Hayes Brake Pad & Rotor Alignment Tool

I bought this tool to help me set up my brakes better. I have mostly mechanical discs but three setups are hydraulic. I was tired of the inferior power that you get after changing a tire for the most part. For hydraulic brakes that have a pair of opposing pistons, this tool is amazing and while others indicate you can just use two feeler gauges, don't listen! It is tight in the brake area and having a two bladed feeler gauge (which this is) works amazingly well. I just put the unit in the brakes, bungie the lever such that there is a lot of pressure on it, loosen the bolts so that they are about two turns off of tight. At this point, I can rotate the tire a small amount and the caliper clicks on the bolts back and forth a little. I next tighten the bolts by 1/4 turn at a time until both are tight and remove the bungie and tool and hello stopping power. For mechanicals that only really have one moving element, this tool is almost worthless. Just set the fixed side about .020 - .030, then adjust the cable length such that the caliper arm is at about 75% of full stroke (100% is completely relaxed and 0% would be the cable pulled all the way in by the lever). Next, bungie the lever down hard and do the bolt loosen/tighten thing like it was a hydraulic system and you are good. The difference between Pro and Shmoe is the tools and knowing the best practices for maintenance. You paid for good brakes, now it is on you to keep it dialed. This tool can help.

I saw this tool online and thought what a great tool. Every time I have to transport my bicycle to a place I can't ride my bike to. This can always be a hassle on re-aligning the disc with the brake calibers. Having a quick release front wheel is great for those of us on the go, who need to quickly take on and off the front wheel. The pain is getting the disc perfectly aligned when your get the wheel back on. Cause a rubbing brake pad slowing you down, means more effort to ride. Not to mention wearing our your brake pad or rotor. With this tool, you slide it between the pads and rotor, tighten the wheel down on the bike and it's perfect every time with no eyeballing if you got in on straight. Then you slide out the tool spin the wheel, and it spins freely every time with no friction on the brake pads or rotors. When you squeeze the brake and the calibers engage. They stop the wheel and let go, and go back to their positions like they should. I don't know what or how I did without this tool. Yes I can, re-aligning was a pain every time. With this tool it's a piece of cake. I highly recommend this tool for anyone who has to take their wheels on and off that own a disc brake bicycles. What a great product!

My first time aligning brakes on a bike and it took me 5 seconds. My tire spins forever the backwards and forwards. It’s a great product. Just buy it and make your life easy. There is no guesswork. Believe me after changing brake fluid you just want to align once and be done.

Bicycle disk brake calipers must be aligned to the rotor. There are slots in the caliper housing to allow it to be shifted side to side and angled. You can use a flashlight and do this by eye, rig up some shims, etc., but this tool sets the gaps and aligns the the caliper to the rotor easily, does not shift or fall out or aggravate you. Unseen in the product photo, there are two shims. You just barely tighten the mounting screws, slide the shims between the pads and the rotor and tighten the mounting bolts down carefully. Done! Works great. The skinny end of the purple part has a wedge edge so that you can insert it between the pads or the pistons, when detached from the bike of course, and spread them apart so they fit over the rotor. Is it worth the price? It does cost too much, but if it saves you aggravation and ensures a good job...good. And it will last forever and you may need to use it several times during the life of your bike and I would think it would work on other brake systems as well. The way I look at it, the cost is effectively half the selling price if you use it twice, and so on. Still, got to take off a star for the cost.

I don't always love unitaskers, but this one is a big help. Makes it very easy to align calipers and get them tightened into position. Doesn't take a lot of space in the toolbox and folding it closed protects the arms so they don't get bent.

Yeah I mean, you can certainly achieve the same result with a folded piece torn from cardstock junk mail, and I've done it that way, but it's nice to have a tool for it. Something that won't bunch up, get wrinkled or soft, and is always at hand. I'll happily spend a few bucks for the convenience.

When traveling with my bike and having to take the wheels off, I often hit the problem of hydraulic disc brake rub after I put the wheels back on. Most annoying thing ever when you end up spending hours trying to align it not to rub and it is still rubbing. Recently went on a trip where the pads were rubbing on the rotor for the two rides I was gone and it got even worst after I came back from the trip and nothing I did really helped. Today I got this nifty little tool and used it for the first time. Fixed my issue in a minute. Super easy to use and just works plain and simple. I feel so lucky I found this tool! If you have a bicycle that has hydraulic disc brakes, this tool is simply a must have. Even more so if you ever travel with your bike.

I found this tool somewhat useful. Could probably achieve the same effect by placing playing cards (like poker playing cards) on both sides of the rotor. Also, a feeler gauge from an auto parts store would also do the trick.

Super handy tool! Yes, you could juat use a couple of business cards, but this tool is just so easy to use. Well made, solid feel, just works.

Facilita bastante el trabajo de andar ajustando el espacio entre el disco y los frenos. Literalmente a la primera resolvi el molesto ruido de los frenos.

Easy to use making eliminating brake rub simple.

non sono riuscito a utilizzarlo in maniera soddisfacente, per l'allineamento delle pastiglie alla fine son tornato ad utilizzare il metodo dei nonni!!! sconsiglio

¿cómo no se les habia ocurrido antes? super útil para abrir tus balatas cuando se cierran, ajustar el espacio balatas/disco cuando estan rozando fácilmente y a la primera.