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Frankenbrakes and brake improvement discussion

Nick

My name is Nick
Sep 21, 2001
23,927
14,440
where the trails are
Yes, ordered from Bike24. I'm in the UK, ordered them on a Monday, they were dispatched the next day and they arrived on Tuesday the following week so 8 days total. Extremely lucky considering the 12-18 month lead time!
weird, Trickstuff brakes don't appear on bike24.com for me here in the USA, just spare parts.
 

Jm_

sled dog's bollocks
Jan 14, 2002
18,852
9,557
AK
weird, Trickstuff brakes don't appear on bike24.com for me here in the USA, just spare parts.
Just ordered some stuff from them and there's a lot that says it can't be shipped to the USA, including, but not limited to, shitmano stuff.
 

appltn

fastest banhammer in the west
Apr 19, 2022
9
13
I posted a version of this question before but unfortunately was accidentally banned for spam so I'm dropping it in again in case anyone can help.

Can anyone tell me how much free stroke you're getting on your Direttissimas? And do you have any tips for reducing this as much as possible? I've spent some time exercising pistons and getting them nicely aligned and balanced and have the free stroke at about 15mm which feels great but I'm kind of getting obsessed and want to know I've got them as good as I can :D

@Udi maybe you have some advice because you commented how much you like the short throw?

Personally, I love the DRT's short throw, close-to-bar pivot, and the ability to run the lever's starting position very close to the bar as a result. It makes it easy to deathgrip brake-bump sections (5 fingers / full palm instead of 4 fingers on the grip = significant reduction in hand/arm pump) and very quickly / safely grab the lever again when needed. I always wanted to do this more, but the DRT is the first brake that let me execute it with ease - especially on the rear brake / lever.
 

Flo33

Turbo Monkey
Mar 3, 2015
2,057
1,298
Styria
I posted a version of this question before but unfortunately was accidentally banned for spam so I'm dropping it in again in case anyone can help.

Can anyone tell me how much free stroke you're getting on your Direttissimas? And do you have any tips for reducing this as much as possible? I've spent some time exercising pistons and getting them nicely aligned and balanced and have the free stroke at about 15mm which feels great but I'm kind of getting obsessed and want to know I've got them as good as I can :D

@Udi maybe you have some advice because you commented how much you like the short throw?
According to Trickstuff 18 to 22 mm is the designed range, so you're already below that. I can measure mine a bit later, but I think I'm around 15 mm as well.
 

appltn

fastest banhammer in the west
Apr 19, 2022
9
13
According to Trickstuff 18 to 22 mm is the designed range, so you're already below that. I can measure mine a bit later, but I think I'm around 15 mm as well.
I emailed them and was told 25mm as an upper limit but no lower limit. That's good info though, because I didn't get to feel them on a factory bleed I want to dispel the doubt that I might still be able to get them feeling even better (they do feel great already).
 

Flo33

Turbo Monkey
Mar 3, 2015
2,057
1,298
Styria
I did a quick measurement, it's more like 12 mm at the outer kink from top dead point to point of engagement. I did invest some time for the bleed when shortening the hose, though and used Redline Like Water. And I'm running my levers rather far from my grips.
 

Boozzz

Chimp
Sep 12, 2019
80
84
Amsterdayummm
Alright, got another set of Hayes Dominions in! After the disappointment last year with the A4 build quality, I was totally done with them. But this set was sent to me free by Hayes; the A2 this time. Finish looks a bit better: the caliper halves line up this time, the lever fits my bar without sanding, no pre-stripped bolts, and the free stroke between the calipers is the same as well.

For science sake, I measured the slave pistons to be 24 mm, which gives it roughly the same surface area as the 2 x 17 mm of the A4. So theoretically the same power, though the pads are a bit shorter and heat management is something else of course. Anyway, I'm of course going to try them out again on the street-trials bike, so heat won't come into play, but power and stiffness all the more. Will report back on how they stack up to the Tech3 V4 I've been running for a while (shouldn't be too hard to beat for pure hold/no-slip power and hefty heavy lever feel).
 

Udi

RM Chief Ornithologist
Mar 14, 2005
4,915
1,200
have the free stroke at about 15mm which feels great but I'm kind of getting obsessed and want to know I've got them as good as I can :D
@Udi maybe you have some advice because you commented how much you like the short throw?
I wouldn't fuss over it so much, as with any brake it will likely increase a little as everything settles in too. In my experience the benefit is that it increases less (and stays more consistent) than other brakes, especially in the long term.
 

Boozzz

Chimp
Sep 12, 2019
80
84
Amsterdayummm
Two rides in, some initial impressions on the Dominion A2. Pad clearance is non-existent, these things are impossible to set up rub free. On the other hand, almost zero pad clearance also means lever engagement is pretty quick. Guess you need to compromise somewhere with hydraulic leverage like this. Still, having a constantly rubbing brake annoys the shit out of me.

Pad rock/knock is massive, worse even than Magura MT7's, makes for a very disconcerting loud clang when locking the brakes (basically when doing any rear wheel move, drop off, etc). Solved this by applying a layer of ducktape to the back and sides of the pads. They're silent now.

On the other hand, power is very good, hold is better than the Hope V4's, they don't slip as much on ledges. Lever action feels extremely light, making it almost feel too delicate compared to the ham fisted chunky feel of the Tech3 lever.

Curious to see how they will fare long term. Have read quite a few reports of other trials guys where the A4's started to leak past the slave piston seals after a few months of use. With my track record of breaking bike parts, this doesn't sound promising. But we'll see, at least they were free :)
 
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Boozzz

Chimp
Sep 12, 2019
80
84
Amsterdayummm
Wow, my Hayes A2 have already died! Rear started howling after two rides, but had the somehwat naive hope it was contamination from my fingers after I'd taped the pads to get rid of the pad knock. Think now that it wasn't my fingers, as the front now 100% has a leak after just 5 rides. Weaping past the piston seals in the caliper, wet pads. Damn!

Maybe maybe maybe if I feel like it, I might try and pair the Hope V4 caliper with the Hayes lever, but I fear there will be too much dead stroke because of the far larger pad clearance of the V4.

Even though they were free, pretty bummed out and disappointed!

Edit: did some tinkering yesterday evening, and can't get the rear brake to leak. So that might have still been bad luck with my fingers then. However, the outside piston of the front brake does leak pretty badly. Couple of squeezes on a bleed block and tiny bubbles and fluid start to appear. Popped out the piston and seal, and they still seem to be in perfect shape, as does the caliper itself. Dried it all off, popped them back in with some silicone grease, but still leaking. What's this then, shitty tolerances?
 
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Boozzz

Chimp
Sep 12, 2019
80
84
Amsterdayummm
Well, Hayes customer service is quite good! They do reply quickly, and are sending me a new set of seals for the caliper and some new pads. Hope that fixes it. However, seeing how quickly they failed, I don't think I'll be putting them back on my trials bike; maybe on my normal mountain bike, as the lever action does feel good.

And for the sake of this thread: I did actually connect my V4 caliper to the Dominion lever. Hayes banjo fits right on the Hope caliper, no leaks. As expected, a lot of dead stroke, lever engages quite close to the bar. Doable if you have big hands and run your levers far away from the bars, but still a bit too much empty travel I found. I also reckon that when the pads wear down and/or your pistons start to stick ever so slightly, the auto adjustment of the pistons won't be working that great, as the lever simply moves too little oil for the distance the V4 pads need to travel.
 

Leafy

Monkey
Sep 13, 2019
542
350
I put the standard galfer in my wife's guides and the initial bite is much better. To be honest the feel more "shimano" than my XTs.
 

Jm_

sled dog's bollocks
Jan 14, 2002
18,852
9,557
AK
I run the purple e-bike pads that came with my V4s. Way better than the organic. I don’t even know why they put organics in there, they suck bad.
 

Bikael Molton

goofy for life
Jun 9, 2003
4,010
1,146
El Lay
Do the Galfs last longer than EBC Reds?

I like reds but stopped using because I was burning them in under a month. I usually use EBC Golds now but they aren’t the biteyest.

ebc red or galfer green are the grippiest. I run both and love both. The galfer 223 rotors are nice I ordered 2 for 2 of the bikes...love the galfer green... but not a huge fan of the floating point on my codes lol...
 

buckoW

Turbo Monkey
Mar 1, 2007
3,777
4,699
Champery, Switzerland
Ive used the Galfer purple, compared to TS power pads/MTX red/Gold and EDC they lack the bite
I’ve never used the Galfer purples and was told I should. I have used the TS power pads. I’m currently on Hayes 106 pads in the A4 Dominion. I’m happy with the performance but always looking for more.

What’s your favorite?
 

MikeD

Leader and Demogogue of the Ridemonkey Satinists
Oct 26, 2001
11,669
1,713
chez moi
I am in love with the TS power pads on my Quadiems and look forward to using them on my Slates, FWIW. Literally no bedding-in period, no noise, and a ton of initial bite compared to the stock TRP pads.
 
Apr 3, 2022
3
4
I’ve never used the Galfer purples and was told I should. I have used the TS power pads. I’m currently on Hayes 106 pads in the A4 Dominion. I’m happy with the performance but always looking for more.

What’s your favorite?
The Hayes 106 are good pads, I’ve tried some MTX golds on the dominions and they worked well together.

My go to pads for most brakes are probably the TS power pads though.
 

MikeD

Leader and Demogogue of the Ridemonkey Satinists
Oct 26, 2001
11,669
1,713
chez moi
So this is the only place I can think to ask this--

Anyone able to measure the dimensions on the internal c-clip used in the Quadiem levers? I don't want to disassemble a lever to take it out and measure it; if anyone has one laying around, I'd appreciate it.

Oddly, it doesn't have a part number of its own, or even show as part of a sub-assembly on TRP's own site; it's between 4 and 7 and grayed out entirely...

(Edit: Or do I just get a metric assortment of internal retaining rings from Amazon and jam in what I presume is likely an 8 or 10mm clip?)

1654571451958.png
 
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toodles

ridiculously corgi proportioned
Aug 24, 2004
5,479
4,719
Australia
Durability isn't great, but they work super well. I'm pretty sold on them.
I've installed the Galfer greens on the Hopes on my Nukeproof and they're lasting about 75% of the time I'd expect out of far shittier pads. I'll take that 25% loss anyday considering how good they work.