Bicycles

Magura bike tech ensures both brakes get in on the stopping action

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Magura's Integral Braking System recently won an award at Eurobike 2024 – the system is debuting on the Ca Go FS e-cargo bike
Magura
Magura's Integral Braking System recently won an award at Eurobike 2024 – the system is debuting on the Ca Go FS e-cargo bike
Magura
The IBS module is located between the brake levers and pistons
Magura
The IBS unit sits behind the cargo compartment on the Ca Go FS
Magura
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If you shy away from applying your bike's front brake, you're not alone. That's why Magura created its Integral Braking System (IBS), which automatically modulates stopping power between both brakes via a single hand-pull.

As most experienced cyclists already know, the front brake provides the most stopping power.

That said, fear of flying over the handlebars keeps many riders – particularly newbies – from using that brake as much as they should. This not only robs them of braking power but also decreases their stability when braking, plus it causes the rear brake pad to wear out prematurely.

That's where IBS is designed to come in.

Optimized for use with Magura's existing MT C4 hydraulic braking system, the setup essentially just consists of a frame-mounted module that's slightly larger than a pack of cigarettes. Both hydraulic hoses run from the handlebar levers into that unit, with two other hoses running from the unit to the front and rear brake pistons.

The IBS module is located between the brake levers and pistons
Magura

Utilizing a purely mechanical (non-electrical) system, the module automatically activates both brakes when just one brake lever is pulled. As Magura describes it, "When the rear brake is applied, the IBS also provides a simultaneous and proportional deceleration of the front wheel." Many motorcycles already utilize similar technology.

The company additionally states that a single-handed brake application using IBS results in as much as a 40% shorter braking distance than a rear-brake-only stop on a non-IBS bike. That said, due to legal requirements, all IBS-equipped bikes also retain traditional redundant front and rear braking systems.

The IBS unit sits behind the cargo compartment on the Ca Go FS
Magura

Magura first debuted IBS at Eurobike 2023, as a design study. At this year's show – where the system won an award – Magura announced IBS' first commercial usage, in Ca Go's FS e-cargo bike. Other models should follow later this year.

For now at least, IBS is not available as an aftermarket retrofit for existing bikes.

Source: Magura

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2 comments
White Rabbit
This is a great idea, but as the author indicates, it's hardly new.
Motorcycles with Combined (or Linked) Braking Systems have been around since the 1970s, when Honda used it for racing on the RCB1000. They introduced it to the street in 1983 on the GL1100. BMW's Integral ABS is another example. In fact, such systems have been required on 2 , 3, and 4-wheeled "bikes" with engines under 125 cc since 2016 in the EU. The only real "news" is that it took 50 years before it found it's way to bicycles. This is a shame, not a feat.
Soren Cicchini
So, it's a proportioning valve, just like in every car. I suppose it might be appropriate for some e-bike riders but I much prefer independent brake control because a rear wheel slide is recoverable in an emergency manoeuvre but loss of front wheel traction inevitably means crashing. Tadej Pogacar could not have performed the Scandinavian flick that allowed him to avoid the road furniture on Stage 5 of Le Tour last week without being able to control the brakes independently.