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Magura Marta

Average Rating 4.46/5
# of Reviews 13
MSRP $
Weight
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Description:
  • Integrated reservoir
  • Automatic pad wear
  • Radial master cylinder
  • Pre-bled and ready to mount
  • Superlight fully-hydraulic disc brake
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    Submitted by mmmm a Cross Country Rider from Canada
    Date Reviewed: July 13, 2008
    Duration Product Used:1 Year
    Price Paid: $189.00
    Purchased At:cambria
    Weaknesses:takes some time to install properly
    Bike Setup:Turner
    Bottom Line:Great brakes. Took a little bit of work to install but now they work great. Also Magura tech support is very helpfull.
    Value Rating:5Overall Rating:5

    Submitted by Edson a Weekend Warrior from Mexico City, Mexico
    Date Reviewed: March 8, 2008
    Duration Product Used:More than 3 years
    Price Paid: $200.00
    Purchased At:Viansi
    Strengths:Light, durable, no-troubleshoting, low mintenance
    Weaknesses:Almost nothing
    Similar Products Used:Magura louise, Avid mechanical
    Bottom Line: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.
    Value Rating:5Overall Rating:5

    Submitted by Wilhelm a Cross Country Rider from Knoxville
    Date Reviewed: October 11, 2007
    Favoriate Trail:I.C. King (I see Queens)
    Duration Product Used:2 Years
    Purchased At:Hammerhead Bikes
    Strengths:Great feel, great power, super light, cool rotors, plenty of room on bar for shifters
    Weaknesses:Pain to bleed, have to bleed constantly.
    Similar Products Used:Avid Juicy 5, 7, canti's and vee's.
    Bike Setup:These brakes were on a Racer-X
    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.
    Value Rating:1Overall Rating:2

    Submitted by BobL a from Silverado Canyon, CA USA
    Date Reviewed: July 8, 2007
    Favoriate Trail:Piss 'n Moan
    Duration Product Used:2 Years
    Price Paid: $350.00
    Purchased At:LBS
    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??
    Similar Products Used:Avid Juicy, BB7
    Bike Setup:Blur LT lightweight (28LBS) "all mountain" style. I use larger rotor in front.
    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.


    Value Rating:5Overall Rating:4

    Submitted by Hey Watch This a Weekend Warrior from CA
    Date Reviewed: June 29, 2007
    Favoriate Trail:anywhere
    Duration Product Used:2 Years
    Price Paid: $500.00
    Purchased At:LBS
    Strengths:lever feel and power and realiability
    Weaknesses:high price , no bling even at these price !
    Similar Products Used:Shimano LX and Avid Juicy
    Bike Setup:Nice.....
    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.
    Value Rating:5Overall Rating:5

    Submitted by Bill a Cross Country Rider from North Bend, WA, USA
    Date Reviewed: June 28, 2007
    Favoriate Trail:Tolt McDonald
    Duration Product Used:Less than 1 month
    Price Paid: $600.00
    Purchased At:Singletrack Cycles
    Strengths:Wow!! Stopping power. Feels great and has good modualtion. NO NOISE.
    Weaknesses:The stopping power. You need to be carefull how much front brake you use on technical downhills.
    Similar Products Used:Hayes, Avid Juicy 7's
    Bike Setup:Specialized Epic, Fox RLC fork, XTR..
    Bottom Line:These are great brakes and would highly recommend them to anyone.
    Value Rating:5Overall Rating:5

    Submitted by Michael Auchenberg a Cross Country Rider from Copenhagen, Denmark
    Date Reviewed: June 2, 2007
    Favoriate Trail:Red track in hareskoven
    Duration Product Used:2 Years
    Price Paid: $320.00
    Purchased At:www.bike-discount.de
    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"..
    Similar Products Used:Magura Julie, Magura Marta SL
    Bike Setup:SC Blur, Formula Pyro, XO shifters, etc. All-Mountain setup
    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..

    Value Rating:3Overall Rating:3

    Submitted by Patrick a Cross Country Rider from Whitecourt
    Date Reviewed: May 28, 2007
    Favoriate Trail:Roller Coaster
    Duration Product Used:Less than 1 month
    Purchased At:Revoultion Cycle
    Strengths:power, modulation, weight, break-in time, levers and rotors look very cool.
    Weaknesses:none yet
    Similar Products Used:avid cable disc brakes
    Bike Setup:Stock 2007 Specialized Stumpjumper Pro
    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.
    Value Rating:5Overall Rating:5

    Submitted by Nick a Weekend Warrior from Tacoma WA
    Date Reviewed: May 14, 2007
    Favoriate Trail:Corral Pass/Noble Knob
    Duration Product Used:More than 3 years
    Price Paid: $320.00
    Purchased At:Bike shop in Portland
    Strengths:Light weight
    Modulation
    Good power
    Great ergonomics
    Uses mineral oil
    Tough
    Magura customer service
    Pads last a long time
    Weaknesses:Bleeding is a pain in the butt
    Similar Products Used:Magura HS-33's (hydro rim brakes)
    Bike Setup:Custom '03 C'dale Jekyll
    Bottom Line:After using Magura HS-33's for a couple years (pre-disc brake era) and being very impressed with them, I decided to buy the Martas for my frame build up. I've used them for almost 4 years and have been very impressed with their performance.
    They're very light and offer great modulation. While not a downhill brake, they offer great power(I weigh 215 lbs and ride steep, wet terrain in the Pacific NW). I have had to bleed them a couple times, and it's a bit of a pain without Magura's bleed kit. Hanging the bike upside down for extended periods in not recommended.
    As to their toughness and longevity, they've taken a few nasty crashes into rock gardens and even survived my wife driving into the garage with my bike on the roof rack (both levers/reserviors hit above the garage door and pushed the bike rack mounts back about 18", putting a dent in the rear hatch of my wife's Subaru). The original pads lasted about 800 miles.
    If you're looking a light, relatively strong cross-country/trail bike brake and don't want to mess with DOT brake fluid, I highly recommend the Martas.
    Value Rating:4Overall Rating:5

    Submitted by andy reslewic a Weekend Warrior from ny
    Date Reviewed: April 18, 2007
    Favoriate Trail:MTA
    Duration Product Used:2 Years
    Price Paid: $450.00
    Purchased At:Bryan's Bikes
    Strengths:Stopping power that is unrivaled. My friends don't even use the front break because of the incredible stopping power. It is very touck which means it can be pulled with only one finger.One of the lightest brakes on the market.Look great too.
    Weaknesses:After a while brakes need to be blead. Other than that it has no weakness
    Similar Products Used:Shimano lx deore
    Bike Setup:05' Cannondale prophet 1000, SRam XO shfter/derailure
    Bottom Line:If you are looking for huge stopping power in a small package this is the brake for you. Do not buy if you plan to put on a DH bike as they may be too fragile.
    Value Rating:5Overall Rating:5

    Submitted by guy geva a Cross Country Rider from israel
    Date Reviewed: March 30, 2007
    Favoriate Trail:a long day off road
    Duration Product Used:6 months
    Price Paid: $470.00
    Purchased At:universalcycles.com
    Strengths:light! good feeling, good control
    Weaknesses:price?!
    Similar Products Used:hayes 9
    Bike Setup:gery fisher (genesis frame), fsa xc300 wheelset, easton ec70 handlebar,easton ea70 stem, vapor continntal tire, fsa orbit xl2 headset
    Bottom Line:veery light! beter control than the hayes 9 (I use the hayes for 3 years). when squeez hard it will stop the bike!!! and when squeez gentle it slow the bike in a delicate way. quiet more than the hayes.the disc handel good in alot of hard mud!!! the best for me!!!
    Value Rating:5Overall Rating:5

    Submitted by Will a Racer from Houghton, MI
    Date Reviewed: December 2, 2006
    Favoriate Trail:Copper Harbor
    Duration Product Used:6 months
    Purchased At:friend
    Strengths:Light, work quite well, no rubbing, good modulation feel.
    Weaknesses:Price of parts, serviceability, a bit spongey.
    Similar Products Used:Avid BB7, Juicy 7.
    Bike Setup:All mountain, XC racing.
    Bottom Line:Magura doesn't supply parts for the lever assembly, such as seals. In other words, a bad o-ring will cost you a new master cylinder.
    Value Rating:3Overall Rating:4

    Submitted by drae jones a Weekend Warrior from tustin ca usa
    Date Reviewed: November 11, 2006
    Favoriate Trail:whiting ranch
    Duration Product Used:1 Year
    Purchased At:came with bike
    Strengths:They have great stopping power, they're light and they look cool too.
    Weaknesses:none
    Bike Setup:Cannondale gemini 1000 mostly stock
    Bottom Line:If you need some good super light brakes brakes then get these
    they get the job done for me, but i am a light guy 140lb. The martas are good for cross country, all mountain, or free ride.
    I'd suggest something else for downhill.
    Value Rating:5Overall Rating:5






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