Magura Marta SL hydraulic disc brake review

Magura’s Marta has been around for a long time, but now it’s evolved into a proper trail brake, not just a lightweight race stopper. 

The one-piece calliper design is much stiffer, which gives impressive power on a par with the heavier Magura Louise brake. 

A 25 percent larger reservoir improves performance in high-heat Alpine conditions too, while new lever mechanics pull the pads further from the rotor for more mud clearance and less noise.

Easy Bleed Technology (EBT) makes bleeding a breeze (lucky as the supplied hoses are particularly long), reliability is excellent and the long levers cope with any shifter arrangement.

Lever feel is abrupt and wooden though, there’s no bite adjust and pads need careful bedding in to stop them vanishing quickly. Lighter than average weight doesn’t compensate for the high cost either.