In this article I’m going to reveal my top picks for the best disc brakes for trail bikes.
I’ve written quite a number of articles on brakes, and the differences between brakes within the same series is frustratingly close.
To add to the confusion of making a good enough comparison between all the brakes available, brake manufacturers offer incomplete product specifications and are obviously always enamored with their own products the most.
What it comes down to is that the likes of Shimano and SRAM, and to a lesser extent, Magura obfuscate the fact that you sometimes pay twice as much money for a similar brake only to obtain a carbon blade lever.
That might exaggerate the issue a bit, but it’s a clear fact that lower priced brakes offer similar braking performance as top-tier ones. That fact is undeniable when you realize the brake calipers used are almost if not entirely identical across different series.
You can find that notion in this blogpost, where I clearly outline differences between the best value-for-money options against top-tier ones.
I’m not here to judge how you spend your money, that’s entirely up to you. At the same time I take my own advice into consideration when buying new bicycle components. And with this article I’ve tried to get to the bottom of what the best disc brakes for trail bikes are.
Shimano XTR BR-M9120
The Shimano XTR BR-M9120 is the flagship mountain bike brake from the biggest components manufacturer in the world. So what can you expect from this brake besides the hefty price tag?
Excellent, snappy braking power in a four-piston setup for one, yet you can find a similar braking experience with cheaper models.
There’s a bit of weight reduction if you care for that stuff, with a magnesium brake master and carbon brake lever in the compatible BL-M9120 brake lever.
In terms of feel it’s an excellent brake lever with all the adjustment options you’ll need, including reach adjustment of the brake lever, and free stroke adjustment to control the position of the piston. Both options can also be found in the XT and SLX brakes.
XTR is the most well-known brand series in the mountain bike industry, yet when it comes to brakes virtually indistinguishable from options which will set you back way less financially.
These are without a doubt outstanding brakes. However, instead of denoting a rich set of premium features the XTR model is used more as a sales-ploy to spice up price.
- Flagship 4-piston Shimano brake
- Except for weight and looks no different from Shimano's more affordable options in terms of braking power and feel.
Shimano SLX BR-M7120
The Shimano SLX BR-M7120 is the go-to choice for people who want a 4-piston brake from Shimano for a decent enough price.
If you don’t care about adding some weight to your bike, which would equal a sip from your water bottle, the SLX is a far more financially healthy choice than the XTR.
A similar overall design, both in brake caliper, brake lever and features, made from less expensive materials give you the exact same ease of installation, use, and maintenance as its flagship counterpart. With all the features to boot.
That means no chrome finish for the calipers, no titanium fixing bolt for the pads, no magnesium brake master, but with a price that’s nearing half that of XTR.
Don’t be fooled by the weight difference anyway, because besides a single titanium bolt the weight difference stems from the paired rotor, with the SLX one (SM-RT70) accounting for most of the added weight. So if you want as close to XTR as you can get, simply get the XTR rotors (RT-MT900) instead.
The best value-for-money Shimano 4-piston brakes, and arguably the best value-for-money hydraulic disc brakes.
- Best value-for-money Shimano 4-piston brakes by far
- Forgoing lever and brake feel, absolutely none
Hope Tech 4 E4
Keeping it simple, the Hope Tech 4 E4 is the UK brand’s only hydraulic disc brake offering for all round trail riding, and the most gorgeous one money can buy.
It’s bulky, comes in many colors, it’s breathtakingly machined, easy to operate, and offers a quite distinctive lever feel.
Hope is not necessarily about making anorexic components, and rather add weight for increased durability, stiffness, and functionality, than reduce it. That’s probably the reason why you get this rather large forged aluminum dimpled lever blade with huge adjustment dials.
That being said, depending on how you cut your hoses, you’re bound to get a sub-300 grams setup for either brake, which is impressive.
To me it says this says they’re less likely to either brake or fail, and a distinctive indexed click for the dials is just that little extra that tells me we’re dealing with professionals here. The longer lever does mean you have to position them differently than you are used to with other brands, but the hinge does the job perfectly of keeping the levers in place.
Similar to SRAM’s Matchmaker clamps, Hope has got a range of adapters to also be able to mount your dropper post controller and shifters.
Two indexed, and anodized dials offer reach and bite adjustment.
A possible downside is that the bleeding process might be more involved. You will need to trim the hoses, so an initial bleed is simply required. You will need Hope’s proprietary, non-syringe based, bleed kit to do this.
Another signal of Hope’s craftsmanship and single-minded focus on excellence is their inclusion of sealed cartridge bearings for the lever blade pivot. Unless you actually crash onto your lever it means you’ll never experience any sort of play and will enjoy miles of supreme lever feel.
When it comes to the brake calipers the build quality is there as well, with the calipers being machined from a single piece of aluminum. The pistons are stainless steel coated polymers, said to reduce friction and increase durability.
Does all that technology translate to an improved brake feel and stopping power? The answer is yes. I can’t say for sure if there really is a 30 percent increase in stopping power with the new design. I’m no engineer and don’t have the equipment to test it out.
But as far as I’m concerned, these brakes offer the gold standard in braking power and feel, in a well-designed allround great package, that offers every feature you’d want in a brake without any compromises.
- The perfect trail brake that doesn't compromise anything
- Price
Magura MT7 Pro
The Magura MT7 Pro are my favorite brakes from the entire Magura lineup and here’s why.
They are 4-piston brakes, incredibly powerful, and when compared to other top-tier brakes like the Shimano XTR and SRAM Code Ultimate, much cheaper.
They are not the 4-piston best value brakes, because that price goes to the Magura MT5. However, these brakes offer a stiffer brake master, made from Carbotecture SL, which is a carbon-reinforced resin compound.
They also offer a single-finger forged aluminum brake lever operating a unibody forged aluminum brake caliper.
The carbotecture material not only keeps the price down, but also the weight, with these brakes sitting well below 300 grams at 255.
Every component manufacturer is known for asking exorbitant prices just to get that little extra, and Magura is no different. Yet I feel both the stiffness of the brake lever in combination with a single-finger blade might just tip the balance for those of you willing to shell out the extra cash.
- Better lever feel than the much more affordable MT5
- Substantial price hike in still a very affordable brake just to get another brake master, and lever blade
Magura MT5
The Magura MT5 brakes are the German’s most affordable 4-piston hydraulic disc brakes for trail riding purposes.
They’ve ditched the use of carbotecture in favor of traditional forged aluminum for the brake calipers. It’s small touches that make the products from the German brand stand head and shoulders above some similar offerings from the competition. One is the well-crafted unibody design offering rigidity and an immediate brake feel.
The glass fiber reinforced polymer called carbotecture is used for the brake master, accompanied by an aluminum brake lever. This ensures a very high-quality, lightweight brake, with excellent braking characteristics in one of the most affordable 4-piston packages you can get.
The in-house produced material is claimed to offer similar strength properties as aluminum at half the weight. That might be true, but it’s a fact they don’t use it for brake calipers across their entire range, and that’s because the material is more flexible than traditional forged aluminum. Something that doesn’t matter in a brake master, but does in the caliper.
Magura has already claimed the top spot in the budget section for dual piston brakes and with the MT5 they might have done the same for 4 pistons as well.
- Powerful yet affordable 4-piston brakes for trail riding, or any other type of riding where you need ample stopping power.
- None
SRAM G2 R
Touted for offering superior modulation SRAM brakes have dominated mountain biking for a very long time now. This might be the reason their range is relatively expensive.
A big issue with SRAM brakes is not their functionality but how incredibly confusing their lineup is, with nondescript naming conventions and made up feature names only adding to the confusion.
The SRAM G2 R is the cheapest trail-specific 4-piston hydraulic mountain bike disc brake in their lineup, and cheap is fairly relative. G2 stands for being the second iteration of their Guide brake, with a classic SRAM design (not the Stealth brakes sitting close to the handlebars). I have no idea what the R stands for.
They offer about 90 percent of the features you can find in the most expensive G2 Ultimate, which is very similar to the SLX/XTR comparison from Shimano. The biggest difference is the lack of a contact point adjuster, otherwise known as bite adjuster. This feature let’s you set the distance between piston and brake pad.
There’s a bit of weight difference obviously, which is a negligible 25 grams per brake.
Braking power is similar across the entire G2 range, because with each brake you get the same S4 brake caliper, with Heat Shield technology to prevent the caliper from overheating.
- Best value SRAM hydraulic disc brake for trail riding with confidence inspring brake feel and power
- None
SRAM G2 Ultimate
The SRAM G2 Ultimate is an overpriced, top-of-the-line 4-piton trail riding hydraulic disc brake.
Yes it’s the lightest 4-piston one at 238 grams. Yes it still has that classic lever design and brake feel, with a carbon lever blade using pivot bearings instead of a bushing. But stating that SRAM engineers “sculpted” titanium is almost false advertising, when all they did is use titanium for the bolts to reduce the weight.
It features SwingLink, which is a certain technology to optimize the brake curve and increase modulation, but it could just as well be marketing mumbo-jumbo if you ask me. Honestly, when you’re going downhill fast literally, I really want to meet someone who can notice the difference between SwingLink and DirectLink cam technology.
Is a couple of titanium bolts, carbon lever blade, pivot bearings and a squirt of DOT 5.1 operating similar brake calipers worth double the price of the otherwise excellent G2 R? The answer is no. Does the term “Ultimate” beg to differ? According to a lot of people; most definitely.
I’m not against this brake. I own a pair of Ultimates and am very aware of its allure. However, to me this is the sales department having too big a say in the product range.
- If you don't care about your wallet
- It's a lot of marketing wrapped up in a very shiny package.
Specifications disc brakes for trail bikes
Name | Price | pistons | caliper weight | oil | blade | brake master | caliper | reach adjust | tube connection | buy at Amazon |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Shimano XTR BR-M9120 | 312 | 4 | 267 | mineral | forged aluminum | magnesium | forged aluminum unibody | tooled | fixed | |
Shimano SLX BR-M7120 | 187 USD | 4 | 320 | mineral | forged aluminum | aluminum | aluminum | tool-free | banjo | |
Hope Tech 4 E4 | 269.99 USD | 4 | 275 | mineral oil, DOT fluid | forged aluminum | aluminum | forged aluminum unibody | tool-free | banjo | |
Magura MT7 Pro | 219.9 EUR | 4 | 255 | mineral oil | 1-finger aluminum | carbotecture SL | forged aluminum unibody | tooled | banjo | |
Magura MT5 | 109.9 EUR | 4 | 255 | mineral oil | 2-finger aluminum | carbotecture | forged aluminum unibody | tooled | banjo | |
SRAM G2 R | 146 USD | 4 | 262 | DOT 4 | stamped aluminum | aluminum | aluminum | tool-free | banjo | |
SRAM G2 Ultimate | 302 USD | 4 | 238 | DOT 5.1 | carbon | aluminum | aluminum | tool-free | banjo |
Johan van Seijen
FoundeR Restoration.bike
Johan van Seijen is the founder of restoration.bike. His passion for cycling in general, and restoring older bikes turned into a website to share his knowledge with a broader audience. Starting out on his father’s road bike and riding classics as the Amstel Gold Race and Liege Bastogne Liege he has shifted his attention to trail, XC, and gravel riding since. No matter how much he loves writing about everything related to cycling, nothing beats actually using his ever-expanding bicycle collection.
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