martin profile

Thanks for your feedback! I have asked a friend whom I had just recommended to get RT66s and he confirmed that they were stamped and made in China. Having known they would be different, I'd have told him to get some other rotors. Unfortunately, it's a sign of the times.

Can't wait for tomorrow's race! I thought the GOAT would take it easy this year, but it seems he's still at it!

One detail that I have spotted is the fact that this Element's Shimano RT66 rotors look different than mine. The ones shown here seem stamped instead of machined like the 5-6 RT66s I have here. Plus, they sport the CHINA word on them instead of JAPAN on all of mine.

I guess Shimano is also trying to save some money and/or diversify its production locations, but if they're really stamped instead of machined (it seems so because the cutouts and edges seem rounded) , I'd expect a performance downgrade vs the "original" ones. I used to recommend those rotors to people who had "resin only" rotors and wanted a cheap upgrade, but then I might need to recommend something else now.

Did I see this right or if it's a lighting illuson?

I guess I was lucky that my new dentist out East is a mountain biker and happens to donate to local trail organisations. Maybe it helps that he's my girlfriend's cousin too, but he's a really nice guy and he even "donates" to a mountain biker I know by giving him a good deal haha!  To be honest I frequently contribute to my dentist's income and I don't like to change hands often, but my previous dentist retired so I had to change anyway. It's time for a clean and I completely forgot so thanks for the reminder and good luck with your search!

Yeah there are definately some issues to solve on Shimano brakes. I just shared my experience, but I did not mean to say that in the sense that people don't bleed their brakes properly. I've read many people having those wandering bite point issues and most of them were good mechanics.

I guess I was lucky with my sets (slx m7000 and XT M785), but I've read the same about the master cylinder walls getting used up because of the internal finish, the ceramic pistons cracking, mc bladder ruptures, etc.

If money was no object, I would have liked to try TRP's DHR EVOs (or Trickstuffs, but that's another unreacheable step up), but for the price I could get the MT5s and most reviews I had read, the Maguras seemed like the best choice. It's always fun to try new bike parts anyway, isn't it?!

Damn, I just bought MT5s to replace SLX M7000s, we'll see how that goes. I never felt the wandering bite point on my SLXs, but like you, I followed Shimano's method (and Marshy's youtube video) for bleeding. I do it before every riding season and I never have to redo it for 6 months. Solid feeling brakes all the time, no wandering bite point. I always store my bike vertically, so maybe this helps?

Still eager to get my Maguras here so I can compare, but my SLX lever replacement didn't feel 100% so I decided to try the MT5. I would have bought 4 piston Deores but they were twice the price and I couldn't find any in stock anyway.

I can vouch for Marin's aluminium FS bikes quality too. I had a Rift Zone too for 2 seasons (sold it to a friend who loves it) and I had tore it down to do an alignment check, regrease, etc. and everything was straight, well welded, nice paint, great attention to detail, etc. This was on the lowest end model too that I bought complete for 2100$ cdn. I wrote Marin Canada asking if I could buy a jersey and a few small things because I loved the bike and a week later, they had mailed me, without me asking, a jersey, a water bottle, a stainless glass, stickers, and other stuff that I don't remember.

I bought my latest aluminum frame only (without shock) for the same price as the complete Marin and had alignment issues with the 1st frame, a dent in the headtube on the 2nd one, and paint defects and peeling off clear coat on the 3rd one. I kept it and they refunded me a a fair amount for the defects, but at least it's pretty much straight. Not quite Rift Zone straight (!)  but close.

This made me re-think what a high-end aluminium frame was, and how much I ha to pay to receive a quality frame, well aligned and finished. I don't care about paint, just make it raw please and make it straight!

@Andrew Major For some reason I can't reply to your last comment, but I went with the regular 2 fingers MT5 levers to start with. I'd have probably prefered the Bruni HC ones but I'll see how these do. I'm sorry to say that I got them from R2 bike, but for 400$cdn including shipping, I had two brakes, two pairs of replacement pads (8.P), two 203mm storm hc rotors, one Qm42 adaptor, a bleed kit, an extra 250ml magura blood, some color covers and replacement bleed screws. Although I got the DeoreM6100 levers at the local bike shop, the Magura kit would have been close to 900$-1000$ locally and I could not afford that!

Which Magura levers do you prefer?

I installed new Deore M6100 levers on the M7000 calipers. I wonder if the internals are much different, but the lever feels nicer even if one seems a bit slower than the other. It might be psychological though, I haven't used both simultaneously. We'll see how they do when I try them once the snow has melted!

... But I just ordered a pair of Magura MT5s last night anyway haha! 🤓

I agree, they should absolutely make the bladders (and other wear parts) replaceable.

So far the levers work perfectly and don't leak but the rear lever feels like it's returning a bit slower than the front. I cleaned the pistons and was very careful not to have any dust on them before pushing them in. It might just be that they haven't worked since last October.

I'll keep an eye on the new levers to make sure that they're safe to use! Could they burst while in use? Thanks for the info!

That's good to know! The Marathon Winter has all the holes filled up with studs, but the regular "Winter" has half of the Marathon's studs, so maybe you're thinking about those. They're even cheaper, 20$ CAD in the 26x1.75 size, but I wanted the 2.0" width anyway.

The 45 North pack of 100 studs is 60$cdn though, so the 20$ upcharge for the Marathon's 240 studs is very reasonable.

Thanks Tristan, you convinced me and I just ordered a pair of Marathon Winter. I could use the fat bike if the weather doesn't suit the Marathon, but I think that I'll just hop on the bus or walk when that happens. By the way, if you need new ones, the 26x2.0" currently are 38$ cdn at CRC. Even with the 50$ shipping+duty fee, it was cheaper to get two from them with a few other things than getting just one locally. Cheers

Thanks! That's good to know. After reading many comments on the MT5 review, I think should have bought some "Race" pads. We'll see how the Performance one do, and since I bought two sets of "separated" pads, I'll replace the stock ones before first use.

There is only one 10-15 minute descent in our area that was able to get my single-piston SLX M7000 (with non-finned G04ti pads) to fade, and even then, it was just barely noticeable. The thicker Magura rotors will probably help too. Thanks again for the info, back to the full-suspension thread : )

@bushpilot My dream bike and build! If you are in Canada, I'd be curious to know what was the landed cost of the frame itself since I'll probably go the Nicolai/Geometron route for my next build. (You can PM me, if you feel like it).

How are you getting along with the Magura brakes ? I just received a set of MT5s with the Storm HC rotors and performance pads, can't wait to bolt them up to my bike.

Thanks for the feedback @mrbrett! The Marathon Winter seem like the best choice for my situation too, I'll try them.

Awesome, thanks for the feedback! When you say peanut butter, is it to mean that it's slippery and high rolling resistance? 

I thought that since the Marathon has more rubber contact with the ground and some sipes, it might be better on ice than the Ice Spiker for this reason too. 

The bike paths are cleared part of the way, but the rest will be on quiet city streets. It's just that I live in Quebec in a city with a few steep hills to climb to go to work, so I wonder if the Marathon would have enough grip to go up hills when there is a bit of snow on the ground.

Are you in a hilly part of Calgary or downtown? I reckon that the city center is quite flat, but there are a few good hills around!

Hi all! 

Does any of you commute by bike in the winter? I'm torn between the Schwalbe Ice Spiker Pro and the Marathon Winter, specifically the 26" ones to fit my commuter hardtail. 

The Ice Spiker is obviously more extreme, has more studs and would work well in deeper snow, might grip better in icy rutted tracks, but I guess my commutes would be mainly on better days with less slush. 

I'm mostly looking for ice traction, and I was not necessarily impressed with the Ice Spikers when trail riding on crust/ice a few years ago (I sold them right after one ride).

Basically, I'm wondering if the 26x2.0" Marathon Winter would be good for icy patches, some light snow/slush, on hilly city streets. I don't care much about rolling resistance, but stability would be my priority. The Ice Spiker Pros are 60$ cdn at CRC and the Marathon Winter (240 studs) are 38,50$, which is pretty cheap. I'd do an Ice Spiker front/ Marathon rear but I prefer to have the same feel (unless someone says otherwise).

Has anyone used those? What were your impressions and terrain/conditions like? Thanks!

Hard to tell without more pixels, but is that a Factory DH ?

Oh yes I'd totally pay the 15$ too for them to validate your spoke lengths, making sure that if they're too long or too short you could come back. That's cheap insurance, I often had 1mm off calculations even if I was super meticulous measuring and using many calculators.

I know he said he wasn't selling spokes anymore, but have you checked spokeservice.ca / Islandix instruments just in case?  He was great to deal with!

Also, did you ask the shop if they just cut or roll the threads ? I would'nt buy cut threads spokes (especially not CX-rays at that price) since the threads end up much weaker. Maybe they have the thread rolling machine, but I haven't seen that at many shops.