Brake lever travel too high

[brucem76]

So I just replaced my brake pads on front and back. My front brake lever is nice and tight and takes very little travel to bite, but my back one takes way more. I'm pretty sure it's not a bleed issue, as pumping the brake lever doesn't change anything. Also brake does bite nice and tight without sponginess, it just takes a longer pull to do it. Anyone know what else besides bleeding could be the issue? Formula Rx

 

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[popcorn_skollie]

Reach adjustment on lever?

[David Marshall]

Check the thickness of your disc and also to be sure that it is not a bleed issue, remove the pads, fit a bleed block between the calliper pistons and you should have no travel on the lever.

 

Just remember that due to the length of the brake hose the rear will always have slightly more travel than the front.

[brucem76]

Thanks - reach adjustment is the same on both, as is pad thickness. So if there is play with a brake block in, does that mean it's a bleed issue?

 

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[David Marshall]

Thanks - reach adjustment is the same on both, as is pad thickness. So if there is play with a brake block in, does that mean it's a bleed issue?

 

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Yes, when you bleed the brake with the block in place there is no air in the system and no travel on the lever.  If you get travel at a later stage it shows some air ingress or fluid degradation.  

 

Check that your rear disc is at least 1.5mm thick.  Disc (and obviously pad) thickness makes a big difference to travel.  You would be surprised at how many bikes come in for a "bleed" that really need pad/disc attention.

[Spoke101]

Thanks - reach adjustment is the same on both, as is pad thickness. So if there is play with a brake block in, does that mean it's a bleed issue?

 

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This is a bit of a ghetto fix, remove you back wheel pump the rear brake lever twice then replace the wheel and check the lever travel. Repeat as necessary. 

[brucem76]

This is a bit of a ghetto fix, remove you back wheel pump the rear brake lever twice then replace the wheel and check the lever travel. Repeat as necessary.

This hack worked brilliantly, thanks! I guess it just makes your piston starting position further in?

 

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[Spoke101]

This hack worked brilliantly, thanks! I guess it just makes your piston starting position further in?

 

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Pleasure. It helps when you have been dealing with Fomula's for years. It is a known issue though since they tryed to fix the piston retraction issue of previous models.

This fix is not always a permanent solution and you should re-blead the brake as there seams to be a fluid shortage.

All the best.

[Abdul]

I just tried Spoke101's "ghetto fix" on my son's bike with Shimano BR-M575 brakes and it worked perfectly.

The wear on the pads and rotors is minimal, the brakes don't feel like they need bleeding but the lever travel was a little excessive for my liking. But this "ghetto fix" solved it.

I'll see how long it lasts. If it comes back I'll bleed the brakes.

Thanks Spoke101.