|   My first date with Julie -- woo hoo ! ! ! | Spar¡cus
Sep 20, 2001 6:28 AM | | She's fast, but danged if she didn't stop me (she had to many times!) Anyway, I'm impressed with that girl, even though she never let me get outta control. Our first experience going down together was so rewarding that I 'bout felt like smokin' a cigarette when it was over.
Here's how our relationship started... The illustrious Mike T threw down a challenge for me to try the Magura Julie brake. Said if'n I'd give 'er a thrashing and be honest in my reviews (there will be more as we progress into the wet season), he'd provide me with a test set of Julies. (I'll prolly have to return 'em someday, but for now, they're all
b mine
!)
I got the brakes almost a month ago but I had to order a longer line for the rear brake plus a HammerHead Universal mount (from Sweden) to put the girl on my '00 X-Caliber test bed. Finally last Sunday things came together and I mounted her. Er, put 'er on the bike.
Then came last night, my first off-road experience with the Hammer-modified, Julie-mounted X-Cal. A 15 mile, 2500'-gain/loss clandestine local DH-ish ride up in the Coburg Hills known as the Lumpy Blowdown Trail. Some sections are dramatically steep, the rest is, well, just steep.
Julie performed bigtime! Her power is stellar and her modulation is very sweet. Dare I compare her with my Avid mechanical or Hayes hydraulic discs? Yes, I think I dare, and it may come as a letdown because it'll probably sound like a copout. I believe that all three of these brakes are within millimeters of one another on the performance scale. All excellent. I sincerely believe that aspects other than power should be the determining factor if someone were considering purchasing any of these, because I can't imagine anyone being let down by any of them in the power department.
In her own right, Julie is a top performer. I thought the non-adjustable levers, which engage quite far away from the handlebar, would drive me bananas. I prefer my levers to engage much closer to the bar. But the brake was so strong that I found I could live with the engagement point as it is. However, if I could have changed it, I would have. The good news for '02 Julie buyers is that the newer brakes do come with engagement-adjustable levers.
I still have lots more testing to do, including in wet weather (that oughtta hit pretty soon here in Oregon) so I'll keep ridin' Julie and post up more info as the test process progresses.
Also I want to mention that the UVHH HammerHead torque arm disc mount works beautifully as well. (My X-Cal has 22mm Hayes chainstay mounts -- unusable with any IS brake.) Hammer includes lots of hardware to accommodate most any application, the instructions are clear and the installation process is fairly simple. In use it is impossible to tell from an integrated frame mount.
Thanks Mike T; thanks Hammer. The testing shall continue...
Gotta go to work -- more later.
Ta ta,
Spar¡cus, MCM #20, et al |
| Ahhh Sparticles............ | Mike T.
Sep 20, 2001 6:41 AM | | ......I just knew you would not let me down with a less than honest review. It's so easy to drop into a kissy-@ss mode when someone has done you a favor but I knew you wouldn't stoop to that.
Hey this same set of brakes has been tested by Roß and Pat T. and those guys are both gravitationally challenged - both body-wise and bike-wise. Heck they compared this budget brake to the DH specific Magura Gustavs that they own. I guess the front 180mm rotor helps somewhat.
I used that same brake too but I'm not in their league whether it be body mass, bike mass or terrain. It impressed me as a true XC brake.
Mike T. (mcm #717) |
| Wait'll you blast thru some | JimC
Sep 20, 2001 12:48 PM | | PUDDLES AND MUCK, then have to brake. heheheh. Love those discs, Jim MCM #11 (Louise, now -->Gustav) |
| re: My first date with Julie -- woo hoo ! ! ! | Hammer
Sep 20, 2001 9:57 PM | | Glad to have been of assistance Sparticus.
Just keep on Hammering 'em!
Later,
Hammer. |
| Sweet | Pat T.®
Sep 21, 2001 2:32 AM | | Julie is by far the best bang for the buck brake on the market IMHO. Very closely followed by your beloved Avids, and I mean very close. The only reason I put the Julies ahead is 1. I am partial to Maguras....duh. 2. Because I just prefer the hydro feel. Performance wise like you said they are so close you couldn't go wrong with any of them. For DH Julie may have a slight nod with the 180mm front rotor, but it probably wouldn't be by much I think. Glad you like her Sparts. When I do get a HT frame it will be graced with Julies front and rear. But hey, it will still have Flak Jakets...no one makes better cables than Avid :o)
P |
| |
