MAGURA - NEVER MORE
In September 2014 I received my brand new OPEN 1.1 from Opencycle (great bike). It came with Magura MT6 disc brakes.
After less than 200 km on the new bike, one day, riding slowly, I actuated the rear brake to stop and the brake hose came off at the lever squirting fluid.
Took it to the local bike shop to refit the hose in position and bleed it. After that the brake started to feel sluggish and spongy. I rode it for several weeks and than took it to the mechanic to bleed it again. No improvement; always spongy and the engagement point getting lower and lower. The front brake engagement point started to get also low. At this point I drove to the big city and took the bike to a Magura certified mechanic. After bleeding with no result, he said that the master cylinders were leaking and that this could be result of overtightening the clamp nuts, which I'm 98% sure was not the case.
Carefully examining the master cylinder under good light and with a magnifying glass, it seems to be in perfect condition. Still under good light, actuating the lever, the leakage seems to be coming out of the little weep hole behind the master cylinder, where it mounts to the bars. The mechanic said that there was no way to fix it and that the only solution was to replace the master cylinders at a huge cost. Total disappointment! He also admitted that Magura brakes are very sensitive and often have complications. His personal advice was: switch to Shimano XT or XTR and will never have problems.
A pair of complete Shimano XT disc brakes is cheaper than the repair of the Maguras.
After that, I sent an email to Magura Brazil reporting the whole story and hoping they would strive to make a customer happy and honor the warranty.
A day later they called me to explain why the warranty could not be honored. First, because the local bike shop mechanic was not Magura certified and could have done something wrong when installing the brakes and cutting the hoses. Second, because the levers could've been overtightened.
So, if you ever buy a Magura brake, make sure not to install it by yourself nor by the local bike shop if you don't want to lose the warranty. At least in Brazil, this is how it works.
