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You’d have to be living under a rock garden to miss some big developments at Magura in recent times.
Mark Sutton discusses road discs and suspension technology with marketing manager Götz Braun…
There was a lot of excitement around the brand when the Cervelo P5 launched with your RT8 TT – did this drive much interest in the wider brand?
We had an enormous surge with the launch of RT8 TT, since the cycling world’s eyes were focused firmly on Cervelo’s P5. During this time we really gained interest in our wider brand, because we’d set a new standard for the time trial bikes. Also, Magura was previously known as a mountain bike specialist, so we now had an avenue to improve the innovative image of the brand and in front of a wider audience. This was a door opener to the customers we want to focus in the future
What additional testing did the RT8 TT go through above and beyond the normal for a brake?
As you know, we are the rim brake specialist. We had a lot of know how and experience to bring into this project. This was also the reason why Cervelo was looking at us as a development partner for what they were calling the ‘fastest-brake’.
We did several aerodynamic tests in wind tunnels in Canada, so we could guarantee that it would blend well with Cervelo’s frame. There were special tests for this kind of road bike and we looked for really steep streets in the Alps to imitate a situation for the riders testing the product.
The riders go very fast on very slim wheels and therefore the brake should not be the most aggressive one, but also should give the riders a very good feeling for the pressure point. In the end, we’re very happy with the production model.
Will Magura be following the market and introducing road-going disc brakes?
For sure, we will follow the market, but we are not yet sure about the most effective brake. Just look to the mountain bikes, they run with really big discs and the average speed is not as high as you run on the street.
Using very small discs like 160/140mm could cause, in the worst case, fading and a complete failure. Our biggest issue is to guarantee the safety for our riders and we are working hard on this.
What incentives are there for dealers to choose Magura over competing labels?
Magura has always been a pioneer of hydraulic brakes for bikes, producing the first widely accepted stoppers as early as 1987.
The knowledge gained from over 60 years of experience developing brakes for BMW motorcycles made the technology transfer possible.
With recent developments in technology and with new production facilities costing over €25 million, it has been possible to make such innovative advancements including carbotecture and carbotecture SL technology, as seen on our all of our MT Disc Brakes. With these advancements in technology we are able to offer a five year leak proof warranty on all of our brakes.
What point of sale and marketing support will the brand offer its partners this year?
Marketing wise, the partners and dealers can come back to the Zyro sales team and discuss individually about marketing support.
In this modern time we recognise that individualism is much more efficient than a global support, which is not fitting the needs of every country.
Having been known in the past as a ‘brakes brand’, how have all of the developments in suspension been received in the past few years?
As you recognised, we still have the ‘braking people’ image. But for many years now, we’ve pushed our suspension segment. As you may have seen recently, we have something very new in this space – electronic forks, capable of automatically adapting to the terrain.
The latest magazine tests showed very positive results and this makes us believe in our product. We also have a suspension performance package, which greatly complements the performance our forks.
With a catalogue covering 26, 650b and 29er forks – which wheel size seems to be on trend at present?
For us, we can say that 29-inch are the most interesting forks at the present time. 26-inch wheels are more or less still for the downhiller with big travel. With our knowledge, we tend to focus on race to all mountain usage. Our team riders are quite happy with the 29er fork’s performance. 650B is a nice trend, which is gathering strength and we cater for this segment too.
Beyond brakes and front suspension, will we see the Magura logo on any other parts in the short or far future?
We already have presented shocks last year. Bianchi is one of the partners who have a so-called full spec 29er, including brakes, suspension and rear shocks. But also many other brands love our rear shocks and will spec it. We offer two different versions – RC and RL dampers.
Zyro sales: 01845 521700
