Closing down the yardage

[Iain G]

I currently ride a extremely heavy body steer tricycle weighing approximately 60 Kg & 7Ft 10" long with the the box on the back. Unfortunately the 2 Magua disc brakes that came with trike are terrible & very dangerous as they stop you about half a mile on from where you initially pressed the level ....
Ok half a mile might be stretching it but in all seriousness these brakes barely stop you in time. I need some powerful brakes that can stop a my heavy German beast safely. Any advice, tips or suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
Cheers
Iain

 

[Pale Rider]

My experience of Magura hydraulic disc brakes is similar to yours.

They were fitted to my Rose (German) ebike, and never worked as well as I would have liked.

I gained a useful improvement by fitting a bigger rotor on the front.

Fairly cheap and straightforward mod for the front of a bicycle.

Presumably, larger rotors could be fitted to your trike, assuming there's some clearance and you don't already have the biggest available.

I've found Shimano hydraulic disc brakes to be far superior to Magura, whatever the rotor size.

So my money-no-object solution would be Shimano brakes and large rotors.

No need to buy dear ones, medium range Deore brakes are excellent.

You could try abrading the rotors and cleaning the pads/fitting new ones, which would be much cheaper.

But I suspect you will never fully cure the problem as long as the word 'Magura' is stamped on the calliper.

 

[si_c]

As above, I was going to suggest shimano MTB hydraulics, xtr trail with the larger rotors. Should provide the best braking.

 

[night cycler]

I have always had great admiration for products made in Germany. From their autos like Mercedes, Audi and BMW, and dare I mention the VW. Maybe the humble beetle then, 'car of the people'

The timber framed clock that that sits in my alcove, ticking gently with each swing of it's pendulum. A lovely piece of furniture made by Hermle. Oh, and not forgetting my 8.5kg Rose multiroad

You can imagine my surprise when I read the first post of this thread by Ian. But when Pale rider confirmed the issue with Magura brakes, I had to check that these were actually German made. According to Google they are. I'm very surprised.

 

[Slick]

I have always had great admiration for products made in Germany. From their autos like Mercedes, Audi and BMW, and dare I mention the VW. Maybe the humble beetle then, 'car of the people'

The timber framed clock that that sits in my alcove, ticking gently with each swing of it's pendulum. A lovely piece of furniture made by Hermle. Oh, and not forgetting my 8.5kg Rose multiroad

You can imagine my surprise when I read the first post of this thread by Ian. But when Pale rider confirmed the issue with Magura brakes, I had to check that these were actually German made. According to Google they are. I'm very surprised.

They're good, but they're not unbeatable.

 

[Drago]

Unfortunately, the idea of superior German built products, particularly cars, is a myth.

The links below are based in actual repairs costs and frequency of repair, not like JD Power which is based on peoples impressions of ownership;


http://www.reliabilityindex.com/reliability/search/273

http://www.reliabilityindex.com/reliability/search/24


http://www.reliabilityindex.com/reliability/search/9

Even the much heralded Skoda..

http://www.reliabilityindex.com/reliability/search/225

Whereas some of the humdrum stuff with a poor reputation actually does a lot better:


http://www.reliabilityindex.com/reliability/search/73

http://www.reliabilityindex.com/reliability/search/53

The public perception is based upon glossy marketing and badge snobbery, not reality.

So I can readily believe it when I hear that a German product isn't up to par, and from my own experience of Magura on my old Commencal I can quite agree with Pale Rider.

Alas, I know little about this type of bike. I would agree that swapping to Shimano would be a positive move.

 

[Yellow Saddle]

I have always had great admiration for products made in Germany. From their autos like Mercedes, Audi and BMW, and dare I mention the VW. Maybe the humble beetle then, 'car of the people'

The timber framed clock that that sits in my alcove, ticking gently with each swing of it's pendulum. A lovely piece of furniture made by Hermle. Oh, and not forgetting my 8.5kg Rose multiroad

You can imagine my surprise when I read the first post of this thread by Ian. But when Pale rider confirmed the issue with Magura brakes, I had to check that these were actually German made. According to Google they are. I'm very surprised.

If that surprises you, wait till you try a Magura suspension fork. Utter rubbish. It costs about the same as an equivalent Rock Shox but is very poor indeed.

 

[tyred]

I love old Volkswagens but the one thing the Germans didn't do very well was brakes.

 

[Will Spin]

I have Magura disc brakes on my mountain bike. When I first bought it I had problems with the rear brake not working very well, however I found out that the hydraulic system had been installed incorrectly and that there was an airlock in the system. I bought a brake bleeding kit and gave the system a good going over and the brakes have been excellent ever since.

 

[Iain G]

Sorry for the late reply my modem packed in I've got a new one & I'm back online now, In response to the questions posed since having my trike I've had the brakes bled a few times & the brake pads cleaned by the company who sold the trike (not built). The bicycle technician who did the work is a former car mechanic so I'd like to think bleeding my brakes wasn't out of his capabilities. I maybe wrong & they weren't bled right but I think these Magura disk brakes weren't up to the task in stopping my 60kg 3 wheeled metal lump. Deutschland has one of the biggest economies in the world so it's hardly surprising to see that they sell & fit everything that is German manufactured whether they be good, bad or medioce their economy wins the cunning b8ggers lol In Your case Will Spin I'm glad your Magura's are working excellent for you. My trike is currently having a new hub fitted & a few other bits done by 'Get Cycling' in York & they are looking into some more suitable brakes for me & Shimano was indeed suggested thank you.

 

[keithmac]

60kg + rider is a big lump to stop!.

 

[Iain G]

It certainly is asking a lot off any bicycle brakes whatever they are they are need to be good & durable. I think using my foot on a back wheel to brake would probably be more effectively than my current brakes but I'm old school but I'm not quite that old school lol
I'm looking to lighten this Draisin the best it can be as this trike is my only way to ride in any capacity due to the nature of my disability & lack of body steer manufacturers worldwide.

 

[Iain G]

The brakes are bad I think maybe that's one of the many reasons Draisin said to only ride the trike no faster 10mph the trike IMO was never designed to be rode other than leisurely but where's the fun really that's never going get your heart pumping, the endorphins flowing & setting speed camera's off lol I'm looking to lighten my trike any way I can do. So far the humongous wing mirrors supplied with the trike have be removed (I kid you not they were as big as the ones on my van. At the rear where the storage box is on is being shortened & I'm thinking of removing the pedal assist motor & battery. Every little helps when you're riding a German tanker of a trike lol

 

[keithmac]

Have you considered adapting motorcycle brakes?, pair of Piaggio zip disks and calipers or similar?.

The disks are very substantial compaired to bike orientated ones..

 

[flatflr]

You could try looking at Hope http://www.hopetech.com/ from what I've heard they provide some good brakes (used by Guy Martin in his down hill "go kart" speed record attempt).