Replacement brake unit QR lever

[aegis]

I've managed to snap the green lever that lifts the brake unit roller onto the rear wheel of my i-Magic T1900. It seems to be shared between the Fortius/i-magic/Sirius just in different colours.

I've had a google for a replacement spare part but no luck. Does anyone know if any of the levers from newer models are compatible?

[mcorn]

I've managed to snap the green lever that lifts the brake unit roller onto the rear wheel of my i-Magic T1900. It seems to be shared between the Fortius/i-magic/Sirius just in different colours.

I've had a google for a replacement spare part but no luck. Does anyone know if any of the levers from newer models are compatible?

Only the levers for the Imagic (T1910.22) and Fortius (T1944.22) and Sirius (T1439.22) will work, but none of the newer trainers using a Satori-type frame are compatible. There are probably some other older models that also use this lever, but I don't have any references handy.

I would try Tacx Support (support@tacx.com) just to see if they have any spares still in the warehouse. They probably do not, but it is worth a try.

I did find one place In Latvia saying they have it (no guarantees):

http://www.4dprint.lv/en-Trainers-and-A ... -Blue-Blue

P.S. Hope you did not break it by using your foot to set it in place. That is how most of them get broken.

[aegis]

Not sure I'd trust that latvian site. It looks more like a scraper site.

No, I've not stood on it but it's relatively new to me so who knows what the previous owner did. It does strike me as a bit of a silly design for something that requires a bit of force.

I think I may have found a spare in the Netherlands from a legit bike shop. I've emailed to ask if they have it and will ship to the UK.

[mcorn]

Not sure I'd trust that latvian site. It looks more like a scraper site.

No, I've not stood on it but it's relatively new to me so who knows what the previous owner did. It does strike me as a bit of a silly design for something that requires a bit of force.

I think I may have found a spare in the Netherlands from a legit bike shop. I've emailed to ask if they have it and will ship to the UK.

As I said, no guarantees on the Latvian site.

In normal use, this part should not break. If a lot of force is required, then the adjustment is way too tight. It can also be too tight if there is a standard large wheel (690 - 720 mm diameter) on the bike but the trainer has been assembled for a small wheel (610 - 640 mm diameter). Be sure to take a close look at the assembly instructions.

[aegis]

Coming back to this. I've not managed to find a direct replacement.

I did however notice Tacx were selling replacement levers for €5/£5 for the newest models. eg. https://tacx.com/spare-parts/blue-matic/

So I took a punt. Postage is about a fiver too. Less than £10 total. Two days later a box with an S0014 lever unit arrived. Included are some Torx T20 self tapping screws (which is annoying as disk brakes are T25 - I had to dig about for a T20), some plastic washers, the lever, the tension knob too.

It's totally different in that it no longer has a long metal hinge that the lever attaches to. But, crucially, the width is exactly the same except that there is an extended stepped center section that fits into the holes in the frame.

I installed it. You've got to spread the frame apart enough to seat the extension into the holes. I used the old metal hinge rod and a bit of gentle persuasion with a flat screwdriver.

Adjusted the tension.

Success. It works.

So for anyone else with a broken lever, the Blue matic/motion/twist S0014 lever (specifically part no. T2501.20) fits.

blue_lever.jpg (121.13 KiB) Viewed 2939 times

[mcorn]

It's good that it fits. The early Fortius and Imagic levers were a weak design as evidence by it fracturing the way it did. It had not occurred to me that the Satori type lever used on all of the newer trainers might fit. You probably could have filed the new lever a bit to get an easier fit, but it sounds like you managed.

I have very fond memories of the Imagic brake. Very simple. Very reliable. It is basically the same type of brake first used by Racermate/Computrainer, who held patents for certain aspects of this design. I seem to recall that the patent was limited to using a bronze eddy current disk, so others got around it by using a disk made from a different type of metal, like aluminum.

[nzuraw]

I have very fond memories of the Imagic brake. Very simple. Very reliable. It is basically the same type of brake first used by Racermate/Computrainer, who held patents for certain aspects of this design. I seem to recall that the patent was limited to using a bronze eddy current disk, so others got around it by using a disk made from a different type of metal, like aluminum.

Didn't know that!

[mcorn]

I have very fond memories of the Imagic brake. Very simple. Very reliable. It is basically the same type of brake first used by Racermate/Computrainer, who held patents for certain aspects of this design. I seem to recall that the patent was limited to using a bronze eddy current disk, so others got around it by using a disk made from a different type of metal, like aluminum.

Didn't know that!

Here's a link to the patent. On the last page, where the claims are described, it refers to use of an eddy current brake with "the disk being formed of a copper alloy having between approximately 5.0% to 15.0% zinc by weight" (which is brass, actually). The claims are what define the scope of legal protection, so this turned out to be quite a weak patent.

https://patentimages.storage.googleapis ... 656001.pdf