RichieSpice wrote:Brucey wrote:HyRds just don't work for some folk
BTW another forum user sent me his failing HyRd calipers for post-mortem. You are quite welcome to do likewise if you want.
cheers
Hi Brucey, another Hy-Rd user here. I've been reading your various posts on them with great interest, so thank you. My rear hy-rd started leaking a lot from the seal so I switched back to the spyre. The front is still the hy-rd and I have bodged the push rod as I shouldn't to get it to work with my levers. 105s. I keep an eye on the pads but appreciate it's not correct.
My question is should I even try and repair the rear or just buy something else like the bb7s that appear to be brake of choice at the minute. The bike is my giant tcx that I use for racing cross (where I don't need brakes) but also for commuting and winter where I really wanted some more stopping power than the spyres seemed to give. I'm 75-80kg.
Thoughts appreciated
Rich
If the rear brake is mounted on the chainstay, all kinds of things can run down the HyRd pushrod and cause trouble with the hydraulics; water, dirt, even swarf (from folk trying to adjust the pushrod -which you shouldn't do anyway- without undoing the locking screw first). Because (in part) there is a small negative pressure in the hydraulic system (which helps draw the pistons back) on the return stroke, any crud that gets past the dust boot can get into the seals and cause the system to leak or fail quite quickly. Rear calipers mounted on the seatstay and front calipers seem to last longer before that kind of trouble ensues. However some calipers are apparently not cleaned properly before they are assembled in the factory; I have recently found aluminium swarf that looks like it came from manufacture inside a HyRd caliper. Amazingly this wasn't its biggest problem....
More recent road STIs (most models launched after 2008) have a longer (New Super SLR (NSSLR)) cable pull than older road levers. This means that you get slightly less power (for any given caliper) with newer levers than with older ones. TBH there is not a lot to choose between Spyres and BB7s for power. Of the two I'd suggest that BB7 are a better choice (for all weather/condition use) simply because the caliper is easier to overhaul when the time comes. Spyres (and Spykes) have a complex set of thrust bearings inside that are more vulnerable to damage through crud and corrosion. By contrast BB7s are very much simpler inside. Neither mechanism is at all well sealed.
if you want lots of power from cable discs there are some golden rules
a) use the best quality cables, well set up and well lubed. If the cables get draggy you can lose 50% of your braking effort
b) be careful about pad selection; you will find that some work better than others, even if they don't last as long
c) be absolutely scrupulous about keeping you discs grease-free (NB once pads are at all contaminated they are best replaced)
d) consider using bigger discs
Bigger discs is the simplest way to more power; most brake calipers (say on ISO mounts) can be respaced using cheap brackets so that (say) a +20mm disc can be fitted. Conveniently a front 180mm disc caliper mount is almost identical to a rear 160mm one. A 180 front and a 160mm rear is enough for most folk. (Do check that the fork will accept a 180mm disc though; a few won't).
hth
cheers