I have a pair of RX (lowest quality formulas) from 11 years ago and they still work flawlessly and have plenty of power. I'm building my dream bike now and already ordered cura 2s.
Welcome to the club. After years of Shimano 4-pots breaks (and many many bleeds and piston resets) in 2018 I switched to Cura2s and never looked back, that's all its needed for my 65kg and trail to not extreme enduro riding. Also found the lever ergonomics to be better than shimanos, the last ones I had the lever was too short for proper modulation. YMMV
I ride my bikes Formula equipped since 2007, from brakes to forks and even my super lightweight scandium wheelset - they never dissappoint and most importantly - always took some time for a chat or a question if I had one. Top spec till this day: Scapin Nyro, on Formula Volo XC Superlight and a 25th Annyversary T1.
Recently got a bike with the selva r and mod suspension, never heard anything about them before and I was tempted to replace then before I even tried the bike until I jumped on it and now I'm never swapping the suspension ever again, such a underrated brand
I have Formula brand boost hubs on my mtb and am very happy with the quality Formula make, this channel is pretty awesome it has everything with incredible detail i like it👍
I have formula Cura4 on the front and formula Cura2 on the rear of my Pipedream Moxie (an enduro hardtail). I chose to run them on 203mm magura storm HC rotors for heat dissipation and to get a thick really heavy duty rotor. This setup it's amazing but After 1year of the Cura2 and 2 months for the Cura4 i found 2 aspects of this brakes that are quite strange: in First instance the brake pumps changes feeling and free stroke when you start the day. At the First bites the lever feels a Little more free and modulable but after the system heats up the braking point gets a lot more snappier and aggressive. Probably the 2mm thick rotors reduces the free stroke of the lever but in comparison to the old formula C1 (a brake really similari to the Cura2) on the same rotors the cura family feels a lot more influenced by external factors and heat (maby the minerali oil has a bit more volume expansion than the good old Dot 5.1). The other aspect that this brake Is quite strane Is that the pump some times traps air on the inside. So After 6 or 7 months of regular and intense use you should do a bleed of the pump. The Key difference from cura 2 and 4 by the way Is the modulation. The 4 pistons Is way Better in modulation
I'm experiencing similar issues with my brakes, although I'm using the shimano mineral oild instead of the original Formula oil (shouldn't make any difference). Especially the changing feel of brakes is something I haven't observed in any other mineral oil brakes. I don't think, that the oil actually has an impact on this
I have the Cura 4 brakes but for me the modulation is too much. On long downhills my arms get too tired and need to stop. I might switch back to Shimano, the power was instantaneous without pulling too much on the lever.
I feel like SLX 2 piston brakes paired with sintered pads and 203mm rotors provide plenty of stopping power and endurance. I have melted resin pistons on long steep descents, also it seems like ceramic pistons stay smoother for longer... imo the best brake at a reasonable price.
Hi! I've got two pair of Cura4 installed on my Norco Aurum dh and on my Norco Sight 29. I can testify these brakes can stop a truck on the highway... I took the same brakes for the dh bike and for the enduro one only for the reason to have the same stock of pads at home, but considering the minimal difference of weight I think I didn't a wrong decision. I'm glad you appreciate italian products! Cheers from Italy! Paolino
I have been using Formula CR3 two-piston brakes on a tandem for three years now (any weather and all year long). I was planning to replace them with the four-pot XTs but decided to wait a season or two. It looks I will stay with the Formulas now! ;) Pads are rather easily available and offered in all varietes. Also the lack of the banjo ends means I am not limited to the fixed-length OEM hoses. Anyway, I replaced the Formula 203mm disc rotors with the corresponding Shimano's XT/XTRs. And that was a good (yet a bit pricey) move! The Formulas at some speeds (dependent on the tire thread patterns) tended to vibrate and rub the pads.
@@LoveMTB Sure. I meant a vibration-induced rubbing. It must have been that rare case when a tire thread pattern combined with a particular speed (about 20km/h in our case) created vibrations that resonated with the rotors. We do not have a suspension fork that would probably help dampening the oscillations.
I went from 4 piston slx front/2 piston xt rear to two cura4s. First of all, I didn't like formula rotor and I'm using shimano rt76 rotors which are 1.8mm thick when new - awesome power, no squeal and initial install rub free. The bad thing - master cylinder reservoir is small, when cura 4 goes beyond 60% of pad wear it needs a bleed, though not a full bleed, more like shimano-style to top it up. And then the only positive stuff. Loads of power when I need it: I'm more of the MOAR-power shimano guy but cura4 is like having sram modulation with a stopping power even more than shimano when needed with a little bit less of lever throw. Also, I was not keen on tooled reach adjust after shimano, but I've never touched it again after getting it as I want and the feel never changed so I guess that's okay (of cause if the reservoir is topped up after that 50-60% pad wear), this is a real upgrade since I've always fiddled a bit with reach on shimano to keep the consistent feel through pad/rotor wear. And the most important thing over shimano - the seal on master cylinder piston pushing rod = no dirt ingress, no scarred master cylinder, no leaking under the master cylinder piston, which means no wandering bite point and consistent feel. Also, just before going full cura I've changed old leaking shimano levers to new ones... well, they tried to fix dirt ingress by adding a ton of grease which is sticky and a few crashes would result in dirt mixing with the grease and going into master cylinder. Honestly I was just tired of buying a new set of levers every season or two to keep the feel consistent. I had a very bad experience with cheap Formula C1s before and was a bit cautious but after a year (more like 7 month, since last 5 month are not about riding in my country) I'm very happy with cura4.
Oh, another thing, with a little bit of filing slx/xt/xtr-style shimano 4 piston pads with radiators can be used. Not ideal, since they rattle a bit and slightly different shape (duh, 17 and 15 pistons vs 4 18mm ones push it slightly differently) but good enough for commutes. There is no way to get cura4 pads in my country now, well, there is always a way but existential war takes a priority... and riding in general except for occasional commutes went out of the window.
Oh, almost forgot, I needed to rebalance pistons on both cura4s since one had one sticky piston and the second one had two diagonally on different sides. This pissed me off a bit but no problems since.
Hi, I was using the Magura MT5 previously, loved the modulation. However, hate the rubbing on the disc especially the back, which really requires very precise installation. Are the Cura 2 & 4 have similar modulation or better than the MT5, without the annoying setbacks of the requirement for precise installation?
@@csteo1125 all brakes require proper installation but have not had any issues with the Cura 2-piston, similar to Shimano, reliable, more powerful and better modulation
I'm on XT 8100 2 pistons for the exact same reason as you, I'm just over maintaining 8 pistons for not that much more power. How is the pad/rotor gap on the Curas? I tried some Magura MT Trails and the gap was ridiculously tight compared to Shimano.... the only thing I hate more than messing with sticky pistons is the ting, ting, ting of rotor rub!
I installed Cura 4s recently - the clearance pad/rotor is very tight. Tight enough that it made me realize my Cura rotors are slightly out of true. Took me about 20mins of fiddling on both brakes to get the rotor rub eliminated. But I finally got it.
@@mikeevans1594 same experience with mine. Rotor rub and sticky piston. Now it's finally great. Just fiddling with it to adjust the bite point. Right now the bite is at the end of the stroke
I have Formulas One on an old Trail and Enduro Bike and they have really good power regarding they are from 2007. The only negative I can say about them is that they are pretty hard to service even for an expert.
Currently have mt400/420 and seriously interested I the cura 4 polished finish. But not sure if the hope tech 4 E4 are a better option 🤔 bike shop recommend hope but that's because they sell them and have to go elsewhere for the cura's. Just want to try them out before I commit...
I repair HOPE, Formula and Shimano brakes, and I can tell you that Hope are nice, but are sooo really progressive than Formula. E4 has not much power. 16mm piston -4- vs 18mm piston -4- Curas. cheers
Hello from greece again...i have on my carbon devinci shimano m6120...i am thinking to upgrade to some hope tech 3 e4 (used in greta condition 200$) or formula cura 4 (new 230$)..what is your opinion???great videos mate
@@LoveMTB Because I have XTR two pinstons calipers, and I think they lack power due to the small pads. I planed to try Shigura, but this formula ones seem to be a great option
Hello, I have a 2023 PIKE fork and a 2023 Stumpjumper frame which mandates a minimum disc size of 180mm. If I want to use a 203 disc in the front and a 180mm disc in the rear, which adapter should I buy? Thanks in advance for your help Daniel
Do both front and rear brake levers feel the same? A lot of SRAM brakes feel a little more squishy on the rear brake. I want to get brakes that do not have that problem.
@@LoveMTB thanks for the reply that helps a lot. Like you I want to try something other than Shimano and SRAM. In the USA Formula Cura are not common I have not seen them out riding. This is the info I needed to make my purchase.
Have the cura 2s with galfer purple emtb. Highly recommend the the galfer pads. Absolute monster brakes. Similar power to my previous shigura setup and 4 piston xt brakes.
Because that MT5 was not used for downhill, was it?🙂 As for 4-piston anything, not a big fan. Get the most you can get with 2 piston first, my approach anyway.
I have the Cura 4 on my wish list for my new build. How easy were them to bleed? I'm curious on the reliability and if they are high maintenance (need bleeding often).
Looking at the enduro mtb article it seems weird that average braking torques are inconsistent with stop times. I'm currently running a shigura setup so its nice to have another lever option to pair with the magura calipers. I'm not over fond of the shimano levers, but they are immensely better than magura's. Did you find the formula's had more modulation than the shimano's?
How's the bite point of your Cura? My Cura 4's bite point is towards the end of the stroke. The lever feel was consistent, but I wanted the initial bite at the start of the stroke!
@@LoveMTB Indeed. I tried puttin more pressure to it, but the moment i take of the syringe, the pressure inside seem to push out the excess oil even before I can put the screw. 😅 oh well. Will try again!
The feel will change after a good bleed. Also, there is a tiny screw for lever adjustment that needs to be turned by a hex. When the lever is in the most outward position it will have the super strong bite.
More so, servowave and a little bit smaller master cylinder piston diameter which gives even more hydraulic leverage. Some guy in frankenbrakes thread on ridemonkey forum done this a few years back. And as far as I recall, had a great experience until levers started to leak. Shimano levers are such shimano levers and essentially useless after a season of active use. I was tempted to try this but it turned out that I'm pretty much happy how my cura4s perform and feel.
So am I to understand that you were having problems with the Shimano 4 piston brakes? I in the middle of a SC Tallboy build and was going to use the Shimano 4-piston brakes but maybe I better re-think that choice.
I use cura 4piston for my enduro bike since 2019.The modulation of these brakes is unbelievable and the power delivered similar to saints..No reason to use shimano..
Great video. Glad you're liking the Curas. I considered them after looking at the same article and having a series of Sram Guide failures. I ended up going with TRP quadiems because the parts and pads are easier to source in the U.S. They're 4-pot but have had way fewer issues with sticky pistons. I just give them a good exercise in between pad changes. Do you think you'll fire up the Cura 4s for a comparison, since you have them? One annoying thing about brakes is they often come with the lever attached to the caliper, which no one uses. TRP came with plugs that saved time on install. Wonder why few do that?
really good Cura´s 4 and 2 test! I have curas 2 piston in black just 1 month ago, and I´m pleasant to get in. ON ONE hardtail steel. Nice Trails! Regards form Spain :)
I have Curas on my XC FS bike with 160mm Formula rotors front and rear (previously Magura MT2 with Storm SL disks). They just lack some adjustements to be perfect... but except that I have no complaint... light, powerful, endurant (no fading), modulation is great. Compared to Shimano, they do not bite so hard and quickly, the stopping power is progressive and very easy to dose. Plus they're pretty cheap (comparable to SLX 2pistons), and bleeding procedure is not cumbersome at all. Last point, they're almost silent, except the pads normal rubbing noise, I never heard squeaking noise (with the Maguras it was common and loud as ffff as soon as the pads got a bit dirty/wet). note : I'm not the best person to push breaking power in the limits (I'm 60kg doing XC).
I've been running the Formula's the One since 2010 and they are still awesome. They are on my DH Bike. On my Enduro bike the Shimano XT's are present. Both phenomenal brakes. For the looks I would exchange the Shimanos with the golden 4 piston Curas but otherwise I won't.
Interesting. The current gen shimano 4 pot and the formula 2 pot brakes have almost exactly the same surface area for the pistons (~3600) and the formula 4 pot are about 4000 sq mm
You just mercilessly butchered geometry. A =pi*r^2. Shimano 4pot uses two 17 and two 15 diameter pistons: (3.14*8.5*8.5)*2 + (3.14*7.5*7.5)*2 = 453.73 + 353.35 = ~807. Cura 2 pot: 3.14*12*12*2 = ~904. But it's not only about the surface area of caliper pistons, master cylinder piston surface area matters too since it's about hydraulic leverage. Shimano master cylinder piston d=10 which translates into A = 78.54, Cura d=10.5, A = 86.5. By dividing slave surface area by master surface area we get hydraulic leverage. Which results in hydraulic leverages 5.14 for shimano 4pot and 5.2 for Cura2. But that doesn't account for mechanical leverages (lever pivot point, length, servowave) which could have a lot of effect.
I have the Cura 4 on my Rose Soulfire for almost 2 years now. I love them!!! But I had to be careful at the beginning. When you are not used to such powerfull breakes, there is a high chance you go over the bars. Never happened to me, but almost 😂
Hey, thanks for a good review. As usually very informative and interesting. I usually run Magura MT7 breaks with a stock lever. When I chose a replacement for my Sram code R at my enduro bike, I read the same article you mentioned in the video and considered buying Formula breaks. But since I didn't have anybody who uses Formula in person but I have a lot of people who use Magura and they are happy with it I decided to not experiment. Now I have a problem with pads rabbing the rotor almost always and I completely see your point with 2 piston calipers.
Amazing review! I got the silver 2pods for a future build. Not sure if I will get a set of cura 4s for the frontwheel. It will be a Enduro, trails, do it all even bikepark project propain Tyee Al Will you do a review of the 4 pods as well? Cheers and have a great 2023👏🫶
I've build an enduro hardtail earlier this year and just went for the Cura 4 front and rear. First of all, I found them really difficult to set up, bleeding them pretty much is a pain in the butt as compared to Shimano and I still haven't found out how to make them not feel spongy or change their overall feel every few hundred meters. I'll give them a second chance once my Trickstuff brake pads arrive. If I said that I've ridden 500km on this bike already, I'd probably be lying. The original organic brake pads a completely worn down already whatsoever. Also, the Rotors came slightly bent. I managed to fix that, but the 203mm front rotor prones to bbend and scratch when hot. I'm not sure if I'm going to keep these brakes, to be honest. I might just go with XT 4 piston brakes instead.
My friend is using cura4 on his ragley mmmbop. He told me that the feeling after Like a year seems weard, Like something is biting in pistons/ pistons not retracting fully. He got new pads recently so the problem should be pistons..
@@LoveMTB also be careful with degreaser and brake cleaners, I don't know what these seals can take or which products are bad for them, but Hope Tech earned against using degreaser and brake cleaners on their brakes, cus seals can swell.
I totally agree with your review , i have the same opinion like you very powerful 2 piston brakes and good brake feeling , try to use them with Galfer or Trickstuff power pads and you will impressed.
neat never used those brakes before I have a bike on demo with magura never rode them so that should be cool to test. I think I will just use SLX with XT rotors for my meta hardtail build being I have them in the parts bin.
@@LoveMTB I read on MTBR that the bushing is plastic, so no wonder it wore out quickly. Maybe I sohuld buy RG Bike Components lever, it uses bearings instead.
I wanted to get the Formula Cura but the price isn't that good, so I ended up buying Dominion A2. I wish you can do a comparison video aobut both brakes :) And in any case, Shimano brakes sucks - too sticky (had 3 pairs, all had the same issue) and too much power delivery.
@@LoveMTB Yeah, I really like them. The main thing I like about them is the fact that it's 2 pot (less complicated) and very well built. Comming from 4 pot M7120 and 2 pot 7100, it's far better option. I would say it's close to Code RSC in terms of breaking power but better overall modulation (locking the break only happen when you want it).
NOOOOO way using Formula Brakes ! I had formula special edition R1X looked beautiful, worked awful no braking power bad quality in general. SHIMANO is better by far !
I have a pair of RX (lowest quality formulas) from 11 years ago and they still work flawlessly and have plenty of power. I'm building my dream bike now and already ordered cura 2s.
I'm sure you're going to like them, best 2-piston I've ever used.
I have bought them myself for my bike build and tried them on my current bike and I am really impressed by the performance. My favourite brake now
Welcome to the club. After years of Shimano 4-pots breaks (and many many bleeds and piston resets) in 2018 I switched to Cura2s and never looked back, that's all its needed for my 65kg and trail to not extreme enduro riding. Also found the lever ergonomics to be better than shimanos, the last ones I had the lever was too short for proper modulation. YMMV
I ride my bikes Formula equipped since 2007, from brakes to forks and even my super lightweight scandium wheelset - they never dissappoint and most importantly - always took some time for a chat or a question if I had one. Top spec till this day: Scapin Nyro, on Formula Volo XC Superlight and a 25th Annyversary T1.
Recently got a bike with the selva r and mod suspension, never heard anything about them before and I was tempted to replace then before I even tried the bike until I jumped on it and now I'm never swapping the suspension ever again, such a underrated brand
I use Cura 4 brakes (gold ones) for about a two years now, and still have not find anything better. They are the best brakes hands down.
Yup, with you on that. Underrated!
Try the Hope tech 4
I have Formula brand boost hubs on my mtb and am very happy with the quality Formula make, this channel is pretty awesome it has everything with incredible detail i like it👍
Different company
I use since many years Formula brakes like the RO and the Oro Puro, they are in all aspects by far the best of all brands i have!
Had Formula Oro’s many years ago. Good to see they’ve moved to mineral oil.
I have formula Cura4 on the front and formula Cura2 on the rear of my Pipedream Moxie (an enduro hardtail). I chose to run them on 203mm magura storm HC rotors for heat dissipation and to get a thick really heavy duty rotor. This setup it's amazing but After 1year of the Cura2 and 2 months for the Cura4 i found 2 aspects of this brakes that are quite strange: in First instance the brake pumps changes feeling and free stroke when you start the day. At the First bites the lever feels a Little more free and modulable but after the system heats up the braking point gets a lot more snappier and aggressive. Probably the 2mm thick rotors reduces the free stroke of the lever but in comparison to the old formula C1 (a brake really similari to the Cura2) on the same rotors the cura family feels a lot more influenced by external factors and heat (maby the minerali oil has a bit more volume expansion than the good old Dot 5.1). The other aspect that this brake Is quite strane Is that the pump some times traps air on the inside. So After 6 or 7 months of regular and intense use you should do a bleed of the pump.
The Key difference from cura 2 and 4 by the way Is the modulation. The 4 pistons Is way Better in modulation
I'm experiencing similar issues with my brakes, although I'm using the shimano mineral oild instead of the original Formula oil (shouldn't make any difference). Especially the changing feel of brakes is something I haven't observed in any other mineral oil brakes. I don't think, that the oil actually has an impact on this
I have the Cura 4 brakes but for me the modulation is too much. On long downhills my arms get too tired and need to stop. I might switch back to Shimano, the power was instantaneous without pulling too much on the lever.
Only downside is that Formula brakes are not available everywere same for parts. But overall they are an awesome brand
I feel like SLX 2 piston brakes paired with sintered pads and 203mm rotors provide plenty of stopping power and endurance. I have melted resin pistons on long steep descents, also it seems like ceramic pistons stay smoother for longer... imo the best brake at a reasonable price.
8:40 in video. Check your caliper washers 😉
I have on my Occam Formula cura 2 with 203 e 180 disk and red Galfer pad. Impressive
Hi! I've got two pair of Cura4 installed on my Norco Aurum dh and on my Norco Sight 29. I can testify these brakes can stop a truck on the highway... I took the same brakes for the dh bike and for the enduro one only for the reason to have the same stock of pads at home, but considering the minimal difference of weight I think I didn't a wrong decision. I'm glad you appreciate italian products! Cheers from Italy! Paolino
I have been using Formula CR3 two-piston brakes on a tandem for three years now (any weather and all year long). I was planning to replace them with the four-pot XTs but decided to wait a season or two. It looks I will stay with the Formulas now! ;) Pads are rather easily available and offered in all varietes. Also the lack of the banjo ends means I am not limited to the fixed-length OEM hoses.
Anyway, I replaced the Formula 203mm disc rotors with the corresponding Shimano's XT/XTRs. And that was a good (yet a bit pricey) move!
The Formulas at some speeds (dependent on the tire thread patterns) tended to vibrate and rub the pads.
@@LoveMTB Sure. I meant a vibration-induced rubbing. It must have been that rare case when a tire thread pattern combined with a particular speed (about 20km/h in our case) created vibrations that resonated with the rotors.
We do not have a suspension fork that would probably help dampening the oscillations.
@@LoveMTB 40-60psi.
I went from 4 piston slx front/2 piston xt rear to two cura4s. First of all, I didn't like formula rotor and I'm using shimano rt76 rotors which are 1.8mm thick when new - awesome power, no squeal and initial install rub free. The bad thing - master cylinder reservoir is small, when cura 4 goes beyond 60% of pad wear it needs a bleed, though not a full bleed, more like shimano-style to top it up. And then the only positive stuff. Loads of power when I need it: I'm more of the MOAR-power shimano guy but cura4 is like having sram modulation with a stopping power even more than shimano when needed with a little bit less of lever throw. Also, I was not keen on tooled reach adjust after shimano, but I've never touched it again after getting it as I want and the feel never changed so I guess that's okay (of cause if the reservoir is topped up after that 50-60% pad wear), this is a real upgrade since I've always fiddled a bit with reach on shimano to keep the consistent feel through pad/rotor wear. And the most important thing over shimano - the seal on master cylinder piston pushing rod = no dirt ingress, no scarred master cylinder, no leaking under the master cylinder piston, which means no wandering bite point and consistent feel. Also, just before going full cura I've changed old leaking shimano levers to new ones... well, they tried to fix dirt ingress by adding a ton of grease which is sticky and a few crashes would result in dirt mixing with the grease and going into master cylinder. Honestly I was just tired of buying a new set of levers every season or two to keep the feel consistent. I had a very bad experience with cheap Formula C1s before and was a bit cautious but after a year (more like 7 month, since last 5 month are not about riding in my country) I'm very happy with cura4.
Oh, another thing, with a little bit of filing slx/xt/xtr-style shimano 4 piston pads with radiators can be used. Not ideal, since they rattle a bit and slightly different shape (duh, 17 and 15 pistons vs 4 18mm ones push it slightly differently) but good enough for commutes. There is no way to get cura4 pads in my country now, well, there is always a way but existential war takes a priority... and riding in general except for occasional commutes went out of the window.
Oh, almost forgot, I needed to rebalance pistons on both cura4s since one had one sticky piston and the second one had two diagonally on different sides. This pissed me off a bit but no problems since.
great info. You can buy Galfer racing pads for Cura 4. Spanish stopping power ;) ps- were are u from?
@@paco2689 i believe he is from russia. very hard to get any bike parts reasonably priced there now
Hi, I was using the Magura MT5 previously, loved the modulation. However, hate the rubbing on the disc especially the back, which really requires very precise installation. Are the Cura 2 & 4 have similar modulation or better than the MT5, without the annoying setbacks of the requirement for precise installation?
@@csteo1125 all brakes require proper installation but have not had any issues with the Cura 2-piston, similar to Shimano, reliable, more powerful and better modulation
что за ключ нужен что бы вытащить колодки ? 7:38 tnx
Шестигранный ключ 3 мм
@@LoveMTB tnx
Would really like to hear your opinion about the cura 4's, if you manage with a video even better
I would like to try such brakes, the fact that they are on mineral oil is a plus. I don't like dot
@@LoveMTB DOT I've heard is very aggressive for bike paint and varnish
Hi Bro, great video. I also have Formula Cura. How did you remove the small circlip?
@@LoveMTB thanks!
I really like Formula, so much that I asked Alba distribution to sponsor a future racing team
How do you like these vs the 2-pot Maguras? How is 3rd party pad compatibility?
I'm on XT 8100 2 pistons for the exact same reason as you, I'm just over maintaining 8 pistons for not that much more power. How is the pad/rotor gap on the Curas? I tried some Magura MT Trails and the gap was ridiculously tight compared to Shimano.... the only thing I hate more than messing with sticky pistons is the ting, ting, ting of rotor rub!
I installed Cura 4s recently - the clearance pad/rotor is very tight. Tight enough that it made me realize my Cura rotors are slightly out of true. Took me about 20mins of fiddling on both brakes to get the rotor rub eliminated. But I finally got it.
@@mikeevans1594 same experience with mine. Rotor rub and sticky piston. Now it's finally great. Just fiddling with it to adjust the bite point. Right now the bite is at the end of the stroke
Great vid. I have the Cura 4, and love them.
Both caliper and lever body were made in Taiwan on mine.
Same on mine bro. Cura 4 caliper and lever made in Taiwan. Seems to be the case for Cura 4 :)
I have Formulas One on an old Trail and Enduro Bike and they have really good power regarding they are from 2007. The only negative I can say about them is that they are pretty hard to service even for an expert.
How has the brakes held up I’m looking at these or slx two position .
More powerful than the SLX 2 piston, noticeable. No issues whatsoever so far. I would buy again.
Currently have mt400/420 and seriously interested I the cura 4 polished finish. But not sure if the hope tech 4 E4 are a better option 🤔 bike shop recommend hope but that's because they sell them and have to go elsewhere for the cura's. Just want to try them out before I commit...
I repair HOPE, Formula and Shimano brakes, and I can tell you that Hope are nice, but are sooo really progressive than Formula. E4 has not much power. 16mm piston -4- vs 18mm piston -4- Curas. cheers
I have just installed cura 2 on my new trail bike, so far they feel amazing! Everyone I meet keeps asking how I can only have 2 piston... Silly people
Hello from greece again...i have on my carbon devinci shimano m6120...i am thinking to upgrade to some hope tech 3 e4 (used in greta condition 200$) or formula cura 4 (new 230$)..what is your opinion???great videos mate
Which torque wrench are you using to tighten the rotors please?
Nice and detailed!
are you still using these brakes? any experience with using shimano mineral oil or any other to bleed these with?
I just bought a set.
Do I have to bleed them after shortening? How do you re fit the speed lock on the cable after shortening?
I did not bleed mine, I cheated🤓
@@LoveMTB i will cheat also if the brake works fine 😂. This formula bleed kit is crazy expensive lol
@@sans_2031 I have it but just couldn’t wait to ride and once I started I didn’t stop 😊
Excellent info. Thx!
I wonder if It would be posible to swap calipers with Shimano 🤔
@@LoveMTB Because I have XTR two pinstons calipers, and I think they lack power due to the small pads. I planed to try Shigura, but this formula ones seem to be a great option
@@LoveMTB I will see what I end up doing, thanks!
Hello,
I have a 2023 PIKE fork and a 2023 Stumpjumper frame which mandates a minimum disc size of 180mm.
If I want to use a 203 disc in the front and a 180mm disc in the rear, which adapter should I buy?
Thanks in advance for your help
Daniel
@@LoveMTB Thank you and 'bonjour' from Versailles (France) 🤙👍
The two piece caliper is supposed to be a disadvantage compared to the 1 piece Magura or shimano as far as I know, isn’t it?
Do both front and rear brake levers feel the same? A lot of SRAM brakes feel a little more squishy on the rear brake. I want to get brakes that do not have that problem.
@@LoveMTB thanks for the reply that helps a lot. Like you I want to try something other than Shimano and SRAM. In the USA Formula Cura are not common I have not seen them out riding. This is the info I needed to make my purchase.
Have the cura 2s with galfer purple emtb. Highly recommend the the galfer pads. Absolute monster brakes. Similar power to my previous shigura setup and 4 piston xt brakes.
nice video，this breaks is cold in china，i cant find any review in Chinese media，your video helps me a lot！
Glad to help!
Those formula's look awesome! You might need the matching fork for that bike :)
weird, for me they looking ugly, shimano look of brakes best (deore and higher) not those mt200 and that crap..
why not Magura MT5, 4 piston for halt the price of cura 4, or Trail as 4/2 combo
Because that MT5 was not used for downhill, was it?🙂 As for 4-piston anything, not a big fan. Get the most you can get with 2 piston first, my approach anyway.
@@LoveMTB what do you mean it wasnt used for downhill. Says who? Besides, you're not using them for downhill either.
I have the Cura 4 on my wish list for my new build. How easy were them to bleed? I'm curious on the reliability and if they are high maintenance (need bleeding often).
@@LoveMTB I’m planning to buy a Orbea Rise H e bike. It will be a bit heavier, about 20kg, that’s why I was thinking to go for the formula 4
@@LoveMTB another great thhing is the insert is super easy to insert, I did it by hand, no hammer and clamps or special press needed, unlike Shimano.
@@LoveMTB literally the national downhill and enduro champion here rides 2 piston curas.
Looking at the enduro mtb article it seems weird that average braking torques are inconsistent with stop times.
I'm currently running a shigura setup so its nice to have another lever option to pair with the magura calipers. I'm not over fond of the shimano levers, but they are immensely better than magura's.
Did you find the formula's had more modulation than the shimano's?
How's the bite point of your Cura? My Cura 4's bite point is towards the end of the stroke. The lever feel was consistent, but I wanted the initial bite at the start of the stroke!
@@LoveMTB Indeed. I tried puttin more pressure to it, but the moment i take of the syringe, the pressure inside seem to push out the excess oil even before I can put the screw. 😅 oh well. Will try again!
The feel will change after a good bleed. Also, there is a tiny screw for lever adjustment that needs to be turned by a hex. When the lever is in the most outward position it will have the super strong bite.
beed it and see carefully DONT HAVE bubbles on circuit...
Love to see someone trying something like Shigura on those brakes: Formano's!? that piston size with servowave! Sounds great i think!
Forguras
@@BerserkerNick Mr. Berserker, a youtube celebrity replying a Portuguese Dude. NICE to meet you. 😀
@@c.franca2259 hello and have an awesome weekend to everyone in Portugal, keep shredding 😎🤙
@@LoveMTB hello my friend, nice to hear about tou again. Just for fun and also because why not, we are guys and curiosity is in our blood! Regards
More so, servowave and a little bit smaller master cylinder piston diameter which gives even more hydraulic leverage. Some guy in frankenbrakes thread on ridemonkey forum done this a few years back. And as far as I recall, had a great experience until levers started to leak. Shimano levers are such shimano levers and essentially useless after a season of active use. I was tempted to try this but it turned out that I'm pretty much happy how my cura4s perform and feel.
Hey! Any update on these? Are you still on C2s?
I am and I love them great brakes. Not sure about their rotors but brakes are solid
@@LoveMTB In terms of lever consistency vs Deore 6100, what are your thoughts?
@@ThunderStruckMTB consistency is there, 6100 can feel more abrupt than these
@@LoveMTB Sweet! Thanks for the help!
@@ThunderStruckMTB np, any time!
Any chance you would run these brakes with shimano rotors? Have been looking at the cura 2 as well..
@@LoveMTB Thank you, that makes things easier.
I'm using rt-76 rotors with Cura 4 and I love it more than formula rotors.
@@graved1gger good to hear. Have centerlocks which I'm not willing to change.
So am I to understand that you were having problems with the Shimano 4 piston brakes? I in the middle of a SC Tallboy build and was going to use the Shimano 4-piston brakes but maybe I better re-think that choice.
@@LoveMTB Right, but were you having performance problems with the Shimano 4 piston brakes?
I use cura 4piston for my enduro bike since 2019.The modulation of these brakes is unbelievable and the power delivered similar to saints..No reason to use shimano..
Agree, if only more people had the chance to at least try them!
Formula CURA 4 Планирую купить, вы советуете ???
Я определенно все равно рекомендую это!
@@LoveMTB купил, на Sur-Ron
price compared to Shimano XT?
buen review
Great video. Glad you're liking the Curas. I considered them after looking at the same article and having a series of Sram Guide failures. I ended up going with TRP quadiems because the parts and pads are easier to source in the U.S. They're 4-pot but have had way fewer issues with sticky pistons. I just give them a good exercise in between pad changes. Do you think you'll fire up the Cura 4s for a comparison, since you have them?
One annoying thing about brakes is they often come with the lever attached to the caliper, which no one uses. TRP came with plugs that saved time on install. Wonder why few do that?
@@LoveMTB yea, agree. 15-20 percent more powerful when ALL those pistons are moving freely. Brake unicorns!
2 piston 24mm * 2 = 904mm2
4 piston 18mm * 4 = 1016mm2
4 piston formula cura will be noticeably more powerful.
really good Cura´s 4 and 2 test! I have curas 2 piston in black just 1 month ago, and I´m pleasant to get in. ON ONE hardtail steel.
Nice Trails! Regards form Spain :)
I have Curas on my XC FS bike with 160mm Formula rotors front and rear (previously Magura MT2 with Storm SL disks).
They just lack some adjustements to be perfect... but except that I have no complaint... light, powerful, endurant (no fading), modulation is great.
Compared to Shimano, they do not bite so hard and quickly, the stopping power is progressive and very easy to dose.
Plus they're pretty cheap (comparable to SLX 2pistons), and bleeding procedure is not cumbersome at all.
Last point, they're almost silent, except the pads normal rubbing noise, I never heard squeaking noise (with the Maguras it was common and loud as ffff as soon as the pads got a bit dirty/wet).
note : I'm not the best person to push breaking power in the limits (I'm 60kg doing XC).
I've been running the Formula's the One since 2010 and they are still awesome. They are on my DH Bike. On my Enduro bike the Shimano XT's are present. Both phenomenal brakes. For the looks I would exchange the Shimanos with the golden 4 piston Curas but otherwise I won't.
Interesting. The current gen shimano 4 pot and the formula 2 pot brakes have almost exactly the same surface area for the pistons (~3600) and the formula 4 pot are about 4000 sq mm
You just mercilessly butchered geometry. A =pi*r^2. Shimano 4pot uses two 17 and two 15 diameter pistons: (3.14*8.5*8.5)*2 + (3.14*7.5*7.5)*2 = 453.73 + 353.35 = ~807. Cura 2 pot: 3.14*12*12*2 = ~904. But it's not only about the surface area of caliper pistons, master cylinder piston surface area matters too since it's about hydraulic leverage. Shimano master cylinder piston d=10 which translates into A = 78.54, Cura d=10.5, A = 86.5. By dividing slave surface area by master surface area we get hydraulic leverage. Which results in hydraulic leverages 5.14 for shimano 4pot and 5.2 for Cura2. But that doesn't account for mechanical leverages (lever pivot point, length, servowave) which could have a lot of effect.
take a shigura (XT/MT5)with trickstuff power 170 pads and HPX-R 2.5 W. thats the ultra combo of modern MTB Brakes! 🤫🤫🤫🤫
I have the Cura 4 on my Rose Soulfire for almost 2 years now. I love them!!! But I had to be careful at the beginning. When you are not used to such powerfull breakes, there is a high chance you go over the bars. Never happened to me, but almost 😂
Excelente vídeo; como siempre. Yo me quedo con los shimano. Y por supuesto: SALUD, MUCHA SALUD. Saludos desde España.
Hey, thanks for a good review. As usually very informative and interesting. I usually run Magura MT7 breaks with a stock lever. When I chose a replacement for my Sram code R at my enduro bike, I read the same article you mentioned in the video and considered buying Formula breaks. But since I didn't have anybody who uses Formula in person but I have a lot of people who use Magura and they are happy with it I decided to not experiment. Now I have a problem with pads rabbing the rotor almost always and I completely see your point with 2 piston calipers.
Amazing review! I got the silver 2pods for a future build. Not sure if I will get a set of cura 4s for the frontwheel. It will be a Enduro, trails, do it all even bikepark project propain Tyee Al
Will you do a review of the 4 pods as well?
Cheers and have a great 2023👏🫶
I've build an enduro hardtail earlier this year and just went for the Cura 4 front and rear. First of all, I found them really difficult to set up, bleeding them pretty much is a pain in the butt as compared to Shimano and I still haven't found out how to make them not feel spongy or change their overall feel every few hundred meters. I'll give them a second chance once my Trickstuff brake pads arrive. If I said that I've ridden 500km on this bike already, I'd probably be lying. The original organic brake pads a completely worn down already whatsoever. Also, the Rotors came slightly bent. I managed to fix that, but the 203mm front rotor prones to bbend and scratch when hot. I'm not sure if I'm going to keep these brakes, to be honest. I might just go with XT 4 piston brakes instead.
Would look good on the Antidote.....
I like XT 4 pistons
My friend is using cura4 on his ragley mmmbop. He told me that the feeling after Like a year seems weard, Like something is biting in pistons/ pistons not retracting fully. He got new pads recently so the problem should be pistons..
He should clean and lube the pistons.
@@LoveMTB also be careful with degreaser and brake cleaners, I don't know what these seals can take or which products are bad for them, but Hope Tech earned against using degreaser and brake cleaners on their brakes, cus seals can swell.
In Canada you ride your brakes motostyle or are you a weirdoo like me here?
@@LoveMTB that makes 2 of us then
I totally agree with your review , i have the same opinion like you very powerful 2 piston brakes and good brake feeling , try to use them with Galfer or Trickstuff power pads and you will impressed.
neat never used those brakes before I have a bike on demo with magura never rode them so that should be cool to test. I think I will just use SLX with XT rotors for my meta hardtail build being I have them in the parts bin.
Do you have any dead throw, and play in the bushing yet? Mine developed a lot of they in the lever: th-cam.com/video/ewHYmdpo5vk/w-d-xo.html
@@LoveMTB I read on MTBR that the bushing is plastic, so no wonder it wore out quickly. Maybe I sohuld buy RG Bike Components lever, it uses bearings instead.
Magura MT7 or Shimano XTR?
Overall
I wanted to get the Formula Cura but the price isn't that good, so I ended up buying Dominion A2. I wish you can do a comparison video aobut both brakes :)
And in any case, Shimano brakes sucks - too sticky (had 3 pairs, all had the same issue) and too much power delivery.
@@LoveMTB
Yeah, I really like them. The main thing I like about them is the fact that it's 2 pot (less complicated) and very well built. Comming from 4 pot M7120 and 2 pot 7100, it's far better option.
I would say it's close to Code RSC in terms of breaking power but better overall modulation (locking the break only happen when you want it).
@@LoveMTB Keep up the good work mate, love your channel!
I use Formula brakes for years, the R1, the RX, the Mega......has been the better brakes I ever had
NOOOOO way using Formula Brakes !
I had formula special edition R1X looked beautiful, worked awful no braking power bad quality in general.
SHIMANO is better by far !
The 4 piston vs 2 piston cleaning argument is null and void. It's actually boarding on pathetic tbh.