Wierd Megamo fork.....figured it out

1291 Views 16 Replies 5 Participants Last post by oicdn, Feb 7, 2004

oicdn

Discussion Starter · Feb 3, 2004

Well, got my bike back from the LBS....front fork is funny.

My Magura Julie WOULD NOT go on there. The fork caliper tab was contacting the piston body of the Julie, and it wouldn't allow the holes to line up. Got an Avid mechanical, and same thing....

Rode all the way home with no front brakes(about 5 miles). Grabbed a shitty Promax caliper when I got home and boom, it lined up and FITS. Needs to be spaced properly, but the pads line up and the caliper mounts.

Now, I'm guessing since it was a 203 mount, the caliper was a 180 caliper as was the Avid brake. Well, the Avid brake we jacked off a C-Dale to see if it was just the Julie, but apparently, the mounting tabs will only accomodate 6 inch caliper mounting with a 203mm disc....

Really wierd, my LBS thought my fork was defective, LOL.

So anybody want a freshly bled with new pads Julie, and 190 and 180 discs? Damn...this sucks....bike rides REALLY nicely though. STIFF AS HELL compared to my .243....ALOT lighter too. Can't bunnyhop for SHIT, gonna take some getting used to the length. Gets on the rear wheel really well though, and it seems like there's a really wide range for the balance point in comparison to most bikes......LOL, maybe that's just because it's a trials bike though, LOL.

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WhiteRavenKS

· #2 · Feb 3, 2004

no offense but your local bike shop probably doesnt know shit about shit. dont go to them ever again with a trials question. unless a solid trials rider works at a shop. the megamo fork is built for a 180mm magura rotor i think. the avid is all the same caliper- you use adaptors to space that one out right. i have a trick to gettting an avid to work if you want to run that one- let me know and i will let you know how to make it work.

also- anything compared to a .243 is going to be light. that frame only weighs in at a scant 7+ pounds. good bike but a bit chunky... expecially for trials.

oicdn

Discussion Starter · #3 · Feb 3, 2004

I just called tim, he said it's a standard 160 or 165 caliper with an 8inch disc. the reason the Julie wouldn't work is cause they don't use adapter to move up to new rotor sizes, they just use different calipers...LOL, sucks for me!

Yeah, they're all XC guys and roadies.....don't really know much for trials. One of them said "man, that bike has a long TT, I dunno how you get it on the wheel without pedaling it up..." :Wavey: IT'S NOT AN XC BIKE!!!!!! Eh....they have a good knowledge of roadie and XC stuff, and two guys know about BMX...but nobody really anything about trials.....

The caliper thing though. On that Julie, the pads weren't even in the right spot horizontally, it was like the tab was too close. They were talkin about facing the tabs and filing away so it works...I was like ":down: no thanks." So when I got hom, out of curiousity...the 160caliper works PERFECTLY with the 203mm disc.....I didn't bolt it all the way down, but you can see the pads seat on the brake surface, and it's positioned where it's supposed to be, it just needs to be set-up/adjusted...

Sure, I'm down for avid info. I might snag me up an Avid brake...

**edit** I just noticed that the front brake caliper I was using was a 165mm REAR caliper...funny, cause I grabbed another 165 caliper (I have a bin of my Hope Calipers and just misc shit) and it seems that the caliper I grabbed where it fit "perfect" was a rear caliper.The front 165 caliper won't work, and after looking at the rear caliper on the front, the pads are SLIGHTLY too high....intresting.....I guess it is a 185mm front with just a standard 165mm caliper......LOL trial and error sucks.

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WhiteRavenKS

· #4 · Feb 4, 2004

on normal forks (i mean none of this crap built for one specific brand and size caliper crap) you can run a rear caliper up front with an 8 inch rotor- the way it mounts just works out that way. this also means you can run a front caliper on the back with a ~140mm rotor (god knows why anyone in their right mind would do this). i have no idea why trials forks are doing this crap about making their tabs for a specific caliper for a specific rotor size... "hey lets isolate ourselves from the mainstream cycling industry even further by taking something that is "standard" virtually across the board like disk mounts and do something stupid like completely un-standardize it!" killer idea. thatnks for the favor trials "designers" :slap:

glad to hear you got things sorted out though.

oicdn

Discussion Starter · #5 · Feb 4, 2004

Well, not COMPLETLY sorted out. The 165mm rear, there is pad left over. Like if it were SLIGHTLY larger, it would wear the entire pad, not just 3/4 of the pad. Looks like there is room for a larger pad surface, as the disc will wear the entire brake surface, but the pads are too tall.....whould I just ride around like that? Where the pads will wear a ledge?

I TOTALLY hear you on this whole "used to be standarized" disc IS mount.....it sure as hell is causing me a headache. I'm still lost as to what size I SHOULD use. Right now, analyzing my options (my 190 disc is still at the LBS)

165 caliper on a 185 disc as the 180 disc is too small, don't have the 190 to see if the 190 is too big.
or just suck up the awkward pad wear and put a rear 160(maybe my caliper is a 165, hence the reason for the extra pad) and have left over pad?

This sucks, LOL. DAMN THIS UNSTANDARD "IS" BRAKE TABS!!!!!

WhiteRavenKS

· #6 · Feb 4, 2004

if your caliper is sitting too tall on the rotor by ohh say... 2.5mm then go to the 160 caliper.

this is another reason i love the avid brakes because there are very few things you cant jimmy up an adaptation for.

if nothing else really works out i would just put up with slightly off brakes- if unless you are missing contact on a good chunk of the pad surface area it wont rob you much of power. it's ok if your pads wear with a little ridge in them- obviously it's not ideal but it's something that you can easily live with- just ignore it until you change the pads... then get mad about how stupid trials crap can be a lot of the time.

oicdn

Discussion Starter · #7 · Feb 4, 2004

Yeah...about 1/4 of the pad isn't touching the rotor, but the entire rotor braking surface is getting worn.....

So will I lose that much power? LOL, Now I'm gonna have to find a lever for a front, and get a rear caliper, LOL... :wtf: :ugh2:

WhiteRavenKS

· #8 · Feb 4, 2004

i wouldnt bother with finding and patching together something with hope or poogura. i would have ordered 5 avids by now (mechanical or juicy). avids reign taco supreme when it comes to making them work on almost any crappy set up.

oicdn

Discussion Starter · #9 · Feb 4, 2004

Measured....my 160 calipers...I need 165 calipers in order for the pads to be CENTERED on the rotors braking surface. So...Anybody have a 165 caliper and a good lever?

Elan

· #10 · Feb 4, 2004

WhiteRavenKS said:
on normal forks (i mean none of this crap built for one specific brand and size caliper crap) you can run a rear caliper up front with an 8 inch rotor- the way it mounts ....."hey lets isolate ourselves from the mainstream cycling industry even further by taking something that is "standard" virtually across the board like disk mounts and do something stupid like completely un-standardize it!" killer idea. thatnks for the favor trials "designers" :slap:

glad to hear you got things sorted out though.

this is coming from a Manitou Bitch..although i like my manitou, so far...

WhiteRavenKS

· #11 · Feb 4, 2004

suck it- at least manitou uses post mount- maybe you have heard of this. it's also known as BETTER. you can get a brake for any level in post mount- shimano now makes post mount across their line, hayes has always been smart in this, and avid kicks a full five asses when it comes to post mount.

also with a post mount you can use these things called washers to accomodate small rotor size differences so that you aren't up shit's creek when the thing you need and the thing you have are 5mm diamter different. genious idea? i think so. post mount. it's delux dog. delux.

BrettM

· #12 · Feb 4, 2004

Post mount is supposed to be stronger. Most anything will fit it too, so you aren't too limited.

I second the avid ways. I had to grind the shit out of my px fork to make the caliper not rub. I'd hate to see what it would look like if I wasn't using an avid. Be on some crazy angle.

This topic reminds me why I have never ever let anyone else touch my bike mechanically. Its a good thing to learn how to do. Too many mechanics are just nobodys who happen to ride a bike.

oicdn

Discussion Starter · #13 · Feb 4, 2004

Yeah....generally speaking, they know what they're doing....but when they were talking about telling me to NOT grind or drill my rims, or suggesting facing the brake tab...I was like.... :ugh:

I know what to do mechanically....I just need to save some cash for tools...maybe a Park adavanced set, nothing extravagant, but what's needed to get the job done....only bring them my rims to true and lace, etc......

But still, I would be in the same position I'm in now regardless of thier dumbasses....still without a front brake, LOL.

oicdn

Discussion Starter · #14 · Feb 6, 2004

Well, me and Tim figured it out. LOL, I dunno if it's intentional, but a 180 Louise Caliper with a 203 disc is what fits.

Looking at it mounted is intresting as it seems like the caliper body fits ALMOST flush with the way teh tab is shaped, making me thing if a Louise is the only caliper that will fit on it. Prolly not Megamo's intentions, but that's what the deal is. So, had the Julie been shaped differently, it woulda fit.....

Wierd......

BiKe4EvEr

· #15 · Feb 6, 2004

yes, weird

WhiteRavenKS

· #16 · Feb 6, 2004

BiKe4EvEr said:
yes, weird

no stupid. why cant bike companies just do some crap that makes sense... like make a disk tab that fits (prep for a brilliant idea)- what it is supposed fit (and by that i mean what everyone else fits). Someone should send out an industry wide definition of "standard"

Stnadard-
-an acknowledged measure of comparison for quantitative or qualitative value; a criterion.
-An object that under specified conditions defines, represents, or records the magnitude of a unit.

Darf.

oicdn

Discussion Starter · #17 · Feb 7, 2004

Yeah it is pertty stupid. Luckily Tim had a Louise layin around, he shipped it off to me and voila, it fits. ..When I looked at it, it was a 180 caliper as well cause it was the FR version that came with the 180 disc....wierd and stupid as hell that since that is what came on the bike fully built, that's what you have to use. Yeah, IS mounting, but only fits a louise without filing the shape of the tab....funky :greddy2:

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