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Biting by tradition

Stefan Frey

 · 27.03.2017

Biting by traditionPhoto: Georg Grieshaber
Biting by tradition
Not only the pretzel was once invented in tranquil Bad Urach. The resourceful Swabians invented the first hydraulic rim brake. Today, Magura manufactures brakes from high-tech polymers.

Watch out, history lesson: If you've only ever associated Magura with bright yellow bicycle brakes, listen up. Fans of motorised two-wheeled sports will already know that Magura started out in 1923 with throttle twist grips for the first BMW motorbikes.

Previously, the inventor and company founder Gustav Magenwirth from the tranquil town of Bad Urach had been involved in the development of gas engines for Benz. In 1893, the words Magenwirth and Urach became - well, what - Magura. The yellow company logo does not show a capital M, but a stylised gear rack. The original product. The teeth were rationalised further and further over the years. First nine, then five and today there are just three left.

That's how it all began. Rack and pinion gearboxes were one of the Swabians' first products.Photo: Georg Grieshaber That's how it all began. Rack and pinion gearboxes were one of the Swabians' first products. Company history you can touch: Grips and levers from almost a century are stored in the warehouse. Magura will be 125 years old next year.Photo: Georg Grieshaber Company history you can touch: Grips and levers from almost a century are stored in the warehouse. Magura will be 125 years old next year.

Incidentally, Magura has only been making bikes since 1987. Back then, when the old cantilever brakes were still sucking on the rims like soft-boiled pasta, the Swabians brought a true brake sensation onto the market. Firm to the bite and precisely controllable.

The hydraulic HS33 was the non-plus-ultra among rim brakes. Magura then went one better in 1996 with the Gustav M disc brake. The Swabian anchor was unrivalled in braking power for years.

Old and new: In the background, the Magura classic Gustav M. In front, its successor MT7. Incidentally, from 1961 to 1967, Magura manufactured the fuel gauges for the VW Beetle.Photo: Georg Grieshaber Old and new: In the background, the Magura classic Gustav M. In front, its successor MT7. Incidentally, from 1961 to 1967, Magura manufactured the fuel gauges for the VW Beetle. The smallest Magura disc brake is not even the size of the palm of your hand. It is used on 1:5 scale combustion engine model cars.Photo: Georg Grieshaber The smallest Magura disc brake is not even the size of the palm of your hand. It is used on 1:5 scale combustion engine model cars.
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Anyone entering the old factory building today will be amazed: the outside is a bleak 1950s building, while the inside has a stylish office atmosphere. A few years ago, the Swabians virtually reinvented themselves and have been manufacturing complete brake levers from Carbotecture, a high-tech plastic from a top-secret recipe, since 2011. Unique in this sector.

Of course we had to see it. To do so, we had to go up to the Swabian Alb. Ten kilometres from Bad Urach is Magura's plastics production facility in Hülben. It is then a fifteen-minute drive to Hengen for assembly. From here, the high-tech stoppers find their way out into the world.

The latest high-tech stoppers: the strictly limited Danny MacAskill Signature brake. The 4-piston anchor in trendy racing yellow decelerates reliably even on the steepest terrain. With the completely newly developed HC3 lever, the transmission ratio and therefore the modulation can be perfectly adjusted using the Ratio Adjust. So much exclusivity comes at a price: this special MTB brake costs a whopping 699 euros.Photo: Georg Grieshaber The latest high-tech stoppers: the strictly limited Danny MacAskill Signature brake. The 4-piston anchor in trendy racing yellow decelerates reliably even on the steepest terrain. With the completely newly developed HC3 lever, the transmission ratio and therefore the modulation can be perfectly adjusted using the Ratio Adjust. So much exclusivity comes at a price: this special MTB brake costs a whopping 699 euros.


You can read the complete Magura report - the third part of our Made in Germany series - in BIKE 5/2017. You can also read the complete issue in the BIKE app (iTunes and Google Play) or in the DK-Shop order - while stocks last:


Read in the Apple App Store
Read in the Google Play Store
Order in the DK-Shop

<a href="https://www.delius-klasing.de/bike" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"> BIKE 5/2017 </a> is available as a printed magazine and digitally in the BIKE app for <a href="https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.pressmatrix.bikeapp" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">Android</a> and <a href="https://apps.apple.com/de/app/bike-das-mountainbike-magazin/id447024106" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">iOS</a> - while stocks last.Photo: BIKE Magazin BIKE 5/2017 is available as a printed magazine and digitally in the BIKE app for Android and iOS - while stocks last.
Thick air: 45 injection moulding machines heat the air to Caribbean temperatures at the plastics plant in Hülben. Not only brake levers, brake cylinders and HS33 brake pads are produced here, but also parts for the motorbike sector and other industrial sectors. Incidentally, the employees are not exactly on their lunch break; a large part of the production here is fully automated.
Photo: Georg Grieshaber
Stefan Frey

Stefan Frey is from Lower Bavaria and loves the mossy, loamy trails of the Bavarian Forest as much as the rugged rock of the Dolomites. For technical descents, he is prepared to tackle almost any ascent - under his own steam. As an accessories specialist, he is the first port of call for questions about equipment and add-on parts, while as head of copywriting he sweeps the language crumbs from the pages of the BIKE print editions.

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