Bleeding brakes

[Daniel Silva]

Hi guys.

Usually we do all the servicing on our bikes at home, but I recently bought a bike and I need to bleed the brake and possibly flush the system, ths is the only thing we’ve never done ourselves so I might need to take it into the shop.

How much would I be looking at spending for a bike shop to flush and bleed my brakes ? And how long does it take ?

[porqui]

Nope you do it yourself

 

Plenty on Youtube and no big deal - just do it

[RobertWhitehead]

R100 per bleed and normally takes around 15-20 min depending on how busy the bike shop is.

 

However it depends on what is currently wrong with the brakes. If they're spongy then a bleed is required but if they are spongy as well as slow to go back to the resting position of the lever then you may need a service kit as well (mostly for SRAM).

[Daniel Silva]

R100 per bleed and normally takes around 15-20 min depending on how busy the bike shop is.

 

However it depends on what is currently wrong with the brakes. If they're spongy then a bleed is required but if they are spongy as well as slow to go back to the resting position of the lever then you may need a service kit as well (mostly for SRAM).

They’re just very spongy and especially on the back brake, there’s still plenty of material on the brake pad and the rotor is all good but you can squeeze down all the way and it hardly does anything, it’s like there’s no pressure at all pushing the calipers.

[Daniel Silva]

Nope you do it yourself

 

Plenty on Youtube and no big deal - just do it

You reckon we should ? Because also on the YouTube videos they use the special kits and we do t have that and we don’t have any syringes

[porqui]

There is  a new sram bleed kit (2nd hand) in the buy and sell section at R400 which is good but you can make your own. Can tell you how to make it.

 

What make is the brakes (and model)

 

10 to 1 you have air in the system and just need to purge it.

 

Just do it yourself - daunting at first but a breeze later on.

[Daniel Silva]

There is a new sram bleed kit (2nd hand) in the buy and sell section at R400 which is good but you can make your own. Can tell you how to make it.

 

What make is the brakes (and model)

 

10 to 1 you have air in the system and just need to purge it.

 

Just do it yourself - daunting at first but a breeze later on.

They are shimano slx not exactly sure of the model though.

How easy is it to make yourself ?

[porqui]

Slx is the model.

Shimano make

Just Google "bleed shimano slx brakes"

 

Pretty easy to do

Edited December 6, 2020 by porqui

[JacBrand]

They are shimano slx not exactly sure of the model though.

How easy is it to make yourself ?

Shimano brakes are very easy and use mineral oil

[ChrisF]

9:06

How to Bleed Shimano Disc Brakes – Mountain Bike Maintenance

YouTube · Global Mountain Bike Network

Aug 31, 2015

 

 

NOTE ... Some of the NEW Shimano brakes are bled top-down, not with the syringe ....

 

 

 

First time round the kit will cost a bit more than getting a shop to do it. But the next time it is free, and only a few minutes

Edited December 7, 2020 by ChrisF

[Prince Albert Cycles]

Before buying a kit try this . Get mineral oil for Shimano brakes . Loosen the lever clamp and turn the lever so that the reservoir is level with floor . Remove reservoir lid and rubber insert . Add oil to the brim . Start pulling the lever repeatedly and fill up as oil level goes down . Leave it a bit then continue until no very small bubbles escape . Assemble . Reposition lever . Go ride .

[PhilipV]

They are shimano slx not exactly sure of the model though.

How easy is it to make yourself ?

Don't faff around with DIY.

 

https://bikemob.co.za/products/shimanoclearbleedfunnel

 

This, and some shimano mineral oil is all that you need.

 

You level lever so that it is parallel to the floor. Screw our bleed nipple, screw in funnel. Add oil to funnel. Remove stopper stick.

 

Pull and flick the brake lever repeatedly until no more air bubbles escape into the oil. Insert stopper stick, unscrew funnel, close reinsert bleed screw, move brake down. Voila.

 

If there are bubbles trapped somewhere where there is a kink in the line around internal routing it might need a few goes at this. You can even leave the bleed bucket open and strap the lever to the bar overnight.

And sometimes an air bubble hides in the caliper. Removing it from the bike makes it easier to angle it in such a way to get the bubble out and up the line.

And then the real higher grade option is to pull the pads, remove the bleed nipple at the caliper and do a top down flush.

[RobertWhitehead]

Yes, all you need is to flush the existing hose from all the gunk (Not a must but whilst you're fiddling you may just as well do it right) and then a top up and or bleed to remove all the air bubbles and bring the power back.

 

PS: If all the above is still too daunting for you and you're based in Gauteng, bring your bike over to me (I'm based in PTA) and then I will show you how to do it the first time   . 

 

For Shimano all you basically need is the Shimano funnel & mineral oil, the rest of the items: Bleed block, hose, syringe can all be sourced elsewhere. O, one thing I've found (quite annoying actually) is that the bleed nipple on the caliper is a size 7mm. Now if you have a standard toolkit I can almost guarantee that a 7mm spanner will not be part of that kit  .  

 

Two other handy tips: Make sure to remove the pads and store away from the bike not to get any mineral oil on them - this will basically render them useless.

Remove the wheel and also store this pretty far away from the operating table / stand. It sounds obvious but sometimes the mineral oil splashes all over the place and you don't want to have to deal with that after bleeding the brakes  

[Alouette3]

I've made a funnel by cutting down the tip on a 20cc syringe and threading that into the bleed port, then a wooden skewer to plug the hole so it doesn't run out when removing it.

 

You do need to cut down the tip of the syringe and the skewer, especially for the newer shimano brakes, otherwise you run the risk of damaging the rubber bladders. This is not so critical on the older shimano brakes with the silver, removable  caps on the reservoirs.

 

But if you can get the proper funnel cheap like in the link above just get that. Shimano brakes are fairly simple to bleed.

Edited December 7, 2020 by Alouette3

[100Tours]

You reckon we should ? Because also on the YouTube videos they use the special kits and we do t have that and we don’t have any syringes

 

Shimano brakes? do it yourself

SRAM / Formula - go to the shop.

 

my 2c worth

[Grease_Monkey]

Shimano brakes? do it yourself

SRAM / Formula - go to the shop.

 

my 2c worth

Formula Cura also DIY (mineral oil), but the rest of their range I would take to a shop.