Hydraulic brakes

[bamo]

Hi,
I have a wisper 905SE which I am very happy with, but I live i Yorkshire where we have a lot of mean hills, travelling downhill (steeply), I am not confident with the front disc brake as it is not very responsive, and am considering replacing with hydraulics.
Has anybody done this or ant thoughts?

Thanks

Iain

 

[Erik]

Hi,
I have a wisper 905SE which I am very happy with, but I live i Yorkshire where we have a lot of mean hills, travelling downhill (steeply), I am not confident with the front disc brake as it is not very responsive, and am considering replacing with hydraulics.
Has anybody done this or ant thoughts?

Thanks

Iain

Magura HS 11 and HS 33 hydraulic V-brakes are a straight retrofit, but some complain that one pad is always scoring a little on the rim.

 

[HarryB]

The HS11/33 are fine brakes but work on the rim and the 905SE has a front disc. I have always found cable operated discs to be worse than a normal V brake set up so moving over to a hydraulic set up would be a definite improvement. Hydraulic disc at front and the HS11 at the back would be a pretty efficient set up. If the brake levers have cut-out switches you will have to lose these - just something to think about.

I haven't found any problems with rim wear or misaligned pads and I must have used them for about 3000 miles. I don't think the rubber is any harder than normal pads but they last longer because there is more meat on them.

 

[Erik]

Sorry, just assuming you had V-brakes.

 

[MaryinScotland]

A bike I'm considering buying comes with v-brakes as standard, but hydraulic as an option. Is it worth paying the extra? (£91 for Magura HS11). I've never used hydraulic brakes, nor even heard of them until recently, and I've always found normal bike brakes adequate. What do you get for the money?

Mary

 

[HarryB]

A bike I'm considering buying comes with v-brakes as standard, but hydraulic as an option. Is it worth paying the extra? (£91 for Magura HS11). I've never used hydraulic brakes, nor even heard of them until recently, and I've always found normal bike brakes adequate. What do you get for the money?

Mary

Advantages:
Better performance - very powerful
Better 'feel'
Easier to adjust
Low maintenance - no cables to wear/oil/replace
Very much longer pad life


Disadvantages:
More expensive to fit (actually £70 inc P+P from chainreaction)
A bit fiddly to set up.
Parts availability - not usually at your local bike shop (pads excepted)


So I would say if you are a commuter doing thousands of miles a year (say 2000-3000) it is worth fitting them. With cable brakes I seem to have to adjust every week or two. With the hydraulics that is more like every 4-6 months and adjustment is easy with an allen key.

 

[MaryinScotland]

Thanks, Harry.

My top mileage is likely to be about 1000 miles a year. I take your point about having to adjust cable brakes, but I don't need to do it as often as you. I don't live in such a hilly area as Bamo, so I expect the anwer is, hydraulics are a luxury which I don't really need.

Mary

 

[HarryB]

Thanks, Harry.

My top mileage is likely to be about 1000 miles a year. I take your point about having to adjust cable brakes, but I don't need to do it as often as you. I don't live in such a hilly area as Bamo, so I expect the anwer is, hydraulics are a luxury which I don't really need.

Mary

Yes I agree, with that sort of mileage there is no point in wasting your money.

 

[johnl]

Reliable

We have the Magura hydraulic rim brakes on our RANS Screamer recumbent tandem. We have about 20,000 miles on the bike and I've done no more maintenance than just replace the pads several times. I don't really have to adust them much.