INSIDE THE INDUSTRY
Hayes Bicycle Group
WORDS: R. Cunningham
IMAGES: Paris Gore
Milwaukee, Wisconsin is a blue-collar working town that happens to be the birthplace of both Harley Davidson and Hayes. Hayes invited Pinkbike to visit its headquarters there, which is the nerve center for Hayes Brakes, Answer accessories, Manitou suspension, SunRingle’ wheels, and Wheelsmith spokes. If that seems like a handful of divergent brands, it definitely is. There is, however, method behind that apparent madness.
The story goes, that Hayes was originally a made-in-USA manufacturer that was happily making disc brakes for mountain bikes and for its core business, which catered to Harley Davidson, motorsports and heavy industry. Sales quickly outstripped the factory’s bicycle manufacturing section. That, and pressure from Taiwanese bike makers to open a factory close by in Asia to directly service the OEM market there, led to the creation of Hayes Asia, where all of its cycling components, with the exception of Wheelsmith spokes, are now made. Hayes is not unique to this business model. SRAM was compelled to make the same move for the same reasons in its early years.
Seen in the R&D department: a Manitou MRD in-line
shock with a high volume air can and remote damping control.
The storyboard used to name the new Mattoc fork. Wall
sculpture: an un-machined magnesium fork slider casting.
More Than BrakesSometime around 2005, after enjoying a run of exceptionally good business making disc brakes for most mountain bike brands, Hayes came under fire from Shimano and SRAM. At that time, Shimano and SRAM were beginning to produce good brakes and OEM customers were under pressure to one-stop-shop their drivetrain purchases to include brakes for special pricing. Rumors were circulating that Shimano was also tooling up to make wheels. Hayes management could see the writing on the wall. The only way to compete was to diversify. By selling a component package, Hayes too, could offer attractive pricing packages and hopefully sway OEM customers to cherry pick Shimano and SRAM for their drivetrain components and to choose Hayes to fill out the rest of their bikes.
Hayes, however was a heavy manufacturing company, not a slick design and marketing firm, so a buyout was arranged, led by Rand McNally and other key Hayes managers, to buy out the previous owners and change the name to HB Performance Systems Inc. The key aspects of Hayes's business were separated into marketing divisions , and the new cycling wing was named Hayes Bicycle Group
(better known as Hayes Components.) At that moment, Rand McNally’s new enterprise could not have been better timed, as there were a number of globally known component companies that were on the edge of collapse for various reasons – so they went on a shopping spree. One month after forming the new Hayes, they bought Sun Ringlé. In 2006, they purchased Wheelsmith spokes and later that same year, the Hayes group acquired Answer/Manitou.
Hayes' Shopping Spree By the end of 2006, Hayes Bicycle Group had a pasture full of horses that needed a lot of work before they would be able to pull a wagon. Darren Campbell, who became the General Manager in 2009, said that they were committed to invest heavily to bring each brand to full strength as quickly as possible, but nobody there anticipated that the US economy would drop into a recession within months of their spending spree. At that point, most businesses would have cut and run, selling off the least promising members of their recent acquisitions. Instead, the Hayes team bolstered their resolve and stuck with the original plan.
Perhaps the best outcome of this difficult setback was that Hayes was forced to identify its target customers and then focus the product development programs for Answer, Manitou, SunRinglé and Hayes Brakes exactly on point. That point, by the way, is the middle section of the enthusiast mountain bike market, where riders expect elite performance from affordable equipment.
| We are not a glitz and glam company. We want our parts, even if they are on a 400-dollar bike, to outperform anything out there. - Darren Campbell, VP/General Manager |
To make headway in the enthusiast market, however, requires substantial commitments from OEM customers, something which was slow in coming. Surprisingly, it was Manitou suspension that gave the Hayes team its breakout year, posting the division's best return to date in 2012, and leading all of its divisions with strong sales in Europe. More recently, when the Manitou Dorado was the only downhill fork that could adapt to the mid-sized, 27.5-inch wheel, many riders and product managers rediscovered that its performance was competitive with the top offerings from RockShox and Fox – which further boosted Manitou’s credibility at a key moment.
Manitou’s initial recovery precluded the development of any new fork or shock platform, which was the reason for its adherence to the old-school 32-millimeter-stanchion format for its single-crown forks. The new
Mattoc long-stroke all-mountain fork, however, has broken the curse with its DH-damping sophistication and stiffer, 34-millimeter stanchion tubes. While we were visiting, we also took a look at a new in-line air-sprung shock design that is scheduled for 2014 release. Both suspension items are targeted at the long-travel AM/trail segment. It seems that Manitou is once again on the move.
Falling on the heels of the big-travel trend, one would think that the handlebar and stem offerings of the Answer brand – the first name in high-performance cockpit items - would be doing a smashing business, but Hayes indicated that it intentionally held back on its marketing plans for Answer in order to prioritize efforts for SunRinglé and Manitou. It doesn’t help that the market is presently saturated with boutique bar and stem makers - each with a cult following - but surely, with the Answer’s reputation for exceptionally strong and lightweight handlebars and stems, there is much potential for the brand in the present OEM and aftermarket.
SunRingléSunRinglé wheels are on a sizable chunk of OEM mountain bikes from prominent brand names, which can’t have hurt the Hayes Group. The continuing trend towards more aggressive riding styles and the all-mountain/trail segment of the market has fallen into their laps, as one of their first pushes into the wheel market was with its heavy-duty
Charger wheelset that featured 28-millimeter rims that were wider than the accepted norm at the time and featured Stan’s tubeless BST low-profile rim-flange technology.
Hayes Components’ head-first dive into factory-built wheels created a demand for high-quality spokes, which was the reason that the team purchased Wheelsmith. The initial success of the program easily outstripped the production capability of the two machines that came with the Wheelsmith deal, so they took a trip to Japan and bought out Asahi – the spoke maker that once made the lion’s share of Wheelsmith’s spokes in their heyday – and brought the entire operation to Milwaukee. Using secret stainless steel wire from Japan, and set up in the old Evinrude outboard motor factory, skilled workers coax millions of spokes from a handful of Asahi spoke forging machines that date back to the 1960s, when the Japanese company copied the original Swiss built forging and threading devices. Watching the machines work is a trip back in time to the age of steam and opportunity.
Wheelsmith also builds a small amount of wheels on site for special customers and applications, but for the most part, Sun Ringle’ wheels are manufactured in Asia where they can be shipped, just in time, to OEM customers. Ironically, Wheelsmith spokes are one of the few manufactured items (jobs excluded) that are made in the USA and exported in large quantities to Asia.
Hayes Disc BrakesIronically, Hayes is lagging in most in its founding business. Shimano has kicked every brake maker’s butt with its ICE rotor and pad technology, which has forced even the mighty SRAM to play catch up. Shimano brakes are not so far ahead that another maker could not pull alongside. The gap that Hayes must close is not the lack of power or control – but mainly because the industrial look and external adjustment features that once were the key attraction to brakes like the El Camino, have been eclipsed by new sleek and super-compact designs for both lever assemblies and calipers. That said, Hayes has extensive resources waiting to be tapped within its factory walls with which to prototype future brake, and the sharp looking Prime model indicates that they are already in the hunt. The fact that their competitors are facing the same challenge makes it a level playing field, so it will be interesting to see Hayes’ response to this industry wide challenge as its future disc brake lineup takes shape.
Inside the Factory Touring the manufacturing facility at Hayes is a treat. They build braking systems for Harley Davidson motorcycles and a number of ATV and snowmobile brands – many models of which, were present at the factory for ongoing testing. Interestingly, Hayes invented a cell-manufacturing system, a method that isolates the assembly and testing of each brake model in a unique production line, to ensure quality control for its bicycle brakes. After bicycle production was moved to its factory in Taiwan, the cells were converted to assemble motorsports brakes. Taking a step learned from OEM bicycle sales, Hayes was able to ship completely assembled, bled and tested brake systems, with hoses made to length and all the hardware in place to its customers – which turned out to be a game-changer for the motorsports industry as a whole. In this manner, Hayes can control its quality from the raw cast and forged metal components, through the customer’s first ride on the vehicle. Bow down to the power of the bicycle.
Their newest division, located in the research and development bay of the Hayes factory, is developing automated traction, braking and power-steering controls for OHV applications. Most of what we were shown was still in the secret phases, but we did get to test-ride a four-wheel-drive OHV that was wired to a computer, which featured a Hayes-designed proportional-input power-steering system. The feel was steady and sure when driving in a straight line, and the assistance kicked in to ease maneuvering when the handlebar was turned beyond a certain distance. There was a dramatic improvement when the system was tuned on. Will we be seeing power steering on bicycles? "Definitely not," was the consensus at Hayes.
| For sure, it has been a rocky road for Hayes Components to get its five brands up and running, and there is still some work ahead. As a whole, however, their hard work and perseverance seems to be paying off. Manitou and SunRingle are on the move, Wheelsmith is selling as many spokes as it can produce worldwide and Answer is in the blocks, ready to sprint into the emerging enduro segment. If Hayes Components continues at this rate, and can manage to deliver a cutting-edge brake system to go up against Shimano, they could pull off the comeback story of the decade. - RC |
See the cover photo full size.
Here you go - www.pinkbike.com/photo/10529772
I couldn't see myself buying hayes brakes though - buy a bike from a bike shop, that's 3k-5k...it's going to come specced with slx, xt, elixir...there's a few models of spesh running magura OEM and loww end ones running tektros, but I don't see the primes on too many bikes, even though they're pretty cheap. When you can get zee's and slx/XT for less than 140/side new, how are you supposed to compete with that for your new set of brakes?
Straightline makes all its work at night when everybody is asleep, due to robotics and cnc integration into production.
Maybe someone in the Companies GROUP should consider these options.
lets see what this will do for our little hobby industry
Overall I thought the article was great. Really interesting and informative, especially the stuff I didn't know like about the spokes. I remember when I first got into mountain biking back in 1991, Manitou were the forks I really wanted although I guess a lot of that was down to Tomac. The TPC forks of the mid 90s were really good performers too. They kind of lost their way somewhere along the line hey. I had a ten year break from the sport and when I came back Manitou was a laughing stock pretty much. Now I know about the Mattoc, I'd certainly consider it for my next fork if I can pick one up at the right price (and 20mm).
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DOT_5.1
Tell ya what, leave some on your car paintwork and let me know how you get on.
Secondly, California's agriculture industry is worth something like 20% of the U.S.A.'s total GDP. That's massive. I can't think of even one other place in the world with the climate suitable for production like that on such a large scale (not to mention all the illegal labour). Ag is the powerhouse of that economy...until the water runs out.
www.vitalmtb.com/photos/features/Sea-Otter-Classic-Pit-Bits-Day-2,3598/Hayes-Crosshair-Alignment,33192/bturman,109
I'm not going to tell you that the Saints and Zee brakes aren't great, because they are. I used the new Saint 820s on a Norco Aurum rental at Whistler in September and loved everything about them: 1 finger lever, the power, the modulation, the heat management, the tool free reach adjustment, and bite point adjustable with a phillips, it is the total package. The Zee's are the same except you need a 4mm allen to adjust the lever reach, and no bite point adjust.
However, and this is the BIG catch: The Prime Expert at $100 and the Pro at $125 are about 1/3 the price of the Saints and just more than 1/2 the price of the Zees. That is a HUGE difference, and with tool free reach and bite adjustment, power and modulation for days, and great CS, you simply cannot beat it for the price. The only thing you don't get is the 1 finger lever, and anyone who is a little creative with a torch can get enough curve in the lever end that it doesn't touch the other fingers when pulled only with the index finger.
Basically, if you're on a budget, or just want something new, and you're not a 1 brand only type of person, try the Primes, they won't disappoint.
That being said, I've ridden the Aces and the Primes and I can't find any more power in the Aces, and the modulation and adjustment on the Primes is head and shoulders above. Additionally, the cost is $75 for the Prime MC and $50 for the lever if you buy them separately, so it is actually $25 cheaper total to just get the whole Prime Expert for $100, or the same price for the whole Prime Pro ($125). Makes more sense just to get the whole system.
As a person that has ridden both brakes, which one do you find more powerfull - the Ace or the Prime? The adjustments and modulation are obvious to be better on the Prime.
Basically, the total power is the same, and the other differences are more preference, comfort, and functionality. If you love your Ace's and they don't give you arm pump, and it doesn't annoy you that you can't adjust the bite point as the pads wear in, you should stick with them. However, if you've got $200 burning a hole in your pocket, want a more comfortable lever, less effort to pull the lever, more modulation, ability to adjust bite point to compensate for pad wear, and no power loss, the Prime is the way to go. The Prime is my 1B to the Saint's 1A if cost were no object, but since it comes in at 1/3 the price, it is a no brainer to go with the Primes, at least for a normal bloke on a budget like me
Here in Europe the Primes are not that much cheaper than other brakes, infact i can get XTs with ICE Tech technology for less. but i am a heavy (heavy as in nearly 90kgs) brake dragger, so was thinking about Saints 820 which are ridiculously priced. Thought about Prime levers as a cheaper variant to have what i need - to ghetto-modify my brakes to become sort of Hayes Prime Aces. Speaking of which, weren't Hayes supposed to be releasing a 4-pot version of the Prime, something like a next Ace or something?
Here is a video of the stroker bleed procedure: www.youtube.com/watch?v=KpdTKzgoVGk
This is one for Prime, which is pretty much the same procedure, and a little quicker moving (5 minutes instead of : www.youtube.com/watch?v=5HzspWPOFJU
Watch those both, and you're set to bleed. One thing that I would add to that is to take at least your brake lever, if not the whole brake, OFF of your bike and put it on an old set of bars you don't give a damn about like the guy in the second video, and mount those into your work stand, that way if you have a brake fluid disaster you aren't cleaning fluid off your grips, bars, shifters, droppers post trigger, forks, tires, rims, hubs, fork stanchions, and brake caliper and pads. DOT fluid suuuuucks to clean. Also, spray bottle with alcohol. Nuff said. Go bleed some brakes.
I honestly haven't ever faded an Ace to the bar, even on some pretty burly runs, and 2 other friends still ride them, one who is a Cat 1 DH racer, and they've never had that issue either, unless the brake had air in the line and needed to be bled. Once they are bled, you're golden again. Hope this helps!
The brake doesn't fade and doesn't have air in the system, honestly they are hands down superb on track with enough power and modulation to stop my big butt!
I think i have explained very poorly. What i meant was that during hard rocky terrain the rear brake's lever adjustment winds down the lever closer to the bar on its own, because of all the vibrations. Sometimes, if it's pretty gnarly and the run is longer than usual, the lever is winded down completely and the brake stops working properly because the lever touches the handlebar before grabing the rotor. That's the only thing that's bugging me and i was thinking about putting something on the adjustment, like for example the blue or grey substance on bolts to prevent them from going loose. Don't know if this would help....
Yeah, I think some blue loctite on the threads is in order for sure! I'd coat the whole bolt and work the adjuster knob back an forth a few times so it is in every nook and cranny and then set it at your prefer position and let it dry. Yeah, vanishing brakes on a DH run can be good times gone terrible pretty quick!
The easiest way (but not the cheapest) is to get Saints. But i kinda had my fingers crossed about a real 4-pot Prime from the moment Hayes released the first news about the new model. Still wondering what's going on with that. Do you US people know anything about it? Hayes is not very famous here in Europe...
And that:
all this bike talk is giving me dreams of not having a foot of compacted ice on the ground and 6-10 inches more on the way tomorrow. ugh.
Sorry, i didn't quite understand what you mean.
I think you should shoot the Hayes guys an email, they're great about stuff like that and would tell you in a sec if it would work, because, yeah, that would be sick
Glad to see they're doing well!
Riding a Brooklyn Machine Works Racelink with a Dorado fork and a Ringlé rear hub...so still representing.
Keep up the good work!
I had both HFX9's and Strokers and both were rubbish. I won't give them a 3rd chance. Sorry Hayes.