Best brakes for E bike?

motoadve

Member
Jun 15, 2019
50
31
Washington
Have Magura M7s on my regular bike, and like the performance and feel a lot.
Has anyone tried the E Stop Maguras? any good?

Or other recommendation for very powerful brakes for E bike.
I have a Turbo Levo, brakes work ok, but on very fast descends needs more stopping power, and the feel is horrible
 

Rusty

E*POWAH BOSS
Jul 17, 2019
1,513
1,673
New Zealand
Anything 4 pot is a good starting point.
Personally, I hate SRAM as they are a 2 pressure system and that causes a lack of feel. They are powerful but I just can't modulate them as I like. With the Shimano 4 pot (even the cheaper ones) I can feel the pulse of the disk.
Haven't any experience with anything else recently but I really liked some Hopes on a mates bike I rode early last year - not the price.
 

Al Boneta

Dark Rider
Patreon
Founding Member
Jan 18, 2018
1,351
2,603
California
It comes down to personal preference.
If your already like Maguras and like the feel, then there won’t be any surprises.
Working in a shop I have had positive and negative experiences with every brake manufacturer.
One company makes pretty brakes in a whole bunch of colors, but I don’t like the lever feel.
Another company makes pretty brakes too, but I can’t get them at wholesale cost in the USA and they never have them in stock
Then there are two companies that are like the Pepsi Vs Coke of mountain bike brakes. One is really fast to bleed, but I can’t get along with the performance traits. The other is a brake I have bleed so many times I could probably do it blind folded.
Pepsi Vs Coke? I prefer Root Beer
Then there is this company that makes a 4 piston front brake and a two piston rear, so I have to buy two different brake pads. Their levers feel flimsy and cheap to me.
The brakes I prefer above all others are from a company that was once the gold standard in disc brakes. The lever feel is amazing, the power is phenomenal and modulation is the best I have ever experienced. The bleeding procedure is more work than any other brake and I always forget the steps because I never have to bleed them and the only time I do is when I install a new set on a customer’s bike.

There are a half dozen more but you’re not looking at those.
Go with the Maguras, it what you already like and know
 

Sorinok

Member
May 24, 2019
73
154
Romania
I also had Shimano XT brakes as well as Sram Code R. I can say that I like Sram Code more, I didn't feel weak after long descents. But not to extend it, it is clear that it is about tastes. All that exists now on the market with 4 pistons are doing their job very well.
However, I made some changes to Code R:
- I replaced the original brake pads with brake pads from Trikstuff .... I now have more braking power and I do not have the feeling of lack of braking power after long descents.
-I bought Magura MDR-P 6-bolt Brake Rotor 220mm and 203mm. I haven't reached them yet, but I want to pair them with Sram Code R.
 

R120

Moderator
Subscriber
Apr 13, 2018
7,819
9,190
Surrey
The best thing I have done is go to a 220mm disc up front, this hauls down the bike much faster, and also IMO give more feel to my braking - my bike came with Guide RE's.

Maguras newly released line of emtb brakes have the larger disc option, if you like Maguras go for these:

MAGURA eSTOP & e-Bike optimized technology
 

sniffy

Member
Feb 26, 2019
9
4
Warrington
Fitted Hope V4's, they work very well as always, my default brake on all bikes, never had any issues after changing over to several bikes. Much better all-round than the RE's
 

drjarvis2003

Well-known member
Jul 4, 2018
320
140
glasgow
Magura's were powerful enough for me but didn't like the modulation so changed to Shimano zee and and seems a fair bit better. You can usually pick them up pretty cheap. I got them for £80 each.
 

RickBullotta

E*POWAH Elite World Champion
Jun 5, 2019
1,853
1,583
USA
4 Piston Shimano XTs. You can still find some M8020's available at great prices, and the M8120's are the current incarnation.
 

Swan

Well-known member
Oct 19, 2019
87
122
North Idaho, US
Anything 4 pot is a good starting point.
Personally, I hate SRAM as they are a 2 pressure system and that causes a lack of feel. They are powerful but I just can't modulate them as I like. With the Shimano 4 pot (even the cheaper ones) I can feel the pulse of the disk.
Haven't any experience with anything else recently but I really liked some Hopes on a mates bike I rode early last year - not the price.


Something is wrong if think Shimano brakes modulate too much and you think SRAM brakes are too snappy.. Shimanos are know for ultimate on/off power while SRAM Codes have way way more modulation. My Code RSCs modulate and my Saint/Zee brakes are the definition of on/off. 200 rotors F+R on both setups with metal pads.
 

gaba

Active member
Dec 31, 2018
112
129
California
I have a lightly used set of SRAM Code RSCs for sale. 200mm rotors. I prefer Saints so I swapped after a few rides.
 

Etacata

Active member
Jan 21, 2019
162
101
Mt. Hood, OR
I run saints with seem 220 rotors on very steep terrain and love them. The sram 40mm adaptor works front and rear on 180 post mounts.
 

Shjay

Well-known member
Apr 30, 2019
835
491
Kent
On my ebike I run a full saint on front & saint lever on 4pot deore calliper. Would also consider Hayes Dominion A4 brakes
 

khorn

E*POWAH Elite World Champion
Patreon
Jul 19, 2018
980
1,055
Denmark
People tends to recommend whatever brand that they are using themselves. I have ridden with multiple different brands including numerous Shimano and SRAM brake systems. If you want stopping power beyond Saints with modulation like Code RSC’s, go for Hayes Dominion. They are simply the best brakes I have ever used.

Karsten
 

Isshogai

Member
Dec 19, 2018
12
22
Frankfurt
Trickstuff maxima.

862A1491-D540-422F-BEFF-4AF9917DC5E3.jpeg
 

Jackware

Fat-tyred Freakazoid
Subscriber
Oct 30, 2018
2,106
2,323
Lancashire
Haibike FullFatSix; MT5 calipers F & R with 203 Magura rotors. For pads I use a combination of EBC MT7 resin and metallic (green & gold) pads, ie 2 of each in each caliper. You'll need to buy 4 pad bolts as well.
This combo seems to work in all conditions ??
 

Silverfox101010

New Member
Jan 22, 2019
20
34
Pa55word
Just get decent pads and a large disk for the codes there perfect I find in the kenevo ( still to do front big disk conversion) and still no issues ridden in the alps found them better than my hope e4 which is why I'm not bothering with hope brakes again
 

coggbike

Active member
Jul 24, 2019
59
128
California
I must ride so much slower than all you guys. Until I got my 2020 Levo Expert, I had a 20 year old FSR Expert with V-Brakes that I was still quite content with. And I’m more than happy with the stopping power, modulation, etc. with the stock brakes on the new Levo.

Guess I need to start pushing myself a little harder!!
 

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