The best MTB disc brake you can buy

MAGURA MT Trail Carbon

The 579 euro (for both brakes) MT Trail Carbon is Magura’s top-of-the-line brake, with twin 17 mm pistons in the front and 22 mm pistons in the highly polished rear. On the front the performance organic compound pad grips the rotor in a vice-like grip, more powerful than you could ever need, while the rear feels far less powerful with bags of modulation. It takes a while to adjust to the Hyde and Jekyll forces: in practice it works well enough for smooth riding, but we prefer the balance of the MT7’s. The pads do run close to the disc so careful set-up is needed to ensure drag-free riding. At this price everything should be perfect, and despite the minimal 69g weight, we struggled to love the minimalist lever. Made of Carbotecture SL (Magura’s injection-moulded composite), the expensive lever lacks both a premium look and feel. The big lever body takes up a lot of space on the bar and has neither a tool-free reach adjustment or contact point adjuster. The wafer thin carbon lever blade flexes in an unnerving manner and is out of balance with the powerful action. We would save money and choose the ergonomically superior MT7 brakes with the excellent HC lever for a more balanced ride.

Magura has the nicest calipers on the market, boasting huge power, modulation and reliability. While impressively lightweight, the flexible carbon blade and cheap-looking construction of the levers spoiled an otherwise good brake, and at this price we were underwhelmed.

---

---