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Hydraulic rim brakes


cubastreet

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I just bought a tandem. It's basically an early 90s mountain bike with an extra seat and crank. It's got hydraulic rim brakes which need a bit of a tickle. 

I'd like to keep them if they're not too much trouble, but if they're not worth it I'll chuck some V brakes on. Anyone know anything about them? 

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Magura rim brakes 

German made quite strong but a decent set of v-brakes is just as good - they push parallel to the rim not on an arc which is good 

they use mineral oil not brake fluid - same fluid as shimano discs 

need syringes and bleed fittings to bleed but I’m sure there is a garden irrigation fitting in right thread rather than spending lots on a bleed kit 

 

have a good look at the rims for wear they can put a lot of force on rim and on a heavy tandem with grunty pads they will wear thru a rim quite quick - worth letting tyre down and getting a feel for the thickness of the rim 

to adjust pad angle need to undo the ALLEN screws a bit to let the caliper move in the housing - wiggle it til it’s lined up squeeze brake lever Check it’s lined up on rim right and do bolts back up

quick release lever (schnellspanner in German lol ) is so you can drop one side off quickly to get wheel in and out 

edit - they look like really old ones maybe even a copy - don’t see a quick release on them and the brace looks bolted solid 

Pics of whole bike please

Anything else ya wanna know ? 
 

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Thanks, awesome info. 

There's a thumb screw on the right side of the brace to release it. None on the rear though. There's no branding anywhere that I can see, but they look well made so maybe very early Magura. 

Neither are leaking so I guess I should be able to get them working OK. 

Looks like it originally had a cantilever on the front and a Ubrake on the rear. 

I'll have a play in the weekend (still Friday here in murica) and take a couple of pictures. 

 

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Yeah they look like a really early magura from before they went to signature neon green or red powder coat on the brackets 

possibly a copy or an obscure American brand competitor 

working principle is the same - more photos of the lever and any other logo may  narrow it down 

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All the brakes needed was adjusting with a 2.5mm Allen key. They're fantastic, though the pads have gone hard. I've ordered some kool-stops, which I think are made the same place I bought the bike. There's no markings on the brakes other than the IC sticker. 

I took it out for a solo run and it handles pretty well. 

 

 

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You know if you ride a tandem by yourself you really should have a blow up doll on the passenger seat ... 

Other thing to look at is the crank phasing between the two sets of cranks - you would think that having the cranks perfectly aligned was compulsory but if you off set them slightly just 2 or 3 teeth on the chain then you are not both at top dead centre at the same time actually makes smoother and easier power - my old cycle shop boss had a fleet of racing tandems and the old Barry touring tandem cyclists do the same 

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