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Promising Carbon Brake Rotors

6K views 27 replies 17 participants last post by  Lelandjt 
#1 ·
#9 ·
Articles that begin with "Can this work?" and end with "What do you think?" often tend to be puff pieces, as is also the case with anything that was ever written by anyone named Josh. :D

It seems like the people that are designing and building those rotors started by going for minimal weight and then trying to get good performance, rather than first going for a significant improvement in braking power and longevity and then getting the weight down.

The article neglected to point out that for years, carbon rotors have been the standard in all Formula 1 cars and all Top Fuel dragsters. Here's an article about carbon brakes in Formula 1 cars, and here's another search, for the phrase "carbon rotors".
 
#11 ·
there is a guy on here who has been testing them. Magura is his screen name I think. If they are done right, they should outperform and outlast any steel rotor, and the price seems very reasonable at under $100. Do you know what carbon ceramic rotors cost for a sports car that came with them?
Last I checked it was around $2K each
 
#13 ·
F1 cars have been using carbon rotors for years, but they are so thick and laminated so many times it take months to make a set and they likely cost more than your house lol
 
#18 · (Edited)
I just ordered a 203 & 180 for my enduro bike. It says 5 weeks for delivery:(

I emailed them a couple questions about brake pads, rotor trueness, and resistance to bending. The guys at the shop and I are most excited about these because they theoritically should stay perfectly straight unless hit so hard that they crack. No more straightening rotors that have been bumped or mysteriouly got a wobble will be awesome.
 
#23 ·
While I wait for the rotors I'm sending my Formulas back to be upgraded with the 2013 pistons and seals. The pads will now pull back almost twice as far as they used to. I've always loved the feel of these brakes but have spent a lot of time straightening rotors and alligning calipers to get them drag-free. Hopefully those days are over.
 
#26 ·
MR. Magura has a first ride review on the huckingkitty forum. He says the power is unimpressive but suspects they need a longer break in than the stated 5 minutes.

Honestly my Formula brakes have plenty of power that I'm not concerned with a slight change and their rotors are light enough that this will only shed a few grams. I've never even encountered serious enough fade to need this rotor's better heat properties. For me it's all about getting rotors that start out perfectly true and never get even the slightest wobble. It'll be awesome to never straighten a rotor again. I've never seriously bent a rotor but every model I've had frequently gets little wobbles from being bumped or sometimes out of the blue (from heat?). I hate hearing a rotor rubbing so I've spent plenty of time in the pits or trailside trying to bend them straight. This hopefully will remove that one little maintanence task from my life and I'll never have rubbing brakes again.
I am hoping his impression improves with more use.
 
#28 ·
I was just on the phone with a Formula guy who put the brakes on that Sycip (I think?) bike that was at the NAHMBA show with Kettle rotors. Who knows if those were representative of the rotors being sold but he said they weren't perfectly straight, more like equivalent straightness to the average steel rotor fresh out of the box. Not what I wanted to hear but if they just stay that way it's still an improvement.
 
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