Hayes HFX-9 HD Help

[Loomer]

I bought them as a set (f/r). I had to remove the hose to
get the rear to fit through the frame. I never undid the
hose for the front. I set them up and bleed the rear. The
brakes work fine I am just trying to get the same action on
the levers between the front and rear.

I can not get the rear brake lever to have the same action
(point at which the lever makes the pads engage the rotor)
as the front.

I have bleed the rear brake many times and I am sure I am
doing it right but it never feels the same as the front.

Any Ideas?

 

[Dave Haley]

"loomer" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> I bought them as a set (f/r). I had to remove the hose to
> get the rear to fit through the frame. I never undid the
> hose for the front. I set them
up
> and bleed the rear. The brakes work fine I am just trying
> to get the same action on the levers between the front
> and rear.
>
> I can not get the rear brake lever to have the same action
> (point at which the lever makes the pads engage the rotor)
> as the front.
>
> I have bleed the rear brake many times and I am sure I am
> doing it right
but
> it never feels the same as the front.
>
> Any Ideas?
>
>
Loomer, Pull your brake lever in and secure it there with a
zip-tie, rope, tape, etc. Tap on the caliper and lines with
a piece of wood (or something that won't damage the
hardware). Leave it this way overnight and bleed it again
the next day. You have a nice solid feel to you brakes after
this. What this does is forces the air bubbles out of the
pistons and allows them to rise to the bleeder fitting.

Dave Haley

 

[Loomer]

"Dave Haley" <[email protected]>
>What this does is forces the air bubbles out of the pistons
>and allows them
to
> rise to the bleeder fitting. Dave Haley

Thanks for the tip but could you descibe this in a little
more detail? I take the pads off when I bleed. Should I put
something in the caliper to put pressure in there too?

 

[Chris Phillipo]

In article <[email protected]>, nospam@tec-
system.com says...
>
> "loomer" <[email protected]> wrote in message news:hNNoc.4-
> [email protected]...
> > I bought them as a set (f/r). I had to remove the hose
> > to get the rear to fit through the frame. I never undid
> > the hose for the front. I set them
> up
> > and bleed the rear. The brakes work fine I am just
> > trying to get the same action on the levers between the
> > front and rear.
> >
> > I can not get the rear brake lever to have the same
> > action (point at which the lever makes the pads engage
> > the rotor) as the front.
> >
> > I have bleed the rear brake many times and I am sure I
> > am doing it right
> but
> > it never feels the same as the front.
> >
> > Any Ideas?
> >
> >

The lever itself is adjustable. The small screw which
adjusts the leverage is what you need to use. Also when
bleeding the brakes, use a big syringe with a piece of
rubber tubing to force fluid through the system until no air
bubbles come out the top. I find the little squeeze bottle
they give you is inadequate.

--
_________________________
Chris Phillipo - Cape Breton, Nova Scotia http://www.ramsays-
online.com

 

[Loomer]

"Dave Haley" <[email protected]
> Pull your brake lever in and secure it there with a zip-
> tie, rope, tape, etc.

Should I leave the lever zip tied and pulled in when I bleed
the system?

 

[Dave Haley]

"loomer" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> "Dave Haley" <[email protected]>
> >What this does is forces the air bubbles out of the
> >pistons and allows
them
> to
> > rise to the bleeder fitting. Dave Haley
>
> Thanks for the tip but could you descibe this in a little
> more detail? I take the pads off when I bleed. Should I
> put something in the caliper to put pressure in there too?
>
>
Leave the pads in and the wheel installed while you have
the lever clamped. Leave the bike with the lever clamped
for a few hours. Remove the lever clamp and bleed the
brakes following the Hayes procedure http://www.hayesdiscbrake.com/pdf/BleedKit-45-
14576BEnglishWeb.pdf . Definitely remove the pads as
bleeding Hayes brakes has a great potential to
contaminate the pads if you have a leak while pushing
fluid in the system.

My current bike has Shimano XT hydraulic brakes which bleed
like motorcycle or automotive brakes, Hayes is kind of a
reverse process as you are pushing fluid from the caliper to
the master cylinder.

I hope this clears thing up a bit

Dave Haley

 

[Dave Haley]

"Loomer" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> "Dave Haley" <[email protected]
> > Pull your brake lever in and secure it there with a zip-
> > tie, rope, tape, etc.
>
> Should I leave the lever zip tied and pulled in when I
> bleed the system?
>
>
No, Once the system has sat in this condition for a few
hours release the lever and bleed as the Hayes instructions
indicate. Please see my post at 3:29pm for details.

Dave Haley

 

[Dave Haley]

"Loomer" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> "Dave Haley" <[email protected]
> > Pull your brake lever in and secure it there with a zip-
> > tie, rope, tape, etc.
>
> Should I leave the lever zip tied and pulled in when I
> bleed the system?
>
>
No, Once the system has sat in this condition for a few
hours release the lever and bleed as the Hayes instructions
indicate. Please see my post at 3:29pm for details.

Dave Haley

 

[John Davis]

"loomer" <[email protected]> wrote in message news:<[email protected]>...

> I can not get the rear brake lever to have the same action
> (point at which the lever makes the pads engage the rotor)
> as the front.

if brake feel and brake action are ok it's not that the
system needs (re)bleeding, it'll be the throw screw in
the lever that's - one will be wound out more than the
other, giving different engagement points (this is a
feature not a bug!)

On mine the 'locking compound' on those grub screws ex-
factory was next to useless, they'd actually unwind during a
ride due to vibration
- apply some decent thread locker (i.e. blue loctite) after
you've got them set to where you feel happy.

 

[Michael Dart]

In news:[email protected],
Loomer <[email protected]> typed:
> "Dave Haley" <[email protected]
>> Pull your brake lever in and secure it there with a zip-
>> tie, rope, tape, etc.
>
> Should I leave the lever zip tied and pulled in when I
> bleed the system?

NO! If the lever is pulled the hole in the master cylinder
will be closed. While you are bleeding the brakes you may
'snap' the lever a couple of times to shock loose any
bubbles in the system. The rear brake is never going to feel
as good as the front due to the longer length of hose. I've
heard Goodridge brake lines solve this problem but never
tried them myself.

Mike

 

[Westie]

John Davis wrote:
> "loomer" <[email protected]> wrote in message news:<hNNoc.-
> [email protected]>...
>
>> I can not get the rear brake lever to have the same
>> action (point at which the lever makes the pads engage
>> the rotor) as the front.
>
> if brake feel and brake action are ok it's not that the
> system needs (re)bleeding, it'll be the throw screw in
> the lever that's - one will be wound out more than the
> other, giving different engagement points (this is a
> feature not a bug!)
>
> On mine the 'locking compound' on those grub screws ex-
> factory was next to useless, they'd actually unwind during
> a ride due to vibration
> - apply some decent thread locker (i.e. blue loctite)
> after you've got them set to where you feel happy.

Ditto with mine. A blob of loctite seems to have fixed
the problem. I didn't even know the little buggers were
there, tucked away almost out of sight, until it was
pointed out to me.
--
Westie (Replace 'invalid' with 'yahoo' when replying.)