You brake, you lose! But if you brake later, you’ll ride faster for longer. Either way, a mountain bike without good brakes is a death trap. The fact is: with bikes becoming increasingly capable, we’re encouraged to push our boundaries and look for tougher trails. As a result, we inevitably get faster, and the brakes have to keep up with that! We pitted 14 of the hottest (no pun intended) brakes against each other to find out which one does the job best.
Our candidates – The 14 MTB brake models we tested
Our test field includes both budget brakes and fancy boutique stoppers, from some of the most popular and affordable OEM models, to the finest bling money can buy. But what do all our competitors have in common? They’re all hydraulic and have four pistons, with retail prices ranging between a very humble € 240, right the way to an eye-watering € 1,300, with the majority of our competitors costing between € 400 and € 700. These are RRP prices for a brake set without rotors. However, some of the brakes in this test are also available as a complete set, with some shops undercutting retail prices rather significantly in some cases. Shimano brakes, for example, which have been around for a long time, are available online for nearly half the RRP.
For the full group test, follow the link tou our sister magazine ENDURO
| Brand | Model | Brake Liquid | Brake Pad | Weight Set | Price Set |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Formula | Cura 4 | Mineral Oil | organic | 544 g | 422 € |
| Hayes | Dominion T4 | DOT | organic | 530 g | 720 € |
| Hope | Tech 4 V4 | DOT | organic | 592 g | 580 € |
| MAGURA | MT5 Pro | Mineral Oil | organic | 538 g | 300 € |
| MAGURA | MT7 | Mineral Oil | organic | 542 g | 440 € |
| Shimano | SLX | Mineral Oil | organic | 600 g | 350 € |
| Shimano | XT | Mineral Oil | organic | 588 g | 420 € |
| Shimano | XTR | Mineral Oil | organic | 552 g | 630 € |
| SRAM | CODE Bronze Stealth | DOT | metallic | 628 g | 440 € |
| SRAM | CODE Ultimate Stealth | DOT | metallic | 594 g | 640 € |
| SRAM | MAVEN Ultimate | Mineral Oil | organic | 710 g | 720 € |
| Trickstuff | MAXIMA | Mineral Oil | organic | 548 g | 1300 € |
| TRP | DH-R EVO | Mineral Oil | organic | 638 g | 500 € |
| TRP | Trail EVO | Mineral Oil | organic | 638 g | 400 € |
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Words: Julian Schwede, Peter Walker Photos: Peter Walker, Simon Kohler
