Meroca MT420 brakes any good?

[SVChucko]

I've been looking at disc brake sets on AliExpress. I'm not interested in grey market major brand parts. The only brake set I like so far is the Meroca MT420: https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005003250515653.html

Does anyone have experience with these brakes? What about replacement parts, like pads and seals? Can the lines be shortened using standard cutters and bleed kits?

Are there any other 4-piston hydraulic brakes worth considering?

[SVChucko]

These seem pretty similar: https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005002973667744.html

[andrewj]

I'm confident these are the same as the Clarks M4 that kind of made it to market. I got these Meroca brakes to go on a budget trail hardtail, $60ish CAD off AliEx. They arrived with one of the levers very gouged up. The seller only gave me a couple bucks discount. I hit the gouged lever with some black paint and it looks better, but can still see the deep gouges.

The pads are the same size as the shimano 4-piston brakes. The original pads were pure trash - the backing plate and pad material were rusty. I tried them out after sanding and IPA cleaning, proper bed-in, etc ... total suckage. Popped in the Kingstop Taiwan semi-metallic pads (comparable to Shimano resin pads) and they are good now. I shortened the rear hose and used a shimano olive and barb just fine. I also had to swap levers right to left. I'm confident these are the same as the Clarks brakes and will use that bleed procedure. The lever feel is a bit meh but usable, i think the lever swap introduced some air so I will need to bleed them and see if they improve.

Basically after some screwing around, they're pretty good. Decent 1-finger braking. The calipers actually look very nice in terms of quality, finish, etc. The levers ... look kinda budget and a but clunky. I will say, the lever ergonomics are actually pretty good.

For the price, I would buy them again. Shame about the damage to mine, but it doesn't affect performance.

PS - for good brake pads and hydraulic fittings at half the cost of Shimano, I've had great luck with the Kingstop store on AliEx.

[Snacks]

Oh I've used these on my dad's emtb build. I liked them so much I got the same ones for my am831 build. They have enough power to stop me on the emtb coming downhill at 30mph. There is also enough range on the lever pull to lightly  brake when you need to but you can also lock up a wheel without much pressure either. As I'm newer to mountain biking I was white knuckling down some trails that were new to me and I gotta say compared to the old deore on my current bike that got squishy and started fading , these kept the same performance throughout.

I didn't swap the pads as they felt good once they bed in but I wonder if a new set would be just that much better.

My buddy just ordered some magura mt5 's and were going to throw them on thr AM831 so we can see how these stack up to the meroca. Will definitely update the thread when we do

[Fat Larry]

At 20% of the price i'm quite keen to hear how they do against real brakes.

[emu26]

Oh I've used these on my dad's emtb build. I liked them so much I got the same ones for my am831 build. They have enough power to stop me on the emtb coming downhill at 30mph. There is also enough range on the lever pull to lightly  brake when you need to but you can also lock up a wheel without much pressure either. As I'm newer to mountain biking I was white knuckling down some trails that were new to me and I gotta say compared to the old deore on my current bike that got squishy and started fading , these kept the same performance throughout.

I didn't swap the pads as they felt good once they bed in but I wonder if a new set would be just that much better.

My buddy just ordered some magura mt5 's and were going to throw them on thr AM831 so we can see how these stack up to the meroca. Will definitely update the thread when we do

Any further update snacks?

[Fat Larry]

Has anyone tried the ZTTO 4 pot brakes? They look interesting, though the levers are huge.



Found this video on the merocas. Looks like they have some manufacturing issues with calliper alignments but apparently it isn't a deal breaker.

[Fat Larry]

Oh I've used these on my dad's emtb build. I liked them so much I got the same ones for my am831 build. They have enough power to stop me on the emtb coming downhill at 30mph. There is also enough range on the lever pull to lightly  brake when you need to but you can also lock up a wheel without much pressure either. As I'm newer to mountain biking I was white knuckling down some trails that were new to me and I gotta say compared to the old deore on my current bike that got squishy and started fading , these kept the same performance throughout.

I didn't swap the pads as they felt good once they bed in but I wonder if a new set would be just that much better.

My buddy just ordered some magura mt5 's and were going to throw them on thr AM831 so we can see how these stack up to the meroca. Will definitely update the thread when we do

Any updates Snacks??

I've got an mt5 that i need to buy a shorter lever for but looking at these again i wonder if i'd should just buy a set as the price isn't that far apart. Interested to know how they compare.

[Snacks]

So they’ve actually been pretty great on the emtb so I got a pair for my own Am831. However, I haven’t had the change to test it thoroughly since my bike has been out of commission. They work well on the Emtb when I’ve taken it out. However, I only have a set of deore m6100 to compare it to and I like the stopping power and actuation of the meroca quite a bit more. I just threw them on my ebike , more like e-mini moto, to give them a try and I’ll finish that build later today . So I can update the post more on how they feel later. Although , it’s for a completely different style of riding, 40-50mph street riding vs slower dirt or downhill trail riding , so I’m not sure how much the info will help.

I want to actually get a pair of Magura mt5 or 7 for my own ebike to try out and compare to these.

[was8v]

I have these with Kingstop sintered pads

Other brakes I have are Shimano Alivio and Deore

I have hope v4 on an enduro bike, and used to have XT  4 pot on that

These are fab! Not the same ultimate power of the v4, but way better than Alivio and more modulation than either Deore or xt.

Bargain.

[Fat Larry]

I have these with Kingstop sintered pads

Other brakes I have are Shimano Alivio and Deore

I have hope v4 on an enduro bike, and used to have XT  4 pot on that

These are fab! Not the same ultimate power of the v4, but way better than Alivio and more modulation than either Deore or xt.

Bargain.

That sounds pretty impressive. Where do they fall on the power scale? Can they keep up with Deore or xt 4 pots?

[was8v]

It's a bit hard to tell as the Shimano servo wave makes them feel different

So Vs Alivio 2 pots which are non servo wave, they have similar modulation but more power


Vs Deore 2 pot which are servo wave, the deores have less modulation, more grabby up front, deores feel more more instantly powerful in the car park test but are ultimately less powerful

Xt 4 pot are servo wave and again have that up front grabby power that makes them feel more powerful in the car parks. Ultimately the xts feel like the stop better

However I do not like xt servo wave, I find it too grabby and much prefer the Alivio brake feel feel, and my hopebrakes.

That's why I like the mt420s.

I once thought about pairing Alivio non servo levers to Deore 4 pot calipers as the ultimate cheap brake.

But then mt420s came along and are effectively just that.

So if you like that grabby upfront power, then get Shimano servo wave 4 pots.

However if modulation is king, mt420s are a bargain.

I drive an 90's 911, jumping in from a modern car the brakes feel soft.... But have endless modulation and stopping power. It's a similar comparison.

[Icyseanfitz]

After buying a set of these as well, they use standard Shimano pads right?