When putting together the parts list for Lisbeth brakes never really seemed like an issue. Until I tried to bring her to a stop with the cantilever setup I chose. My hands don't have the strength to squeeze hard enough to do more than slow down with them. About as effective as dragging a foot Fred Flintstone style. My hands aren't that bad, the brakes were. Farzum suggested the Magura HS33 hydraulic rim brakes.
Last night I finally had a free evening and took her to work in the afternoon and straight to Petrie's after work. I stripped the old brakes and dismantled the cables from the rohloff. About 3 hours, 15 skate sharpenings, and 3 shopping goalies later the Magura units were ready for a test run.
I also found a shorter stem. I find Eyowen my most comfortable ride so I measured some of her geometry and matched it on Lisbeth. WOW. Like a different bike. And that was before I tested the brakes. One finger is enough to come to a quick stop. While most people and manufacturers are going with disc brakes I now believe these are the absolute best, employing the power of hydraulics and the size of the rim to take advantage of the physics. And no squeaky pads or warped rotors to sweat.
There were a couple of kids in the shop and they wanted their 20" bmx singlespeed bikes weighed. I thought Lisbeth was getting pretty heavy but she actually tipped the scale almost 2 lbs. lighter and she's got 14 speeds!
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| Magura HS33 Caliper |
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| Hi-tech German rear end |
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| Just 1 finger required to stop 30lb. bike and xxxlb. rider |
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| Amoeba short stem, scavanged |
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| the new American Argyle helmet |
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