This brake, as the name suggests, is designed for performance at the top end of the sport.
- Brand: Magura
- Product: Race Pro
- Price: £TBC (€699.90 full set)
- From: Magura
- Tested by: Aran for a day
From the outset, Magura made it clear that these new high power, shiny aluminium brakes are not a replacement, or even an upgrade, from the Gustav Pro brake. The Race Pro is a separate product, sharing more in common with the Magura MT7 if anything. Designed from the bottom up to be the most powerful and precise brake in their line-up. The Race Pro has a very different lever feel to the Gustav Pro.
The first thing you may notice on the Race Pro is the transition away from the ‘Carbotecture’ lever construction. Carbotecture is Magura’s carbon-reinforced polymer composite material. Magura hope this move to a clean aluminium build is one that “their haters will love”. It should be noted that Magura still believes in the Carbotecture material, continuing to use it for the Gustavs. The Magura designers mentioned that with a few small tweaks the Race Pro could have been made with Carbotecture and perhaps been ever so slightly lighter in doing so, but hey. Metal fans eh?
Continuing the metal talk, the Race Pro uses a one-piece forged aluminium calliper, instead of moulding two halves of a shell. As a result, Magura appear confident that they have found a solution that balances weight and stiffness, whilst also minimising the risk of any leakage.
Whilst brake power is clearly a priority, the Race Pro has heavily focussed on making that power consistent not only during the descent but even down to the lever pull itself. The Race Pro features a close-to-linear ratio between lever pull and power. Meaning, simply the harder you pull the lever, the harder the brakes clamp the rotor. Magura has also used radial pistons and even fiddled with fluid volume in the hoses to help reduce unpleasant lever behaviours such as pumping-up during prolonged braking.
It’s great to see the presence of the click-out click-in Easy Link system for hose attachment that makes life with the Gustav Pro so much easier. This time Magura has gone even further, with a new threaded link valve on the master cylinder which ensures that when the hose is disconnected the fluid wont push out of the lever body even if you (accidentally) pull the levers.
It’s also good to see that longevity has been considered across the whole system. Magura has extended the spare parts stock to now include lever bearing kits, master cylinder piston and seal kits and reservoir caps. Magura also offers a 5 year leak free warranty with the Race Pro.
First impressions
During the test camp Magura lent us a few e-bikes with a range of products to test for the day. Rather than the traditional bike park lap the Magura team had spent the weekend scouting some natural trails in the steep sided hills above. They landed on a steep and rooty trail that descended through the woods and crossed the fireroad climb multiple times meaning it could be split into sectors. The steep riding on heavy e-bikes really gave us the chance to try a brake to its limit, and assess the power that Magura claim for this brake.
As for how the brakes performed, I can’t say I had much in the way of complaints. I will say it takes a while to get used to them. The power can feel bitey at first and – whilst you could potentially ‘adjust this out’ with some lever twiddles – I would say it is worth getting used to. This linear lever stroke can reward you with very precise modulation once you’ve learnt to be a little more gentle.
The instant power never really left me in doubt and fostered an impressive sense of control and confidence as the testing went on. Whilst most of the riding we did on the test camp suited this high power braking, when we did get onto the bike park sections at the end of each lap there was still enough modulation to feel comfortable at higher speeds with more subtle braking.
One thing I was conscious of throughout the day is how well they dealt with sustained braking on longer descents. Magura’s claims that the radial pistons and lower hose pressure had been designed to improve the consistency of the lever feel and power down longer descents certainly felt verified.
At the end of the ‘official’ testing part of the day, a couple of us snuck off with one of Magura’s mechanics for a bonus ride. He had spoken of another trail on the hill which (due in part to how far out the way it was) we hadn’t had a chance to ride thus far.
Although not rough and rooty to the same extent as the test lap, this trail descended a steep ridgeline with sustained gradient for around two minutes of riding, pretty much the entirety of which involved the brakes being on. The ideal recipe for that build-up of temperature and pressure that leads to fading brakes and inconsistent levers. Happily though, the Race Pro handled this well with no overheating and – crucially – retaining that consistent linear relationship between lever pull and power.
On first impressions alone the Race Pro felt like very close to being cutting edge of brake technology. And they really ought to be for around £600 a set. The testing has left me excited to get more miles with these brakes and see how they go in the long term back home.
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185cm tall. 74kg weight. Orange Switch 6er. Saracen Ariel Eeber. Schwalbe Magic Mary. Maxxis DHR II. Coil fan.