I'm not a small rider, tipping the scales at 220 (give or take), so the kinetic energy I develop when riding made my OEM Shimano's cry. After reading up, watching as many reviews as I could, and finally getting a personal recommendation by Remey, I made the leap. I've found fine tuning the "Crosshair" has been a bit of a learning curve, otherwise, easy to bleed and - MOST IMPORTANTLY - viscous stopping power with really sensitive modulation. I feel more confident at high speeds and/or on the super steeps.

For reference I ride 2 sets of Dominions, 2 sets of TRP Quadiem G Spec and 1 set of Saint brakes. Dominions have the great linear lever feel of a TRP combined with the absolute power of the Saint. I personally don’t care for the super sharp bite point of a shimano brake and the Dominion is far more predictable. I used to say the TRP quadiem was my favorite but the Dominion has replaced it for a similar lever feel with more power.

I've been a long time Shimano brake user, but got tired of the inconsistency of them. I wanted to try something with modulation, and these had great reviews. I decided to try them out and, 3 months in, couldn't be happier. Lot's of power and modulation, with a super smooth lever pull leaving me with less arm pump. Considerably quieter than the Shimano's too (no pad rattle and the metallic pads run quieter).

Great stopping power over traditional brakes. This is a much needed and deserved upgrade for anyone who has a mechanical braking system.

Just a follow-up on the pad-rattle issue. I traced the rattle (which I now think comes from the pads hitting the caliper, not the pistons) to the oversized oval holes cast into the pad backing plate. The space between the oversized hole and the pad retention pin allows the pads to rattle. I suspect the hole is made bigger to facilitate passing the retention pin, but couldn't confirm this after speaking to tech support at Hayes. I tried various solutions and found that sliding a small diameter electrical shrink tube over the retention pin took up the space nicely, without interfering with pad function in any way. There was a little resistance to passing the retention pin, but a small price to pay for a quiet ride.