The flow of 2005 product announcements continues unabated. Latest into the fray is brake and fork manufacturer Magura.

HS33 Magura's HS33 hydraulic rim brake has been around for what seems like centuries, and hasn't changed all that much - we've got one knocking around that must be thirteen years old and it looks nearly the same as a new one. But after selling 2.5 million of them, Magura has completely redesigned the HS33. Well, almost completely - the pads, hoses and slave piston units appear to be the same, but there's a new, sleeker lever that follows the look of Magura's Marta and Louise disc units, and the new Evo 2 mounting adaptor promises super-easy installation.

Julie The entry-level Julie disc brake comes in for some tweakage too. The lever is described as being "more aggressive" although whether that's in appearance or performance we're not quite sure. The new caliper is a one-piece unit for extra stiffness. Backwards compatibility is maintained with the pads being unchanged.

Magura's boffins have also come up with an interesting solution to compatibility with Shimano's Centerlock hubs. We haven't quite figured out how it works but apparently this assemblage of lockrings and flangey bits will let you run a standard Magura 6-bolt rotor on a Centerlock hub (except the bigger Saint ones). Cunning...

All things Magura can be found at www.magura.com.