I’ve ben riding aMUni with no brakes for about three years now, and I’ve been seriously considering upgrading. My questions to any one who has experience using brakes is; how much of an advantage are they? How often do you use them? How much getting use to are they? Putting brakes on my Hunter would be a chore because I would have to have brake bosses welded on, and I just want some feed back from people who use brakes to consider. I want to take my riding to the next level so to speak, make downhills easier, make steeper stuff more accessible, and I think brakes coud be the key. What do you guys think?
I like having a brake on mine. It makes long gentle descents a lot less tiring. If I set it right it is almost like free-wheeling.
I rode my DM Vortex for a while with the Magura. Then I started doing more vertical trials type riding in the woods (hopping onto logs and rocks). My 24" Vortex with Gazz3.0 is about 16.5 lbs. I ride with Scott Bridgeman occasionally - the Wilder Cycle he designed and rides is about 14.5 lbs! His uni felt like a feather compared to mine. So I looked for ways to lose weight - the brake was the first thing to go.
Brakes can be useful on long descents. If you are out on 5-10 mile rides with big hills, a brake can make a real big difference where you can overextend yourself endurance-wise. Last summer I went on my first crazy long ride with lots of hills. At that time, the brake cable happened to be broken. At about 7 miles, my quads locked into a bad muscle spasm. I could have used the brake then!
At this point I wouldn’t put the brake back on unless I were going somewhere big, like out West. The local East coast riding I do is rocky and technical but none of the descents are outrageous. Also most of my rides tend to be limited to 3 or 4 hours. If I were doing 5+ hour rides with big hills, the brake would go back on.
Joe Merrill
I don’t like brakes. but then my bike is a single-speed.
Ie I’m a bit of a purist and I have the leg strength to get-away with it. I suppose I see it as over-kill and heavy
However that said I am fitting a disc to my DH muni in time for the down-hill races and for the alps trip 
I think of it as the cheapest form of physical therapy I could have for my knees. You pay a lot up front, but think about how much physical therapy you would have to pay for if you injured your knees on a long or steep descent. That also saves on the down time due to letting your knees heal.
As I recall, Jesus, you had asked a question previously about knees and MUni. That would lead me to believe that you have knee problems.
I added brakes when I had my frame built and I think it was the best thing I ever did. I don’t get out to more than 1 - 1.5 hour rides, but sometimes they have some gradual uphills and consequently descents on the way back, and even on the gradual descents I use the brakes. It really saves the knees.
Yes, they do add weight, but I don’t plan on being able to do a lot of high hopping, so they stay on, at least for me.
Oh, and I only have been riding for 10 months, so consider my experience when reading my response.
Hope that helps.
Re: brake opinions?
Brakes are a huge advantage on steep and/or long descents. I use them on
every ride, both on Coker and on Muni. You can learn to use them easily
(although with lots of practice you can use them better). They carry a
weight penalty, a cost penalty and a maintenance penalty, but for the
terrain we always seem to ride, they are great. It really depends on what
you’re riding.
About maintenance, I’ve had a set of Magura HS33s on my KH24 for a year now
and I’ve NEVER adjusted them! That’s hard crashes on rocks, dozens of
flights, etc etc. This is a BIG difference from the old Maguras we were
using back in '99 and '00. The new double bolt mount is perfect.
—Nathan
“jesus_butter” <jesus_butter.gvgiz@timelimit.unicyclist.com> wrote in
message news:jesus_butter.gvgiz@timelimit.unicyclist.com…
>
> I’ve ben riding aMUni with no brakes for about three years now, and I’ve
> been seriously considering upgrading. My questions to any one who has
> experience using brakes is; how much of an advantage are they? How often
> do you use them? How much getting use to are they? Putting brakes on my
> Hunter would be a chore because I would have to have brake bosses welded
> on, and I just want some feed back from people who use brakes to
> consider. I want to take my riding to the next level so to speak, make
> downhills easier, make steeper stuff more accessible, and I think brakes
> coud be the key. What do you guys think?
Thanks guys, the info has really helped. Yes, I have had off and on knee problems, but insist on riding harder and harder terrain, so I think the brakes would help. I’m not worried about weight, I can hop up on things over two feet high with a profile/sun double wide set up on a hunter frame, not one of the lightest set ups on the market for sure. Speaking of which, Nathan, do you know if Rick Hunter is willing to add brake bosses to a frame, and if so how much he might charge? And don’t forget my tire Saturday!
Am I the only one who kepy busting Magura levers on wipeouts? The lever breaks off (due to the angle it hits the ground…no matter how far back I placed the lever)
I can’t afford $50cdn every month (I broke 2 in 2 months)
Re: brake opinions?
Get the double bolt trials style Magura mount like what is on the KH muni rather than the post style mount like on the Hunter and DM Vortex. The double bolt trials style mount is a much better option, it’s much more solid. The post style mount needs a horseshoe shaped brake booster to keep the brake pads in position. The double bolt trials style mount does not need a brake booster which is a major plus.
Re: brake opinions?
Oh, so that’s who you are! About Rick, I know Bruce took him a Hunter frame
several years ago and he added brake bosses, and he is certainly making new
frames that way. I have a friend in Oregon who ordered one last summer and
tried to get it with the new double bolt braze-on and I saw the mail from
Rick saying he only knew how to do the old post type. If you use these, you
may require a booster (which would have to be custom made to fix over the
tire I have for you). Adjusting is harder and it is just not as solid. I can
put you in touch with people who have done it though and like the results.
If enough people pester Rick for the new type, maybe he’ll see the light?
The double bolt type we’re talking about can be seen here:
You can try out my brake on Saturday.
—Nathan
“jesus_butter” <jesus_butter.gyvoa@timelimit.unicyclist.com> wrote in
message news:jesus_butter.gyvoa@timelimit.unicyclist.com…
>
> Thanks guys, the info has really helped. Yes, I have had off and on knee
> problems, but insist on riding harder and harder terrain, so I think the
> brakes would help. I’m not worried about weight, I can hop up on things
> over two feet high with a profile/sun double wide set up on a hunter
> frame, not one of the lightest set ups on the market for sure. Speaking
> of which, Nathan, do you know if Rick Hunter is willing to add brake
> bosses to a frame, and if so how much he might charge? And don’t forget
> my tire Saturday!
Cool, well maybe I’ll pursue some work from a local company here in Emeryville. They are called Jehrico bikes, and they make some very cool downhill and x-country Mt. Bikes. We talked about making a custom Uni frame out of columbus fo-co tubing, and also modifying my Hunter. Thanks again for the input everybody!
Re: brake opinions?
I thought this was going to be a problem, but the Reeder handle protects it
enough. It’s just a matter of time until it lands on a rock jutting out that
smashes the handle, but it hasn’t happened to me yet - fingers are crossed.
With the Reeder handle, I can throw my unicycle down face first and the
brake lever doesn’t touch the ground. I am on my second handle grip, but
those are cheap (and come in pairs!)
—Nathan
“Sofa” <Sofa.gyw53@timelimit.unicyclist.com> wrote in message
news:Sofa.gyw53@timelimit.unicyclist.com…
>
> Am I the only one who kepy busting Magura levers on wipeouts? The lever
> breaks off (due to the angle it hits the ground…no matter how far back
> I placed the lever)
>
> I can’t afford $50cdn every month (I broke 2 in 2 months)