Hayes Prime Brakes - Sea Otter 2010

Apr 16, 2010 at 10:26
by Mike Levy  
Hayes was on hand showing off their newest brake, the Prime. An entirely new platform, the Prime features both reach and dead stroke adjustment. Inside you'll find info, pictures, and a great video showing you the latest Hayes stopper

Read on...
Watch the video to learn more about the new Prime brake


Hayes Prime Brakes

by spoiledgoods
Views: 4,856    Faves: 3    Comments: 2




photo
Hayes Prime


Hayes uses their poppet cam technology to let the user adjust the dead stroke (otherwise known as bite point) easily and without tools. The poppet cam lets riders bring the bite point further out or closer to the bar depending on their preference simply by rotating the small aluminum lever 180 degrees. This combined with the anodized aluminum reach adjustment dial should allow every rider to find a lever position that they feel comfortable with.


photo
Inside the Prime master cylinder


Watch the video to see how the poppet cam works


Hayes Prime Video

by spoiledgoods
Views: 12,584    Faves: 4    Comments: 3



photo
Hayes Prime caliper


Hayes Prime Model Options


photo
photo
Hayes Prime Pro
• Tool free dead stroke adjustment
• Four layer low expansion hose
• Two piece floating rotor
• Titanium/anodized aluminum hardware
• Laser etched graphics
• Titacon lever bushings
• Sintered metallic pads as stock
• Hose grommets as standard
• Titanium pushrod
• Premium finish and cosmetics
Hayes Prime Expert
• Tool free dead stroke adjustment
• Standard hose
• Stamped stainless steel rotor
• Aluminum/steel hardware
• Pad printed graphics
• Titacon lever bushings
• Semi-metallic pads as stock
• Hose grommets not stock
• Steel pushrod
• Standard finish


photo



• A new four layer low expansion hose tuned for the Prime’s high mechanical and hydraulic ratios.
• New low noise and high Mu two-piece rotor. At 110 grams for the 6” version, it is also lighter.
• Nickel plated, titanium and anodized aluminum fasteners resist corrosion and maintain the high-end finish.
• New press fit Titacon CL 500 bushings are used in the master cylinder body.
• A new two-piece design that allows the master cylinder to be removed without affecting other handlebar components.


Look out for an upcoming test in the future!

Visit the Hayes website for more info

Author Info:
mikelevy avatar

Member since Oct 18, 2005
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107 Comments
  • 3 0
 WOW ! just read all these comments and especially ucfreaks endless no-point rants [ other than stroking his ego with so much 'wisdom' about the uselessness of this new brake lever system ] The very NOT complicated aspects of the levers easy ability to adjust for different size hands is well thought out and useful, exactly the opposite of freaks pea brain comments: blabbing before thinking and useless - i can't wait to try them - meantime 'freak', stay 'undercover' .
  • 6 0
 i think they look pritty sweet
  • 3 0
 ya id use them
  • 2 0
 I'm on my second pair of the Stroker Trails. Not because they broke or anything but because my bike was stolen and I liked them enough to buy them again. These look like they will good, as well. But, hey, maybe I just got lucky with my 2 purchases.
  • 2 0
 Hayes introduced an easy way to install/adjust disc brakes on bikes. They made adaptors for every frames and forks available for different disc size. A lot of disc brakes company are using their system. As a tech in those days, this was a great thing.
  • 2 0
 Hayes are just barking up the wrong tree. If your re doing the internals, loose the stroker style lever and body. People just associate that look with bad performance. Secondly get rid of that 180 flip reach adjuster, its going to go when you crash anyway. I set my brakes up in the workshop, not on the trails, and i dont want an adjuster that changes whenever i knock it or crash. Enough of the power talk, formula, avid and hope all have plenty of power, theres no need to attempt to beat it. If i was hayes, i would employ a new market researcher!
  • 2 2
 im with you 100% if you look a hope they have massive power stong design no small breakable parts and a good look. these brakes just have too mmuch shit attached to them! nobody adjustes pad reach while they are on a dh run lol they need to think simple not advanced and techy, they just need one simple brake that works! which they just cannot seem to do! oh and avid codes are heavy and stupid haha i bleed them allll the time at the shop, just get hope, they are the best
  • 5 0
 Main thing I would like to see is a functional hayes brake.
  • 2 0
 Hmm looks like im a minority when i say i want this brake. Only think that ive ever thought could be better from my stroker is the lever shape and it looks better in these pictures.
  • 1 0
 Why do companies that manufacture these brakes always have all these stupid little adjustments that just give more things to go wrong and i bet you wouldnt even notice anything on that dial thing thats on the prime...the only thing you probably notice when adjusting your brake is pad contact or lever reach :S?
  • 1 0
 The dial is pad contact.....
  • 1 1
 whats everybody getting their piss flaps in a twist about?? If you dont like a product or company then who's holding a gun to your head to go buy the shizzle? Between my mates and I pretty much every top end brake out there have taken a hammering. Some work great, others dont. Some are set up shit and therefore are no better than throwing a stick in your spokes. Others are set up perfectly but the wrong tyre choice or bad suspension set up render them useless anyway. Bottom line is dudes, if it works for you then ride the shit out of it, if it doesn't then bang it on ebay and try something else. The marketplace is rammed full of choice and variety and thats a beautiful thing. These hayes brakes are just yet another choice for us as consumers to make our OWN minds up on. f*ck what some arsehole on a forum thinks or even your mates..Make your own call. I personally use Quad deuce 203's. Nicely made,simple and robust. they dont fade no matter what shit you throw at them and they stop on a sixpence. What more can you ask? keep it sleazy you slags and most of all...GET OUT THERE AND f*ckING ENJOY IT!
  • 1 0
 k33: love it - or leave it! exactly my sentiments...can't believe how many 'bikewizards' there are on these sites that all have engineering diplomas that qualify them to post endless negative rants about how every new product out there is useless poodle poo - maybe they can design the PERFECT bike that will even ride on it's own so they can spend more time posting more bullshit instead of just riding. nuff said.
  • 2 0
 i dont know bout these, levers and stuff seem great, but the caliper is super small, and i love avid, but crs just dont last as long, if u want a dh brake, CODES for life!
  • 1 0
 i have codes for dh and there amazing over everything else i have had like new tech hopes and shit like that there great
  • 1 0
 They need new levers before I even consider buying them, and I don't really feel like buying new brakes and aftermarket levers the same day. I hate hayes levers.
  • 1 0
 Main thing i would like to see from these is good modulation because thats whats been setting back hayes brakes.
  • 3 1
 My stroker trails have pretty good modulationSalute
  • 1 0
 stroker trails are on or off. ¬.¬
  • 2 1
 I guess. But They're not bad.
  • 1 0
 I've never had a problem with my stroker trails. Never had a problem with stopping power. I think they are pretty good, actually. I'm interested to see how these perform.
  • 2 0
 my Stroker Trails have great lever feel, better than my brother's Juicy 5s. if anything the Juicy brakes are on/off and the Hayes are nice and linear.
  • 1 0
 Hmm xltrider, not to say your lying but I've actually experienced the opposite with my juicy 5's vs my buddies strokers. I guess the condition of the brakes and how well they are bled would also have an impact though.
  • 2 0
 we're probably just used to different brakes/setups/compounds
  • 1 0
 the modulation on my bikehut brake is impeccable
  • 1 0
 "Hi, my name's George, sent from the Hayes Bicycle Group and the James Hetfield Lookalikes of America..."
  • 1 0
 "high Mu two-piece rotor" - that's hilarious (greek letter Mu = friction coefficient).
  • 1 0
 Sounds and looks great! No matter what you all "think", only time will tell. Ride hard mates!
  • 1 0
 ay zadan ridan tu stilesh niga kHoda vekili
  • 1 0
 price in canada? for brake caliper and lever area
  • 1 0
 it them be so shit i h8 hayes
  • 1 0
 I would most definitely give these brakes a go.
  • 1 0
 does any one no how much these will retail at in britain?
  • 4 3
 awesome
  • 4 1
 i love the set up in the first pictre!
  • 2 0
 you could just get hope m4, which have the exact same feature and are probably better
  • 2 2
 avid bb5 work great , no need to spend $100's to stop
  • 2 0
 are you kidding me? i'd prefer my beautiful unscathed collarbone because i havent hit any trees over the $200
  • 1 0
 dale-brodie has a point, aren't we getting a bit unnecessarily fussy with stopping power? I've had Juicy 3s for about 3 years now, and can't see any reason to upgrade. They stop a 37ish pound bike quite nicely, in my opinion.
  • 1 0
 agreed, i can stop faster on my juicy 3s from about 30ish (140mm rotor rear 160 front) than my buddy with stroker trails with 180 mm rotors front and rear, avid also has the trialign system which in my mind is needed on many frames, even high frames, i fitted a blur xc with a shimano slx brake the other day and i had to remove the pads to shave down the pad so it wouldn't rub the rotor. case in point you can use the avid adapters and then stick trialign spacers in but thats a pain when you could just put the brake out of the box and bolt it on no questions asked
  • 1 0
 im no expert, but pretty much what i've noticed is that they all stop you, but how much adjustment you get depends on how much money you spend
  • 1 0
 if you can lock up the rear tire, there really isn't need for more braking power. I feel that a properly set-up BB7, will perform at 98% of what a hydro will, and you get no "on or off" lever feel, very easy to set up and adjust, no brake fluid all over the place.... not to mention a set of BB7's cost about 1/4 the price of you average middle of the road hydro set.
  • 1 0
 agreed, was doing a tune up on some kids capital the other day and he had a bb7 w/mono lever set up, got it all re-adjusted(im going to assume he had no f*cking clue how to set it up as it was crooked on every axis possible) worked remarkably nice. next built a bike that had strokers, it had two of them with larger rotors and it took longer to stop because there was ZERO modulation even right out of the box they sucked ass.....

and the only time my juicy 3 suffers from lack of modulation is when ive slammed on the front brake and theres less weight on the rear, simply leaning back fixes the problem Wink
  • 1 0
 Ummm, dude. Outta the box? Pads do have to bed in... I agree, I have a BB5 with odyssey lever and it locks up nearly as nice as my codes. But please don't judge a brake "out of the box". My mate just bought stroker trails for his Kona Bass after swapping his crappy shimango's out. He rode for 2 hours (Dirt Jumps) and then his brakes were locking up like crazy. So your comparison is useless. However. Once the strokers had broken in they would be pretty close as it is a middle range hydro versus a highend Ball Bearing. All in the set-up Wink
  • 1 0
 Wow Vary nice!
  • 1 0
 Whats gonna be the MSRP?
  • 1 0
 $179 for the expert, $209 for the pro
  • 2 1
 thats just ridiculous. i could buy a set of elxirs for the price of one pro
  • 2 0
 its cheaper than the strokers, yet way better. dont complain
  • 2 0
 notice how im comparing another company to hayes, not another one of hayes' products against its own. im drawing a comparison of 2 different comapnies and their prices, showing that i could get 2 brakes for the price of this one. i think i have a very good reason to complain, im sure others would agree with me. and i have owned hayes sole, and strokers, so im not just talking out of my ass
  • 1 0
 but you're not getting the same quality of brake.
  • 2 0
 fall0ut, notice how you're not comparing equal brake offerings. yeah, you can get Avid Elixir 5s for a little more than one Prime Pro, but the Elixir CR (the Avid equivalent to the Prime Pro) is $204 on Universal Cycles. I could say yeah I could get a couple Fords for the price of that Corvette ZR-1, but those Fords are baseline Mustangs. not an equal comparison
  • 2 0
 thats a good point. but my main point is that its a very expensive brake, even as much as a cr, but its not backed by the fact that its a very reliable company, for example avid. theres a lot more negative feedback in these comments than when the elixir article came out. so yes, it may be just as good as a cr, but if hayes wants to appeal to more riders, they should lower the price. not many people want to try something new that costs $200, when they could buy something that is very popular and proven reliable
  • 1 0
 Add to that, the fact that elixir 5s perform the same as elixir CRs, and the base model prime is what, 30bucks less... lets be honest here, fallout still has a good point
  • 2 0
 he has a very good point, but so does xltrider. honestly, i want to ride them before i say anything. im a hayes fan so thats why im backing them up, but i still think we should test it before be say anything about it
  • 1 1
 Yeah deffinatly, just making the point that avid manage to make there base end brake like, 70 bucks cheaper than hayes when they hayes top end is the same price as the elixir CRs
  • 3 0
 the negative feedback here is mostly due to people's preconceived ideas about Hayes. you can't compare feedback from comments that have no basis on actual experience with the brake. as far as I know, there will be more Hayes Primes without the contact adjust so they should be cheaper and more in line with the Elixir 5 and R models, most likely at similar price points. as of now, the Strokers fill in that part of Hayes's lineup. remember both of these new Prime brakes have pad contact adjustments, like the Elixir CR and Mag models. those are probably fairer comparisons: Prime Pro vs Elixir Mag , Prime Expert vs Elixir CR, Stroker vs Elixir R/5. so you could in fact argue that Hayes has better prices than Avid.
  • 1 0
 xltrider- youre right, the feedback is worse because of people repeating what they hear. and the truth is, its not fair that people are making a product seem "worse" because of BS spewing all over the place. which is why maybe hayes, like i said above, should lower the price if they want to sell more product or make it appealing; to me that seems to be one of the only options to compensate for their bad reputation, maybe just to jumpstart more people using their products to make them more poular. still, it will take a looong time for hayes to lose their bad reputation, if they even can

and i wouldnt compare an elixir 5/r to a stroker, since i have felt many strokers and from what ive felt, my r's are far superior to strokers in almost all ways. strokers (in my experiences of owning them and trying others) were just a flop of a brake, kind of like the retarded little brother of this new prime if its as good as its supposed to be.
  • 2 0
 i disagree. elixirs do have good stopping power, but the levers feel pretty clicky during actuation. and also, elixir 5's are each $175 msrp...that's pretty much on par with these guys. i don't know about you but i've bled far too many juicy threes and fives and am quite tired of avid. i'm willing to give these guys a chance, my nines were bombproof.
  • 1 0
 you also cant just lower that price of a brake, you have to make money off of it. they have spent loads of money developing a new brake and cant just throw it on the market for cheap just to sell.
  • 1 0
 bigdan- $175? nobody sells stuff for msrp anyways, so basing a price comparison off of the msrp isnt really valid.
greenfishsports.com/product/363_364_367-brakes-disc/4232-avid-bike-brake-avid-elixir-5-hydraulic-disc-brake-2010.html
  • 1 0
 exactly, how do you know the Primes will be MSRP at all places?
  • 2 0
 i'm sorry, i forgot everybody buys stuff online and not from their local bike shop.
  • 1 0
 when a brake comes out at first its usually pretty close to the msrp, even online, and then over time the prices drop. but if you wait for the cost to go down that may actually benefit you in another way, since by then there will be reviews of the brake.

bigdan- why not buy something online and save $75? i wouldnt spend another $75 just to support my lbs, unless youre one of those internet shopping haters.
  • 1 0
 i'm not an internet shopper hater, i was one myself before i worked at a bike shop. but now i realize it's worth it to buy locally; maybe not in this case, but in most. unless you know how to service your bike well, know a whole lot about bikes, and don't care about having good relations with your lbs, then it isnt worth it imo.
the reason stuff is so cheap online most of the time is because its the last in stock, going to be discontinued, or is in some crazy size. if it works, great. those kind of sales go on at your lbs, its just the internet stores have more because they tend to have buttloads of stock.
idk, what goes around comes around. you treat the lbs right, and they'll be good right back to ya. you buy online, they'll be less willing to help out when the time comes.
  • 2 0
 I'd hate to see all you guys in the same room drinking pints discussing this topic. Interesting debate none-the-less. Thanks for the good read, interesting facts and experiences but I think Hayes has had a fair share of market use and this product looks like it could improve Hayes in general. I'd still like to read a true field test and try them out myself.
  • 1 0
 i get all the help i need form my lbs and do buy small stuff from them like grips, chanring bolts, and gloves. im sure its different from the other side of the spectrum, but ive saved over $1000 just buying stuff online, and when you look at the big picture like that, i wouldnt want to be giving $1000 just to support my lbs. im sure even a bike shop employee could understand
  • 1 0
 is chain reaction cycles big in america? have you heard of it?
  • 1 0
 its not that big in america because of the shipping time
  • 1 0
 Yeah, we got a ga-zillion online retailers here in the states. Chain Reaction can only sell a few items to the US which combined with international shipping is a fortune puts them a bit down on the list. A local shop in this instance is the smart move.
  • 1 0
 CRC's shipping time isnt too bad at all. i LOVE them. if you're making any big purchases use CRC cuz they have free shipping on orders over $275. and their prices are usually cheaper than other online stores.
  • 1 1
 formula for the win.
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