hydraulic brake solution for Magic Pie Edge?

[Jfs]

I am very happy with my new Magic Pie Edge, mounted on the front wheel, along with a cheap mechanical 160mm disk brake that barely can stop the bike. I'd like to upgrade to a hydraulic disk brake on the front but don't want to lose the excellent regen braking. A bike store today recommended this solution: TRP HY/RD Cable-Actuated Hydraulic Disc Brake. This is a hydraulic brake but uses the regular steel cable to activate rather than a hydraulic tube from the lever. The trick is that the oil piston and hydraulics are all contained in the caliper connected to a standard brake cable, so you get the benefit of a high-end hydraulic brake without having to sacrifice the Golden Motor brake lever with integrated sensor cable.
Does anyone have experience with this approach? Thanks!

[Bikemad]

The main benefit with hydraulic brakes is the huge reduction in frictional losses within the brake cable and the brake pad actuating mechanism.

Whilst those calipers will undoubtedly improve the frictional losses within the caliper mechanism itself, they will not eliminate the frictional losses within the cable itself.

A much better solution (and almost half the cost of the TRP caliper alone) would be to fit a fully hydraulic brake system with a built in brake sensor which has been specifically designed to plug straight into the control harness supplied with the Vector Magic Pie, Smart Pie and Magic Pie Edge motors:


Click here and then scroll down for more details of this perfect "plug & play" solution.

Alan
 

[Jfs]

Alan,
That's clearly a good solution, and thanks for the detailed reply. My concern/question is about the quality of that hydraulic disk brake. The brand is Zoom, and model is x-tech 870. I can't find anything on that brand. Whereas TRP seems to be one of the top makers of bike brakes. Delivered price ends up comparable for TRP HY/RD, e.g. $101 and free shipping -- including the disk -- from Merlin cycles (GM prices the disk separately). So it's a quality choice. Do you use the GM hydraulic brake and are you satisfied with its quality? If it's as good, I agree better to stick with plug and play, already a huge advantage of the GM Edge over my previous Chinese spaghetti-wired motor.
The front brake is especially important for me as I have a Shimano Nexus with a roller brake on the rear -- not the best brake for a bike weighing about 50 pounds.
By the way, I raised the brake regen setting from 20 to 40, and that gives a nice extra braking boost.
Thanks again
Jim
 

[Jfs]

Update: I ordered the TRP hd/ry, and when it arrived I discovered that it's too wide for the Magic Pie Edge. Bumps up against the motor case. I'm returning it and will try Gary's customized solution, per Alan's suggestion, and trust that it's a quality hydraulic brake.

[Bikemad]

If the caliper would clear the motor's side cover by moving it out by ~1mm or so, you may be able to still use it by placing identical washers between the disc and the disc mounting (on each of the bolts) to space the disc further away from the cover.



Alan