REVIEWS DEALS BIKESHOPS TRAILS

Magura Sport Trail vs TRP Slate vs Shimano SLX-ish

8253 Views 29 Replies 17 Participants Last post by jbrettk123, 4 mo ago

BadgerOne

Discussion Starter · Nov 14, 2021

After considering Spykes for a build, I've been convinced it is a stupid idea, so off the hydraulic side of the house. My experience has been Shimano and SRAM. I'm looking for something reliable and consistent and not needy that doesn't cost a mint.

Magura Trail Sports are supposed to be decent brakes, but I have zero familiarity with Magura. They are supposed to be easy to bleed, good performers, and are priced fairly. My hesitation is German engineering, because I've owned a lot of German cars and well...you know. Stuff works brilliantly until it doesn't, then you just sit there slack-jawed at a stupid design that will eventually fail again. Hopefully Maguras aren't like this. How is the modulation with these and what do they compare to?

TRP is obviously Tektro's upper end line, and based on my experience with their cheap hydros on my commuter and city bikes, their stuff is so ridiculously reliable and consistent that even Shimano is sweating. I like their lever reservoir design and easy bleed. I have no perspective on the performance and modulation of the TRP stuff though, so I'm not sure how it stacks up to the others.

Shimano is Shimano. Obviously good stuff and SLX or below is boringly reliable. Had some issues with XT 8000, but those are well known. I don't like the Shimano modulation as much as SRAM for example.

All are about the same price. What can you tell me about them?

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unrealityshow

· #2 · Nov 14, 2021

I really like the power delivery of all the Magura brakes I've had (MT5s, Trail Sports, MT7s). Not as much modulation as Sram Code RSC's but much better stopping power. For the price I really like the Trail Sports. As long as you're not a hamfisted moron (the levers are made of plastic, so people have been known to strip the bleed screw) you'll get many years of enjoyment out of the Maguras.

At this point in my life, I don't think I will use a brake that isn't Magura.

Reactions: 5

Mountainfrog

· #3 · Nov 14, 2021

I want to know too! Reliability, ease of bleed, and modulation are my pre-requisites. I'm leaning towards TRP or Magura in the future so if they use mineral oil and modulate reasonably well then I'd be on board with either.

Reactions: 1

meridebikes

· #4 · Nov 15, 2021

I've been running the Magura Trail Sports for 5 years now on a couple different bikes.
Pros:
1. Great modulation (less on/off like shimano's I ran years ago)
2. great power for steep descents; never really have brake fade. feel like they are even better than the zee's i used to run.
3. love the lever feel. good ergonomics for one finger braking.
4. Good reliability thus far (once bled correctly they need no adjustments and have been problem free)
5. Mineral oil. this is a must for me as no matter how careful I am during installation/bleeding some always seems to get somewhere. I don't mind wiping a little mineral oil off things...can't say the same about DOT.
6. light weight (I don't really care too much about this and I would gladly take a heavier version with better durability)
7. Good price point

Cons:
1. The biggest issue for me has been that they are NOT tough. I have broken two levers during relatively minor falls. The master cylinder and lever connections are plastic so they just don't handle impacts. I keep my clamps pretty loose now so they rotate on impact and not break. Haven't broken one in about 4 years now so maybe I just ride better or have been lucky. Likely a combination of both...
2 Bleeding to me is not as easy as shimano's. I find them WAY more touchy to get right. But, there are some good videos out there and if you are careful/methodical it can be done predictably.

I toy with the eye of trying other brakes and next time I break a lever off I might try something else but for now I plan on keeping them...

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Reactions: 3

赤♂酱

· #5 · Nov 15, 2021

magura很容易使用，但它太脆弱了。如果你有过硬的骑术，那将是一个不错的选择。相反 Shimano/TRP

Reactions: 2

socalrider77

· #6 · Nov 15, 2021

TRP. Mix of Sram and shimano, with the easy bleed of shimano. No fade ever. 2.3 thick rotors don’t warp as easily as shimano/Sram rotors

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Reactions: 2

DeoreDX

· #7 · Nov 15, 2021

I have MT Thirty with the plastic levers and 4 piston calipers. I'm not sure you can get better stopping power at $90usd per wheel right now. very pleasantly surprised how well they work for the price. As someone else said with the plastic build of the main body of the lever it's best to tighten the lever just enough so it doesn't move in normal use but you can take it and turn it with your hand if you try hard enough. My plan was to run the plastic Magura levers/body until I break one then switch to Shimano levers. A whole year and 1k miles later they are still running strong.

Reactions: 2

OneTrustMan

· #8 · Nov 15, 2021

Mountainfrog said:
I want to know too! Reliability, ease of bleed, and modulation are my pre-requisites. I'm leaning towards TRP or Magura in the future so if they use mineral oil and modulate reasonably well then I'd be on board with either.

I had TRP Slate 4.
Bleeding was very easy and braking was consistent. And imo Tektro/TRP brakes are much more reliable than Shimano.
Also I really dig the moto design of TRP brakes.

However they were just so weak. Even with bigger rotors and different full sintered pads the power was just not there. I gave up on them and switched to a pair of saints bleeded with plutnio something ( forget the name) fork oil.
The difference in power is night and day.

On my ebike I have Deore 6100 4 pot brakes.
With the oem resin pads there were really weak.
I tried some full sinter ZTTO pads that believe it or not made them almost as powerful as my Saints.

So I would suggest just go for Shimano with good pads.

Magura brakes feel nice and powerful, but they are not reliable, bleeding is bit annoying on the caliper.

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Reactions: 2

Grinchy8

· #9 · Nov 15, 2021 (Edited)

One more vote for MT30s. Note that you can always get a 1 finger lever 'upgrade' from any MT series, or the signature levers.
I run front/back on the fs restomod, and just bought another pair for my new DJ build.

Reactions: 1

Mountainfrog

· #10 · Nov 15, 2021

OneTrustMan said:
I had TRP Slate 4.
Bleeding was very easy and braking was consistent. And imo Tektro/TRP brakes are much more reliable than Shimano.
Also I really dig the moto design of TRP brakes.

However they were just so weak. Even with bigger rotors and different full sintered pads the power was just not there. I gave up on them and switched to a pair of saints bleeded with plutnio something ( forget the name) fork oil.
The difference in power is night and day.

On my ebike I have Deore 6100 4 pot brakes.
With the oem resin pads there were really weak.
I tried some full sinter ZTTO pads that believe it or not made them almost as powerful as my Saints.

So I would suggest just go for Shimano with good pads.

Magura brakes feel nice and powerful, but they are not reliable, bleeding is bit annoying on the caliper.

I think I'll try the Deore set up, it sounds like all I'm looking for at a reasonable price point. Thanks!

Mountainfrog

· #11 · Nov 15, 2021

socalrider77 said:
TRP. Mix of Sram and shimano, with the easy bleed of shimano. No fade ever. 2.3 thick rotors don’t warp as easily as shimano/Sram rotors

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Are you running the Quadium or Slate 4?

Mountainfrog

· #12 · Nov 15, 2021

赤♂酱 said:
magura很容易使用，但它太脆弱了。如果你有过硬的骑术，那将是一个不错的选择。相反 Shimano/TRP

Chinese to English: Magura It's easy to use, but it's too fragile. If you have over riding skills, it would be a good choice. On the contrary Shimano/TRP.
Thanks!

Reactions: 1

socalrider77

· #13 · Nov 15, 2021

OneTrustMan said:
I had TRP Slate 4.
Bleeding was very easy and braking was consistent. And imo Tektro/TRP brakes are much more reliable than Shimano.
Also I really dig the moto design of TRP brakes.

However they were just so weak. Even with bigger rotors and different full sintered pads the power was just not there. I gave up on them and switched to a pair of saints bleeded with plutnio something ( forget the name) fork oil.
The difference in power is night and day.

On my ebike I have Deore 6100 4 pot brakes.
With the oem resin pads there were really weak.
I tried some full sinter ZTTO pads that believe it or not made them almost as powerful as my Saints.

So I would suggest just go for Shimano with good pads.

Magura brakes feel nice and powerful, but they are not reliable, bleeding is bit annoying on the caliper.

I ran the old slate t4 and agree with you.

Their updated evo line is much better though. The slate evos with the 2.3 rotors are more powerful

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Reactions: 1

socalrider77

· #14 · Nov 15, 2021

Mountainfrog said:
Are you running the Quadium or Slate 4?

I run the trail evos. If you go trp, stick to something in the evo range with the 2.3mm thick rotors. Slate evo for trail, trail evo for all mountain/enduro, and dhr evo for enduro/dh

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SteveF

· #15 · Nov 16, 2021

I used only shimano brakes for quite a while, usually XT. Then I bought a fat bike that came with Magura MT-4s on. They've been fantastic, I really like them. When I bought a new bike recently, I spec'd it with MT-8s, guess I'm a Magura guy now. Never tried TRP brakes so I can't speak to those.

Mountainfrog

· #16 · Nov 16, 2021

socalrider77 said:
I run the trail evos. If you go trp, stick to something in the evo range with the 2.3mm thick rotors. Slate evo for trail, trail evo for all mountain/enduro, and dhr evo for enduro/dh

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I like the idea of the thicker rotors. EVOS sound like a good choice for any upgrades in the future. Thanks for your input.

Reactions: 1

kapusta

· #17 · Nov 17, 2021

If the Maguras come with the plastic levers that my MT7s came with, I’d pass. Mine have been constant problems, all with the levers. First a hose bolt went in badly and damaged the thread (this one might have been my own fault, but I have never in 35 years of wrenching bikes or cars done this before) and that was a $140 fix. Both of the reach adjustment screws eventually started moving so over the course of a ride the reach would shorten and I was constantly readjusting it. Then the spring that keeps the lever from flopping all the way open broke. This all happened over the course of about 20 rides.

But when they work, they are great. I am never aware of them, the control is so intuitive.

BadgerOne

Discussion Starter · #18 · Nov 18, 2021

kapusta said:
If the Maguras come with the plastic levers that my MT7s came with, I’d pass. Mine have been constant problems, all with the levers. First a hose bolt went in badly and damaged the thread (this one might have been my own fault, but I have never in 35 years of wrenching bikes or cars done this before) and that was a $140 fix. Both of the reach adjustment screws eventually started moving so over the course of a ride the reach would shorten and I was constantly readjusting it. Then the spring that keeps the lever from flopping all the way open broke. This all happened over the course of about 20 rides.

But when they work, they are great. I am never aware of them, the control is so intuitive.

Despite the love in this thread, your post and the others before pretty much guarantees I'll be skipping Magura. Durability and serviceability are at the top of my list, and I don't want to deal with this kind of thing. Unfortunately this seems like kind of typically German engineering stuff. If I wanted more problems with German engineering I'd go out and buy another 10 year old Bimmer.

So far TRP is at the top, simply because I haven't yet heard of a single complaint about their consistency and serviceability. As long as I can get the power required, they seem like a shoe-in. That, or SLX level Shimano. I'm still snakebitten by the wandering bite point of the XTs.

Reactions: 3

CRM6

· #19 · Nov 18, 2021

I had a set of TRP brakes that came on my Intense Tazer MX ebike. I couldn't get them off the bike fast enough!! Not enough power and terrible brake fade.... I immediately upgraded to Hayes Dominion brakes and I haven't looked back. Sold the TRPs on marketplace and recouped some cash for the upgrade.

Mountainfrog

· #20 · Nov 18, 2021

CRM6 said:
I had a set of TRP brakes that came on my Intense Tazer MX ebike. I couldn't get them off the bike fast enough!! Not enough power and terrible brake fade.... I immediately upgraded to Hayes Dominion brakes and I haven't looked back. Sold the TRPs on marketplace and recouped some cash for the upgrade.

So the TRP E-MTBs aren't worth a poop you say. Good to know.

Reactions: 1

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