[DLo]

N* Darren, you need a few big hills to break them in.

Very possible.. but I don't think the pads are the cause of the lever acting all funny?

Oh I forgot to mention crashing_sux, I think when I sent my brake back to Hope they replaced a seal. I thought though, if there was a bad/leaky seal, there would be traces of fluid on either the caliper or lever? I've been checking mine lately so far and it looks clean.

 

[Jonny Wray]

I've had the problem of the lever going to the bars when hot a couple of times, in different brakes. Both times it was a seal problem.

First, the seal under the plunger in the handle has just plain worn out. Replacing it then rebleeding fixed it.

The second was the diaphram seal under the reseviour cap. I had tightened it too much and put a small split in the rubber. Again, new diaphram solved the problem.

 

[DLo]

Did you have to take it apart in order to see the seal was messed up? I'm pretty sure the diaphram seal is ok, so mebbe it's the lever seal? Nevertheless, I'll give it one last DH ride.

 

[Brian HCM#1]

Darren, see how it goes after a real ride, plus I want to check them out while on the bike. I can always do a complete caliper/lever rebuild.

 

[Jonny Wray]

With the lever seal I noticed a slight lose of fluid, hardley noticable except as dampness in N* dust after riding. You couldn't really tell it was messed up, it was just worn out and so not sealing well. I had 3 years of riding on them at that point.

The diaphram seal had a very slight tear in the edge. I had to look real close to tell.

Did you have to take it apart in order to see the seal was messed up? I'm pretty sure the diaphram seal is ok, so mebbe it's the lever seal? Nevertheless, I'll give it one last DH ride.

 

[crashing_sux]

How's this for funny, I get my Hopes and they squeal so bad I'm embarassed to ride my bike so a few people mention buy EBC green pads. I buy EBC greens and now I have crap for power and now I hear "EBC green's suck". Toss in a few "EBC reds are much stronger" mixed in with a few "EBC reds won't make much difference" and I'm completely cornfused.

After two years on Hayes without a single issue related to squealing or lack of power I can't decide if I'm more of an idiot because I'm still trying to get my Hopes to work or because I just bought a newer more expensive one.

Can't win with Hopes can you? I feel like my brakes are that psycho flaky girl who is just incredible in bed (yeah, you know the girl), I keep wanting to simplify my life by going back to old reliable but then I get to thinking how good they feel when they aren't pissing me off....

 

[DLo]

I have EBC greens. Brian, were these last batch another set of greens?

After the first set wore out in the rear, I've been runnin the greens. My past problems were because the pads got fluid on them, or because of a bad bleed/whatever problem that Hope fixed for me. And I think they are much quieter than the stockers that came with the bike. I don't care about the squealing either way.

 

[Brian HCM#1]

Who said greens suck? Greens work fine, true they don't stop as well as reds, but they last more than 4 days of riding. I sell mostly green pads as thats what I usally recommend. I also stock reds but try to detur people from getting them unless all they are doing is racing only on that bike. How much riding have you done on the greens? And even though they were squeeling how did the old pads stop?

 

[MikeD]

If the brakes are this weak, there's a problem somewhere beyond the pads (if your current pads are indeed uncontaminated.) Switching to reds might give some power back, but it's not helping find the real underlying problem.

 

[Demo9-lexle]

Also, I ride almost every day so being without my bike for any length of time is not something I am willing to do. You really have to think ahead owning Hopes with their complete lack of support by shops. Even in Whistler where we have a ton of DH riders you would think I would be able to find a set of pads but after visiting all of the local shops I found nobody had any in stock so I had to order a set. I'm trying to decide what pads to get as I'll have to have some ordered up tomorrow.

>Hi also got M6.. Sintered Brake pads suck in the beginnig, it takes a long time bedding in. I received te Organic pads and will tell you the improvment asap. UK Bikestore told me (lokk at their homepage) organic have higher perforrmance , heat resistance and a bit higher wear. Sintered are for"winter or typical UK fall (very cold and rainy)"

So I think it is only a pad problem

 

[Ian F]

After two years on Hayes without a single issue related to squealing or lack of power I can't decide if I'm more of an idiot because I'm still trying to get my Hopes to work or because I just bought a newer more expensive one.

Can't win with Hopes can you? I feel like my brakes are that psycho flaky girl who is just incredible in bed (yeah, you know the girl), I keep wanting to simplify my life by going back to old reliable but then I get to thinking how good they feel when they aren't pissing me off....

I loved my Hopes when they worked. But I prefer to ride my bike rather than futz around with the brakes all the time... I found my Enduros with 175mm and 160mm rotors to be more powerful than my current 8" rotor Hayes, and had better modulation... My divorce from Hope was painful and expensive as I had invested a ton of money in parts and Big'Un hubs. The difference is I have literally not touched my Hayes in 3 years now. I'm even still on the original pads.

Re-bleeding with new fluid should help. Try ATE Super Blue.

Do what Brian posted earlier about the pistons. I made a piece to slot into the caliper while bleeding.

Learn how to work on these brakes yourself. You'll go broke paying a shop to do it for you and very few really know what they're doing.

 

[crashing_sux]

I promised you guys an update when I got my M6 so here it is. I ordered up an M6 and in the meantime put a fresh set of hope pads (instead of ebc's) on the front of my bike after putting the rotor in the dishwasher. The Hope pads did feel stronger than the EBC greens (maybe I had one of the bad sets?) but the M6 which came in a couple of days later felt even better. It has a little more power which is what I was looking for and the modulation feels similar, although their is a lot more power with less pull initially so I found myself washing the front end a couple of times grabbing too much front brake accidentally. After a few runs I got used to the increased power and stopped washing the front end and now all is good.

I also rode a RMX with the Saint brakes on it this weekend and while I absolutely hated the saint brake/shift lever combo I was amazed with the Saint brakes performance. They modulated well and had noticably more power than my 6-pot Hopes. I'm not sure how they got so much power and feel in such a small two piston brake but I'm friggin impressed. I wonder how they do once they heat up?

 

[ThePriceSeliger]

I have a solution to all your problems... Buy HAYES MAGS

 

[crashing_sux]

Ummm.....in case it wasn't clear I have allready solved my braking issues. Everything is working great now, the Hope 6-pots gave me the extra power I was looking for in the front without having to resort to going back to Hayes. I have a set of Hayes on one of my bikes, I just don't care for the feel of them.