4 pst might be overkill for your short ups and downs, but I doubt you'll ever be sorry you have them, especially when you do have a long, fast descent. You could do 4 pst front, 2 pst rear and split the difference....

 

My wife had such a setup (hope E4 front, X2 rear) and said she found the power was too different, which threw her off (Could be X2 specific). She changed to an E4 rear and found it better. Regarding the OP, I agree that for the small weight difference, having the 4 pts for whenever a long descent comes along would be my preference.

 

Honestly increase your rotor size to 200mm front and 180mm rear first and see if that makes a difference. I had two piston SLXs for years and they were brilliant. So good that when I got Saints I was slightly disappointed.
That said, bigger rotors and calipers are such a minor weight penalty I think it's absolutely worth it.

 

Except for weight weenism and money, I don't see any other disadvantages of 4 piston brakes.

XT four pistons have been my favorite brakes I've used so far.

 

I run Shimano Zees 4 piston on everything no matter what, because the confidence of being able to stop exactly when I need to trumps any sort of weight difference. I also know that they will hold up no matter what terrain I will eventually be on moving forward. Like suspension, I would rather have much more and not need it than need it and not have itl

 

The biggest con I have found with 4 piston brakes is maintenance. It's more pistons to keep working in sync. One bad piston can cause annoyances like disc rub. It's what I'm going through right now with one of my XT calipers. I have this annoying rub that I couldn't seem to shake. To fix it, I advanced the pistons out, cleaned and lubed them. The caliper worked great for about half a ride, until it got heated up on a downhill, and now my caliper is back to rubbing again. 🤬

With 2 piston brakes this probably wouldn't be an issue.

 

what is weight?

 

My 2018 RIPMO came with 4 piston Shimano Deore. To this day, I still can't justify upgrading them, as they are so good for what they are and hassle free. if you are worried about cost, i would definitely take a look at those (Br-Mt6120).
But since you have a Ripley, the 2 piston Shimano XT or even SLX should be more than adequate.

 

Question to ask.... Is it better have them and not need them or not have them and then need them? I live in Western NC and have ridden with single pistion XTs and now I have Hayes Dominions on both my aggressive bikes: Ibis Ripmo AF and Intense Tazer ebike. I absolutely love the XTs and they are still on my Single Speed but if I had my drothers Id have 4 pistons on all my bikes.

 

I'm on my 3rd set of Sram Guide 4 pot brakes and for anything less than downhill riding I think they are fantastic. Even the bare bones Guide T are so nice. Prior to these I had a set of Level brakes and even they worked great. I know everyone loves XT but to me they are too much on/off. I really love the Sram modulation.

 

I haven't heard of Shimano Zees. I will have a look at them and the Deores as an alternative to the XTs. I am leaning towards four-piston.

 

i have sram Guide T with 203/203 rotors on my Troy and my only qualm is the engagement point.. wish it were less lever throw.. im sure something setup wise could be done to help.. but i digress..

on my fatbike.. i have a set of sram Level T.. with 180/160 rotors.. and while the power isnt nearly there.. they work well too.. i know its on 2 different style bikes.. but riding the same trails with both bikes.. theres a tricky downhill section that i like which is a little more.. nerve-wracking on the fatbike .. i cant say im hoping itl slow down in time.. or am i ever fearing the brakes will let me down.. but theres definately more hand power going into it lol is it due to the smaller rotors? is it due to 2 pot calipers?? im sure its both.. but i wouldnt be able to tell you how much of each..

that said.. since your buying a new setup.. id probably steer you towards a 4 pot system.. i mean.. its called upgrading... right? buy once.. cry once.. ask around your LBS what people rave about .. dont fret the few grams and get yourself some relatively chunky calipers.. should you go ride where you need em.. youll have em

 

I have multiple sets of older generation Shimano 2 piston brakes (xt & 2 sets of slx) on various bikes, and the current generation of xt 4 piston brakes.

In terms of lever feel at the bite point, they all feel the same. In terms of power and modulation, the 4 pistons have the upper hand with more of both.

I don't care about weight which is neglible so 4 pistons are fine by me. The extra power and modulation is confidence inspiring.

Sent from my SM-G970W using Tapatalk

 

The latest Shimano 4 pistons have been amazing on my Ripley and Stumpjumper EVO.

After using different pads to the stock N04C stock metallic pads, I like them even more. The N04C pads are expensive, can be a bit grabby, and basically impossible to find. I swapped to Discobrakes copper free pads and I’m really liking the added modulation. I might try their ceramic pads on the EVO for a bit more initial bite on faster, steeper stuff though.

 

I have to admit, I am not at all familiar your area, but I ride all over Colorado with a 4-pot front, 2-pot rear combo of SLX. I do run metallic pads and 180's F/R. I'm not a small guy and I run blues/blacks without any shortage of stopping power on a 140/120 bike. I suppose if I really need to pull the tread off the tire I would up the the front to a 203, but I haven't felt the need to do so...other than just wanting to for the heck of it.

 

There are only two possible reasons to not run 4-piston brakes.

1: You ride XC tires and brakes that can easily exceed meager grip level of your tires do not make sense. (that is my reason on one of my bikes)
2: You already have a set of 2-piston brakes that work well enough 95% of the time and cannot justify spending the money to switch (that is my reason on my other bikes)

 

Every mountain bike I’ve ever ridden the brakes exceed the grip level of my tires.

totally understand modulation and lever feel. But even the scrawniest brakes I’ve ridden will lock up my wheels if I wanted them to (which I try to avoid).

for me I find larger rotors to be better at heat dissipation. Not necessarily stopping power.

 

Formula cura 2's. Good modulation and plenty of power.. Previously had magura mt5s/shigura/ shimano xt 4 m8120s and these cura 2's are cheaper and on par with power. Pair the cura 2's with purple e-mtb galfer pads and magura 203 rotors ( using these brakes on black runs no problem)

 

The 4 pot Shimano have better modulation than the 2 pots. Merlincycles.com usually has the best deals.... I just picked up a set of SLX 2 pots for my play around rig, doesn't need the fade resistance, power or better modulation of the 4's on that bike

 

Having been a steadfast XT brake fan since the day they came out, I would agree with this. XT 4 pistons do have slightly more modulation than XT 2 pistons. My standard brake config these days is an XT 4 piston front caliper with a 180 rotor, and a 160 rear rotor with a 2 piston XT caliper. For me. it's a perfect mix of power and level of modulation where I prefer it to be. Plenty of power and some modulation up front, and nice pop on, pop off breaking on the rear. I will say, though, XT 4 piston modulation is still notably less than most other brands of brakes. But that's OK with me since I prefer less modulation overall.

 

After doing the usual 203/180 rotors with sintered pads I was initially going for a four pot (SLX) caliper upgrade on the front and stick with the two pot on the rear, yes it was a great setup with more than enough braking power for my needs.

Having that direct two and four pot comparison made me realise how much nicer four pot braking feels, more power with less lever effort. After only a few rides I had to upgrade to a four pot on the rear too. Doubt I'll ever go back to running two pots.

 

I've had bikes with both 2 piston and 4 piston Shimano's. I currently have 4 piston brakes.

I can't tell them apart when riding. 4 pistons have more pad rubbing issues.

I'd go 2 pistons unless you have fading problems.

 

4 piston = better stopping power and modulation. They are good on my car, and good on my bike.

 

Just curious, have you tried sintered full metallic pads in your Magura brakes? I always run these in the front on my 2 pot equipped XC bikes, and can always notice better consistency on long or sketchy descents.

I run 4 pots on all my 5+ travel bikes, but likely would survive with well setup 2 pots on most rides…

 

There's something wrong with your MT8s. My MT4 (essentially the same brake) had no trouble locking either end with Kevlar pads. Magura's stock pads aren't all winners, though.

If you want four-pot, M6100 would top my list, or MT5 if you're willing to give Magura a second go. Code is fine too (the take-off R version is often available cheap) if you don't mind DOT fluid.

 

How about SIX pistons?

 

I'm in the camp of having more brake than you need vs. having just enough. Assuming correct setup, if I felt that the MT8s were just enough for where & how I ride, then I'd definitely want to add a little bit more in reserve, be it through larger rotors or caliper upgrade.

 

I just got a new bike which has SLX 4-piston brakes on it. It was supposed to have 2-piston, but as of a couple months back, they couldn't source the 2-piston brakes and substituted the 4-pistons. The 4 piston brakes are totally overkill for how I ride, but it is kind of fun to have so much braking power. I probably wouldn't buy 4 piston brakes given the choice to save the money and weight, but it is fun to have had them once.