Formula’s brakes continue to be the jewels of the MTB anchor world with the Cura maintaining that reputation with plenty of power and control to boot.
With brands like SRAM doing away with 4-piston brakes entirely, is there still a place for a potent two-pot these days? Pete certainly recons so with the jewel-like Formula Cura.
Photos by Pete Scullion.
Key features:
- Axial forged alloy master cylinder
- Forged alloy lever blade
- Forged alloy caliper
- 24mm pistons
- Gloss Black, Polished or Gold finish
- MixMaster clamps for Shimano I-Spec B and EV or SRAM
- 359g (850mm hose, 160mm rotor plus hardware)
- £130.00 RRP
- RideFormula.com
It almost seemed wrong to remove the Curas from their packaging as they sat their twinkling in the afternoon sun, the polished finish giving them a classy look that most disc brakes just don’t seem to manage. Formula have always been in the line of making good looking stoppers and the Cura is no exception.
These 2-pot stunners would swap out the Shimano SLX 4-pots on my Merida One-Forty 6000. Both brakes come with hoses at full length so a cut is required before you fit the front brake at the very least. The optional Speed Lock hose adaptor is a neat way of ensuring instant sealing and quick release but does need the hose routed internally first and is only available for the caliper.
Pistons are large where most 2-pot brakes offer up smaller pistons in the realm of 20mm. The Cura was also Formula’s first foray into mineral oil brakes with a claim of fluid that has a lower freezing point and higher boiling point than their other DOT fluid offerings. MixMaster clamps offer neat and tidy integration with droppers and shifters too. Lever throw and bite point can be tweaked via the two dials, one either side of the lever pivot.
Even with organic pads, the Curas offered up plenty of power in a controllable fashion, with the lever offering a linear feel through the pull. The relatively thick rotors are that much stiffer in Centrelock flavour and do a solid job of getting heat away from the caliper.
Once the omnipresent sky juice came down, the sintered pads went in to better keep heat in the system and reduce the fade that came on only at the bottom of the longest of runs. Otherwise, the organic pads showed tremendous life and excellent bite, which usually aren’t things that go hand-in-hand.
What do we think?
Formula have managed to make a relatively cheap brake that is also lightweight and powerful. There’s really not much to dislike about the Cura brakes. They also look amazing too. Got an XC bike? Try the Cura X. Got a enduro or downhill bike? Go for the Cura 4.
We love:
- Sensible price
- Light weight
- Potent for a 2-pot
- Great looks
- Great lever feel
Could do better:
- Not a lot
