Magura USA

MT8 Next

Hammering DH trails without brakes is super fun, if you're a "Better to burn out than fade away" type of person, but if you'd rather ride hard and live to see tomorrow, there's the Magura USA MT8 Mountain Bike Brake. Yeah, it's expensive—pushing $400 for a single lever and caliper—but for the coin you'll get tons (well, grams) of superlight carbon, unparalleled modulation, A+ stopping power, near-perfect ergonomics, and bombproof durability that'll let you push it harder on the way down without worrying about stopping before you take a header into that tree.

The MT8's stopping power is perfect for gravity applications, but the insane weight makes it perfect for XC racing. A single lever and caliper weighs just 299g, because Magura used its proprietary Carbolay carbon-fiber for the levers, clamps, and more, and built the master cylinder from CarboTecture SL, which is even lighter and stronger. Ask around, and you'll even hear stories of crashes that snapped handlebars but left MT8s totally unscathed—the durability's real. As a bonus, the levers are positioned 20mm closer to the bars, providing increased leverage and efficiency.

Most of the MT8 is carbon, but the calipers themselves are made of forged aluminum for reliability and durability. The bleed plug is reinforced, the brake pads are easy to swap out, and the system comes pre-bled, so all you have to do is mount it up and hit the trail. Also note that left and right systems are sold separately, so you'll need to buy two if you're looking for a full setup.