The existing cantilever brakes on my crosscheck are awful and I’ve recently acquired some old Magura HS66 hydraulic brakes to fit instead. They seem to work and will provide much better braking. I’m off on a tour in Europe soon and am wondering whether or not to use them, since wire cantilevers would be much easier to fix out on the road. What are peoples opinions on this? Or would you recommend me some decent cantilever brakes!?

Many thanks, R

The HS66 brakes are legendary and reasonably rare. Exactly the same as HS33 flat bar brakes. As far as I know they use all the same spares as the HS33 as the calliper end is the same. So maybe pack a spare olive or barb and some spare pads – they are all cheap and lightweight so easy to carry.

Never tried 66’s, but other Maggies are really good. As for repair, it’s? just about how much you worry. The hose is standard across most Magura brakes and you can run them with water or veg oil in… So how about taking a few spare tiny hose fittings if you feel worried and calling that enough? Pretty sure you could make it through a day with only one brake, unless you’re riding down a mountain in the rain…

Edit:snap

Thank you for allaying my concerns! Just fitted them. A bit of a pain to get aligned properly but I’m hoping it’s ok now they’re done. Having not really used hydraulic brakes before so should get clued up on what spares I’ll need and how to re-bleed them.

I had some HS66s for about 6 years and never needed to touch them, other than replacing pads. Bleeding shouldn’t be required unless you have to repair accident damage….

Mind you, the same can be said of disc brakes, and many folk seem to bleed those continually. 😉

I’ve used a set of hs66 for about 15y. Wonderful. Hope you’ve got brake braces too. Improves performance no end.

Only problem I’ve had is adjusting too far and screwing the adjuster right out of its threads. Awkward to fix.

I had HS33’s on a recumbent for 10 years. Apart from replacing brake blocks no other intervention ever required. Brake boosters are a good idea with these as they exert a lot more force than canti’s.