Bleeding hydraulic brakes

[belopsky]

I trimmed the housing for my XT brakes and then had a soft lever. I bled/burped, finally got a good solid lever. Removed the 'bleed block' (yellow thing), put in my pads and mounted the caliper back on the frame/rotor, and once again got a soft lever. What gives?

[Gummee]

You need to make sure that the adjustment for the lever travel (I forget the technical term) is completely unscrewed.

...or you could still have air in the system

M

[dem]

If you put the bleed block back in.. are they still solid?

New pads? As the pads get to the end of their wear, the lever travel will increase.

[belopsky]

If you put the bleed block back in.. are they still solid?

New pads? As the pads get to the end of their wear, the lever travel will increase.

Didn't try the block back in.

The pads are new - these are new brakes, just had to shorten the hose to fit

[zank]

The lever just needs to be pumped to set the pad distance. It should firm up again.

[CiclistiCliff]

Funnel bleed with pads and rotor in. Then it’ll be happy.

[oldpotatoe]

I trimmed the housing for my XT brakes and then had a soft lever. I bled/burped, finally got a good solid lever. Removed the 'bleed block' (yellow thing), put in my pads and mounted the caliper back on the frame/rotor, and once again got a soft lever. What gives?

Copy to Burnette...->>:):)

[belopsky]

Funnel bleed with pads and rotor in. Then it’ll be happy.

I assume you mean I need to burp the system

[CiclistiCliff]

put the funnel with a bit of oil on the lever.

pump the lever until bubbles stop coming out.

ride bike.

[belopsky]

Yep, got it, thanks.
Now to wait for the funnel and more oil to arrive:banana:

[NHAero]

I hope this isn't excessive thread drift...
I'm about to set up Shimano road hydros - RS685 and RS785 calipers. Is it easier to get the system filled and bled with the equipment off the bike? I can imagine hanging the caliper vertically below the lever to maximize the potential for bubbles to flow up.

[doomridesout]

Taking the caliper off and letting it dangle has been good for me with those brakes.

[belopsky]

I let the caliper dangle when I did the XT...not sure where the bubbles came from once I mounted it back up :(

[Mikej]

Just an FYI, for those who don't know, it's beneficial to cut the hose at the top, or lever side.

[NHAero]

If you are starting from a new hose, lever and caliper, can you say why?

Thanks

Just an FYI, for those who don't know, it's beneficial to cut the hose at the top, or lever side.

[vqdriver]

when you say mushy, do you mean it makes contact and the lever continues to pull towards the bar? or do you mean there's excessive lever travel before contact?

if latter, i've had better luck just removing the rotor and block and giving 2 pulls of the lever to set the pads in a bit. then reinstall wheel and if too tight, a few more pulls will push fluid back to the reservoir.

if the former, most like air in the line or a bulging hose. i've had both. to burp the system, CiclistiCliff's method works well. here's a short write up
http://www.epicbleedsolutions.com/blog/5-minute-shimano-mini-bleed/

[Mikej]

If you are starting from a new hose, lever and caliper, can you say why?

Thanks
Keep the air away from the caliper, shorter distance to bleed air out of brake lever Reservoir. The caliper internal chamber can harbor air that is difficult to get out. Generally new brakes from shimano are bled pretty well, this technique is from shimano btw.

[Ken Robb]

Copy to Burnette...->>:):)

OK, from one old coot to another this made me laugh.