Magura MT8 Disc Brake Review

The Magura MT8 brakes are some of the lighest brakes on the market. They're claimed weight sounds right we had the 203mm rotors and the brakes were 348gms with rotor. They are very sleek looking and the Cabotecture as a material was designed to save weight while still being stiff. It was apparent when lifting the brakes they succeded in the weight department. They are supe light. The brakes mounted with ease and broke in very fast with 3-4 runs they were bedded in.

The brakes only offer a lever pull adjustment no engagement point which on a brake this expensive is a big negative. In fact it is really the only negative with the brakes. They modulate very well and had plenty of power. They feely a bit like Avid brakes somehwat spongy with increasing power as the lever is pulled into the bars.

We ran the 203mm rotors front and rear so the brakes had plenty of power. Never once did the brakes come close to overheating. I am about 210lbs in kit and drug them for almost 2 solid miles of trail and they worked fine. This was half me riding slow and half testing out the Magura MT8's fade and they didn't dissapoint. They modualtion was pretty good you can get pretty good brake control out of them.

Cabotecture Explained

"The MAGURA Research Team has been analyzing rigidity and strength test results during it’s MISSION PERFORMANCE, that different types of conventional materials like die cast aluminium, magnesium or laminated carbon fibres show a variety of important material deficiencies. Our material competence confirms these results.

The ideal material to build the best brake in the world would be extremely tensile, ductile and have an immense ability to bend. It would endure a lifetime of heavy use, would be absolutely precise, dimensionally stable and fatigue durable over many years. These materials exist – but they are generally too heavy or very difficult to process (titanium) and are therefore unsuitable for bicycle use.

Special lightweight and extremely strong carbon fibre materials have been introduced recently quite successfully in many high-tech areas such as automotive or aeronautics. MAGURA is the only bike component manufacturer experienced in manufacturing those materials for the industry and thus has the core competence in house. The MISSION PERFORMANCE follows this track and develops together with the best renowned manufacturers a brand new material: Carbotecture®.

The exact composition of this material remains a closely guarded secret – but we can reveal the following: Carbotecture® is the perfect material for the new exclusive Carboflow® process, also developed by MAGURA. Carbotecture® consists of a high percentage of carbon fibres in a thermoplastic matrix. This new material can not be compared with any known fibre reinforced plastic or laminated carbon fibre mats.

Properties of the material

• Extremely light (less than half the density of aluminium).
• Tensile strength in between aluminium and steel, extremely impact resistant and break proof ...
• Highest flexural fatigue strength of all conventional bike component materials.
• The efficiency weight (tensile strength/density) is double that of aluminium or magnesium and 6 times higher than steel ...

Processing

• Carboflow® has the highest process security due to complete in house  manufacturing at MAGURA Germany.
• Much higher reproducibility compared to conventional carbon laminates.
• Highest dimensional accuracy and precision.
• Perfectly sealed surface after processing (aluminium die cast has open sponge-like pores and must be impregnated).

Design possibilities

• Especially adapted design to the Carboflow® process allows an optimized fibre orientation according to the directional stress.
• Better calculable and more homogeneous than die cast aluminium. Oversizing can be reduced, thus ensuring a lighter and safer component design.
• Manufactured using the the Carboflow® process (without mechanical post processing as with alloy die cast) allows full freedom of shaping.
• The lightest possible material allocation can be realized with complex strength and process simulation.
• The product design enjoys almost no limits.

Carbotecture® is not simply a new High-Tech-Material. The name is based on both of the main components which lead to the material – Carbon and Architecture – only a company who is in the position to command the complete Process Architecture can benefit from the advantages this new material offers. MAGURA has the experience in dealing with highly complex material structures and mixtures and now focussed on offering the best components available worldwide for the bicycle market has developed a new unique Workflow.

Mission accomplished! With the MT8 MAGURA presents the worldwide most clever disc brake ever with Carbotecture® SL Master and Carbolay® lever blade, manufactured in our innovative Carboflow® process.

Based on the MAGURA Performance Factor the MT8 is the new benchmark on the disc brake market. Despite the awesome weight features the MT8 makes you forget the well-known problems of the ultra-lightweight competitors' products - thanks to Carbotecture SL®.

The goal has been reached. With the MT8, MAGURA presents the most elaborate and best thought through disc brake in the world with a lever from Carbolay® and a Carbotecture® Full Carbon Master, produced in the innovative Carboflow® process. Measured up to the MAGURA performance factor, we feel that the MT8 is currently the best disc brake on the market. Despite absolutely sensational weight values, where the ultra-light models from the competition have run into problems, we've managed to avoid these with the MT8 - due to Carbotecture SL®."

Features

• MAX Performance! and lightest weight
• High-tech disc brake
• First full carbon master cylinder
• CARBOTECTURE® SL body
• CARBOLAY® lever blade
• CARBOLAY® clamp
• ANTI-Features
• FEEL SAFETY-Ergonomics
• EBT (Easy Bleed Technology
• Weight 310g (including 160 mm Storm SL-Rotor)

We road the brakes for over a year and had no issues. Bleeding was very similiar to Avid brakes and we only did this because we had to cut cables on the rear brake. The pads were replaced once and seemed to wear like any other brake.

Falling is a part of Downhill and we did not risk braking a lever so we mounted them pretty far inside. The brakes overall held up very well and had no issues during testing. The cost of them is pretty high and will save the buyer just a small bit over the MT6's.

Magura set out to build a low maintenance, powerful and lightweight brake. They accomplished this with the MT8 sytem no doubt. But paying so much more over the MT6 system may not be worth saving just a bit unless a rider is looking to build an ultralight downhill race bike or a superlight XC race machine.

If your are the type of rider that runs an air rear shock, carbon seat/post and runs WC rims laced to DH hubs these brakes are for you. You will save anywhere from 100-400 grams over other systems out there. Once they create some type of engagement point for pad contact there would be nothing to complain about. We would suggest these brakes to people building AM or XC machines all day long. Gravity people out there if money is no object and weight savings is your primary goal then by all means the Magura MT8 brakes are some of the lightest brakes on the market and offer exceptional stopping power.