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May 04, 2024

Formula Cura X disc brake review

The premium version of Formula's two-piston brake This competition is now closed By Tom Marvin Published: August 15, 2023 at 12:00 pm Formula has taken its already competitively light, but

The premium version of Formula's two-piston brake

This competition is now closed

By Tom Marvin

Published: August 15, 2023 at 12:00 pm

Formula has taken its already competitively light, but trail-focused Cura brake and given it a Gucci once-over to shave a further 25 grams, on my scales, for the Cura X.

The front brake I’m testing comes in at 220g, making it lighter than other two-piston XC-focused brakes such as SRAM’s Level Ultimate (248g) and Magura’s MT8 Pro (247g). It’s only a touch heavier than Shimano’s XTR M9100 (202g).

In use, the brake has Formula’s customary lovely feel, with impressive stopping power for the weight.

Weight savings come in the form of titanium hardware on the lever body and caliper, and a beautifully crafted carbon lever blade.

The two key components are linked with a braided hose, there to resist expansion with temperature, and shrug off damage in a crash.

The lever body has a split clamp, with 4mm hex bolts joining it to the body. The clamp is located between the lever’s main pivot and the bar, which should help resist lever-body flex.

Compatibility with Shimano and SRAM shifters feels good, with ample room between the bar and lever body for a shifter’s clamp.

There is the ability to run a Matchmaker-style MixMaster shifter clamp too, to give a cleaner cockpit. Shimano I-Spec EV and SRAM options are available.

The brake lever is constructed from carbon fibre, with its weave clearly on view. The lever blade is longer than a Shimano alternative, but a touch shorter than a SRAM Level lever.

It has a pronounced curl at the end to keep your fingers locked on the lever, but there’s no textured finish to add grip.

The brakes don’t have bite-point adjustment, but there is lever-reach adjustment. On this set of brakes, I could adjust with my fingers, via the knurled dial that sits between lever and bar. A 2mm hex key does the job too, even if it’s a little tricky to access.

I’ve had previous Cura brakes where this little bolt was too stiff to adjust with my fingers.

At the caliper end, the two pistons push on a lightweight aluminium-backed pad with an organic material as standard.

These are secured with a threaded pin and a small, slightly fiddly, retention clip. I needed to use pliers to fit and remove it.

The kevlar hoses arrive in 175cm lengths (front and rear), given the flip-flop nature of the brake lever.

Fitting the brakes is relatively easy. Bleeding is simple, with a push-pull process utilising a pair of syringes. The brakes use mineral oil, which is relatively friendly, compared to DOT fluid.

The braided hose is tougher than a regular alternative. Cutting it is a touch trickier, and I found some Kevlar strands didn’t get a clean cut, and needed guiding carefully through the olive to prevent any extra fraying.

There’s plenty of space around the lever body for shifter clamps, but I used the MixMaster clamp for the most part. I found it flexed a bit, though, and I couldn’t get the shifter inboard quite enough. I preferred the shifter’s standard setup.

I came away impressed by the performance of the Formula Cura X. Bedding in took a little longer than some mountain bike brakes, but once pads and rotors were prepped, power was impressive given the weight. They’re not quite as punchy as enduro/DH-spec brakes, but compared to the majority of two-piston brakes, they pack loads of power.

Initial bite and lever feel isn’t as ‘digital’ as Shimano’s equivalent stoppers, but sits closer to SRAM than it does Magura. This means there’s a positive bite, before a fair bit of lever travel to full power. This enables decent modulation of the power on offer.

They don’t feel as firm as you move through the lever stroke as Shimano brakes, but are much less spongy in feel than Maguras. The lever body displays no discernible flex when you’re hauling on the lever blade.

The blade doesn’t have any texture to aid grip, but it’s not too slippy, and the carbon blade doesn’t feel cold in winter.

The Cura X is a great alternative to the bigger brake brands’ offerings. The construction is second to none, and the price is competitive for a brake with this finish.

Its blend of light weight and power makes it applicable for everything from cross-country race bikes through to longer-travel trail bikes.

There’s a nice blend of bite, progression and all-out power, with a feel more akin to a SRAM brake than a Shimano.

My only real complaint is that the MixMaster shifter clamp isn’t as adjustable as Shimano and SRAM equivalents, and it’s flexier than both, and a standard shifter clamp. Some may expect bite-point adjustment on a brake such as this, too.

Senior technical editor

Tom Marvin is a technical editor at BikeRadar.com and MBUK magazine. He has a particular focus on mountain bikes, but spends plenty of time on gravel bikes, too. Tom has written for BikeRadar, MBUK and Cycling Plus, and was previously technical editor of What Mountain Bike magazine. He is also a regular presenter on BikeRadar’s YouTube channel and the BikeRadar podcast. With more than twenty years of mountain biking experience, and nearly a decade of testing mountain and gravel bikes, Tom has ridden and tested thousands of bikes and products, from super-light XC race bikes through to the most powerful brakes on the market. Outside of testing bikes, Tom competes in a wide range of mountain bike races, from multi-day enduros through to 24-hour races in the depths of the Scottish winter – pushing bikes, components and his legs to their limits. He’s also worked out that shaving your legs saves 8 watts, while testing aerodynamics in a wind tunnel. When not riding he can be found at the climbing wall, in his garden or cooking up culinary delights.