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I have always wondered about Magura brakes. Around here we only saw the bright coloured rim brakes mounted to trials bikes, while the discs with the strange names were nowhere to be found. How could it be that the home of BMW, beer and bratwurst would make anything but excellent brakes? (Despite the Japanese-sounding name Magura is indeed a German company) Perhaps it was just availability but for some reason they were nowhere to be found here on the Shore - or anywhere you might see clusters of freeriders.
Magura USA is aiming to change that and they've taken some bold steps in the right direction. The first thing they did was come up and check things out. You have to ride the Shore to know the Shore and Jude and Jimi from Magura did just that. These lads surprised me by wrestling the rocks, roots and skinnies into submission on their first rides in these parts. Grins that couldn't be wiped off made it pretty clear they were hooked on our version of mountain bicycling. The next move was to get their product into the hands of some local shop employees to evaluate. Step three was to sign local boys Tyler Klassen and Gareth Dyer to their Mojo Extreme team - a group that already includes Cedric Gracia. After these moves I was sceptical but optimistic when I opened a box of Louise FR brakes and mounted them to a Specialized Demo 9. One of the first things you’ll notice about the Louise FRs is the wavy rotors. To start off with I had a set of the regular circular disks and I didn’t think there would be any difference at all between them and their less orbicular cousins. As usual I was wrong and my first day on the funky rotors, on Whistler mountain, was a revelation. The undulations are said to cool the stopping surface faster and clear debris. All I can say is that the stopping power and feel improved so much I was gobsmacked. |
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Everything mounted relatively easily with the exception of the front adapter. The set up I was using had a 210mm rotor up front and a 190 rear – the largest available at each end. Magura makes their own adapters and I had to shim everything over while mounting it onto a Marzocchi 888. It worked fine but that shouldn’t happen. I have since mounted the brakes to a Manitou Sherman Slider + without any problems. Another issue about fork mounting is that switching forks may necessitate a new calliper. When I switched from the 888 to the Sherman Slider I also needed to swap callipers if I wanted to keep using the 210mm rotor – which I did. At first I tried the 190 up front before swapping rotors and I was amazed that there didn’t seem to be any significant loss of power.
Once these issues were sorted I was ready to try out the brakes on the North Shore, at Whistler and at Sun Peaks. I’ll admit I’ve had these brakes for awhile and there have been times when product managers - and especially marketing types - have been frustrated by the pace of my reviews (sorry Jimi). In my defence there is no way you can speak confidently about something as important as brakes after a couple of weeks. I probably could have done a decent job in a couple of months but let me tell you, I’ve learned a lot in half a year.
Louise FRs mounted to Cedric Gracia's Cannondale at this year's Red Bull Rampage. Note the wavy rotors.
I’ve used the Maguras in the wet, the dust, on DH courses and on tight technical descents. I have dumped the bike, crashed into trees and even lent it to nsmb team riders Ryan Newman and Jerry Willows, who took some of the nastiest crashes you’ll want to see using the Maguras. The good news is that the Louises came through this hellish initiation with aplomb. On one particularly warm and sunny day at Whistler my riding was sketchier than usual. I was rolling down clown shoes and I manualled off a ladder, bounced once and then hurtled bars first into a tree. After brushing myself off I reluctantly began my bike inventory. I was fairly certain I had done some damage – particularly to my right hand brake lever which took the brunt of the impact. I could see right away that the XT shifter was ready for the landfill but I couldn’t find anything wrong with the lever. In fact it is working perfectly to this day, three months later, without so much as a bleed. Magura is so confident that your experience will be similar to mine that each brakeset comes with a 5 year leak-proof warranty on levers, brake cylinders and callipers.
Cedric Gracia's lever - so to speak.
Okay – so they’re tough. Obviously that’s important for fweewidas
but it won’t do you much good if they don’t slow your bike in times
of need. It took a couple of rides before I felt I was getting the stopping
power I wanted from the Louise FRs but after that they just kept getting better.
The top end power was good but nothing beyond what I have come to expect from
my ever-reliable Hayes or even Shimano. In the end it was the modulation that
won me over. It’s not rare for me to follow better riders than I –
and I began to notice an advantage I had over many of them. When it was either
too steep, wet, rooty or loose to get good grip many of these rippers would
find their rear wheel skidding. In the same situations, with inferior skills,
I often found I could feather the lever and find just the right amount of friction
and avoid slippage. In short the Louise FR brakes have made me a better rider.
The downside is that when I switch over to another manufacturers brakes I find
myself locking up. Just the other day I landed in the pond on Ladies Only on
my first ride on a Hayes equipped Ironhorse we are testing. I have been a huge
fan of Hayes Mags but they don’t hold a candle to these in terms of modulation.
(we have some El Caminos on the way - we'll see how they do)
I have always been picky about levers. There are some brakes I refuse to use
because of the lever shape or lack of reach adjustment. I like the lever blade
to be wide and flat with a generous hook on the end. On top of that I like engagement
to occur close to the bar. This dramatically eases hand fatigue and improves
bike control. Again the Louises nail it. The levers are perfect and the reach
adjustment is the best I have ever encountered. There is a small cover on each
lever body that lets you sneak in with a 2.5mm Allen. You don’t need a
special tool or one with a ball-end. Any old Allen on any old multi-tool will
do. The range of adjustment is wide and there is no loss of power at any point.
The combination of good power, great modulation and excellent levers makes one-finger braking a piece of cake with the Louise FRs.
Reach adjustment has never been so easy. You can even do it in your kitchen.
So what's the bad news? There are some niggling issues with the Louises just as there are with any good product. The brake pads wore faster than I’m used to with Hayes. I’m always amazed how many laps you can get at Whistler before you need to replace your pads but the Louises hit metal sooner. Perhaps that is one of the factors that accounts for the excellent modulation. It is also difficult to adjust the callipers. if your pads are rubbing. Like Shimano XTs (the four piston DH model), pad spacing is achieved by placing shims between the adaptor and the fork or frame. This is time consuming but usually it works. On one occasion I had the calliper mounted to the frame and the rotor was rubbing on the outboard pad (away from the wheel) with no shims mounted so there was nothing I could remove to space the calliper over. The fluid reservoir (which takes mineral oil which won’t damage paint or skin) is opened and closed with tiny Torx head fittings which are difficult to work with and easy to lose. On top of that you’d have a hard time describing the Louises as cool or good looking. The levers have a chunky, industrial look that is all business.
Despite these nitpickings the Louise FRs are the finest brakes I have had the pleasure to use. There are some new products on the market I have yet to try (Avid Juicys or Hayes El Caminos – not to mention Maguras own Gustavs - and I've never used Hopes) but for now these are it in my book. They modulate perfectly, adjust easily for human hands, the levers are great and they are tougher than a Bronx bmxer. The prices are pretty nice too - particularly here in Canada.
When riders pick up something new our list for Santa is often quite long; we want it to last, work well and even look good. In the end though we want it to allow us to ride at a higher level - to make us better so the ride is more enjoyable - and that trumps all. These brakes did just that.
For more info hit Magura.com
| Pricing. Magura tells us that Magura FRs will cost you USD$229 an end stateside and CDN$269 here in Canada. On the North Shore Dizzy Cycles and Steed Cycles both have Louises in stock and they are selling for substantially less than that. Give them a call to check the deals. They can do this because, rather than going through a Canadian distributor Magura ships directly to Canadian shops. |
| Pros: | Cons: |
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Amazing modulation - Great strength and durability - 5 yr leak warranty - Nice Price - Sweet lever adjusts easily - Use Mineral Oil |
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Somewhat shorter pad life - Finicky master cylinder fasteners - Trickier to bleed than most - Different callipers. front and rear/for different fork rotor combos |
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