In my other thread entitled, " More Muni brake ?'s" Jagur
posted the following:
"hey,i dont know if you know this or not but the Magura mounts like on the KH frames are available.
i just ordered two from uni.com today.with these you wont need a brake booster."
So, as I admit that all this new to me and I am trying to learn as much as I can frome scratch, I ask:
What is a brake booster and what is the difference between the Maguras with a brake booster and the ones off the KH. I was going to buy the ones that Unicycle.com has, but I still need some clarification.
Thanks.
BTW, Jagur what are you going to do with two of the Maguras?
Brake boosters are used to reduce strain on the brake bosses caused in opposition to the force the brakes exert on the rim. The Booster is a horseshoe shaped plate that ties the two brakes bosses together on canti and Vbrakes. On Maguras they are not fitted to the ends of the brakes bosses but instead are attached to the top of the brake fittings and also help to stop the brakes units splaying away from the rim. It can act to hold everything together and also protects the brakes assembly from mub buildup by acting as a scrapper.
However the standard Magura booster won’t get over the top of a 3 inch tyre so if you use the Identti Contra (AKA Duro Leopard) or the Gazz tyres you can’t use the standard booster plate and Magura don’t make any other type. Options are to use a smaller tyre, build a larger booster plate or don’t bother with the plate at all. On unis the booster isn’t as relevant as you don’t want the brakes to bite the rim only slow it.
You actually don’t need a brake booster with the Magura brake no matter how you mount it.
If you put it on a Hunter for example, the caliper has little tabs that stick out and touch the inside of the frame and do not allow too much frame flex.
the brake booster that comes in the Magura kit is actually too small to do any good. It won’t fit over the tire.
We were modifying a larger booster that was actually designed for some other cycle but it really didnt do anything at all.
So, if according to Noel, you don’t really need the brake booster, then my next question, do you really have to use the maguras at all. Then could you just use any run of the mill v - brakes and save some money?
well i got a 2.6" kenda and i havnt had a problem with my v brake i made, i been ridin in the mud when spring thaw was happenin, and havnt fallen off. But anyways, maybe its just the way i got it set up.
Counldnt you take a v-brake, cut it in half around the middle were their is some thickness to it, and then go and add a piece into it, then weld it up with a aluminum welder?
Just a sidenote…The booster isn’t to save stress on the bosses. With bike frames the inward pressure of the brakes on rim creates outward pressure from the brakes to frame. “Frame-flex”
The flex prevents you from getting maximum brake pressure.
If you can get your brakes mounted without the use of the booster (I’m not sure if they’ll stay in place) , the brake pressure on your uni is so minute that flex may be a problem, but a very small one
You can certainly use standard V Brakes on any tyre but the large 3 inch tyres. And if you have a V Brake with the width or find a way of extending the width of the standard V brake then yes you could use that instead of the Maguras.
The Maguras are favoured for three main reasons.
Extremely easy to fit and little to no maintenance even after being heavily encrusted with mud. No wires or exposed moving parts to rust up or jam with grit.
The connection over the tyre is a hose so can easily trimmed down or replaced with a longer one. Standard size fits easily over 3 inch tyres.
As only the pad moves the Maguras tend to take up less room and if they fail you don’t have spring loaded brake arms flying out from the frames to catch you in the front of the shins as you would if the wire on a V brake failed.
Plus one other minor point:
4) As you don’t have a spring on the Maguras, the little three holled tab on the brake boss which is used to hold the end of the spring isn’t required. By removing these tabs you make refitting a fully inflated Gazz much easier.
It’s just a matter of personal preference, if you reckon the slight disadvantages of the V Brake are no where near as bad as the major disadvantage of having to fork out so much money for the Maguras then go with the VBrakes.
Maguras are better than V-brakes in my opinion, for a few reasons:
It is really common to bump the brake levers with your knees when riding. With V-brakes this
could cause you to accidently activate your brake with your knees, but Maguras will never do that
since there are no moving parts outside the brake pads themselves.
Modulation is better.
If your rim is out of true, there is an adjuster knob on the Magura brake lever that lets you
dial out the brake pads for the climb, and move them closer for the descent, so you avoid ever
having your brake pads rubbing on the rim.
Using a Magura brake booster isn’t the greatest system for a unicycle- they’re fiddly to adjust
and only a few obscure companies make boosters big enough to fit over 3" tires. It is also
problematic to use the regular single brake-boss style brake mounts (the “normal” bike setup) with
hydraulic brakes, with the booster removed, because the Magura mount is only designed to resist
outward forces (from the braking action). If you bump the brake housing with your knees, they
tend to hinge inward and drag on the rim.
The KH system is the same as is used on Monty mod trials bikes and is way simpler to adjust, and
is more than stiff enough for braking on the unicycle. If you’ve already bought the standard
brake mounts, you can actually use the same clamps to attach the brakes to this setup, although it
looks a bit awkward.