I spent a couple of months testing Magura’s SL lightweight brake rotors and their new high-performance oriented 8.R Race brake pads. The SL rotors provide excellent all-around performance in a lightweight package while the 8.R Race pads feature their organic race compound to offer maximum stopping power.
Storm SL Brake Rotor
The Magura Storm HC and Storm brake rotors have a larger braking zone or greater surface area, for stability, power, and reduced pad wear, while the Magura Storm SL has an increased number of perforations that are more open for weight savings and feel. The Laser cut high-grade steel rotors are 2mm thick for strength and rigidity and come with the ubiquitous IS 6 holes (centerlock adapter is available).
The Storm SL rotor combines minimal weight with excellent braking performance and is available in 160mm (100g) and 180mm (118g) diameters and are approved for 2 and 4-piston brake calipers.
I tested a pair of 180mm rotors (113 and 115 grams each) with the superb Magura four-piston MT7 brakes, utilizing both their all-around 8.P Performance pads and the new race-oriented 8.R Race pads.
Impressions
The rotors, brakes, and pads were tossed into lots of extreme technical terrain and long steep downhills, requiring precise braking control, power and fade resistance, allowing repeatable patterns to be established for a baseline. I tend to ride the brakes pretty heavily, so I create lots of heat and torture from near constant feathering and usage, though I still scrub enormous amounts speed when it’s required.
The rotors bite can be felt like a nice tactile feel in the lever and gives rise to fantastic precision and control. The Storm SL has been reasonably quiet, though they do make a slight ticking noise from the interaction of the cutouts and pads. They dried out quickly when wet, and quietly squeaked until they came up to temperature. The open slots of the Storm SL give the ability to do some nice feathering, which is useful in slow technical terrain, or when some speed needs to be drawn down with a small dab of the lever. On long extremely steep downhills, more throttling and hand strength with the levers was required to keep the speed down, but they never felt as though they were fading or were weak.
Bottom Line
The Storm SL is a supremely enjoyable rotor, which has some excellent characteristics, such as feathering, modulation, fade resistance, lightweight, and I like the way the cutouts look. The additional control they offered in technical terrain was much appreciated, which has been particularly noticeable on steep rollers and rock ramps, where they tended not to lock up. Like any of the cutout rotor types, they do wear pads quicker, and make a slight tick noise, albeit it’s subtle.
Watch out boy she’ll chew you up
She’s a Pad-eater
8.R Brake Pads
Magura’s 8-series disc brake pads feature a disconnected back plate, letting them compress independently of each other. The 8.R (Race) pads utilize their unique race compound, offering maximum stopping power for riders who want to push the limits. They’re factory replacement pads for the MT5 and MT7 four-piston brakes, and the organic compound pads provide maximum bite in dry conditions, good bite in wet conditions, but are more prone to fading, are slightly noisier and have less longevity than the 8.P Performance Compound pads brethren.
The 8.R Race is meant for all those who bring their material to the limits during cross country or downhill and require outstanding braking performance. The 8.P Performance is for longer rides, and these pads offer all-around functionality together with excellent performance in all situations.
8.R Specs
- Actual weight: 26 grams
- Organic compound
- Steel backing plate
- Includes four pads and retainer screw
- For Magura MT5 and MT7 four-piston brakes
- Made in Germany
Impressions
I primarily ride their Performance series of disc brakes pads, and I have used them for many years on oodles of iterations of Magura brake models, but I wanted to find out what the Race version was all about. I’ve always found the Performance pads to offer optimal braking performance, with good longevity, fade resistance and power, sort of an all-around beast that does its job admirably, with no significant faults in any area.
This was the first time I used a Race compound version of their pads, and they definitely offer a unique feel and performance during use. After being installed on my Magura MT7 four-piston brakes with the SL rotors, the Race pads immediately jump up front and center during use with a pronounced bite and a maximum amount of power, which sort of feels like teeth taking a gentle chew into the rotors.
Due to the improved performance, I found I didn’t have to pull as hard on the levers while braking to get the same amount of power. I liked the extra power the pads offered, but they tended to lock a bit easier and weren’t as conducive to feathering as the Performance series. I didn’t notice any significant fade issue with the pads, even on long steep downhills, though the decreased need for heavier braking does negate any fading effect.
The great bite stays moderately quiet for multiple rides, but the pads seem to glaze and polish over time and start to make a lot more racket. With continued use, the noise gets a tad more aggressive, and sometimes they’ll squawk and squeak, especially when they get wet. If you take the pads out and sand them to remove the glaze, they’ll return to the original monster bite with just a fraction of the noise level, but it will once again rear its ugly head within a period. Although all their brake pads glaze with time, the glazing seems to happen much quicker on the Race pads and with that occurrence, they create a lot more noise, which on occasion can be quite annoying.
I’ll freely admit that my riding style likely causes a major portion of the glazing issues since I tend to lightly ride and feather the brakes fairly constantly during a ride, so others might not have an issue with the polishing, especially to the degree I encountered.
Magura states that the Race pads won’t have much longevity, but I found that didn’t seem to be the case during my use, and they have been reasonably durable. Some of it might be due to the decreased need to grabbing big chunks of the brake lever to slow down and perhaps due to the quick glazing that I seem to get during heavy use, or the way I brake while bike riding on my local terrain.
Bottom Line
As per their specifications, Magura’s 8.R Race pads are meant for top braking performance, where power is the foremost requirement. If you’re willing to deal with a tad extra noise and occasional light sanding for deglazing purposes you’ll be rewarded with the utmost in braking prowess.
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