I broke a lever on my mt’s as well, but to be fair the disagreement I had with a tree was at high speed and as far as the bike went my lever was the primary point of contact. I’d be surprised if any lever would have survived without some sort of damage. I just replaced the lever but had I been thinking I should have just bought a hole new set as they are so reasonably priced.Then I would have had a whole spare brake assembly and other related spare parts. I’m a dumb ass.
Magura MT5/Trail/MT7 questions
Posted by: RAHrider
Posted by: Hepcat
I'm done with the Magura plastic levers, going to go for Shiguras with some old XTR servo-wave levers. I was told non-servo is ideal? Can't seem to find any though.
So, Shimano olive on Magura hose with Magura barb I take it...
Broke in a crash or just wore out and failed? What exactly failed? I have a few sets of MT brakes, wondering what I may have to look forward to.
Since I've had them I've managed to go through 2 master cylinders. It's been an adjustment for me working with soft plastic when used to decades of ham-fisted bleeds with aluminum master cylinders.
Lever #1: On a quick bleed before a ride I absent mindedly screwed a syringe into the master, just one turn finger tight...and stripped the butter soft plastic.
Lever #2: Popped an unserviceable seal. The master cylinder seals seem more sensitive to popping when doing vacuum bleeds from the lever than other brakes? I've done vacuum bleeds countless times over maybe a dozen different brakes problem free, but in my unskilled hands the Magura main o-ring popped and with seemingly very little force.
Most people you hear about though have their trouble with the bleed screws. There are 4 plastic bleedport screws, as they are flip-flop levers, and each one of those screws has to be tightened within a *tiny* torque window. Too loose and they leak micro bubbles during bleeds, too tight and they snap or strip. Screw torque can feel different between some screws too, I assume due to infinitesimal manufacturing variances.
...
Pad clearance is another unrelated issue that you may have forgotten about dealing with. Hoping changing to servo-wave levers helps that out too.
Last edited by: Hepcat on Jan. 6, 2021, 10:36 a.m., edited 1 time in total.
Posted by: Hepcat
Buddy's got some old Saint levers he hasn't got any use for. Going to try throwing those on there I believe, unless anyone knows a reason I shouldn't?
I think you should. Then take pictures. Then write a report to accompany your picture posts online.
Posted by: Hepcat
Pad clearance is another unrelated issue that you may have forgotten about dealing with. Hoping changing to servo-wave levers helps that out too.
It's definitely a fiddly aspect of owning Maguras, but I have a theory that the close clearance is part of what makes the overall feel so good, so I just must up the patience to center everything as perfectly as possible.
Funny thing is I recently got them perfectly centered, no noise. For 3 rides then I blew up a hub and had to change wheels and start all over again. Ha!
Posted by: Hepcat
Buddy's got some old Saint levers he hasn't got any use for. Going to try throwing those on there I believe, unless anyone knows a reason I shouldn't?
You might want to check against the frankenbrake spreadsheet:
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1sjPSmOYbhjDBFxcvXVw1ufKfowEBu1AKh8sB6T8e24Y/edit#gid=0
But if it's a M810/M820 it should match up rather well from all I know.
Just fitted my first set of Maguras, MT Trail Sports. Haven't ridden them yet but so far they feel good, I like the lever a lot.
For bleeding, does anyone use Shimano mineral oil? I have nearly a full liter of the stuff and the Royal Blood seems difficult to get my hands on at the moment.
Posted by: Poz
Just fitted my first set of Maguras, MT Trail Sports. Haven't ridden them yet but so far they feel good, I like the lever a lot.
For bleeding, does anyone use Shimano mineral oil? I have nearly a full liter of the stuff and the Royal Blood seems difficult to get my hands on at the moment.
Some can free to correct me but I think mineral oil is pretty much all the same, no?
I have those on my Canfield and really like them. I think you’re going to like them.
I’ve read some conflicting information. I think there are different grades of mineral oil.
I guess with the Shigura mixes at least one component is not getting its brand mineral fluid
So the MT5 has the same stopping power and the feel as the MT7 on the front ? I'm still trying to come to terms with the enormous price differential. I really liked the MT7s I had and would jump at another set but it's all about the braking and ramp up before anything else.
I assume the lack of lever swapping and other customisation plays a large part ?
Asia/Germany. The lever shape of the 5's is fine btw.
I think if I were buying Maguras today I'd purchase them piece meal: MT-5 calipers, hoses and olives, Shimano master cylinders and hose pin.
Posted by: twk
Posted by: Hepcat
Buddy's got some old Saint levers he hasn't got any use for. Going to try throwing those on there I believe, unless anyone knows a reason I shouldn't?
You might want to check against the frankenbrake spreadsheet:
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1sjPSmOYbhjDBFxcvXVw1ufKfowEBu1AKh8sB6T8e24Y/edit#gid=0
But if it's a M810/M820 it should match up rather well from all I know.
Figured out the Shigura setups. Did some with Saint levers last week and XTR levers today with MT5 calipers.
Magura caliper, Magura hose, Magura pin (Shimano was slightly too loose, leaked a tiny bit after done bleeding and system was pressurized), I tried both Shimano and Magura olives successfully, Shimano levers.
Posted by: Hepcat
Posted by: twk
Posted by: Hepcat
Buddy's got some old Saint levers he hasn't got any use for. Going to try throwing those on there I believe, unless anyone knows a reason I shouldn't?
You might want to check against the frankenbrake spreadsheet:
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1sjPSmOYbhjDBFxcvXVw1ufKfowEBu1AKh8sB6T8e24Y/edit#gid=0
But if it's a M810/M820 it should match up rather well from all I know.
Figured out the Shigura setups. Did some with Saint levers last week and XTR levers today with MT5 calipers.
Magura caliper, Magura hose, Magura pin (Shimano was slightly too loose, leaked a tiny bit after done bleeding and system was pressurized), I tried both Shimano and Magura olives successfully, Shimano levers.
That's awesome. Thanks for posting that. I have extra Shimano parts and can see me doing this when one of my plastic magura levers fails.
You'll just need to order some Magura pins to make it work as far as I've seen. I'd probably use Magura olives given a choice, they seemed slightly tighter on the hose.
Btw, used Magura fluid first set, Shimano second. Haven't exactly been scientific about it, but both seem to function the same so far.
Last edited by: Hepcat on Jan. 21, 2021, 8:23 p.m., edited 1 time in total.
Two month Shigura review if anyone looking to do this (I've substituted "master cylinder" for "lever" it just seems less confusing):
I don't think this setup would have worked with servo-wave levers, I've got the non-servo XTR race levers and the power is Saint level ludicrous. Similar immediacy and light lever action. My Maguras had plenty of power, but required a squeeze to find it, resulting in gobs of modulation but also sometimes sore hands after long runs. I've had noticeably happier hands with the Shiguras.
The bite point on my Shigura setup has been consistent like it was with Magura levers, the first time I've had 100% consistent bite point with a Shimano lever in 5 years.
The pads retract better on my particular setup for some reason too. It might be because I lubed the pistons with brake fluid, but the pads have stopped dragging all together for the first time in the 2 years I've been running Magura calipers. It was never a huge problem before, just occasional re-aligning and maybe lubing, but now it's just gone.
The biggest A to B difference I noticed besides the bump in power is just how flexible the plastic Maguras were. It didn't bother me when I was running them, but they felt like toys compared to the current Shimano XTR race levers. (Which aren't even all that stiff as far as Shimano goes).
Parts list for RAH or anyone building up a set of Shiguras: •Non-servo Shimano levers, •Magura MT-5 or 7 calipers, •Magura hose, olive, barb. (Magura hose is slightly different outside and inside diameter than Shimano, pins and olives not cross compatible).
Tried Shimano and Magura fluid, Magura fluid seemed maybe better on my setup, but that could've also just been a fluke.
MT-5 lever was 71g, XTR lever 65g. Saint lever I had sitting here was 106g for reference.
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