Mineral oil / 160, 180, 203mm rotors / 180mm rotor weight 208g / front caliper lever, hose and adapter weight: 299g / £129 alloy lever blade / contact: www.magura.com

Lever reach on the new Louise is still adjusted with a 2.5mm Alley key but it now has bite adjust technology (BAT) via the red dial. Like most other manufacturers Magura has switched to post mount calipers with adapters to mate with the three rotor sizes. The new rotor has an aluminium spider improving stiffness and increased cooling. It also adds 43g in weight.
Pad area has been upped by 15% to improve longevity and it didn’t take long to cure the Organic pads. With 180mm rotors front and rear braking power is ample in most situations but the spongy lever feel of the ‘07 Louise takes some getting used to. Grab a fist full of brake and the Louise seams to lack that instant bite. Maybe we’ve just got used to the awesome stopping power of the Avid Juicy 7s that the Maguras replaced, but with the Avids you can lock the rear wheel with one finger. On another test bike we had the 2007 Louise on the front and 06 Louise FR on the rear and the original definitely had a more positive action. The old Louise FR was also lighter and came with dedicated callipers.

MBR rating: 7/10