It’s that time of year when I get to call up my good friends in the industry and see what’s up and coming and possibly squeeze out some interesting tidbits about new products. I recently got a chance to talk with with Joel Richardson, Production Manager at Hayes Disc Brakes, which is always super fun and exciting. I enjoy talking with Joel because we speak the same language – “Techish” – and he’s a person who is super stoked to talk about new products in development.

Joel managed a bike shop in Wisconsin from 1994-1998 and as things go in this kind of business he ended helping Len Cabaltera (the original Hayes guy) with development of the Hayes Mag brake back in 1996.

“Len would come into my shop and ask for design and feature feedback on the prototypes.  We had no idea what it would lead to. He hired me straight out of College in 1998 and I started in tech, hand bleeding brakes and answering phones.”

Joel moved around the company a few times before landing in his current position as the brake Product Manager.

Our conversation started out with a bit of small talk, chatting about the usual challenges riders have with disc brakes and set-up. It’s during conversations like these that new ideas are introduced and Joel and I actually came up with a few good ones – perhaps you may even see one or two in the near future, you never know. Anyhow getting into it, we talked a bit about technology and key product characteristics Hayes will carry forward and improve upon and even touched on some of the new stuff under development.

Above: a Hayes design that never went into production but got some serious consideration. Back in 2002 Hayes came up with a two piece rotor for Shimano’s centerlock hub design.

One of the most exciting new products at Hayes this year is the Prime braking system. Prime is the name of the eventual replacement for the Stroker brake line-up and the Prime Pro and Expert take all that is great about the Stroker – forged calipers, compact master cylinder design, and tool free reach adjustment – and make it even better. Prime brakes feature a new caliper design that can withstand a set of bigger pistons and allow you to change up the pads without removing the caliper thanks to a top-loading design. The new brakes also throw in a floating two-piece rotor for the icing on the cake.

The new Prime master cylinder design was put under heavy scrutiny during the design phase. Keeping the basic Stroker design, Hayes tilted the cylinder 10 degrees to maximize finger positioning and changed up the master cylinder internals to allow for easy position adjustments and pad placement. As if that weren’t enough, Prime brakes features a new hose design that minimizes expansion and improves feel while sporting a plethora of exotic materials to reduce weight – now that’s Prime!

A good bit of motorsports technology was put into the Prime brake design. These brakes will outperform all of the present systems that Hayes produces thanks in part to the largest pistons they have ever produced @ 26mm. Many hundreds of hours were needed to develop a brake that would feel consistent under the tremendous forces generated in the caliper. Early in the product development Hayes decided that the calipers needed to be forged to achieve performance expectations (just like the previous model Strokers).

Hayes takes product testing very seriously and one of the tools they use is a Dynamometer capable of testing real world situations such as high speed/high input and wet conditions, shock, and vibration, while monitoring hydraulic pressure, force, speed, torque and temperature. After the dyno test, Hayes slaps the brakes on real bikes rigged with data capturing tools for actual testing on the dirt.

Here’s more from my conversation with Joel.

So when can we expect the Prime for sale to the public?
Everything is pointing to a June 2010 release date.

How powerful is the Prime and where does it fit in the line-up?
It surpasses the power of the Stroker Ace 4 piston brake by 23% on average.

There are two versions here, are we going to see another model or two in the future?
You bet, we are investigating the possibilities for a carbon version.

Are you planning on matching the finish on the brakes to other components produced by Hayes group of companies?
Maybe you can find the ANSWER.

I noticed there are no weights listed yet, any clue as to how light these units will be?
You’re looking at about 385 grams for the Pro and approximately 415 grams for the Expert, give or take a few grams.

On the new Prime brakes I noticed Hayes is going with a two-piece rotor. How long has that been in the making? I recall there were rumors that you were thinking about that…
Back in 2002 there was consideration and work on a two-piece rotor but for various reasons it never made production.

Along with Prime, what other things are changed up for 2010?
The Stroker Gram now comes in all white with a white brake hose. The Stroker Ace has a revision on the friction material making it easier to burnish the brake pads while the caliper and brake lever now come in black. We also started selling the Stroker Ace tool kit as well as the Feel’r gauge to set up your brakes. In 2010 the familiar HAYES logo is back on our brakes as well.

Well folks, stay tuned for a product review or two of the new 2010 Hayes brake offerings. I’m not sure about you but I’m stoked to give the new Prime brakes a run for their money!

Hayes Company History

1972 –  Schwinn 200E Series bicycle disc brake
1993 –  Production of DiaCompe Speed Check Disk Brake
1997 –  HFX Mag
1999 -  Cable Actuated Hydraulic
2000 -  Redesigned flip-flop Mag MC 2 piece clamp, G1 Caliper 74mm post mount
2001 -  HMX-1 Mechanical
2002 -  HFX-Comp, HML Mechanical Levers
2003 -  HFX Mag Plus, HFX Nine MC, G2 Caliper
2004 -  HFX Nine Carbon, MX-1 Mechanical, MX-2 Mechanical, Wave Rotors
2005 -  El Camino, Sole, , BFL Levers, V-Series 6 & 8″ Rotors
2006 -  MX 3, V7(180mm) Rotor, SRL Lever
2007 – Stroker Trail / Ryde, Stroker Carbon/ V9 (224mm) rotor
2008 – Stroker Ace / Stroker Gram/ V5 (140mm) rotor
2010 – Now the PRIME

Hayes firsts

• Flip/Flop universal lever design with 2-piece clamp master cylinder body

• Three layer hose construction

• Tool-free brake pad change

• Magnesium master cylinder bodies

• Bladder/cartridge master cylinder design

• Ball socket caliper pistons

• Flip/Flop radial master cylinder

Hayes industry standards

• 74 mm post mount calipers with slotted mount feet

• 203 mm rotor size

• 10 mm quick release hub rotor offset

• 15 mm 20mm thru and rear hub rotor offset

• .070” thick rotors

• Forward arcing rotor splines for thermal capabilities and strength

• T25 low profile disc screws

For those who like to ride fast down a steep downhill or if you live life on the edge waiting to hit your brakes at the last possible minute, Hayes Stroker Ace brakes may be perfect for you. Hayes has upped the ante once again with the Stroker Ace brakes; these babies have a slightly larger and thicker brake lever than the otherwise identical master cylinder of the original Hayes Strokers and an all new mono-bloc forged 4 piston caliper (like a F1 brake caliper). I just finished testing the Hayes Stroker Ace brakes and these new features plus the larger brake pads have delivered an eye popping experience.

The Stroker Aces advertised brake system weights of 440g (6” rotors) and 520g (8″ rotors) are slightly less than my measurements of 452g (for my 6” rear rotor) and 552g (for my 8” front rotor). Installing the new brakes was pretty straight forward and there was even enough hose for long travel bikes. I have tried riding with a 7” rear disc and found the braking was too powerful back there for my riding style. The 6” rear disc works well for me and it even saves some weight!

Now on to how well the Stroker Aces actually performed on the trails. It took a few runs to break in the pads and two caliper adjustments to finally get the Aces set up just right.  During my testing, I evaluated several aspects of the brakes performance including noise level, rotor and pad durability, brake modulation and release, biting force, torque, and fade.  The following chart is a summary of my observations.

I was really impressed with the modulation of these brakes and gave it a high rating of 9 out of 10.  The Stroker Aces really had a lot of control despite the large pad size and four pistons.  There was moderate braking torque when first applying the brakes.  After subsequent applications of the brake, the forces built up and I gradually had to back off the amount of braking required.  Usually when you keep applying brakes they tend to fade or need more force, but these do the opposite.  After changing the brake fluid to DOT 5.1, I found the brake actuation to be a little better.

I rated the silence of these brakes a six out of ten. It was a very wet day when I noticed the rotors and pads generating some noise that was difficult to remove.  The noise was at slow speeds and did not occur at high speed application of the brakes.  Last, the rotors and pads held up well to my testing, there was hardly any sign of wear on either part.  I’ll be keeping the Stroker Aces on my rig to see how they do in the long run though.

Overall, these brakes work extremely well and if you have a long legged all mountain, black diamond or DH mountain bike, get yourself a set of Hayes Stroker Aces and you won’t be disappointed!