To Brake or not to Brake

I like the simplicity of unicycles, so it took some time to accept that complicating a simple machine by running brakes wouldn’t offend the gods of unicycling, or have a negative effect on my riding technique. It’s a unicycle right, you don’t need brakes, you brake with your legs!

All sounds good but tell that to your creaky old knees, especially if you live in a hilly area and spend most of your time riding off road on larger wheels. You start to come across more and more terrain where the unicycle speeds up more than you can slow it down with your legs. I guess there has to be some reason that more and more unicycles come with Magura mounts as part of the frame!

I now run Magura HS33 brakes on my 24″, 29″ and 36″. I wouldn’t be without them, brakes rule! Running brakes mean I can ride longer and faster in hilly off road terrain, with far less knee fatigue. It means I can generally descend faster but with more control vs without brakes. Most importantly brakes makes a uni look that much nastier! 🙂

So you’ve discovered the worst thing about Magura HS33’s – their price (keep a look out on eBay for cheaper ones) – and you’re still not done. You’re scooting down a steep dirt hill, braking as hard as you can with the 1 finger that will fit around the brake lever, and your finger slips off… Kapow, UPD!

Enter the KH Spooner

The Spooner is a simple circular-ish two piece molded plastic doodad shaped like a spoon, that fits over the end of the brake lever.

Result? Far more convenient, controlled and secure braking, with room for one or more fingers. Like brakes, once you’ve used a Spooner you’ll always want one there.

Brakes rule!

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