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Hayes stroker Master cylender problem

7K views 24 replies 10 participants last post by  dogonfr 
#1 ·
so i pulled a new bike out of the box, got it all together and it turns out that the front brakes master cylinder return spring seems to be stuck or not working properly, im just curious if anybody else has run into a Master Cylinder problem on a new set of Hayes Strokers.
 
#3 ·
"Some Strokers (Ryde and Trail) went out with inadequately greased master cylinder o-rings.

In some cases, this causes a slow lever retraction. They created a service kit that consists of a small dish of DOT-4 compatible grease and a lint-free applicator swab.

All you need to do is to remove the pushrod from the master cylinder, apply grease to the top of the master cylinder (with the piston pushed into the cylinder), allow the piston to rise and apply grease to the o-ring. If done correctly (it's a piece of cake), there's no need to re-bleed the brake.

One kit contains enough grease to service about five sets of brakes. Owners of affected brakes should take them to an authorized Hayes dealer to have the service performed."
 
#6 ·
Where did you get this from?

mtb_biker said:
"Some Strokers (Ryde and Trail) went out with inadequately greased master cylinder o-rings.

In some cases, this causes a slow lever retraction. They created a service kit that consists of a small dish of DOT-4 compatible grease and a lint-free applicator swab.

All you need to do is to remove the pushrod from the master cylinder, apply grease to the top of the master cylinder (with the piston pushed into the cylinder), allow the piston to rise and apply grease to the o-ring. If done correctly (it's a piece of cake), there's no need to re-bleed the brake.

One kit contains enough grease to service about five sets of brakes. Owners of affected brakes should take them to an authorized Hayes dealer to have the service performed."
Got the same problem and I"m trying to do it myself. Despite the directions, it still doesn't work. There is no Oring. At least not that you can see after depressing the piston.

I"ll just have to call Hayes after the new year.
 
#9 ·
Mtb biker is correct, if what he says doesn't work then your brake should go back to Hayes, mine turned up with the same problem which was easily fixed by grease.

According to my LBS Hayes sent the whole first batch out with no un-greased cylinder o-rings mostly on the rear brake.

After that was fixed my brakes worked perfectly and remember this forum is being sponsored by Hayes, we are being watched.:skep: :D
 
#10 ·
Just spoke with Hayes

EGF168 said:
Mtb biker is correct, if what he says doesn't work then your brake should go back to Hayes, mine turned up with the same problem which was easily fixed by grease.

According to my LBS Hayes sent the whole first batch out with no un-greased cylinder o-rings mostly on the rear brake.

After that was fixed my brakes worked perfectly and remember this forum is being sponsored by Hayes, we are being watched.:skep: :D
They're sending me out the bleed fitting and servce kit for the stick brakes.

My bike is at my LBS and apparantly, I'm the only one who has complained about the brakes. They said the'd open up the brakes and grease it without the "service kit." I guess you just need some Hayes grease.

I tried it myself with the directions, and it doesn't help. I can't see how the grease can get behind the piston with their directions.
 
#11 ·
Well the dealer just told me what he had done to fix it and it was fixed. It was only the first batch that had this problem so your dealer probably doesn’t have any other bike with that problem. On the other hand "You are the only one who have had problems with this." and “this problem is very common with on this brake.” are both standard lines allot of dealers come out with so its best to take those to lines with a pinch of salt.

I would like to be more helpfull but I the dealer did mine in about 5 mins, mine started of with the lever not returning at all, but it now works just as well as my front brake, mine came stock on a 2008 Giant Trance X2.
 
#13 ·
EGF168 said:
Well the dealer just told me what he had done to fix it and it was fixed. It was only the first batch that had this problem so your dealer probably doesn't have any other bike with that problem. On the other hand "You are the only one who have had problems with this." and "this problem is very common with on this brake." are both standard lines allot of dealers come out with so its best to take those to lines with a pinch of salt.

I would like to be more helpfull but I the dealer did mine in about 5 mins, mine started of with the lever not returning at all, but it now works just as well as my front brake, mine came stock on a 2008 Giant Trance X2.
How many hours of ride time has it been since the fix and in what conditions?
 
#15 ·
I asked them to fix it when I first test rode the bike and when I came back to buy about an hour later when they had set it up a bit better it was working, I collected it on 31/10/07 and since then I have been sharing the use with a RM Slayer and a Specialized Stumpjumper so I have not used it as much as most of the people on here with a
Trance X.

So its probably only about 30hrs ride time, I know I did a long 4hr ride when it was raining all the way but apart from that its been clay, sandy peaty mud, allot of chalk and some sandstone mostly in dry cold weather with allot of mud in this lovely British winter here.

The brakes had an initial bout of "turkey gobble" but that went straight away when I took the it out in mud and rain. And they have been perfect ever since the first week with the bad weather.:thumbsup:
 
#16 ·
EGF168 said:


After that was fixed my brakes worked perfectly and remember this forum is being sponsored by Hayes, we are being watched.:skep: :D
Big Brother here...;)

Just wanted to chime in semi-officially. I'm glad that word has gotten out about the service kit. Sounds like the shop guys are doing a good job taking care of the affected brakes.

EGF168 - thanks for sharing your experience. I'm glad you're digging the brakes. And dogonfr - thanks as always for being the voice of reason.

Just a couple notes of clarification. The o-ring is on the piston, not the cylinder. Coating the interior of the cylinder with the supplied grease will allow the piston to retract far enough to expose the o-ring. You then hit the o-ring itself with grease and depress the piston back into the cylinder. Also, the grease is DOT-4 compatible, which is critical. Please don't try to service an affected brake with any other kind of grease (Phil Wood, Finish Line, etc.).

Lastly, please call us up if you have any service-related questions. The number is in my signature below. We're happy to help.

Ride safe and have fun.,
Denny
 
#17 ·
That clarifies my confussion.

Racerveza said:
Big Brother here...;)

Just wanted to chime in semi-officially. I'm glad that word has gotten out about the service kit. Sounds like the shop guys are doing a good job taking care of the affected brakes.

EGF168 - thanks for sharing your experience. I'm glad you're digging the brakes. And dogonfr - thanks as always for being the voice of reason.

Just a couple notes of clarification. The o-ring is on the piston, not the cylinder. Coating the interior of the cylinder with the supplied grease will allow the piston to retract far enough to expose the o-ring. You then hit the o-ring itself with grease and depress the piston back into the cylinder. Also, the grease is DOT-4 compatible, which is critical. Please don't try to service an affected brake with any other kind of grease (Phil Wood, Finish Line, etc.).

Lastly, please call us up if you have any service-related questions. The number is in my signature below. We're happy to help.

Ride safe and have fun.,
Denny
I was little confused about the directions. I was under the impression to depress the piston back in the cylinder, coat the inner walls of the cylinder and release. This would allow the grease to get the O-Ring as it came up. But it didn't work for me. I didn't thtink the grease would get behind the piston - the clearance is tight....

So the grease allows the piston to come out MORE and then you hit the O-ring? That would make total sense, but wasn't sure if the piston had enough throw to come out that far.

I spoke to John Trusky and he was super helpful.

THis is my first dealing with Hayes and it was very positive. Quick email response. Thumbs up.:thumbsup:
 
#18 ·
Told you we was being watched, we must say good things about Hayes brakes, of course I don't need to cos I think they're brilliant anyway, so far they are even way outperforming my £250 set of 08 XT brakes in terms of braking power, smoothness and noise, not a complaint about Hayes but the 08 XT lever really does feel amazing, much better than any other brake in my opinion, even the people at Hayes can't miss how good they feel.

Anyway:thumbsup: to Hayes.
 
#19 ·
EGF168 said:
Told you we was being watched, we must say good things about Hayes brakes, of course I don't need to cos I think they're brilliant anyway, so far they are even way outperforming my £250 set of 08 XT brakes in terms of braking power, smoothness and noise, not a complaint about Hayes but the 08 XT lever really does feel amazing, much better than any other brake in my opinion, even the people at Hayes can't miss how good they feel.

Anyway:thumbsup: to Hayes.
:lol::lol: The eyes are on You!! Personally I dont feel the sponsored sites are being watched as much as they hope the people on the forum can help one another. :thumbsup:

It's nice to have a brake like the Stroker you can control the amount of brake being applied. Some like instant lockup power some like great feel. :cornut:
 
#20 ·
Update after almost a year of riding the first generation Stokers.

I had my local bike shop install the kit to fix this problem after about a month of riding. The kit consisted of a new spring and grease. The kit SEEMED to fix the problem for a little while.

Well, it lasted a few months and I had to have them fixed again and again..... I finally called Hayes myself and they want me to send in the brakes. They will either fix them or replace them. Ive had/have Hayes brakes on all my bikes, even my road bike and these are the first Hayes brakes to give me so many problems.

I know I have a set from the first batch. I hope they just replace them as I dont want them fixed. Ive had nothing, but problems with these brakes. I had them fixed, while in Whistler, and it last about 2 days. So all in all Ive had the brakes fixed 3-4 times and the same problem reoccurs only a few weeks later. Ive learned to ride them this way. The lever never retracts and the pads start to rub.

Hayes if you are listening my brakes are in the mail with an RA# on the box.

I dont mean to be a jerk. Im building a new bike and I really want the new Hayes Aces, but my brake decision will depend on how Hayes handles my Strokers situation. The best brake Ive ever owned was a set of Mags that were on multiple bikes and were NEVER bled. It seems like all the new bike parts these days just fall apart and need too much maintenance.
 
#21 ·
kntr said:
Update after almost a year of riding the first generation Stokers.

Hayes if you are listening my brakes are in the mail with an RA# on the box.

I dont mean to be a jerk. Im building a new bike and I really want the new Hayes Aces, but my brake decision will depend on how Hayes handles my Strokers situation. The best brake Ive ever owned was a set of Mags that were on multiple bikes and were NEVER bled. It seems like all the new bike parts these days just fall apart and need too much maintenance.
Why not start a new post???:confused:

Im sure Hayes will do what is right but wouldnt hold my breath on a straight exchange for Aces. :)
 
#22 ·
Update:

Strangely the brakes that my LBS fixed on my Trance X were a set of the first production ones that had the issue, they've been working fine ever since but I now have a second much newer Giant fitted with these brakes and the levers need greasing and oiling every few months to stop them from rattling and creaking, it's a different part of the lever that's creeking to the one this thread is for but I thought I'd mention it anyway. It has since spread to the front brake and is needing oiling and greasing more often, most likely because we skipped summer and carried through from spring to autumn in the UK this year which has meant plenty of **** weather for the bike. It's not a major problem and I'm happy to keep oiling the lever joints unless it gets too bad.

My point is that the levers are the weak point on an otherwise near perfect brake, perhaps Hayes should look into them a bit more. Anyway, I'd did a review of the Stroker's on my blog: :) :thumbsup:

http://lordonone.blogspot.com/2008/10/hayes-stroker-trails.html
 
#24 ·
I got the brakes back yesterday. They replaced both master cylinders and put new pads in. They also threw in a set of the semi-metalic pads to try out. I sure hope this fixes the problems I was having with these darn brakes. This is my last shot at Hayes.
 
#25 ·
kntr said:
I got the brakes back yesterday. They replaced both master cylinders and put new pads in. They also threw in a set of the semi-metalic pads to try out. I sure hope this fixes the problems I was having with these darn brakes. This is my last shot at Hayes.
Very nice :thumbsup: :thumbsup: Th Semi-Metallic pads are awesome for DH. :drumroll:
 
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