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Home > Product Reviews > Brakes > Hydraulic Rim Brakes

Magura HS33 (2005)

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Reviewed by 5 BikeTrials.com users - Write your review

The 2005 model HS-33 includes an updated lever with a radial master piston, like Magura's top hydraulic disc brake levers. Also, the TPA knob is now integrated into the lever.

Shops that sell Magura HS33

Shop	Shop Rating	Location	Ships To	More Information
WebCyclery Shop info and reviews	16 Reviews	USA	World
Wiggle Shop info and reviews	2 Reviews	UK	UK

Rider Reviews

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13 of 15 people found the following review helpful
Mon Apr 11 2005 Reviewed By: Stephen (anon) Rider Level: Advanced
Used Product For 6 Months Strengths comfortable lever, stiff lever Weaknesses TPA knob can be difficult to turn Similar Products Used Older HS-33, HS-22 Review The HS-33 has had relatively the same design for years, and for good reason - Magura did a great job making a reliable, powerful hydraulic rim brake. For 2005, Magura made a good brake even better. They made a new lever that uses a radial master piston like their high-end Marta and Louise disc brake levers. This means that the piston travels perpendicular to the bar, producing more leverage and power. The lever blade is more curved, which makes it more comfortable on your fingers (no more calluses on my brake finger!). The TPA knob (for small pad wear adjustments) is now integrated into the lever (see red knob in picture), which should make it handle crashes better. Although it's a bit harder to dial it in and out, the added toughness makes it worthwhile. There are now 3 options for mounting the brake to your frame. First, and best: 4-bolt dedicated mount - if your frame has it (most dedicated trials frames do). Second, the regular "Evolution" adapters that have been around for years - if you have v-brake post mounts on your frame, you can use these. Third, the brand new "EVO 2" adapters, also for v-brake post mounts. For this adapter, a mounting booster goes on before the brake, and has 2 small holes to sort of replicate the 4-bolt design on v-brake post mounts. This makes it easy to install - unless you've got a wider spacing between your brake posts. Most trials bikes have very wide spacing, so you must bend the mounting booster out to fit, which makes the brake want to angle down, towards the rear axle. You can offset this by angling the brake pads up, but it's not ideal. A wider-spaced mounting booster was not available at the time of this review. I would recommend using the old "Evolution" mounting hardware if you have a v-brake mount frame. Though it's a bit harder to set up and may require grinding/dremeling the booster to be wide enough to reach the bolts and fit big tires, it makes for a much better feeling brake when setup right. Magura's stock black pads work ok for trials with a lightly ground rim, though trials-specific brake pads will work much better. I tested this brake with Plazmatic Spanish Flies and Rim Jam blues on an medium-ground Echo rim. I found that the brake locked up better than my several year old, though recently bled, HS-33. It also felt more comfortable on my finger. In my opinion, the 2005 HS-33 is the best rim brake available for trials.
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5 of 6 people found the following review helpful
Wed May 04 2005 Reviewed By: Bruno (anon) Rider Level: Beginner
Used Product For 3 Months Strengths nice lever design, good power Weaknesses new booster that comes with the brake Similar Products Used hayes hfx9 xc, v brakes Review I bought a brake from official magura dealer. He installed it. From the beginnig the brake widened my frame - so I had to buy classical brake booster. Then - it was ok. Wider rims like dx32 couldnt fit into the brake if you use the booster that comes with the brake because its too narrow!!! If you want to fit wide rims, you have to use classic brake booster , and remove original brake booster!! So much about bad sides. Anyway - the brake is pretty much ok. I like the new lever - it is more ergonomical and it looks nicer. Braking power is good - compared to old magura 2004 or older, Id say its better..(I use red koolstop pads, and ride trials) Over all: plus for design ,power and 5 years leaking warranty. big minus for crappy new booster that comes with the brake. You cant ride wide rims with it, is weak meaning you have to buy old classic one
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5 of 8 people found the following review helpful
Tue Jul 26 2005 Reviewed By: luke (anon) Rider Level: Advanced
Used Product For 1 Month Strengths breaking power Weaknesses pretty hard o fit Review i have had my hs33`s now for a month, they have very good touch reaction . i think these are reliable compared to my mates 2004 which had leaked in the first to weeks he bought them. over all i think there very good for there money and highly recommended.
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1 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Thu Dec 15 2005 Reviewed By: connor (anon) Rider Level: Intermediate
Used Product For 1 Month Strengths stong lever Weaknesses fred in clamp Similar Products Used hs 33 (2003) Review its a nice lever but could be better and it could be a bit stronger in the clamp as well
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Fri Dec 22 2006 Reviewed By: jonathan (anon) Rider Level: Intermediate
Used Product For 1 Month Strengths good powerful brake Weaknesses tpa gets threaded really easily Similar Products Used hs11 Review iv had this for bout a month and i dont really like it the old hs33 is better because the lever blade on this 1 is 2 close 2 the bar and makes for awkward braking but overall it does its job
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