Magura MT 7 Brake Review

Magura has been in the brake business for over two decades. Back in the day when people where pumped on V-Brake performance the people at Magura were selling Hydraulic Rim Brakes for mountain biking. These brakes are still very popular on trials bikes. Many World Cup riders ran these brakes back in the day. Magura has relaunched their MT line and introduced a gravity/enduro specific brake called the MT7 Next is is a dual piston design with four pads. We reviewed the MT8 when they first came out a few years ago. The brakes worked well even in the downhill capacity we tested them in. Considering this was a featherweight AM/XC brake that speaks well for Magura and its brakes as a whole. We are very excited to test a gravity specific brake from them in the form of the Magura MT7 Next Disc Brake!

These brakes are a very light DH brake option. Using the Carbotecture lever housing helps keep the weight low. We have used brakes that weigh easily 200 grams more per brake in the past. So being able to save almost a pound in the brakes alone is a nice bonus. We opted for the MT7 with toolless adjustment. Magura informed us we would have less adjustment with these than the tool versions offer but more on that later.

We used 203mm SL rotors front and rear on a large megatrail. The bike was built up with heavier parts for the more gravity based riding it would be put through.

"The MT7 stands for maximum braking performance and stability in extreme conditions. In the tough, bike-testing worlds of Enduro and Downhill, the additional braking power of the 4 brake pistons is a positive safety factor. The aluminium, two-finger brake lever - with toolless adjustment - and the adjustable bite point provide the necessary ergonomics for perfect brake control, even in difficult terrain and on long downhill runs. 5-year leakproof guarantuee for brake levers and cylinders after providing the original proof of purchase."

Magura MT7 Disc Brake Test

1UP USA Quick Rack Review

Bike racks come in all shapes and sizes. Some are made for the roofs of vehicles while other go onto the back. The hitch mount variety tend to be the most secure, aerodynamic, and easily locked of the varieties currently available. Having your bike attached to the back of your vehicle for the first time while driving down the highway at 75MPH can be a bit stressful. You are expecting the rack to hold onto you bicylce that can cost over $10,000! This is where a heavily built rack with a strong latching system will give the buyer a true sense of ease. 1UP has been making racks for a number of years. 1UP takes their rack building to the extreme by using machining, billet and very high grade hardware to ensure a very robust design that will likely hold onto your bikes better than The Hulk!

Buying a bike rack is usually an ordeal based on whatever the local shop has in stock. This can be very limiting and will usually only give two options of racks to choose from. These racks typically go from $300-$400 in price. The 1UP is a $600 rack so it costs a fair bit more money than the major brands. But its build quality and retention system more than make up for the price hike. This rack is 100% made in the USA and if you can afford a $6000 bicycle paying a few hundred more for a more durable rack to hold it onto your vehicle shouldn't be a serious issue.

1up Heavy Duty Rack Test

Manitou Dorado Pro Test

Manitou has been in the suspension game since the early 1990's. Gone are the days of their rubber elastomer springs. Throughout the late 1990s and early 2000's Manitou had a strong showing in the downhill segment. The used TPC in both their XVERT fork which was a Carbon Fibre standard triple clamp fork and then in their venture into the inverted market with the original Dorado around 2001-2003 with 30mm stantions and generation 2 came out from 2004-2006 with 32mm stantions. That fork worked well then manitou decided they needed the use the SPV vavling they were licensing from Turner and along came the MRD Dorado X-Works. It turns out downhill was not the appropriate venue for SPV. Its price was high for the time and people were expecting everything from it. That was in 2004 and 9 years ago. But some people seem to never forget things.Their new fork is using TPC + but now has a Dual Air chamber.

Today they are using a Dual Chamber Air design inside their new Dorado. In 2010 Manitou announced the Dorado Pro after extensive testing of the carbon fibre MRD version. This was good because that CF Dorado was approaching the $3,000 mark so very few people had them. The new design is somewhat light at 6.5 LBS and as plush as a fork can get. Out of the box it feels very supple and it feels better than most forks do after their required break in periods!


Manitou Dorado Review

Profile Elite MTB Hub Test

Profile Racing has been around since the late 1960's! Their stuff is made here in the USA and they are damn proud of it as they should be. Their tolerances are insane, colors perfect, switches can be made on short notice and some of the tighest quality control this side of Rolex.

Grownig up in the 1980's and riding BMX in the time there were 2 companies people went to for cranks. Profile was one of them and I always wanted a set. In my youth I was never able to afford a set but when I built my first DH bike in around 1999 it had Profile cranks. I had used them on two other builds since and have always admired their products. Profile builds stuff that works and only tweaks it if it can be improved upon.

Three or four years ago at Interbike we went by Profile and they had a MTB sample of their Elite hubs mounted on a stand. We were estatic just twisting it about 90 degrees sounded close to what a King does at full rotation. After that we knew it was a hub that would one day be mounted on one of our bikes.

Fast forward a few years later and finally I get a set of the Profile Elite's to lace a custom wheelset up with. I went fairly light with DT Revolution, Alloy nipple and STANS Flow EX hoops. The hubs weighed as claimed on Profile's site and my complete front and rear wheels came in at 1820 grams.

Profile Elite Hub Review

2013 Norco Aurum 1 Test

Norco bikes have been making, designing and breaking their teeth on the Canadian North Shore for almost a half century. Many of us will recall the days of the VPS and Shore bikes. These bikes were running the FSR style rear suspension system and were overbuilt to take the abuse that North Shore riding put bikes through. Those of you needing a history lesson check out the video below to find out more about Norco.

The Norco bikes of today have shed the weight in key areas while lowering the bikes center of gravity. They still use the tried and true FSR (Four Bar) rear suspension system that is licensed through Specialized. The FSR system stays active under braking while providing a progressive leverage curve. This is not the best pedaling platform but since the introduction of the 5th Element with platform dampening in the early 2000's the bob that was once a very noticeable aspect of a FSR bike has been drastically reduced resulting in a Downhill Bike that has decent pedalling. Along with the platform based shock Norco has also updated the FSR layout on their frames to pedal better than the standard design.

The claimed benefits of the FSR system are listed below.

• Reactive to small hits

• Variable wheel/shock ratio

• Handles large hits

• Progressive leverage ratio

• Non-linear/vertical wheel path

2013 Norco Aurum 1 Review