Magura Marta Post Mount Front Brake: No compromise fully hydraulic disc brake. Open system with reservoir, dual piston, 2-finger carbon brake blade. International Standard mounts. Includes rotor, fixing bolts, caliper, lever and line. Pre-bled and ready to install...
Submitted by
aanderle
a Cross Country Rider
from Trzic, Slovenia
Date Reviewed: July 2, 2011
Strengths: Stopping power, reliability, looks, ease of maintenance
Weaknesses: None so far
Bottom Line:
The first disc brakes that work well and need the least amount of maintenance for smooth, quiet, powerful and reliable operation. No leakage, no screaming, no rotor twisting. I've got 203/185mm rotors, weight 80 kilos and feel the same good response throughout long, steep and fast descends.
Similar Products Used: Shimano XT, Avid Juicy 7, Hope
Bike Setup: Stock Stumpy FSR pro year 2009
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Submitted by
mtnbiker4life
a Cross Country Rider
from Sacramento, Ca
Date Reviewed: November 12, 2010
Strengths: They are very easy to set up and service whic was one of the main reason I purchased them
Weaknesses: Magura has some quality issues with the SL rotors because after setting up my system according to Maguras data I got this shuddering sounds when braking. They sent me new rotors and pads no questions asked
Bottom Line:
These brakes are easy to set up and I like the idea of a non-toxic brake fluid. I've using Avid BB7s for the last ten years and decided to take a chance on the Magura Martas. I like them so much that I bought two more pairs along with some new Storm SL rotors.
Bike Setup: Ventana semi-custom 650B Hard Tail set up with a 120mm fork.
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Submitted by
yetibetty
a Cross Country Rider
from London
Date Reviewed: October 1, 2010
Strengths: Very well made, comfortable lever blade and quiet
Weaknesses: A bit grabby so could do with a bit more built in contol
Bottom Line:
This review is for the 2011 Marta with Storm rotors.
These brakes are very well made and are light weight with tons of power. The lever blade is a great shape and is very comfortable. They are also quiet even in the wet.
They do not overheat or fade, this could be due to the great new storm rotors.
I weigh around 165 lb and went for 180 front 160 rear and found them far to grabby with the standard performance pads but this has been solved by fitting the endurance pads and they now have more control.
I bought these to replace my Avid Juicy 5's and I'm glad that I did as my bike is now a lot lighter and no more noise.
Submitted by
wrx504
a Cross Country Rider
from southern california
Date Reviewed: October 25, 2009
Strengths: Easy installation, great stopping power, good modulation, looks very clean on my IS mounts running 160 mm rotor with no adapters.
Weaknesses: Came pre bled but had to re bleed myself. Bleeding was pretty straight forward if you follow the directions properly
Bottom Line:
These brakes are a 2004 model. Other than I was expecting the pre bled line to actually arrive in workling order like my Louise version everything is great. Had to break in the brakes for about a day before I had full braking power. Looks very clean on my bike. Makes my buddy jealous with his Hayes callipers. I only weigh 135 pounds so these brakes stop me like I am riding a motorcycle. I am running 160 mm rotors and have had no brake fade issues. I do some big down hills with these and they feel so solid and confident all the time. Very happy with these.
Similar Products Used: Tektro Aquila, Magura Louise FR
Bike Setup: GT Avalanche 2.0 with Magura brakes F/R
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Submitted by
KM_Behrens
a Weekend Warrior
from Lazo, BC Canada
Date Reviewed: April 13, 2009
Strengths: weight, ease of system bleed, stopping power
Weaknesses: levers, know that quality is going to cost some cabbage
Bottom Line:
used these badboys on the Seven summits trail and for the first time I don`t recall having super sore arms after a long ride. the end of the trail had a seven kilometer downhill stretch that I one-finger braked most of the way! I do find the brake lever a bit flimsy though and if you crash alot you might be worried about the position of the resevoir(it sticks straight out from the handlebars). other than that these brakes are brilliant and I would consider buying Magura products again.
Bike Setup: Banshee Viento, sram X9, raceface cranks, mavic Xm819 rims, UST 2.1 Nevegals, RS Revelation Air uturn, Magura Marta with 160mm rotors
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Submitted by
t
a Cross Country Rider
from Demotte, IN USA
Date Reviewed: March 18, 2009
Strengths: Worked incredibly well for about 10,000 miles
Weaknesses: Worked poorly after 10,000 miles. I've tried new rotors & pads, multiple bleeds, but still these brakes will not "bite", they just squeal under heavy breaking. Eventually got no help from Magura (wouldn't return emails, and it wasn't like I was constantly bugging them).
Bottom Line:
The brakes had very impressive performance for a few years, but they definitely appear to have a limited life of less than 5 years. After that, it appears as though they just can't deliver the amount of pressure needed to lock up the wheel under riding weight. This accurs even when fully pressurized with clean rotors and pads. It's too bad, because initially the performance is excellent, and it's a real let down once they go south. These brakes are also overpriced for the limited life/performance they have.
This brake does an excellent job when it is working. The modulation and lever feel is better than any others I have tried. Requires quite a bit of maintenance because they need to be bled frequently and now it looks like I need a master cylinder. I would give them a 5 when they are working right, and I would give them a 2 for amount of maintenance required.
After five years using the Marta's I almost never have given maintenance to these brakes and never noticed any problme with them. Modulation is probably not the best but it is pretty good. It is quite recommendable for XC and all-mountain but not for DH or freeride. The best thing is that despite the weight, the braking is absolutely POWERFUL. Bleeding is a little complicated task but I think that it is for every brand. I’m not fanatic for brands but Martas are absolutely reliable, I wouldn’t change them simply because I have no reason.
Similar Products Used: Magura louise, Avid mechanical
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Submitted by
Wilhelm
a Cross Country Rider
from Knoxville
Date Reviewed: October 11, 2007
Strengths: Great feel, great power, super light, cool rotors, plenty of room on bar for shifters
Weaknesses: Pain to bleed, have to bleed constantly.
Bottom Line:
Loved them. They were my first disks. The feel, the consistency, the power, all great. However, getting home from work and wanting to go ride, but instead having to bleed your brakes is not fun. This happened ALL THE TIME. I got very good at bleeding the brakes, and you know, it never became fun, easy or clean. I took it to a good shop. They tried to fix it. The brakes did the same thing. Took it back. They fixed it again. They said it was a master cylinder. It was a little better. Sold the bike. I will say this about the Juicy 5, they have been reliable. I am going to BB7's on my next bike. Changing cables is easy compared to screwing with brake fluid. Buy Marta's if you like bleeding your brakes more than riding your bike.
Strengths: Light, well made, uses mineral oil, good feel and braking power
Weaknesses: Can be finicky if not properly bled OR if calipers are not properly mounted. Aluminum levers seem less sturdy than carbon, but is it worth the price to upgrade??
Bottom Line:
Wanting to build a 5+" travel bike that weighed under 30 pounds, these were my first choice. Also the use of mineral oil instead of DOT brake fluid for safety/convenience.
Brakes have great stopping power and modulation for such light,small packages. But a couple of things I've learned:
Bleeding is key if the system is compromised. Get the bleed kit, read the instructions before starting and follow explicitly. If properly bled, no pumping is required. Be careful with the master cylinder cap screws; tiny and easy to strip but you should never have to remove in field if set up properly at home. And don't try to overfill master cylinder.
Proper mounting of calipers is crucial to good operation. Use the Magura facing tool (dealer should have one) on all ISO tabs, then center caliper to disc without the pads installed. I made a note on a Magura label of how many spacers I used and where, then taped it to my tool box for future reference.
I had some initial issues, but after following the above, brakes have been spot on with nothing but an occasional pad change. I keep the calipers clean inside with a cheap paintbrush and compressed air (no squeals; pads last longer). These are not for the knuckle scraping ham fisted crowd. Care and finesse is neccessary on set up to deliver optimum performance. If you don't have the patience (I didn't at first), have a competent shop dude install or stick to Avid mechanicals. And don't expect these to work for C-dales or DH. Heavy duty requires heavy stuff.
Considering the price and reliability compared to Hope or Formula, value is great. Overall considers the effort required to set-up.
Weaknesses: high price , no bling even at these price !
Bottom Line:
I weight in at 170 + 30 for bike , 200 lbs total , these brakes preformed faultlessly for 2 years without leakage or any issue at all.
It is a little pricey and perhaps not as fancy as some other set up on the market (.. no fancy knob to turn ..) But these babies stay dry and just keep working without much fuzz !
Trail I go has steep highspeed down runs , but the crossdrilled 160 rotor did the job without any issue.
Submitted by
Michael Auchenberg
a Cross Country Rider
from Copenhagen, Denmark
Date Reviewed: June 2, 2007
Strengths: Great modulation Weight versus power Good looking 5-year-leak-free-waranty
Weaknesses: Is fading on fast, steep decents(All Mountain use) I have had a lever and caliber leaking in 2 years. Not many spare parts if they brake, if you are the "do-it-yourself-type"..
Bottom Line:
Far better than Magura Julie.. Better stopping power and modulation.
I used the Magura Marta for 2 years and have just recently retired these babies for the Formula Pyro Overall I have been very happy with them and they have served me well.
I used these brakes for XC the first 1,5 years in areas with not so many steep hills - and this is where these brakes belong. They dont belong on steep hills ridden in a fast pace. These where made for XC not AM - Remember this. if you dont, and drive them in AM conditions they will fade and then require a new bleeding - take this into consideration when buying them.. Though this has to be said - Magura offers a year leak-free-waranty.. this is VERY handy.. I've had a leakage in my right lever and one in my rear caliber.. both where replaced without charge from Magura..
My marta's drove flawlessly the first 1,5year and when i started driving more agressive and in steeper terrran they started to fade and started leaking.
If you need low weight and good stoppingpower for races these may be the ones you want, but i would actualy recommend you looking at the Formula k18, K24 or Pyro instead.. they got much more power, modulation and they weight less..
Similar Products Used: Magura Julie, Magura Marta SL
Bike Setup: SC Blur, Formula Pyro, XO shifters, etc. All-Mountain setup
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Submitted by
Patrick
a Cross Country Rider
from Whitecourt
Date Reviewed: May 28, 2007
Strengths: power, modulation, weight, break-in time, levers and rotors look very cool.
Weaknesses: none yet
Bottom Line:
These brakes took about 4-5 rides on the wet muddy trails ( about 80km ) to break in. They have about 15 % more power, they might even get to 20 % more. Less force on the levers to recieve stout stopping power. They modulate a bit smoother once pumped a few times on the trail. Must be the cycling of the fluid. These brakes are a home run.
I need to sell these, and $250 is the lowest I will go. Check the ad and you will see they are as close to new as you can get.
[url=http://classifieds.mtbr.com/showproduct.php?p Read More »
I picked up a new set of 2010 Marta SL mag brakes, I was told they are identical to the 2011 models and no changes were made. This was spoken from the person i bought them from.
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I have the noisy brake deal going and wanted to see if anyone can suggest a different pad than the red ones here I have been using. Also where to purchase or order them. Disk brake Read More »
Purchased this set of Magura Marta SL's. [B]They are IS mount.[/B]
[url=http://www.cambriabike.com/shopexd.asp?Item=100064814]Magura Marta Hydraulic Disc Brake Prebled 100064814 Read More »
