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Anyone else running Julie HPs found their left hand lever either needs regular bleeding or has the lever coming nearly back to the bars as soon as the pads wear just a little bit? Magura have refused to recognise it as a common problem but three out of three of our riding group using these brakes have had it happen.
The solution.......... Fit a pair of Shimano levers. They use mineral oil like the Maguras and the hoses fit straight in. I used M445 (Alivio) master cylinders (levers) as they retail at just £14.99 and fitting was an easy 15 minutes per brake. A quick scoot round outside the shop has confirmed that they work and now feel more powerful and less 'wooden' than with the old Magura levers.
I can also pass on that Madison are clearing LX levers which are better sealed than the M445s, in pairs complete with oil and hoses and also older XTR levers only, so speak nicely to your LBS and I'm sure they should be able to help you.
A bit drastic isn't it?
Magura admit it's a problem particularly when you shorten the hose, which nearly everyone does, and is solved by careful bleeding.
It happened to me both times I shortened the hose and was easily sorted with 2 syringes full.
A pain, but they are a superb brake
We've tried bleeding, bleeding and re-bleeding and the problem kept coming back. Changing the levers has made the brakes feel much nicer and more powerful, more like the Louises I've got on another bike. The Louise appears to use the same caliper but with a nicer lever assembly.
The main reason for going with the Julies in the first place was that they had more clearance at the caliper and so didn't suffer the rapid pad wear in wet, sandy conditions that I'd seen with the full Shimano system I had before.
No problem with mine. A careful bleed after shortening the hose and they've been top notch for over a year now.
That said, I do use an XT lever with a julie hp/louise caliper on another bike, due to a broken lever, and it does work well too.
To be honest with you, we have only had between 5 & 10 Julies returned with this problem in the UK.
Out of interest - Mostly Balanced - have you returned this product to the UK Service Centre to have it checked out? If so, did you report the fauly occuring again?
It's a while ago now but as far as I can remember one of the brakes did go back to the service centre but the problem returned not long after it came back. When I spoke to Magura Germany I was told it was most likely a bleed problem and there was no knowledge of it being a common fault. At the time we were all using the bikes two or three times a week and were reluctant to take them out of action until the weather improved enough to get the summer bikes out. When that happened the sense of urgency disappeared and it became another of those things you remember only at the most inappropriate times.
My Magura Louise FR (think it's a 2006/7 model) is getting rather stiff for the rear and the right is almost non existence i.e. the level pull straight to the bar. However, I have never bled them since I got them so will see how it goes. If it does not work then I will try the M445 solution. Do I need the olive nut when I change to M445 level? Or do I simply use the Magura olive nut?
Cheers
🙂
Ideally you should use fresh olives and fittings every time you change or refit hoses, but I didn't and I haven't had any leaks. The Magura fittings screwed straight in to the Shimano levers.
If your brakes haven't had any attention from new then it would probably be worth checking/lubricating/bleeding your existing kit before splashing out on anything new.
@ chewkw, try bleeding through & a bit of TLC, should see them right.
@ Mostly Balanced, if you need to discuss it further, dont hesitate to contact me.
Cheers
What's the crack with bleeding them if you use these levers? My bleed port screw is knackered and a reservoir screw got chewed. It's £8.99 for a bag of new screws and Christ knows what the EBT plugs go for, so £26 for 2 new levers isn't so harsh.
Bleeding was dead easy, just set the reservoirs horizontal on the handlebars, fill them with fluid and pump the lever until the pressure's there, topping up as required. In an ideal world you'd use fresh olives and fittings and drain and refill the fluid. Make sure you use MINERAL OIL to fill the reservoirs NOT Dot4.
I am going to order some new levers, as the spare part prices to repair my lever are taking the piss!!
An update:
I've been using the Shimano/Magura combinatio for about a month now since the local trails got wet enough to bring out the winter bike.
They really are very nice brakes. Power is better than with the original Magura levers but not quite up with the Magura Louises I've got on another bike. There's solid pressure at the bite point and the pads retract far enough that the sandy soil locally doesn't cause rapid pad wear (unlike the Shimano Deores I used for a season).
Yes, I'm very happy with them.
Holy thread resurrection!!! I have finally ordered the M445 levers so fingers crossed!! I need to get my Genesis io back on the road.
Any one know a fool proof simple way of bleeding magura julie old style non hp ones? Using two syrynges is pita!