Originally Posted by
waynesulak
The idea of a rear hydraulic rim brake is very appealing to me especially since the fluid is physically much farther away from the friction and therefore should be less prone to boiling.
Magura Hydraulic rim brakes were OEM on both Cannondale's RT3000 (Magura HS66) and MT3000 (Magura HS11) tandems back in the late 90's. We had a '98 Cannondale MT3000 that came with the HS11s.
Their downfall for road tandem use was lack of compatibility with integrated shifting, which became standard fare at the same time. One company came out with an aftermarket integrated shifting system for the hydralics, but they were a compromise at best.
Hydralics then were not lightweight by any stretch, but they were low maintenance in that they used Mineral Oil (which doesn't absorb water like DOT fluids) and had more stopping power than any other rim brake that has been offered before or since. In fact, they pretty needed brake stiffiners because they easily deflected the rear stays and even Cannondale's fairly massive Pepperoni forks under heavy brake input, moreso than any V-Brake.
