THE SMART BRAKE.
The Louise is a versatile full hydraulic disc brake in a unique and outstanding design.
New 2009: Larger lever blade with improved ergonomics for a better grip.
Designed and manufactured in Germany!
Strengths: Craftsmanship, easy installation, superior quality, bullet proof, incredible longevity, awesome stopping power and modulation, no need for service....ever.
Weaknesses: umm.......none.
Bottom Line:
Almost, almost put my 2003 Magura Louise brakes on my new build -- since they have never failed, never once had to be bled, never once required service of any kind whatsoever -- only replaced the pads when needed. When it came time for new brakes (and the old ones are still good) I searched and searched, read so many reviews they all started to sound the same and then realized -- this is ridiculous, just stay with what works and for me that means I don't have to think about my brakes - ever; get the new Louise BAT which I did and so far...same old, same old -- no issues at all, easy installation, quality, same craftsmanship and I have no doubts these will last as long as their 9 year old predecessors. No need to fall into the component trap with these brakes, i.e., well, there's gotta be something better, something with more bling, something more flashy, less weight -- these work and work well, period.
Similar Products Used: None - nothing is similar to Magura.
Bike Setup: Van Dessel Jersey Devil 29er (HT); XT front/rear; SLX crankset, Magura Louise BAT, Mavic Crossmax whlset
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Submitted by
TORO1968
a Weekend Warrior
from Arlington, TN USA
Date Reviewed: January 9, 2012
Strengths: Awesome modulation
Easy setup - calipers have a ton of adjustment for alignment, no need to remove grips to install levers
Weaknesses: Takes a long time to bed in pads
Bottom Line:
After dealing with repeated bleeding issues with my Elixir CRs, I decided enough was enough. I've had great performance out of my XT M775s on my Kona Dawg, but wanted to try something a bit different for my 4X bike that wouldn't break the bank. I picked up a set of the Louise BATs on Ebay, new with rotors for $220 - not a bad deal if you ask me. It took quite a while to bed in the pads, but as long as you follow Magura's procedure, you shouldn't have any issues. The modulation on these brakes is incredible, and surprisingly the lever feel is great, too.
The levers are designed for two-finger braking, much like the M775s, which is just my style, coming from a moto background.
The build quality of Magura stuff is top-notch. I didn't run into any issues with the setup of the calipers due to them having so much horizontal adjustment.
Strengths: Brake well. Modulate Well. Good Stopping power.
Weaknesses: Parts hard to find locally. Easy to Order
Bottom Line:
I just came off of 3 years riding Hayes MX1 Mechs with 160 rotors. Had been looking as some budget / closeout Hyrdo's for the past year, but everything I was considering in the price range had average to sloppy ratings.
Introduce the Magura Louise System. Better than average ratings and finally at a price I wanted to pay. I found a white front and white rear on separate auctions on ebay. One was a BAT the other was not ... but it was all I could find in white for a deal.
Install was easy, and after just one ride I was wondering what too me so long to upgrade. Man these are so sweet. It was like night and day over the Hayes MX1's. Stopping, Control, Modulation like never before. I have done my share of upgrades in the past, but few if any have been this noticeable. I can say ... amazing for the price !!
I would say if you ride XC, have a touch of Weight Weenie in you and need some new stoppers, these are a good find.
Weight was a savings too (my gram scale).
- Hayes MX1's with Cables and Avid SD 5 levers F&R: 695g
- Magura Louise System F&R: 566g before I cut hose to length
Strengths: they're not permanent, boost magura's bottom line
Weaknesses: they're absolute schitt. stopping is merely average, lever feel is average at best. the brake sucks. period
Bottom Line:
I can't wait to get rid of these pieces of schitt. My old juicy 7's rubbed, and I'd rather have those back than run these. I've retrued the rotor 3+ times, sanded brake pads, replaced brake pads, re-bed brake pads,adjusted spokes, re-bled x2, etc. And Magura's official line on the squawk? It's the bike design. An RFX is not stiff enough- Are they serious? And they state that Kona's and Merida's aren't either- nice. Oh- getting support on their website is like pulling teeth, it's poorly laid out. the instruction manual was written by a native german speaker, and the company was too arrogant to have an english speaker translate, they just left it with poor grammar. My same year brakes LOOKED different (different casting), and the instructions were even different! Can you get good Maguras? Sure- both my brothers like theirs. But they can't get mine to set up and not suck either. So instead of taking a chance that you get a bad set of these POS's, just buy something, ANYTHING else. Otherwise you'll be sitting at your computer after working 10+ hours over a month on these brakes, wondering how to get a hold of the employees at Magura, and eating their children. Like I am.
Similar Products Used: Shimano XT, Magura Loise, Juicy Seven
Bike Setup: Titus Racer X full XT
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Submitted by
rzozaya1969
a Weekend Warrior
from Mexico City, Mexico
Date Reviewed: January 3, 2009
Strengths: Good power, excelent modulation. Great feel.
Weaknesses: Instalation of the calipers was a bit harder to center the front one, but nothing mayor.
Bottom Line:
I really like this brakes. I've been using the XT for around 3 years and I liked them. I think that the Louises have about the same power, but are easier to modulate.
I think this brakes are an excelent choice right now.