louise fr vs xt

I'm running the '04 XT's and find them trouble free once they are fully bled. In fact they are too much as a front so I've been running resin pads to get more modulation and save my last solid collar bone. They are only 160mm and stop like Hayes 8's, really amazing power for a 3/4 inch throw lever. On the negative side is all the parts and pieces you need to install them plus needing the new 765 hubs... all in all it was worth the effort. Even running metallic pads in the rear they are death silent and growling nicely while stopping. Let me know if you have other questions.

No real experience with the new XTs but I really like my Louise XCs. The Louise calipers will be lighter than XT because Magura has direct fit IS calipers. The new XTs only have 74mm calipers and then need adapters to fit to IS mounts. Not a big factor though. I'm sure both are good brakes. I've had much better luck dealing with Magura than Shimano though.