Hayes Dominion A4 4-piston brake - 10 reasons why it may be the best brake option today
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- čas přidán 12. 06. 2024
- Best 4-piston mountain bike and ebike brakes compared to the Hayes Dominion A4 and A2 brakes
Hayes A4 Dominion - alnk.to/3J5FKxK
Sram Maven Ultimate - alnk.to/fHlcscK
Trp dhr evo - alnk.to/44VbIfX
Sram db8 new mineral oil brakes (for $64) - alnk.to/58pJBaH
Sram code RSC - alnk.to/9bta9XM
Shimano xt 8120 - alnk.to/hDpxf8F
Magura mt7 (for $370) - alnk.to/4qKHFYe
Shimano xtr 9120 - alnk.to/7foPn3H
Sram code ultimate Stealth - alnk.to/esVTAwd
Tektro M535 - alnk.to/1XW5Wrd - Sport
Hayes Dominion - alnk.to/3J5FKxK
Sram Maven Ultimate - alnk.to/fHlcscK
Trp dhr evo - alnk.to/44VbIfX
Sram db8 new mineral oil brakes (for $64) - alnk.to/58pJBaH
Sram code RSC - alnk.to/9bta9XM
Shimano xt 8120 - alnk.to/hDpxf8F
Magura mt7 (for $370) - alnk.to/4qKHFYe
Shimano xtr 9120 - alnk.to/7foPn3H
Sram code ultimate Stealth - alnk.to/esVTAwd
Tektro M535 - alnk.to/1XW5Wrd
I love these brakes. I would rate the low lever force required at max braking the #1 reason to buy these. On a full fat ebike descending super steep trails at speed, these cannot be beat. My Codes left my hands numb from squeeing the lever so hard. Aftermarket pads are way cheaper than OEM and work well. Also, SRAM bleed kit works on Dominions.
So, so good! We want the world to discover them. Cool news about the Sram Bleed kit.
Ya my hands get tired on long rough decent with codes thinking hays dominion or trick stuff maxima
@@EMTBReview i just discover them too are these the best brake to get if you want absolute control???? And what about the bleed kit???
Good job on the thorough lever weights.
Just ordered a set of A4's because of this video! Thanks for the detailed breakdown and testing! This channel is providing unique and valuable info, keep it up!
Just got them on and tried yesterday, amazing so far! Good video.
Glad you like them! They are a reliable and consistent performer!!!
Thanks Francis, well informed and well explained review. I have Shimano SLX on my Canyon Spectral: ON and have liked the modulation performance but bite point wonders and they are not super strong. I have a YT Decoy Core 4 coming that has the A4’s so am looking forward to testing them out. They pair it with a 220mm rotor on the rear.
Great to hear! The Shimano 4-piston breaks were always a great brake with good power but with the use of emtbs and big, rowdy descents, we found its limits.
On to better brakes!!!
Hayes does offer a 220mm D-series rotor. I just ordered some. Can't wait to get these brakes installed. I do think they are the best all around based on what I hear.
I’ll look for those rotors. Yes, with all its assets, it may be better than the rest
Yeah, all you really need is a 2 mil thick rotor to make sure the pad contact is the same as the stock hayes rotors.
I've always been an XT person, tried Magura on one of my bikes, I liked but not for me, just bought some Lewis brakes and I am quiet impressed, really powerful ,much reduced arm pump on longer descents. I was wondering only last night what happened to Hayes brakes hadn't seen them about for a long time, had some on my old Trek Liquid many moons ago.
Lewis Brakes... that's next on our list. Looks like a Chinese company making quality stuff? It doesn't look like they have a US office at all. I'll check it out.
Hayes was the king decades ago and they fell from grace and the products were not very good for a while. They seemed to really reinvent themselves and these Dominions are the result. But low-key marketing and the reception from riders and media has been slow, including myself.
But digging into these brakes, it's really good.
A mate has them on his bike and they're so good for lever feel and braking power.
5.1 fluid is not for me but they certainly deliver stopping power.
Great comment, thank you. Yes, some folks are moving away from Dot 5.1 brake fluid.
Me, I used to think my favorite brakes were the codes RSC but I've come to enjoy the DB8's & Lewis LH4 less corrosive and easy to maintain, I must say the DB8 have a similar bleeding procedure to codes, some people hate to have to pressurize the lever but I'm so used to it it's not an issue, plus mineral oil is less stressful to work with and it has a way more reasonable shelf life, cannot tell how many 3/4 full dot containers I threw aways ...
I just ordered some yesterday for 400 flat from Hayes website. Going to put them on my stumpy evo looks like they’ll be great for DH
You missed the "Brake Bundler" option. You could have got an additional 10% off each item during the 20% off site wide sale if you had bought at least one item in each of the following categories: (1)brakes, (2)rotors and brake mounts, (3) accessories. My Dominion A4 brakes were $180 per side, and I bought 203mm D-series rotors front and rear along with brake mounts, and the Hayes Brake Alignment tool (worthless in my opinion). I hesitated when submitting my order, and when I came back the next day, I saw the "Brake Bundler" option, which I checked out, and that saved me another 10% off the brakes, mounts, and rotors.
@@JohnSmith-tw2hnI didn’t need rotors I’m using SRAM HS2 rotors from my last brake set and they are perfect so far all I needed was the brakes themselves
Huh? I have a Hayes 220mm rotor for my front dominion. Ordered from their website.
Agree with all your other points though. Jagwire elite bleed kit is great. Spend the money once.
I'm looking to swap all of my shimano out now...
just fore everyone's knowledge, I'm a bike tech and have the a4's on my bike. they're the best brake I've personally ridden but their bladers are kinda finicky to work on. DO NOT PULL A VACCUM WHILE BLEEDING. The DOT fluid isn't an issue cause it means you stay on top of the fluid in the system. As for serviceability I almost always take the wheel off while servicing brakes because it allows me to get a good look at the braking surface, and piston movement, and the independent caliper bleed is a game changer. not to mention for my home mechanics they sell full rebuild kits for both the lever and caliper.
Comments like yours are a blessing to this channel. Thank you!!!!!! Hope you stick around
What do you mean by "bladers"? What happens if you pull a vacuum with a syringe? Does that pull air in from the seals around the pistons? Thanks.
The parts are kinda hard to find sometimes is my only issue. With SRAM you can find components in any random shop.
Good point. Key thing though is they're all available direct now from Hayes online.
Francis are you going to review the new norco fluit vlt lightweight emtb? believe it comes with the bosch sx motor.
I hope so. Maybe at Sea Otter!
hey what mic is that? sounds really nice
This is the DJI Mic 2. Nice unit for sure and it can store recordings on its own, as well as send to a receiver connected to the camera.
Hey, thanks for review! Can you comment how do they compare to TRP DH-r evo? I have tried many high end brakes and so far I find the TRPs the best in terms of performance, both power and ergonomics! I just haven’t tried the hayes though , so I am curious to know how they compare to TRP?
They are very, very similar with their light action and ease of modulation. Lever on the Hayes seems a bit smaller. More features on the Hayes with contact point adjust and Cross Hair pad centering. Hayes seems to have a little more top end stopping power.
The TRP is very very good. If you want the best, get Hayes, but I can't say a bad thing about the DH-R. Easy to set up, dependable, powerful. The biggest selling point for the Hayes is having bonkers power on tap with an effortless lever pull. No other brake on the market delivers in this like Hayes. But there's something to be said for the bling factor on the TRP stuff.
I have both, hayes are miles better in both brake feel and construction
@@hazza788 what about stopping power?
@@georgiyonevski3894 Hayes top the DHR evos in every way apart from not being gold
A good video would be on how you prefer to adjust your bite point, reach, etc.
Great suggestion! Yeah. Brake setup!
Oh no, I just bought the TRP DH-R EVO. Hope an upgrade from my Code R.
TRP stuff is fantastic. You'll love them. Just never try out a bike with Dominions and you'll never second guess your choice. 😉
What about Hope brakes? Hope brakes are better than all the rest combined - Mountain Cycle Shawn
Both are honestly great. I had both at same time and went back to my Hope Tech 4 v4 simply as parts are simply so easy to find, and printed the piston tools that Hope offers up for free.
Love the Bronze look actually. I wish they could handle a 2.3MM rotor though
Right on. Good comment. Their 200mm 2.0 rotor though is very good with incredible power!
@@EMTBReview Yeah I have always been drawn to try these. I remember having so little issues and much much much longer bleed times in the heat of Vegas with Hayes on my bikes over ten years ago. The only downsides I can see are not being able to run 2.3mm and I guess the Dot fluid since I am coming from mineral XT's on most of my bikes. All my southern utah buddies who can really ride love the TRP dhr Evos. So it's between those two for me.
Great brakes. They are a little trickier to bleed than code rsc. Lot lower pressure system. You can cause leaks if you pull too much vaccum when bleeding.
Great info, thank you. Yeah, no rubber seal on the bleed syringe so fluid leaks out on heavy pressure bleed efforts.
it will leak from the MC@@EMTBReview
I found these wildly easy to bleed. Sure you don't have bleeding edge, but aside from the slight mess, no different than anything else.
For information you can find way cheaper pads online as any other manufacturers, iirc about 15$ for jagwires and 35$ shipped on ali for 4xpair semi metallic...
Great info, thank you!!!!!
A lot of the magic is in the pads though. I wouldn't cheap out there, when I already spent out the ass for best in class stopping.
I like that the dominions are still under rated today because last BH it went on sale for a very good deal. If you tell too many people it's actually better than DH Evo and others, prices will go up lol. Sshht!!
Yes, most brakes are on sale right now it seems. But not these Dominion A4s. I need more for my other bikes!!!
what's BH?
Last Bhack Hriday they went on sale, you say? Copy that.
They are pretty good, also they work well in colder conditions. From my other mineral oil brakes, notably the DB8, the Mavens won't work as well in or around freezing temperatures.
I was disappointed with my dominion a4 the stopping power isn’t that great. Also the pads wore down quick. I tried the extra pads they came with and they only work well when hot, otherwise they scream like crazy
Honestly, I think you may have had a bad install and bleed. These are meticulous with bleeding to get the perfect performance
They should be stronger than Shimano 4-piston, Magura MT7 or TRP DHR EVO. That's my experience with them. And most say the pads last a long while.
And they are available in purple!
Limited edition released last month. Unfortunately sold out now.
@@EMTBReview just ordered a set from “the cutting edge” mkay?
Has anyone tried these brakes with 2.3mm thick rotors? I want to try them with TRP TR-42 203mm 2,3mm rotors. Thanks.
I've tried it briefly. Seems to work since the pads self-adjust. No advantage though and not as good as their spec'd 2.0mm rotors. I think the only advantage of 2.3 rotors is when using 220mm diameter, it doesn't warp or bend as much.
@@EMTBReview thank you. I've been using a Hope Floating rotors (1.8mm) on all my brakes for the past few years, but the last 4 came out slightly bent, I want to try something new. I hope that the thicker ones will be more durable. I use 203mm rotors and brake a lot :D Our home trails are very steep and technical
He didn’t even mention how easy they are to bleed, and bleed well!
They're not that easy. Average. But a good bleed is attainable but sticking to the steps.
Hays vs trick stuff maxima vs sram mavin???orbea wild is so fast need better brakes 😂😂😂
I give everyone 1 reason why this brake is not to buy. If your master cylinder ever goes out, you're our of luck and no support from the manufacturer themselves. They force you to buy a new master cylinder. They do have repair kit for the caliper but not the master cylinder assembly. Also the flex isnt coming from the gap but the whole design itself. If your caliper is built in one piece, you won't have any flex but if you have a split, meaning the caliper have to bolted together, you'll have a flex.
Thanks for the not about support.
As far as flex, there are many factors. One piece construction is good but it really depends on the structure of the piece. If it has big, gaping holes, then there will be flex. If it is a forged, one piece, that will be stronger.
Magura has a big bridge in the hole (thus 4 brake pads) and it is a one-piece and it is forged. So it is good.
Sram Maven is 2-piece but there is no pad hole at all and it has 4 big bolts to hold it together. So it is a very stiff caliper.