SingletrackWorld.com took a look at a couple of new things out of Magura for 2008.
Full article on singletrackworld.com.
We’ve brought you word of Magura’s new shock, so here is news of the new, super-lightweight Marta and the return of the never-released Thor fork…
MAGURA MARTA DISC BRAKES
Here’s the new Magura Marta SL Magnesium. For the first time, Magura has used magnesium for a lever body – which helps drop the weight for the system below the fabled 300g a brake mark. The Marta is intended to be a versatile brake, rather than the high-end XC pitch of its predecessor – and will work with 160/180 and 203 rotors.
The new caliper. It takes a new shape of brake pad which will eventually fill all of the brakes in Magura’s range. (Which would suggest that all of Magura’s brakes are due a revamp in the next couple of years… Magura Martin’s unwillingness to confirm that means it must be true…) The new brake will come in post-mount only.
See the little bolt on the reservoir cover? That’s for bleeding – and allows bleeding without removing the reservoir cover, as previous levers have needed. The whole system now runs more oil than previous Martas.
There will be three models of Marta. The Marta SL Magnesium (with mag body and carbon lever) the Marta SL with carbon lever and ally body, and the Marta, shown here, with aluminium body and lever.
MAGURA THOR 140mm
There will be three models of Marta. The Marta SL Magnesium (with mag body and carbon lever) the Marta SL with carbon lever and ally body, and the Marta, shown here, with aluminium body and lever.
Thor is dead, long live Thor!
Back in 2003 I reported on a new twin-brace fork from Magura called the Thor. It turned out to be too expensive and complex to manufacture, so was shelved. But now the name has been re-introduced with the advent of a brand new fork. Behold the Magura Thor.
Featuring 140mm travel (infinitely adjustable to 100mm with their Flight Control remote) the new Thor fork weighs in at a light 1785g.
The Thor features some neat touches, like these integrated cable stops in the crown. The twin braces of the other forks are still there – and debuted on the original Thor back in 2003.
The Thor comes with a Rockshox Maxle 360. If you want to save some weight and aren’t in a hurry to get your wheel out, you can replace the Maxle with Magura’s ’60 Less’ axle which screws in, is secured with a grub screw and weighs, yes, 60g less than a standard Maxle.
The Thor will be post mount and will take a 180mm caliper without adaptors. It’ll be a very late 2008 product, as will the new Marta. We’re off to test them in July.
198’S THOUGHTS
I love the Marta’s. The set I used to run were just dialed, so seeing a new revised Marta line makes me want to jump out and order some more. The only complaints I had about my older Marta set was that they were IS mount, but now that Magura is going to all post mount…this problem is fixed. I expect to hear great reviews on these brakes in the future.
The Thor fork shows some promise. I really like the use of the Maxle 360. It has to be the best designed 20mm axle on the market. The only thing I am still reluctant to jump on board with is the additional lever on the bar and the dual crowns. Add a gravity dropper and you will have a cockpit so full of switches that you won’t even be able to see the bar.
