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The brakes on my commuter (Whyte Suffolk 2014) don't give me a great deal of confidence any more - pads are recent, they're still effective at slowing me down but not functioning how I think they used to (no real bite/grab). So this weekend I'm planning a proper fettle.
I've seen bleed instructions on YouTube but there's also mention around that the early versions of these didn't self adjust too well, and that there is a mystery grub screw on the caliper that can help this. How do I tell if I've got the early version or the updated one? What's the grub screw all about? Any other tips for getting them working well?
They are great brakes but I'm not sure they come from the factory particularly well bled/filled. A simple bleed and pad change on mine had them working really well and they've been perfect since.
First off, make sure you've got a good bleed kit with syringes which screw in - the kit from epicbeedsolutions works really well.
Second, make sure you don't have Tektro/TRP pads in - they are awful. I've got Uberbike semi metallic in mine and they are a different world from the original TRP pads.
I used Shimano mineral oil to do mine.
I remove the caliper from the bike and disconnect the cable. I bleed them following the epic general instructions but I hold the caliper in one hand and force the fluid in with the syringe with the other - I have a second syringe just held in a vice or similar to collect the excess fluid. Basically whilst forcing fresh fluid in I rotate the caliper through all orientations, tapping it as I go. The amount of extra air which comes out compared to a 'static' bleed is amazing.
Don't adjust the grub screw on the end of the piston actuator. This is factory set and controls the travel. It is important that the piston returns fully after operation so the internal compensation port works correctly, or you can end up losing all braking power. For the same reason, it is important to use the locking screw for the arm when setting up the cable, so it is not pre-loaded.
You can modify the action by swapping the cable clamp from the top of the piston arm to the bottom, and clamping the cable on the inside of the bolt instead of the outside. This doesn't improve the braking power, but reduces the lever travel required to actuate the brakes. With the normal set up, I found I had a lot of dead lever travel before the brakes operated. If you look online you'll find pictures showing how this works.
There have been some changes to the Hy-Rd design. I had a first generation set and had problems with a piston not retracting. Hy-Rd sent me replacement brakes when I asked about this, even though they were out of warranty, and the new ones appeared to have a different piston material. I still had some problems with a piston not fully retracting, even when everything appeared to be clean and correctly set up, and never got to the bottom of that.
They do work OK when correctly bled and when everything is set up correctly.
Thanks both - are the bleed fittings a wierd thread? I've got various bleed fittings for other brakes and was kinda hoping that one of them would fit. If not my wekend fettling plans may be scuppered.
can't answer on the bleed question as never done though I once left the bike upside down on back seat of car overnight and got a worrying whistling noise from HyRds when righted - TRP confirmed they do vent - so don't leave inverted, turned out OK but the sound was horrible - had problems with pistons sticking more than a couple of times - so for me a known fault - I just take pads out and push pistons in and carefully soak the seal with a drop or two of shimano brake fluid and clean up
I've always been happy with the action so not done any of the swop cable around stuff believe can also buy a replacement arm (not from TRP)
Don’t adjust the grub screw on the end of the piston actuator. This is factory set and controls the travel. It is important that the piston returns fully after operation so the internal compensation port works correctly, or you can end up losing all braking power.
You can tweak that screw if you are very careful- I had a go and got maybe an extra 1/3 of a turn with everything still working properly, but a I got it wrong to start with and it was a LOT of faff to get it right again. I would strongly recommend you don't though unless you are incurably curious and willing to accept the fact your brakes may stop working!
I didn't get on with swapping the cable to the other side. In the end I accepted the brkaes had more travel at the lever than I'd like but perfectly acceptable power.