La Bourde Posted September 9, 2022 Report Share Posted September 9, 2022 (edited) Hello, today I broke the lever oft my magura HS33R, which is maybe one year old, by actuating it. I think the lever previously hits the ground many times during diverse crashes, but I was surprised that it failed so suddenly. Also I never had a similarity issue with other brand. I think the conception is weak, the logo has a sharp edge and it is located where the lever can first bend (there is a steel metal part that prevent bending closer to the pivot) Did you ever encounter this?This failure can be dangerous in my opinion. Funny coincidence: I bought yesterday a new bar and the vendor had some Clean levers to sell. The price was good so I bought them ... Edited September 9, 2022 by La Bourde Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thousandwords Posted September 10, 2022 Report Share Posted September 10, 2022 I have broken (or stripped the bleeding screw strips of) Magura disc brake levers before (MT5) but do not have any experience with the HS33 lever. But if it is made of the same composite material as the MT line I am not surprised a bit, that thing feels almost brittle to me. Also, they tend to be fairly inexpensive as compared to the aftermarket offerings- fine example of the saying you get what you pay for. And yes, I can see how this can be incredibly dangerous! I have a feeling one of the last time it hit ground it developed a crack which needed a firm pull to give. Makes me wonder whether part of the "preride safety check" (to borrow a term from say motorcycle riding" should include a quick visual inspection of the brake levers and a couple of vigorous pulls. Takes a few seconds and can save the day. But then again I have never ridden trials yet so it's "my two cents" face value speculation. Anyways, your story makes me happy I bought the HS33 without the factory levers. I was set on getting a Clean lever as well, but Tarty convinced me to get a Trailtech instead. That Clean lever is one of the best looking aftermarket levers, I love the shape of the blade (it looks very ergonomic), and I love the fact that you can install it on either side- I would be very curious how you like it after it gets some mileage! Funny thing is that I need a lever for the Magura caliper I will be using for the front brake and noticed that Tarty has a great price for the MT7 lever, and being the type that does not mind a good deal I was tempted, but your story reminded me how easy they break so I will try another Shigura setup instead (will look for a Saint or Zee lever). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chakers1998 Posted September 10, 2022 Report Share Posted September 10, 2022 I think that the Clean levers look the worse out of all the levers I've seen, and you don't even want to see what their slave cylinders look like. I ditched the 2014 Magura levers pretty quick for some 05s that I bought on eBay and they are great. Strong, have decent power, look nice. Now I'm using Trialtech Carthy levers and they are better than the 05s in everyway. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
La Bourde Posted September 10, 2022 Author Report Share Posted September 10, 2022 The Trialtech Carthy levers look nice, I agree. I did not buy the newest version of the Clean levers, but the T13 V3. Hopefully they got the third revision right. To me they look simple from a mechanical point of view, will see how they perform. In addition, spare parts are available and easy to find. And they use 13mm pistons, so maybe I can use the Carthy Trialtech piston. A friend of mine has some Jitise levers and he is not fully satisfied ... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
La Bourde Posted September 10, 2022 Author Report Share Posted September 10, 2022 10 hours ago, thousandwords said: I have broken (or stripped the bleeding screw strips of) Magura disc brake levers before (MT5) but do not have any experience with the HS33 lever. But if it is made of the same composite material as the MT line I am not surprised a bit, that thing feels almost brittle to me. Also, they tend to be fairly inexpensive as compared to the aftermarket offerings- fine example of the saying you get what you pay for. And yes, I can see how this can be incredibly dangerous! I have a feeling one of the last time it hit ground it developed a crack which needed a firm pull to give. Makes me wonder whether part of the "preride safety check" (to borrow a term from say motorcycle riding" should include a quick visual inspection of the brake levers and a couple of vigorous pulls. Takes a few seconds and can save the day. But then again I have never ridden trials yet so it's "my two cents" face value speculation. The lever is made of aluminum (I think it is cast). It was the longer version and the left hand, so the front brake for me. I usually don't pull it that strong. Hope the rear one won't brake, I will inspect it regularly for cracks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cwtrials Posted September 10, 2022 Report Share Posted September 10, 2022 I've broken a few of those gen Maggie levers in that manner. Yeah, it's scary as hell. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thousandwords Posted September 10, 2022 Report Share Posted September 10, 2022 I was just watching a brake review on youtube and the guy said when he installs lever on the handlebar he undertightens bolts a bit so that in a crash, the levers will rotate on the handlebar as opposed to snapping. Sounds like a good advice, will try doing that from now on. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
La Bourde Posted September 10, 2022 Author Report Share Posted September 10, 2022 (edited) Yes that is something experienced riders know (and I always tight the bolts as less as possible). Be careful, in trials it is more difficult to find the sweet spot. For example, when doing big drops, one will apply a lot of forces due to the harsh landing... Edited September 10, 2022 by La Bourde Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cwtrials Posted September 10, 2022 Report Share Posted September 10, 2022 2 hours ago, thousandwords said: I was just watching a brake review on youtube and the guy said when he installs lever on the handlebar he undertightens bolts a bit so that in a crash, the levers will rotate on the handlebar as opposed to snapping. Sounds like a good advice, will try doing that from now on. I don't feel like that normally works super well for trials. On a big up or gap, the force on a the lever is crazy higher than a normal mtb rider would ever put, just because we're pretty much hanging from our bars. Both times I snapped one of those magura levers, it wasn't from dropping the bike, it just snapped during a big up to rear Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.