M5 brakes - Test Report

After a short preview of the M5 brakes some weeks ago, we can now present you the final test report.
Let’s take a closer look at the construction of the brake. All the aluminium parts are CNC-machined and black anodized. The brake-shoes – they have to be purchased individually by the way – are Shimano compatible. Consequently, besides the Corima cork-pads provided by M5, you can use the “Flash” brake-pads made by SwissStop, which we will also review. The installation is quite easy.

Installing the M5 brake is relatively easy to describe. The central attachment is taken care of as standard by two alu bolts, which securely fix the steel axle. This is then in turn bolted into the back part of a 12mm hollow bolt which defines the pivot point for both of the brake arms.

The brake cable terminates in with a small cylinder with a grub screw in the arm of the brake. The caliper arms are seperated by extensive spacers made of synthetic material. These spacers reduce the friction between the two arms.

A stainless steel spring with extremely high initial tension braces against both caliper arms just above the brake-shoe mount. Due to an extra winding of the spring, M5 brakes cannot be compressed by hand as easily as other brakes. A rounding of the contact area facilitates the adjustment of the brake-shoes, thus provides the correct angle between brake-pad and rim. Changing the brake-pads isn’t a problem either – unlike Campagnolo compatible systems, the M5 brake-shoes come with a little mounting-bolt, that secures a safe fit of the pads.

The appearance of the M5 brakes needs getting used to. In direct comparism to it’s strongest rival, the ZeroGravity brake-set, the caliper arms of the M5 are pretty bulky. In rare cases this can lead to contact between the brake-shoes and arms. M5 has solved this issue, and now offer the brakes with even shorter brake-arms, that weigh about 184 grams. Anyway, the brake-arms still stick out on the side of either the fork or seat-stays. You shouldn’t forget that the rather oversized construction of the brakes, is the reason for their enormous stiffness. I’ve never used a stiffer brake so far – not even much heavier braking systems can keep up with M5 in terms of stiffness.

The first impression on the road revealed a very hard pressure point. Maybe even too hard for smooth and steady braking. Once you’re used to this rather unusual braking behaviour, you can trust the brakes in every situation. The M5 brakes are strong enough to block your front-wheel at full speed anytime. Nevertheless, the choice of the right brake-pads is one of the most important factors for good braking power. Switching from Corima cork-pads to yellow SwissStop pads will be a pleasant surprise, especially in wet conditions. That’s why we tested both, the ZeroGravity and M5 brakes on Mavic CXP33, Campagnolo Eurus and Reynolds Stratus DV Ultra Lite carbon-fibre wheels. While the ZeroGravity brakes offer very good dosage and a rather soft pressure point, the contender from M5 requires a more gentle pulling on the brake-levers. Apart from the high braking power there are other advantages making the M5 more attractive. Easy disassembling and maintenance and a fast supply of spare parts. Both, M5 and ZeroGravity prove, that heavier doesn’t necessarily mean better and stronger.

Prices of the dutch brake-sets are 294 Euro for the L-Version and 332 Euro for the R-Version, without brake-shoes and pads (80 Euro). All the prices are excl. 19% VAT.

Concluding, we can say, that Bram Moens – owner of M5 Ligfietsen – developed a real contender to ZeroGravity. Fast and direct contact with the supplier, all components produced locally, high quality finish, superb braking performance and last but not least a proper price compared to other high-end lightweight brake-sets.
Only the weight could be a tad lower, to reduce the gap to ZeroGravity. If this would be the case, M5 brakes would be the perfect option for some – provided that the unusual design suits one’s taste.