That is a magura hydraulic rim brake. It uses hydraulic fluid, not a cable, so if you’re looking for a barrel adjuster to ‘tighten’ it like a normal v brake, there isn’t one. If you aren’t experienced with doing mechanical tasks I would take it to a shop. It could be that the system has developed air bubbles inside, and needs ‘bleeding.’
I recently got this used electric bike and the front brake is very loose, I can easily pull the lever all the way and it doesn’t brake very hard. I know most bikes have a brake wire you can pull through to tighten the brake but I can’t see something similar on this one. Additionally there is this weird level which looks like a quick release switch on it which I have no idea what it does. I haven’t been able to find example of this type of brake on google, does someone know how I might tighten it?
Big_Quail9540 on
This brake can be tightened. You need to open the upper and lower allen screw which you can see in the picture going through the black bridge part. This brace holds the silver round brake cylinder un place. If you open up the screws a bid, you can slide the cylinder towards the rim. It has some groves which are meant to kind of index the different positions closer or farther away from the rim.
You can not only adjust distance, but also angularity.
Try it there is nothing you can break.
penny_the_black on
You need the quick release to remove the wheel. Adjust the brake with the screw on the inside of the lever. If that’s not enough, you need to adjust the caliper within the mount. But that’s a bit tricky, so id recommend a lbs for that (that’s a common brake, idk why one told you they can’t do this brake)
Crot_Chmaster on
TIL Magura still makes hydraulic rim brakes. I thought they disappeared a long time ago.
OP, the shop probably didn’t want to work on these because they’re pretty niche.
Curious what bike these are on?
woodwarmsteelreal on
With a lot of cursing.
carlsagantank on
Bop it, bash it , twist it turn it.
Unlikely-Office-7566 on
Hey Op can you post a video of the brake being squeezed. Does it have a firm bite point, or does it have a mushy feel like squeezing a sponge? All of the suggested “fixes” so far are adjustments. The lever screw changes where the lever sits in relation to the handlebar, it’s meant as a sizing adjustment. Changing the piston location on the mount is meant to account for rim width, moving them inward will not increase power, only make the engagement happen sooner. In reality this will make the brake weaker, and potentially rub.
You likely need to have the brake bled, hydraulic rim brakes are not super common but are far from rare. If the bike shop doesn’t know how, or doesn’t want to bleed your brake go somewhere else. These brakes have been on the market unchanged for nearly thirty years, any half decent mechanic will know how to work on them.
Magura has instructions on their website, if you want to search for the process yourself. Look for “Magura HS filling and bleeding”
9 Comments
That is a magura hydraulic rim brake. It uses hydraulic fluid, not a cable, so if you’re looking for a barrel adjuster to ‘tighten’ it like a normal v brake, there isn’t one. If you aren’t experienced with doing mechanical tasks I would take it to a shop. It could be that the system has developed air bubbles inside, and needs ‘bleeding.’
https://magura.com/en/EUR/adjusting-the-hs-brake-perfectly for the guide on how to set up a new brake.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HZ3GMv11OKA on how the bleeding works.
I recently got this used electric bike and the front brake is very loose, I can easily pull the lever all the way and it doesn’t brake very hard. I know most bikes have a brake wire you can pull through to tighten the brake but I can’t see something similar on this one. Additionally there is this weird level which looks like a quick release switch on it which I have no idea what it does. I haven’t been able to find example of this type of brake on google, does someone know how I might tighten it?
This brake can be tightened. You need to open the upper and lower allen screw which you can see in the picture going through the black bridge part. This brace holds the silver round brake cylinder un place. If you open up the screws a bid, you can slide the cylinder towards the rim. It has some groves which are meant to kind of index the different positions closer or farther away from the rim.
You can not only adjust distance, but also angularity.
Try it there is nothing you can break.
You need the quick release to remove the wheel. Adjust the brake with the screw on the inside of the lever. If that’s not enough, you need to adjust the caliper within the mount. But that’s a bit tricky, so id recommend a lbs for that (that’s a common brake, idk why one told you they can’t do this brake)
TIL Magura still makes hydraulic rim brakes. I thought they disappeared a long time ago.
OP, the shop probably didn’t want to work on these because they’re pretty niche.
Curious what bike these are on?
With a lot of cursing.
Bop it, bash it , twist it turn it.
Hey Op can you post a video of the brake being squeezed. Does it have a firm bite point, or does it have a mushy feel like squeezing a sponge? All of the suggested “fixes” so far are adjustments. The lever screw changes where the lever sits in relation to the handlebar, it’s meant as a sizing adjustment. Changing the piston location on the mount is meant to account for rim width, moving them inward will not increase power, only make the engagement happen sooner. In reality this will make the brake weaker, and potentially rub.
You likely need to have the brake bled, hydraulic rim brakes are not super common but are far from rare. If the bike shop doesn’t know how, or doesn’t want to bleed your brake go somewhere else. These brakes have been on the market unchanged for nearly thirty years, any half decent mechanic will know how to work on them.
Magura has instructions on their website, if you want to search for the process yourself. Look for “Magura HS filling and bleeding”
oh no