hydraulic brakes

[sjpt]

I'm considering replacing the front cable disk brake on our Ecosmo tandem with hydraulic, partly spurred on by saneagle's regular comments on the advantages.
Probably not going to do the back, might be awkward with the folding.

Never even had cable disk brakes before, so a few questions before I go ahead.

Are mountings standard so a new one will just fit, unscrew the old and screw on the new?
Are rotors standard so I won't need to change that?
Is https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/205334811011?_skw=hydraulic+disc+brakes+front suitable.

 

[Peter.Bridge]

Usually, yes - can you include a photo. All my bikes (apart from a drop handlebar gravel bike) have post mount discs. I have had one where the new disk caliper was rubbing on the spokes, and so upgraded from 160-180 mm rotor (and used the 160-180mm post mount adapter)

They are slightly cheaper on Ali Express (make sure you get Rear Left, Right Front ). Just check the length needed for the rear wita tandem
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005006420947529.html

 

[mcgres]

If it were me, and it was a couple of years ago, I'd get this. https://www.halfords.com/cycling/bike-parts/bike-brakes/shimano-br-mt200/bl-mt200-disc-brake-set-794302.html

It's pretty much fit and forget.

 

[Sparksandbangs]

You could replace the back with a cable operated hydraulic brake. Bit of a compromise but would solve the folding problem(that is assuming you are talking about the brake lines).

 

[Peter.Bridge]

You could replace the back with a cable operated hydraulic brake. Bit of a compromise but would solve the folding problem(that is assuming you are talking about the brake lines).

ZOOM XTECH HB100 MTB Hydraulic Disc Calipers Front and Rear Rotor G3 160/180MM MT200 M315 160mm Rotor Hydraulic Brakes for Bikes - AliExpress 18

Smarter Shopping, Better Living! Aliexpress.com

a.aliexpress.com

 

[saneagle]

I'm considering replacing the front cable disk brake on our Ecosmo tandem with hydraulic, partly spurred on by saneagle's regular comments on the advantages.
Probably not going to do the back, might be awkward with the folding.

Never even had cable disk brakes before, so a few questions before I go ahead.

Are mountings standard so a new one will just fit, unscrew the old and screw on the new?
Are rotors standard so I won't need to change that?
Is https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/205334811011?_skw=hydraulic+disc+brakes+front suitable.

If you have a cable brake, you should be able to change it for a hydraulic one, since the hydraulic hose can bend about the same as a cable. Fold the bike and see how much the cable has to bend. If it's too tight for a hydraulic hose, you can get one of those cable operated hydraulic brakes, which are much better than a normal cable brake because they don't out of adjustment. The ones I fitted were quite straight forward. The only problems were that the previous cable calipers didn't line up with the disc, so I had to correct that fault at the same time by swapping around the adaptors from which I had two old and two new, which were all slightly different and one gave the correct fit. I had no problem on the other bike I fitted them to. My trainee did it in about ten minutes, once he'd figured out how to put the Allen key in the screw.

 

[Waspy]

If you have a cable brake, you should be able to change it for a hydraulic one, since the hydraulic hose can bend about the same as a cable. Fold the bike and see how much the cable has to bend. If it's too tight for a hydraulic hose, you can get one of those cable operated hydraulic brakes, which are much better than a normal cable brake because they don't out of adjustment. The ones I fitted were quite straight forward. The only problems were that the previous cable calipers didn't line up with the disc, so I had to correct that fault at the same time by swapping around the adaptors from which I had two old and two new, which were all slightly different and one gave the correct fit. I had no problem on the other bike I fitted them to. My trainee did it in about ten minutes, once he'd figured out how to put the Allen key in the screw.

What I want to know is who is this mystery trainee?

If the position becomes vacant, I'm totally up for it.

Putting aside the slight problems of the fact that I'm an OAP and your living in the frozen north.

 

[saneagle]

What I want to know is who is this mystery trainee?

If the position becomes vacant, I'm totally up for it.

Putting aside the slight problems of the fact that I'm an OAP and your living in the frozen north.

Unfortunately, there's a possibility that you don't meet the diversity requirements for the position, if you know what I mean. You get some points for being old, but I don't think that's going to be enough. Mikel is Ghanaian and just coming up 18 years, and he's a lovely chap, but, like many, he never does his homework, which slows down his learning a lot. I tutored him for school work, then in how to get a job, then in general life skills, and along the way, I teach him some technical skills in the realm of building batteries and ebikes, and fixing them.

 

[harrys]

FYI. Have seen one of my HB100's leak and fail, correlating to the complaints on amazon reviews. Still, while they are working, they work well and two are not going to fail at the same time. Easy to replace when they do.

 

[matthewslack]

Might be worth going one step further since the all up weight is higher with a tandem, and fitting a four piston caliper. With a 180mm disc it will add 50-75% additional stopping power.

Hose cutting and fitting is within DIY scope if you change your mind on the rear.

 

[AndyBike]

Came here to say that ^^

The one in the link is pretty much the lowest end

 

[sjpt]

Thanks for the replies everyone. I ordered it (from SJS) yesterday, so I'm afraid the last two replies came too late. I didn't even know about 2 and 4 piston hydraulic brakes before. I'll see how much better it is than the current cable one and take it from there.

you can get one of those cable operated hydraulic brakes, which are much better than a normal cable brake because they don't out of adjustment.

The only cable operated hydraulic brakes I can see are pretty expensive. Does anyone know any reasonably priced ones?

 

[saneagle]

Thanks for the replies everyone. I ordered it (from SJS) yesterday, so I'm afraid the last two replies came too late. I didn't even know about 2 and 4 piston hydraulic brakes before. I'll see how much better it is than the current cable one and take it from there.


The only cable operated hydraulic brakes I can see are pretty expensive. Does anyone know any reasonably priced ones?

They're all over Aliexpress for about £24 a pair - cheaper than a pair of pads that some people on this forum pay.

ZOOM XTECH HB100 MTB Hydraulic Disc Calipers Front and Rear Rotor G3 160/180MM MT200 M315 160mm Rotor Hydraulic Brakes for Bikes - AliExpress

Smarter Shopping, Better Living! Aliexpress.com

www.aliexpress.com

 

[sjpt]

They're all over Aliexpress for about £24 a pair - cheaper than a pair of pads that some people on this forum pay.

Thanks, I've ordered a pair.

 

[saneagle]

Thanks, I've ordered a pair.

Please report back how you get on with them. I'm going to bet that you'll be very happy, but we don't know what we don't know and there are often unforseen circumstances.

 

[AndyBike]

Hope those are OK, but if you find they aren't, maybe consider something from ebay. Might be a bit more than the zoom, but sometimes good bargains appear, and there is a glut of 2nd's hydraulics these days so could very well be lucky

 

[matthewslack]

I replaced an MT200 caliper for £3.50 from ebay. Brand new.

 

[Baz the balloon man]

I just got some Clarks 4 piston sets , not sure how they compare to say Tekro ? Yet as I have not fitted them but they all seem pretty universal .