[Steamthief]

After days of reading reviews and mtbr threads, I'm leaning towards getting a set of the two piston Curas.

I'm kind of worried about the lack of support in the USA - I sent an email a few days ago to Formula but got no response.

For those running these brakes, a few questions:

Where did you buy them? I'm having a hard time finding front and rear in the US.

What is the warranty?

Are the Formula rotors and oil a necessity?

Do the brakes come with olives, etc, to do a proper bleed?

Are adapters needed for a 26" bike?

Have you needed support from the manufacturer, and if so,

were they responsive?​

Would you buy them again?

 

[bdundee]

I got the 4 piston from Starbike and they each came with a barb and olive for shortening them. I was very careful and didn't need a bleed after cutting the lines. As of right now I would buy them again but I only have a week or so on them. I'm running Formula rotors and did buy the correct mineral oil but not sure if either are necessary. Sorry that's all I got.

 

[Steamthief]

Thanks for the feedback! Are you in the US? I assume Starbike is in Germany. If yes to both questions, how long does delivery take?

 

[HerrKaLeu]

It seems you already found out how good their support is.

It is a gamble for sure and you have to decide if it is worth the risk. Unless I googled wrong a set cost over $200. That gets you a set of XT brakes with 4 piston in front. The Shimano are a known quality with plenty of spare parts to buy.

 

[bdundee]

Thanks for the feedback! Are you in the US? I assume Starbike is in Germany. If yes to both questions, how long does delivery take?

Yes and yes and it took about 10 days.

 

[Steamthief]

I haven't seen four piston XT that cheap! I'm leaning towards Formula for the better lever modulation and rebuildability.

 

[HerrKaLeu]

I haven't seen four piston XT that cheap! I'm leaning towards Formula for the better lever modulation and rebuildability.

Bikediscount.de. 192$ foe 4f/2r XTs

I don't think rebuilding a brake is a frequent occurrence. And if the lever or caliper breaks you replace it. Again, it isn't like shimano brakes fail a lot.

 

[PuddleDuck]

After days of reading reviews and mtbr threads, I'm leaning towards getting a set of the two piston Curas.

I'm kind of worried about the lack of support in the USA - I sent an email a few days ago to Formula but got no response.

For those running these brakes, a few questions:

Where did you buy them? I'm having a hard time finding front and rear in the US.

What is the warranty?

Are the Formula rotors and oil a necessity?

Do the brakes come with olives, etc, to do a proper bleed?

Are adapters needed for a 26" bike?

Have you needed support from the manufacturer, and if so,

were they responsive?​

Would you buy them again?

I'm not running the brakes, but I'll be buying them for my next build. To your questions:

Where did you buy them? I'm having a hard time finding front and rear in the US. BTI are are the US distribtor, I'd contact them
- Search result for "America, United States Of America" - Formula
- [email protected]

Are the Formula rotors and oil a necessity?
- I would run the rotors that are recommended, it works 99.9% of the time, but sometimes there's a weird vibration/howl that's easier to diagnose if the correct rotors are used.
- Someone has posted on one of the Cura threads hear on MTBR that he used Shimano oil with no problems. It's unlikely to cause any long term issues with eg. seals, but who knows


Do the brakes come with olives, etc, to do a proper bleed?
- the come with those things you mention to cut the hoses
- you'll need to buy a separate bleed kit, either the Formula one, or from the likes of here https://www.epicbleedsolutions.com/products/bleed-kits/formula/ (noting that one can choose mineral oil (or no fluid) from the drop down menu

Are adapters needed for a 26" bike?
- adapters are needed for the rotor size that you want to run eg. 160 or 180 or 200.

Here's an MTBR specific search that will give you all treads that mention Cura, including the Shimano fluid.
site:forums.mtbr.com cura

It also returns the main thread for the Cura on MTBR, you might do well to post your questions on it, or Private Message the guys that are running them about their experiences.
- https://forums.mtbr.com/brake-time/formula-cura-brakes-1044842.html

 

[petercarm]

Formula [...] oil a necessity?
- Someone has posted on one of the Cura threads hear on MTBR that he used Shimano oil with no problems. It's unlikely to cause any long term issues with eg. seals, but who knows

Shimano fluid is much more viscous. Not recommended for Formula Cura. I've used them the other way round (Formula fluid in Shimanos) over a significant period without problem.

If you pair a 2 piston Cura caliper with Shimano levers you get 4 piston Shimano braking power. With Cura you don't get the large pad standoff you get with Shimanos so you may get more pad rub but you get better consistency at the lever.

If you get new Formula hoses with the dry break coupling you can fit them with a shimano barb and olive to shimano levers and you can quick swap.

I might be a bit wary of using Formula fluid in XTR magnesium master cylinders.

 

[Nutball]

I switched from XTs to 2 piston Curas and love them. Bought in the US from universal cycles for about $220 for the set (used a 15% coupon at the time).

I'm currently using them with shimano icetech rotors. No real issue using the Shimano rotors with the curas. However, I'm not a huge fan of the icetech rotors (with any brake) so I'll eventually switch them out.

Hands down, I prefer the curas. Consistent lever feel and excellent modulation. XTs are my least favorite brake that I've ever owned. Plenty of power but I hate the servo wave action. I've owned several other sets if formula brakes and these are by far the best. Pad clearance has been good enough unlike some of their older brake models. Shimano does have more clearance though if that matters to you.

Sent from my Pixel 3 using Tapatalk

 

[PuddleDuck]

Shimano fluid is much more viscous. Not recommended for Formula Cura.

Thanks for the info!