On video: Magura RT8 TT brake

As we were writing up the details of SRAM's new hydraulic rim and disc brakes, we were reminded that we'd seen the Magura RT8 TT brake in the flesh at The Bike Place show at Silverstone last week, and shot some vid of Jeremy from Magura talking us through the system. So, given that it's Hydraulic Wednesday, we've cut it together so you can see how that system works.

The Magura brakes are designed primarily to be aerodynamic. That's what pushed the designers to use a centre-mounted cable line and an enclosed piston. The arms of the brake wrap around the piston so that when the brake is not applied, the whole brake unit is as aerodynamic as possible. Cervelo's wind tunnel tests suggest that switching from a regular calliper brake could be worth as much as 8 seconds over a 40km time trial, and that's just the aero advantage; given that these brakes are said to offer more power and better modulation, and they're not affected by circuitous cable runs, you might save a couple of seconds on those tricky corners too.

For now the Magura brakes are only available as original equipment on Cervelo bikes, but you'll soon be able to buy them to fit to your TT bike, at which point you'll need to arm yourself with £500, or £400 if you go for the Aluminium-levered RT6 version.