Hayes hydraulic disc alignment problems
 

I was trying to install my new disc brakes on my cannondale f500 which has a cadd3 frmae when I realised that the disc and the rotor don't line up. The caliper doesn't give me much room to move it back and forth.
I was wondering what I can do about this and also if it is ok to put washers/spacers between the frame and the adapter. The instructions as well as barnetts simply say to place the caliper over the rotor squeeze the lever and tighten the bolt, but I can't see this happenning without moveing the caliper over quite a bit.

JR_Sith

It is ok to use washers to space the caliper/adapter. If you have to space it a ton you might have the wrong adapter or something. I am not totally sure how much you can space something out without risking failure.

I ended up using the washers that were supposed to go on the bolts that hold the caliper to the adapter plus one smaller one. Is it common to for the rotors and the calipers to rub some? I have found nearly impossible to iliminate all the rubbing.

I have shimano mechanical disks, and they will rub very slightly most of the time. I can make them not rub at all, but it requires very careful adjustments whenever I remove the wheels, so I usually just don't bother.

the calipers are suposed to be centered and not rubbing. you need to buy spacer washers from you bike shop. or take it in and let them look at it. you would not want to drive car with the brake on.

Disc brakes can be finicky, but once you break them in and adjust them right, you'll hit that sweet spot where they don't rub anymore.

As far as spacing issues, are you saying that the caliper doesn't go far enough towards the center of the wheel? If so, you could put a small spacer on each rotor bolt to space
the rotor out farther. (I currently have my xc bike setup like this.)

I've had to deal with Hayes/Cannondale before. Your LBS will have some shims (really fine washers) for very precise tuning of the disc spacing. It helps to start with new brake pads, and make sure the mounts are squared as well. Time spent in doing a proper setup will pay big dividends in user satisfaction.

I have the Hayes Nines and I had to shim my rear caliper to give me more room to center it on the rotor. I wish the oval mounting holes on the callipers were longer. I think what's causing this is a "stack up of tolerances" - too many interfaces in the system that need to add up to a certain dimension in order to maintain the proper ISO specified dimension.

What also helps is to use a credit card to help adjust the pads and caliper.

1. Essentially start new by removing the calipers, pads and pushing the pistons all the way in (see Hayes' caution and don't push on the posts that secure the pad's spring clips.)

2. Install pads, loosely attach the caliper, and secure wheel (there should be lots of clearance).

3. Place an old credit card or plastic hotel room key or a couple of business cards between the pads and rotor. Then squeeze the lever and tighten the caliper mounting bolts (this will help center the caliper). Squeeze the levers a few more times (holding the credit card spacer so they don't drop out) and this should adjust the pad distance. And you're done.

(You may have to experiment a little. For example, I find that I need to use the spacer on the inner pad, but not the outer).

As sheba said you need to adjust them a bit and find that sweet spot. Once done, the caliper/pad system will be matched to the bike/rotor.