Magura MT4
The Magura MT4 brakes fall into the bracket of being affordable, but still boast premium features. German-based Magura have been building brakes for a long time now and the MT4s are the two piston little brothers of the bigger MT5 and MT7. Very light at 212g, the Carbotechture (plastic) body of the lever shrugs off impacts well, and the brake lever is long and perfect for those with bigger hands, fitted with a T25 reach adjuster that is less fiddly than most. Magura has thought about the home mechanic too, using the same Torx T25 standard for all their bolts and providing a 5 year, guarantee against leaks.
In the lab, the MT4s were solid performers, equal to the other two piston brakes, with good resistance to fade. On the trail, we found there was nothing lightweight about their performance, with plenty of power from a single finger. Deceleration is powerful and effective, with lots of modulation, and we had no problems with shifting bite point. We did feel that the lever feel is a little less sensitive than the class leaders Shimano and SRAM. The Magura MT4s are like a VW Golf: they do everything well and look built to go the distance.
+ Rugged reliability
+ Great value
– Wooden lever feel
– Large levers
Average Power [Nm]: 81,3
Weight: 212 g
Price: € 89
More info: magura.com
Table of Contents
- Intro: Anatomy of a good brake
- How we test in the lab and on the trails
- The best MTB disc brake: SRAM Guide Ultimate
- The Runner Up: Magura MT5
- Formula R0 Racing
- Hope Tech3 E4
- Hope Tech3 X2
- Magura MT4
- SRAM Guide RS
- SRAM Level Ultimate
- Shimano Deore
- Shimano Deore XT
- Shimano XTR
- Shimano Saint
- Trickstuff Direttissima
- Conclusion
