are alright, but I am going to make the switch to Tomacs once again this winter. Unfortunately I will have to get new shifters since the V's came with shifter brake lever combo. The only thing I didn't like about the Magura's is the routing, but the Raven uses full housings so the Magura cables will slip right in there!Magura's are the best brakes in my opinion, better than v's, and better modulation than my Formula disc. I think that once you get used to the Formula though, it is a very hard decision to choose the better of the two.
Look at all the 5 chilies! The buttery smooth action of the Maguras are so much better than the drag-and-slide action of the weaker Vs.If they can find a way to lighten them,Vs will be obsolete!
Submitted by
G
a cross-country rider
from Port Townsend, WA.
Date Reviewed: November 4, 1998
Bottom Line:
I receintly installed the Jhonny T. (98 model) Maugra's. One word, AMAZING! Riding as much as I do in the slop of the Pacific Northwest, braking can be quite the extensive project. As long I have my Magura's I can RIDE FASTER! and wont worry about not stoping. Many people have complained about the lack of power that Maugra's have, they just don't know how to set them up properly. For Magura's power is substantially greater the V's (LX, XT, XTR, Avid's, whatever) and are comparable or on par with most disc brakes, not all of them obiously, otherwise disc's wouldn't exist. All & all, these things rock, finger squeeze to braking power is absolutly accurate. (modulation) This gives for a very controlable brake.5 flaming dead horses all the way!!!
Submitted by
Francisco Antillon
a cross-country rider
from Cuernavaca.mor
Date Reviewed: October 19, 1998
Bottom Line:
Exxxxxxxxxxcelentes frenos.. Ultimamente los he estado usando para decenso mientras compro una biciespecial para eso; mientras tanto han funcionado de maravilla; no le piden nada ha los frenos de disco (fuera de que dobles el rin, sobre todo si es una de esas mugres Spinergy que se rompen solas).Antes habia usado Vbrakes y la diferencia es bastante notable; ademas de no dar ningun problema.El mantenimiento es muy sencillo, solamente les recomiendo comprar lineas extra por si las llegan a romper en un choque (yo todavia no he roto ninguna pero al parecer son escasas) tambien comprar un juego de ruteadores para linea, ya que son distintos a los de los cables al descubierto normalesDe ahi en mas son lo mejor que hay, una vez que los compren no los van a querer dejar. Y mejor se usan un brake boster para que no flexionen el cuadro por la fuerza que tienen, de esta manera el manejo es mucho mas sensitivo.
Submitted by
Eric
a weekend warrior
from Singapore
Date Reviewed: September 29, 1998
Bottom Line:
I currently owned a pair of maguras Tomac. The first things I like about it is the striking colour, the next thing is that it is hydraulic brakes I used for about six months and found it to be the best brakes I have ever owned! The braking is much more smoother than the v'brakes. The v'brakes are much more abrupt to use and maybe too sensitive for my likings. All the way maguras!!!
hey,
would anyone be interested in a tomac 204 frame or complete bike. I need to sell the bike or the frame quickstyle cause of some financial issues. Email me @ [email]yearoftige Read More »
I'm selling my tomac and i really need the money badly....check it out, thanx:
[url]http://cgi.ebay.com/Tomac-204-dh-not-intense-or-santa-cruz-dh_W0QQitemZ7182485321QQcategoryZ9 Read More »
There was a guy with the Tomac DH Primer in the Domination Race this past weekend with a Red Fork.. can we get a review of that frame... looked awesome!
[IMG]http://i29.photobuc Read More »
A friend of mine just informed me that the prototype Tomac DH bike has been stolen.
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Stolen out of the back of the Tomac van in the owners driveway. So * Read More »
