Old 10-19-20, 03:39 PM
  #9  
LV2TNDM
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Join Date: Apr 2005
Location: Northern CA
Posts: 731

Bikes: Cannondale tandems: '92 Road, '97 Mtn. Mongoose 10.9 Ti, Kelly Deluxe, Tommaso Chorus, Cdale MT2000, Schwinn Deluxe Cruiser, Torker Unicycle, among others.

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I just replied to the other brake topic and mentioned my Maguras. I have them on my mountain tandem. As a mechanic, I've always had pretty strong hands, but found the Maguras didn't provide enough brute braking power I had expected. I rode them front and rear for over a decade and then happened to upgrade the shock which required switching to hydraulic disc. The difference couldn't be more obvious! One finger braking on the tandem on the steepest terrain. THAT is what hydraulic brakes SHOULD be. So this only confirmed my bad impression of the Maguras. They SHOULD be incredibly powerful, but have never been. I started with the standard black pads and upgraded to their green pads - same issues.

That said, the advantage of ZERO squishy feel is still there. My road tandem has XT cantilevers and the rear has always been squishy. Not so bad as to be an issue, but annoying nonetheless. Hydraulic eliminates this problem by design.

My Maguras are from '97, so I can only hope and assume they've improved the power issue. Or perhaps not, given they aren't really designing for the tandem market and probably exclusively the observed trials market at this point (also a tiny market segment).

I hope that helps.

PS In 23 1/2 years, I have never had a SINGLE maintenance issue with the Maguras. Only brake pad changes and pad adjustments.
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