Submitted by
Squeaky Brakes
a Weekend Warrior
from portland, oregon USA
Date Reviewed: January 27, 2012
Strengths: No complaints about stopping power. Many complaints about everything else.
Weaknesses: Even when adjusted and lubed the best possible way these brakes drag. The piston is sticky and only pinches from one side. It works by deflecting the disk toward a stationary pad on the other side. Cheap to make and crappy to use.
Bottom Line:
Like many of the other commenters have noted these brakes squeak loudly, especially when wet, which is all the time if you live in Oregon. Because they drag/squeak all the time, you HATE them ALL THE TIME. At least you get a better workout when you ride because the brake pad that moves is always in contact with the disk no matter how much you fiddle with it.
This caliper came on my wife's mid to low-pricepoint Kona and I wish they had cut costs elsewhere because this brake is just terrible. Did I mention that it drags and is LOUD as hell?
Don't ever buy one of these or, if someone attempts to give you one, don't accept. Don't pick one up if you see one on the ground, just walk/ride on by. When I replace this one, I'm going to smash it with a hammer.
Strengths: good stopping power. good for on road on a dry day (otherwise makes a horrid sound)
Weaknesses: nightmeare to maintain the rear brake is always locking up i have tried oiling it but it still seems to screw up !.one night i was out riding and suddenly my rear brake faild i thought it would be a simple fix so when i got home i took of the rear wheel and thats when i discoverd the magnet from the rear brake all over the disk and tail of the bike it is not the easyest part to get you'r hands on eather so now i have to buy a new set of brakes and i can tell ya it wont be the hayes. i would not recomend thease brakes for off road users.when wet they make the most horrid noise !
Bottom Line:
thease brakes can not take a good thrashing so thearefor i would not recomend thease to off road users but would moste likely be perfect for on road users.
Submitted by
soupper
a Racer
from Halifax, NS, Canada
Date Reviewed: October 11, 2010
Strengths: They make the bike STOP! I've used these for almost 3 years now on my commuter setup (about 120k per week) I have only had to replace pads once. I'm not zipping down any death defying mountains with them but I can tell they sure come in handy on a rainy morning when a 50' multi-ton bus decides to cut you off when your at a decent speed. They are very easy to maintain.
Weaknesses: If properly maintained I wouldn't expect any problems. Keeping the rotors clean is half the battle.
Bottom Line:
I wish I could convince every commuter to use discs, so much safer!
Similar Products Used: I have put the same brakes on a beater I resurrected. And have mx2 version on a Norco Wolverine.
Bike Setup: 2008 Kona Dew Plus, 2001 Kona Cinder Cone.
Overall Rating:
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Submitted by
gpic449
a Weekend Warrior
from Danville, CA USA
Date Reviewed: June 11, 2010
Strengths: Cheap
Weaknesses: Easy to break, bend its discs, starts making a weird noise in the first few days, dont buy.
Bottom Line:
These brakes suck. If they come on your bike, dont be surprised if you break them. Never buy these if you are buying aftermarket parts because it is NOT worth it.
Similar Products Used: Avid Elixir 5, Tecro comp, Hope M 4.
Bike Setup: Custom titan frame
Overall Rating:
Value Rating:
Submitted by
Lajko
a Weekend Warrior
from West Seattle, WA
Date Reviewed: March 15, 2010
Strengths: Nice, good breaking power, especially down our steep hills. Used for in-city riding in Seattle so shortly I'll know how they work when wet. Maybe not the best for the serious down-hiller, but perfect on my new K2-ZED 4.4 for inner city commuting. They came with the bike, on sale so it fit my budget of under $400 for a commuter bike.
Bottom Line:
If you're a serious outdoorsman, maybe you wany something better. For in-city commuting in Seattle, they work just great. So much better than rim brakes.
Favorite Trail: Green River, but now covered in sand bags
Duration Product Used: Less than 1 month
Price Paid:
$1.00
Purchased At: Sports Authority
Bike Setup: K2 ZED 4.4
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Submitted by
norcorider95
a Weekend Warrior
from London
Date Reviewed: February 14, 2010
Strengths: works.
easy to fix.
looks good.
seems light.
Weaknesses: Discs are so crap, im on my 3rd one (rear) but the front one has been perfect.
Bottom Line:
good brakes for XC but not for downhill :S they work but hard to get in the right place. they either rub to much and work perfect or, dont rub and dont work.
Similar Products Used: urm none really, some basic shimano's
Bike Setup: Norco wolverine.
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Submitted by
X_er
a Weekend Warrior
from Newhall, CA USA
Date Reviewed: October 15, 2009
Strengths: Easy to dial in and service. NO BLEEDING of a hydro. Awesome power. Nice modulation similar to a good hydro. Excellent for all mountain and x-country . . . my type of riding. These are far better than the Juicy hydros I had.
Weaknesses: Some squealing/noise after hard use due to heat. But after cooling, noise goes away . . . until the next long/fast decent.
Bottom Line:
I would highly recommend these brakes . . . for their all-mountain and x-country performance to any body. Their value and performance can't be beat!! Go buy a set and get rid of those hydros.
Submitted by
cornt1989
a Cross Country Rider
from Cleveland, OH
Date Reviewed: October 10, 2009
Strengths: Stop on a dime!
Weaknesses: Loud when wet.
Bottom Line:
These are my first disk brakes and I would never have thought that a bike can get stopped so fast. After reading other review I don't understand how much faster one can get stopped. These provide great stopping power that does not fade at all under any conditons or inclines. If set up right the only ajustments are turing the inner pad with an allen wrench, something everyone should have on a trail anyway. I have to say that I don't like how loud they are when wet, but the stopping power is absolutely unbeatable for coming standard on my bike.
Submitted by
slogophobia
a Weekend Warrior
from Corvallis, OR, USA
Date Reviewed: September 17, 2009
Strengths: great power, very smooth, quiet when dry, good modulation
Weaknesses: sqeaky when wet. cant buy them, only come on bikes.
Bottom Line:
one of the best cable brakes i've ever used. minus the squeaking of course. i prefer them over the bb7's i have now. bb7's might be a bit more powerful but i just like the mx4's better.
Similar Products Used: avid ultimates i prefer mx4's :)
Bike Setup: Giant STP Zero 2008 (ash cycles)
£649.95
Diety bars £45.00(crc)
Diety stem £40.00 (crc)
Diety vendetta crankset £136.00 (crc)
Gusset double six single speed £21.00 (crc)
Ns pancake pedals £25.00 (crc)
Funn combat grips £12.00 (crc)
Macneil pivotal seat £20.00 (evans cycles)
Blank pitital seat post £17.00 (crc)
Overall Rating:
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Submitted by
Nasty_
a Racer
from Eastbourne, Great Britain
Date Reviewed: May 27, 2009
Strengths: easily as strong as alot of hydro's, if not stronger, especially considering how much they cost. easy to set up, and easily have the power to lock both wheeles at any speed, be it on downhill tracks or just street ridding. work in the wet, you'd never tell any difference other than a bit of squeaking. pads are easy to access, easy to center.
Weaknesses: erm, i guess the pads squeak a bit if you dont clean them for a few months, but then so does any other brake ive tried.
Bottom Line:
probably some of the best brake around, especially for the money. Anyone who who seems to think otherwise hasn't set them up properly. i know this because i lucky enough to work as a bike tech, so im pretty good at setting up brakes.
Obviously, if your intending to do hard downhilling, youd be better off with some more expensive hydraulics, but other wise you cant go wrong with them.
They will cope with what ever you can through at them, ive even managed land my bike with most of the impact taken by one of the brake calipers against a rock, and it didnt even bend it.
Would definitely recommend them instead of more expensive brakes hydraulics, especially if your on a budget.
Similar Products Used: hayes stroker trails, avid bb5s, tektro IO's, old school hope hydros( dunno what model), hayes hfx 9, quad hydro, avid juicy 3 & 5.
Bike Setup: currently using them on my mongoose ammassa comp jump bike, which i also use for DH, as i currently havnt finished
building my trek session. running with a 203mm front disc, 160mm rear. marzocchi DJ comps, hone holowtech crank, sramm gears(dont buy).
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Submitted by
Matt123
a Cross Country Rider
from Long Island
Date Reviewed: May 17, 2009
Bottom Line:
these brakes came on my bike and didnt have the money to replace them at first. so i used them and i cant wait to get rid of them and get bb7s. they always squeak on the trails and fade all the time. im getting bb7s within this month and cant wait to get rid of these. i dont know how these brakes get 4 stars they are the worst Hayes makes. if you buy a bike with these i suggest you buy a new set of brakes when you have the money to do it. ill give them two chilis because they were manageable in the time for me to buy bb7s
