Anyone set up Shimano RS685 levers yet?

[nighthawk]

I'm about to dip my toes in the road hydro water... errrr.... Mineral oil. Before I start cutting hoses and messing with olives and funnels and syringes... Does anyone have any sage advice to offer? Any tips on hose lengths or bleeding methods? Anything tricky in the lever setup I should be aware of?

I've got the levers installed, and the calipers mounted.... Stupid lever/caliper kit doesn't come with the funnel or syringes, so if I can pick those up from my LBS, I'll be making the cuts tomorrow. Planning on just using the Shimano dealer manual and my common sense. Wish me luck.

[saab2000]

Keep us informed. I'm also very interested in this setup and I am curious about your experience.

Thanks for the post and a quick bump!

[nighthawk]

Keep us informed. I'm also very interested in this setup and I am curious about your experience.

Thanks for the post and a quick bump!

Will do. Unfortunately I don't have any disc experience to compare it to, but will definitely share my thoughts. I'll try to remember to snap photos as I go.

[mtb_frk]

No experience with the road levers but for the mountain bike brakes they are super easy to shorten the brake lines. It is basically remove hose, cut to desired length, put new barb/olive on, reattach to brake lever. Sample size of two for me and no need to bleed or anything else.

[CMiller]

My experience with bleeding any hydraulic = patience. It might be frustrating, buy a little too much mineral oil, it's way better to have too much than not enough. Keep a rag nearby and don't wear any clothes/shoes you're attached to. Even though it's not like the super corrosive DOT, still not fun.

Hydraulics are a wonderful thing though! Good luck with the set-up and keep us posted.

[Gummee]

Bleeding Shimano levers is simple. Can be a little fiddly, but not tough though.

Read the destructions.

Have isopropyl alcohol ready for cleanups

M

[11.4]

With the new Shimano levers (685 and 785) it's really easy. Just be sure you get the little funnel and syringe kit. And prepare for a little bit of mess the first time. I'd remove brake pads until you are used to doing it and be close to a sink for washing your hands and anything else that gets oil on them.

First thing to be sure of is that your connections are tight at the lever and the caliper. That's pretty easy.

Second, you can pump up from the bottom or down from the top. Everyone has their favorite but either way you can still have bubbles. It really really helps to have your frame in a traditional seatpost-clamping bike stand so you can rotate it, and to have the bars immobilized with inner tubes or whatever so they don't flop. Start with the bars very high so the hoses aren't remotely horizontal -- go as high as you can without the little funnel being tipped over (this is for the rear -- the front pretty much takes care of itself).

Third, it takes a bit of pumping mineral oil back and forth and a bit of thumping to really wet the interior of the lines and components so all the bubbles evacuate. Just flush it back and forth a good bit the first time. I just dump that oil in case I had anything loose in it, and then use clean oil for the final job.

Fourth, be sure your pistons are all the way in. A plastic tire lever is great for pushing them in without damage, but they won't go in by themselves. If they aren't in, it's like wiring up traditional rim brakes without compressing the blocks against the rim.

Fifth, in a drug store you can find 90% isopropyl alcohol. It does a better job of cleaning up than 70% (the usual rubbing alcohol). And a spray bottle is important. Use lots -- if you don't flush away all mineral oil and dirt, you won't like the result. Again, do this with a tarp or something under the bike. Remember that mineral oil, even on grass, ends up on your shoes and gets everywhere. Nice braking doesn't matter if your significant other has just murdered you.

There are good videos on YouTube and from Shimano. Don't pay too much attention to those for mountain bike setups -- they typically address older braking systems. Once you are into it, you don't want to be looking back to videos or directions constantly. Install the syringe, funnel, etc. first without oil just to walk through the process and see how it works. Once you have oil around, you can't walk away to check the directions.

It really is easy. Hose length is not critical except that it's pretty stiff and defines its own length when installed. If your installation, especially at your rear caliper, seems really weird, be sure your hose routing on the bike matches the type of caliper you have -- there are both inline and banjo options, the latter basically giving you a right angle attachment in case the hose doesn't make a beeline straight into the mounting port.

[apeescape]

I found that to get a perfect bleed it really does help to remove the caliper from the frame and make the straightest possible path for air to escape.

[nighthawk]

Thanks all, especially the thoughtful post from 11.4. Those are exactly the kind of things I'm looking for. Definitely some things I will keepin mind going into it. I called around and none of my 5 LBSs had the funnel and syringe that I need so ordered online today. Hopefully doing the setup next weekend, pending delivery. I'll take pics as I go and report back.

Cheers!

[DrSpoke]

If you are careful you can shorten the tube w/o a re-bleed. Tighten the olive a LOT. That said, bleeding is a piece of cake with the kit.


I run XTR on my mtn bike but am looking at the same setup for a future adventure bike.