"Slacker" <
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> "Alan McClure" <
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>
news:[email protected]...
> > After a nice morning ride, I have noticed that although the brake is working(as I mentioned), it
> > isn't as strong as it should be--I'm using v brakes as a comparison which at this point seem
> > quite a bit stronger which I know shouldn't be the case. It seems to me that if there were
> > enough fluid in the system then the handle would be stiffer, and the caliper braking better.
> > However, if there is some air, then obviously that is a problem, but as far as I can tell from
> > bleeding the system 3 times, there is no air. If there is, then it is stuck somewhere in the
> > system, and I'm not able to remove it for some reason. Yet again, let me mention that I followed
> > to the letter the hayes directions for bleeding the brake(3 times). So, I don't know why there
> > would still be a problem. Any similar situations out there?
> >
> > Thanks again,
> >
> > Alan "The Confused"
>
> A few questions for you:
>
> Are these factory assembled or did you do it yourself?
>
> How new are the pads? Many people see a lack of power till new pads are burned in although mine
> have always been 100% from the beginning.
>
> Some fairly common problems could be over tightening of the compression sleeve, if your sleeve is
> even or protruding out of the compression nut, it's over torqued. A kinked hose...this had me
> scratching my head for awhile when I kinked mine because no fluid leaked and the brake worked fine
> at first. The inner hose lining was cracked but the fluid stayed within the outer sheath. Sticky
> piston(s)....are they fully retracting after your let off the brakes?
>
> You sound like you're pretty thorough with Hayes' bleed directions, but just to double check did
> you make sure to do the "squeeze for 5 sec - let off for 3 sec, repeat" because this is the most
> critical part to make sure you have a good air free bleed. Also, when you had the squeeze bottle
> attached and all the air bubbles out, did you watch the master bleed hose to make sure it always
> had fluid in it so it did have a chance to suck air into the master while you closed the caliper
> bleeder screw?
>
> Then there's always the possibility that they are just defective from the factory. Hopefully, this
> isn't the case, but failures happen. Hayes has always been very helpful the couple times I've
> called them.
Thanks for the feedback guys. Well, I bled the system one more time, and then when there was no
change I just gave up and took it to my LBS. They pointed out what michael Dart mentioned about the
adjustment screw for the reach which for some stupid reason I could manage to see. I didn't see that
it had a very small allen wrench fitting in it, and thought it was just a protruding piece that was
part of the lever. Well, anyway, now I know. Because the lever is perfectly fine now. To think that
I spent at least 2-3 hours total bleeding the system over and over, and it was such a simple thing.
Well, you know, I'll never make that mistake again. Thanks for the feedback though, and Slacker, I
did notice that my sleeve is even with the compression nut. I didn't have a torque wrench available,
so I just tightened it too much I suppose. Should I loosen it slightly? What problems can this
cause? Anyway, I suppose that I should invest in a torque wrench even though I just had a LBS talk
me out of it. Thanks again guys, this is one of those bike projects that took far more time than it
needed to, but yet is invaluable for learning how to do future brake work and installations.
Alan