[ridelikeabitch]

Hi,is there anyone that can help me.
I have problems with my Hayes nine HFX-9 brakes.
Recently the reservoir plug on the master cylinder had come out along with some brake fluid,So i paid a bike shop to bleed them and was told to bed them in,After bedding them in my brakes are not getting any better so i have purchased a bleed kit and intend to bleed them myself.
Is there any other reason why my brakes are crap,I hav'nt done no more than five miles since new so would'nt think it is the pads as there is still a fair bit showing on them.
They were fine untill the plastic plug had come out and the bike shop had played with it.Oh these are fitted to a GT Aggressor.Hope you can understand this as the punctuation and spelling is as good as it gets but hey i'm no English teacher.Cheers

 

[slowitdown]

how did you determine the brakes need to be bled again?

sounds to me like the pads need more bedding in, or they are contaminated.

just some friendly advice here: if you don't know enough about your bike to fix it in the first place, you probably don't know enough to second guess the mechanics who worked on it.

 

[caputo1989]

Ok, is the lever touching thae bar when you squeeze it or is it "pumping up"? For example, does the lever move further from the bar as you squeeze the lever multiple times. If it does not do either of this the brakes are fine.
Are they just not as powerfull as youd like them?
-If not you just need to burn/bed in the pads.
Also with those brakes you will have a hard time getting both the front and the back to feel exactly the same.

If you feel like you still need to bleed them they can be tricky the first couple of times to an inexperienced person. Read the instructions first before you do anything and mabye watch a how to video online.

good luck

 

[ridelikeabitch]

Cheers for the advice,The reason why i thought they would need bleeding is the bike was left in the sun,When i pushed the bike the brakes were making a noise so i squeezed the lever (not knowing that the plug had come out)and brake fluid come out of the reservoir.
I am an engineer and have worked on bikes before but not too familiar with hydraulic brakes.I have read the manual and followed the steps but when opening the bleeder valve and squeezing the bottle there is nothing coming out of master cylinder and the lever does'nt get harder when i pump and travels close to the handle bars. The brakes were perfectly ok before
.I can only assume there is a blockage somewhere is this a common problem and where is blockage likely to be.I am trying to solve this problem myself because i have been quoted £100 to fix this and to learn about my brakes,you have to start somewhere so if i can save myself £100 then great but if i can't fix it then i will bite the bullet and take it to the bike shop.

 

[caputo1989]

See if you can get your hands on an irrigation syrenge. That will make it easier to push fluid through.

 

[ridelikeabitch]

Thanks i will give it a go

 

[3MORESTITCHES]

not to be a smartazz but if you replace them with some avid bb7s youll never have another brake problem. simple and efficent

 

[ultraNoob]

no one likes a smartass... unless you're in the lounge section... then it's expected

 

[zebrahum]

Keep bleeding the system until the lever has a nice firm feel, sort of like bleeding car brakes. Keeping them in the sun won't hurt it, the squeak is fairly normal, you could put a drop of TriFlow in the pivot or master cylinder area.

The number one problem with Hayes brakes is the reach adjuster creeps with use. There is a 2mm screw between the lever and the grip, make the end of that screw flush (or maybe set into the barrel a bit) on both levers.

Second thing that make brakes work poorly is bad pad alignment. Squeeze the lever while you look at the caliper. Make sure the rotor doesn't bend at all while you squeeze the brakes. If it does, re-center the caliper.

If that doesn't work, your pads may be contaminated. Put some new one on, clean your rotor with isopropyl alcohol, and then bed in the new pads.

 

[ridelikeabitch]

First of all,Having taken my bike to a reputable bike shop they have told me that there is the wrong fluid in the brakes which has damaged the seals so oster_oops:Now i know i did'nt use the wrong fluid as i used the fluid in my Hayes bleed kit,which of course i could'nt get in to the system.
So they have told me i need a new rear break set gutted .So i will be paying the original bike shop that damaged it a visitto recover the cost wish me luck.

 

[zebrahum]

damn, didn't see that one coming.

 

[ridelikeabitch]

Can you recommend any good hydraulic brakes?I am looking at some hayes stroker are they any good?

 

[Bushwhacker]

Can you recommend any good hydraulic brakes?I am looking at some hayes stroker are they any good?

I've got Stroker Trails...been running them for about a year and have been really happy with them. Worlds apart from the Mags/Nines I had run previously.

 

[zebrahum]

Shimano XT, you won't be sorry. Also, I'm not sure you could pay me enough to run Avid hydraulics, nothing but trouble.