Magura MT Trail Disc Brakes [Rider Review]

Our "Rider Review" article series features the honest reviews from verified purchasers of Worldwide Cyclery. They contain the photos, thoughts, feedback & overall review you are looking for.

Magura's reputation within the Motorcycle industry has transferred over to the Mountain Bike industry. The power and modulation Magura has is something sought after by many. Check out one of our customer's reviews and what they think about the Magura MT Trail hydraulic brakes! 

Overview

Like most of us, my first “real” mountain bike was the lowest model 2018 Specialized Fuse. I absolutely loved that bike and it was plenty of bike to learn on. I was only upgrading as things broke, or I outgrew something. That bike came with some 2 piston Tektro brakes. When I got to the point that I needed more I went to my local bike shop and they hooked me up with some SRAM Guide Ts. I loved those, they were perfect. Loved the modulation and power. After a couple years of using those, they lost power. I’m not sure if it was a product of me getting used to them or they actually degraded but they received proper maintenance and weren’t as good anymore. I loved hardtails and decided to hold off on buying new brakes until I made my new hard tail build. In the mean time I was trying friends bikes and renting bikes with different brakes. I learned I really didn’t care for the sudden bite of Shimano, I like the modularity of SRAM. As someone that likes tinkering at home, I wanted something with a safer fluid to deal with. That meant trying a different brand. Enter the Magura MT Trails.

First impression

My first impression during the unboxing was “wow, these things are hefty”. Not just hefty in weight but also in size. The calipers are thick boys for sure. The packaging was fine, what you’d expect from a reputable brand. They came with stickers, a pamphlet, brake bleeding spacers, and extra bits for when it’s time to bleed your brakes.

Installation

The installation was as easy as any other brake. The levers could be installed in any right/left. Which made me cut the rear brake caliper hose to the size of the front and ended up buying another 4 piston caliper set. So now I pretty much have the MT5s. These breaks required a lot of bleeding to get the pistons to stop creeping or staying out. Magura also offers a matchmaker style clamp to keep your cockpit clean. I was able to use that for my Woftooth dropper lever but it was not offered for my Microshift Advent X shifter.

Performance

These brakes give me the power and modulation of the first set of SRAMs I fell in love with. I’ve had them now for almost a year and haven’t bled them since installation and they are still going strong. They held up great at a full day at Bryce Bike Park and handle the weekend bike rides at my local trail networks in Virginia like a champ.

Pros and Cons

Pros: Performance, mineral oil, price

Cons: Weight, size, lever material seems weak, require a lot of bleeding

Final Thoughts

The Magura MT Trail are a great value performance brake. If you like modulation and power these brakes will fill your need. If you don’t care about weight, these things are great. If your looking to be as light as possible then these brakes are not for you. The levers are a cheaper feeling material but you can always upgrade the levers to a stronger materials in the future.