Hayes 9 Sticky Piston Question

[ZippyZoe]

I have a set of '06 Hayes 9 hydraulic brakes. My front one seems to have a bit of a problem. The outside piston is a little "sticky" and doesn't want to retract after applying brake pressure and therefore causes a bit of drag. I noticed the problem after the Afton race. The brake levers feel fine, so I don't think it's a hydraulic issue and pad wear looks OK.

One suggestion from the LBS was to take a Shimano syringe and put a thin coat of lube around the piston and bore. Not sure if it will help as I just did that this afternoon.

Anyone else have a similar issue with these brakes or any suggestions for a fix?

[Shorty]

Are they new?

My '04 Hayes discs did the same thing when they were new. I tinkered with the position of the caliper a bunch, and got it as good as I could get it in the workstand. But it still rubbed a little, mainly because of the piston not retracting all the way. I finally said screw it, and hit the trail... after a little time it stopped.

Needed a break-in period?

Good luck.

pc

[timmy]

I have Hayes Nine's and I have the same problem. If you go on MTBR you will find A ton of complaints about the same problem. There are alot of tips there on how to fix them and I have tried them all and none of them solved the problem.
I ended up buying another set of disc brakes at a swap meet for my other bike and they came with a bag full of shims so I used them with the Hayes and got them set up to a point where they barely rub now.

Greg

[ZippyZoe]

If you go on MTBR you will find A ton of complaints about the same problem.
Greg

Just read a bunch of sad stories about the 9s, thanks. I also rode Battle Creek today and the front seems to be worse. Afton beat the hell out of it I guess. I'm almost tempted to shell out some dough and go mechanical with a set of Avid BB7s. A lot of MTBR'ers rave about the Avid mechanicals. I'm not sure what the general consensus is about mechanicals around here, however.

I may place an order on Tuesday so I get them in time for the Chewammi 40. At least I have a some time to think it over and get some advice.

[timmy]

Just read a bunch of sad stories about the 9s, thanks. I also rode Battle Creek today and the front seems to be worse. Afton beat the hell out of it I guess. I'm almost tempted to shell out some dough and go mechanical with a set of Avid BB7s. A lot of MTBR'ers rave about the Avid mechanicals. I'm not sure what the general consensus is about mechanicals around here, however.

I may place an order on Tuesday so I get them in time for the Chewammi 40. At least I have a some time to think it over and get some advice.

I had the Avid mechanicals with XTR Levers and they worked great. If you decide to go that route you won't be disappointed.

Greg

[ZippyZoe]

I had the Avid mechanicals with XTR Levers and they worked great. If you decide to go that route you won't be disappointed.

Greg

Glad to hear they're good. I want some durability after only 4 months of use on my 9s. I priced a whole set Avid mechs for under $200 at pricepoint.com, this includes front and rear 160mm discs/brakes, Avid speed dial 7 levers, and two cables. Not too shabby. A cheaper solution than I was expecting. :)

Did you do your own installation? I can't imagine it being too difficult. The only pain about my bike is the internal cable routing to the rear brake.

[timmy]

Glad to hear they're good. I want some durability after only 4 months of use on my 9s. I priced a whole set Avid mechs for under $200 at pricepoint.com, this includes front and rear 160mm discs/brakes, Avid speed dial 7 levers, and two cables. Not too shabby. A cheaper solution than I was expecting. :)

Did you do your own installation? I can't imagine it being too difficult. The only pain about my bike is the internal cable routing to the rear brake.

Installation was very easy!!

[ZippyZoe]

Installation was very easy!!

Oh, how I look sooooo forward to the installation. :)

At the moment I'm stuck in Hayes hell. They used absolutely lousy hub bolts. Each one stripped because the bolts lacked depth, not to mention the use of very soft metal. I tried tapping the allen wrench with a mallet while turning, no go. Usually that trick breaks loose the most stubborn bolts, but the cheap metal gave way. :mad: I even doused them with WD-40 for a few hours. I was then forced to put the Dremmel to good use. Basically, I had to create little "levers" to break the suckers loose. Apparently, I'm not the only one with this complaint. Lots of the same on mtbr.com.

Here's a little preview for the Hayes 9 owners out there when you get ready to swap the discs or entire system.

http://www.morcmtb.org/photopost/data/512/cheap_hayes_bolts.jpg

[ZippyZoe]

The new Avid BB7s are now installed. Woohoo!

Btw, the Hayes rear rotor bolts came off fine. Those were not as shallow and didn't strip. Weird, maybe it was just a bad bunch on the front.

Anyway, I took a ride around the neighborhood to get a feel for the BB7s. Very nice, although they need some breaking-in. Maybe I'll head out to Battle Creek for a good test.

I was most impressed with the amount of adjustments that can be done, especially the caliper float adjustment. You just loosen two bolts to align it perfectly and make a couple pad adjustments via the inside and outside knobs. My old Hayes 9s were in a fixed position which bummed me out. Combined with the Avid Speed Dial 7 break levers, it's a great setup for the money. I love the brake lever adjustment for on the fly tweaking.

I think I'll be happy with the BB7s.

[SwampYankee3]

Yeah, my Hayes 9 fronts are doing the same thing. I went to "adjust" them :confused:, and they somehow magically fell back into place. My luck, they'll start dragging again at Hillside tonight.

Anybody have experience with the Avid hydraulics (Juicy 7s)? They're on sale at Nashbar, really tempted to pick up a set for my SS. I really like the feel of the hydros, but I have heard some very tempting stories about the Avid mechanicals...

[Standard]

I was then forced to put the Dremmel to good use. Basically, I had to create little "levers" to break the suckers loose. Apparently, I'm not the only one with this complaint. Lots of the same on mtbr.com.

A tip for next time..

Just drill off the head of the bolt. Once the head is drilled off, it takes the tension off the threads and you can usually grab the rest with a needlenose pliers and unscrew it, or cut a slot in what's left of the bolt and use a screwdriver. That way you don't have to sacrifice your rotors.

Just read through your post again.. when you said you used an allen, did you mean a Torx bit, or did you actually use an allen key? Because the bolts are T-25 (I think) torx, and although an allen will fit in them it will round out quickly. Although, from the picture, it does look like you have 4mm button head allens holding the rotor on, which is not what should be on there.

[ZippyZoe]

A tip for next time..

Just drill off the head of the bolt.

Good point. I didn't think of doing that at the time.

Just read through your post again.. when you said you used an allen, did you mean a Torx bit, or did you actually use an allen key?

They definitely were not torx so I had to use an allen key. My BB7s came with nice torx bolts. Why Hayes didn't use them, who knows? It would have made breaking those suckers loose a whole lot easier. Anyway, the allen key I used was quite new, so I know it should have handled the bolts just fine.

...it does look like you have 4mm button head allens holding the rotor on, which is not what should be on there.

Button heads were another problem. There was no way to get a vicegrip on them. Let's just say I found a few problems with the build early on. I believe the front rotor bolts were over-torqued. Whether the LBS attached them or the factory attached them, who knows. Not one would break free without stripping the bolt. For some reason though, the back rotor bolts broke loose just fine with an allen key. Someone must have properly used a torque wrench on those.

I am bummed about trashing the old rotor, though. :cryin: