Where or how do I get a brake for the Coker. I have the basic one. Do I need the deluxe or can I install items as needed? Also, the handle bars I see in photos - where do you bet these items?
Thanks,
For a Coker I would avoid Magura brakes, the best brakes are the old style (and often cheap) BMX centre fitted side pull brakes.
They are easy to fit - drill a hole through the crown.
They deal with flex in the rim (even with wide hubs and aero rim expect more than on a normal wheel).
They are cheap
The braking is consitant.
Can be activeated by a gear lever so allowing you to set them and leave them on as you go down a hill.
My bit on brakes. 
Roger
This is the first time I’ve heard anyone suggest anything but Maggies for any reason but price. How many other riders feel the same way? I don’t have any experience with brakes and I have very limited experience with Cokers. But, I’m planning on getting a Coker soon and would like to get some brakes for it.
Better question.
Ask for people who have actually tried Maguras on a Coker and made them work successfully.
Then try asking those who have got the others working in an affective and appropriate manor for a Coker.
Roger
Paul and I both have bmx style side pull brakes on our cokers. They were fitted by our LBS as Richard had all the tools and a jig to hold the frame steady for drilling through it. The parts I supplied and the cost was tiny, most of the stuff I got second hand anyway.
We both have a short bar end mounted under the saddle with a bar end gear shifter in the end (in friction shift mode, NOT indexed). This allows one to “set” the brake on at the top of a decent and leave it there with out holding the lever untill one “unsets” it at a later point, normally the botton of the decent. The art is learning how much brake to apply, too much and you stop, not enough and it doesn’t do anything. Properly applied the brake helps ones knees a lot as you don’t have to drive AND slow the wheel at the same time.
Sarah
and the lever.
I have a magura setup on my 36-er (wide hub, U-Turn wheel), and it works ok. I’d say it is definitely better for short steep hills than it is for long steep hills. Because it isn’t a drag-brake type of setup, it requires consistant pressure on the handle when braking. The biggest problem I’ve had is bumping the forearm of my braking hand with my knee while pedaling, which can cause me to loosen my pressure on the handle, or worse increase it which leads to forward UPD. The longer the descent, the more opportunity thee is for that to happen.
It definitely requires a more precise “touch” than the same magura setup on a 24" muni, but it’s workable. I’ve never ridden a coker setup with a standard cable brake or drag-brake setup, so I’m afraid I can’t do a direct comparison. All I can do is confirm that the magura setup can work just fine on a 36-er with a stiff wheel build if you’re willing to invest some time on getting the “touch” right.
I have no problems with a side pull brake on a Coker, it even works - to an adequate extent - on the standard rim. Since moving to the Airfoil rim I get the required smooth drag effect.
The Magura brakes work best if you have a good stiff frame and a strong well built wheel with the Airfoil rim and an extra wide hub. For that kind of combination the Maguras work really well. For lesser setups the standard cable brake is probably a better choice for the reasons that Roger mentions.
It’s also a matter of personal preference. I really like the feel of the Magura’s. Other people like the cable brake. There are pluses and minuses for each.
The downside to the Magura’s is that you can’t really turn them into a drag brake. I suspect someone with a machine shop could design a replacement brake lever for the Magura that would lock in place and allow you to set it as a drag brake. But I’m not aware of anyone who has done that yet.
The drag brake issue hasn’t been a problem for me. I have used the Magura on a long long downhill (coming down from Marys Peak near Corvallis OR) and I had no problem keeping my fingers on the brake lever and maintaining a constant drag pressure. But that would depend on how and where you have the brake lever mounted. I have my brake lever mounted under the seat just like most people have the brake mounted for a muni. It’s easy to grab there and easy to control with the fingers. The important bit is to find a brake lever position that works for you and where you can hold the brake for a long time at an even and constant pressure.
Again with the gospel…
Maguras work fine on my 36". They CAN be used as a drag brake on long downhills, just dial in the wear pad knob until the pads hit all the time. Not useful for short hills, but definitely nice on a big descent when you actually need a drag brake.
I have my Magura brake pads set as far as I can from the rim. The adjustment knob doesn’t have enough adjustability to get them to work as a drag brake just by dialing the knob all the way out. If I set the pads so they were closer to the rim I could do that, but I don’t like them close to the rim cause then I get occasional brake pad rub.
Confused
Roger said:
For a Coker I would avoid Magura brakes, the best brakes are the old style (and often cheap) BMX centre fitted side pull brakes.
They are easy to fit - drill a hole through the crown.
They deal with flex in the rim (even with wide hubs and aero rim expect more than on a normal wheel).
They are cheap
The braking is consitant.
Can be activeated by a gear lever so allowing you to set them and leave them on as you go down a hill.
My bit on brakes.
Roger
so why have you got a magura roger? :-s
Des
Yes I have magura’s on my Coker. it is a CrMO frame by Joe Rowing. It has a wide Coker hub and an aero rim. The brake is fitted on the handle bars so it easy to operate. So you would think it an ideal set-up.
I have tried it and the touching of the rim while riding I find very disconcerting, hence my comments from my experience. It seams to work ok on-road unless you really push it, but as soon as you start using it off-road it just does not work for me.
Roger
So what would the recommendations be for a 29er?
(off and on-road)
KH 29 with Magura’s it is really impressive.
Roger
roger.
i remember you saying something like that b4.
just out of curiousity then why dont you take it off and replace with the type of brake you recomended?
BTW. i use the old type of bmx brake and it works fine, got it hooked up to a gear lever so i can leave drag on for long decents.
Des