I am running a Marin East Peak (2000) with which I am pontificating over fitting disk brakes. The problem being I need to change wheels as well as fit disks which, when totalled up results in quite a lot of investment compared to the worth of the bike.

I was chatting to a mate last night who said about hydraulic rim brakes. He seems to think they are ace and therefore I would not need to change wheels, they also appear to be very cheap on good old e-bay.

He's talking about Magura Race Line D HS33's but I can't quite get my head around them. One of the problems with the V's on the Marin is they are great in the dry and pants in the wet, My docile brain is struggling to get around the fact that these will be much different.

I have seen them on trials bikes, but if they are so good, why does every other bike I see on the trail have cable or hydro disks?

Does anybody have any experience of these brakes and would they be a good, economical way of increasing my braking efficiency in these increasingly wet days?

Am I missing something?

From personal experience of using Magura rim brakes then swapping to disks I would recommend you save up your money for some nice disk brakes.
Magura brakes once set up (they are fiddly to get right) can be very powerful but as you say when the going gets wet they tend to fall way short of the performance of disks. Rim wear is also more pronounced using magura's and rims are a bit harder to just replace than disks.
Have a look on the likes of Merlin for some brake and wheel packages it will be worth it in the longer term.

I second Saintly. I used to use Racelines on my old bike and while they were bloody amazing in the dry, they suffer the same as Vs in the wet. If you're going to be keeping your bike for a while, then it's definitely worth saving up that little bit of extra cash and going down the disc route. Merlin do some good deals, and I'm pretty sure that Chain Reaction do as well. You won't regret it!

If you can source a set of decent disc specific wheels, then Chain Reaction were offering Hayes HFX9 discs, which are brilliant, for £99 for a complete front AND rear set.

the mag HS33's are really nice brakes. comfortable levers, good power, and i didn't ever find them tricky to set up.

i'd save my £'s for discs though. so much better in almost every way. i'd go for shimano, matching the model to your budget. even the deore's are fantastic.

and i think people should pontificate more.
thinking about/contemplating/deciding is sooooo last year!

Yeah, I'm not even sure pontificate is the right word!!

What a divvie!

Pope = Pontif, so pontificate suggests a speech from God with a human half god to pass on the message.

I had Magura hydraulics on a tandem and was unimpressed. Lever feel was good but the pads were too soft (for a tandem).

I have them on y xc bike. They work well, and frankly I'll probably break a rim before wearing one out. They stop me well, but are fiddly to set up, but my frame doesn't have disc mounts, so they're a good option, better than any Vs I've ever used

HS33's are great for V brake only rims, however the rims wear down so you are going to see already worn rims receive punishment in the grit and then you'lkl need new rims anyhow so might as well change wheels now. look for some secondhand wheels with good bearings and freehub action and go to discs. riding in dirt with any sort of rim brake is mad and there was that time when i fell over the saddle and had one of my testicles sucked under the HS33 brace which caused me to squeal for a bit

I`ve still got my 1998 HS33`s on my `bitsa` bike. Really like them and they`re great in the dry.....

But,when the rims get wet they`re not alot better than vees.

My Wife also has a 2000 East Peak which we upgraded to discs via a wheel and brake `kit` from Merlin cycles.

Just had a nosey on their website and I see that they`re still doing Magura Julies + deore disc hubs with Mavic XM321`s rims for £ 185.00.

Go for discs, it really will unleash the potential of the bike.

PS:- what fork are you running now? We swapped the stock Manitou SX for a Marzocchi Z3 coil which made a HUDGE difference.

"had one of my testicles sucked under the HS33 brace"

that just made me squeal!

Yes, the ultimate definition of brake(or should that be break) squeal !!!

I hope you were running slicks at the time Mr D!

Hi Mike,

Still running the stock Manitou SX. I run it really stiff. What was the difference the Marzocchi make.

I also had seen the Merlin Magura deal and am really l;eaning that way. Were they tricky to fit, I'm not the best tecchie in the world?

Had a Marin Alpine Trail that I fitted HS33's to as the rear swingarm wouldnt take a disc, they are as good for power and modulation as a set of discs if set up right however mud and grit eat the pads and the rims quick time and now I have a bike with discs there is still no comparison-discs are superb. Save your money ad go down the disc route.

Hi SM,
fitting the discs is easy enough. You will need a `disc mount plate` for the rear swing arm but this is readily avaliable from your Marin dealer.

Setting up Magura `Julies` is very easy indeed as the instructions are good.

Regarding the difference between the SX`s and the Z3`s.

1.SX`s are an elastomer stack system.The elastomers `stiffen` with time reducing sensitivity to small bumps and rebound speed.
The Z3`s are `oil and coil`.This means that they use springs damped by oil. They are MUCH better at handling small and large bumps either at `technical` speeds or flat out.

2. Travel. The SX`s are approx 3" if you`re lucky.The Z3`s are a buttery smooth full 4".

3. Most importantly they `feel` PHENOMENALLY better and balance well with the 4" rear travel of the East Peak.

Also Manitou have a `post mount` system for the disc calipers rather than the `International Standard` mounts on Marzocchi/Fox/Rockshox ect.


Hope that helps,
ATVB Mike.

Hydraulic rim brakes ar elike having a disc with a 26" rotor :)

Thanks Mike

Very useful info. Cheers

Sopey