Bleeding XT brakes

[stewie911]

I have put on brand new xt brakes on my bike, but they are "soft".

 

 

 

Do I need to do a full bleed, or can I only top up the reservoir or something.

 

 

 

I have a small bleedkit from CRC.

 

 

 

What is the best way to bleed them, or how do I bleed them?

 

 

 

Bleedkit consist of bottle mineral oil and a tube.

[stewie911]

bump

[Johan Bornman]

Define soft first.

 

 Brakes need to be bled if they become harder if you pump them four or five times. If they don't "pump up" it is not a bleeding problem.

 

Topping up is never a solution for anything other than filling an empty reservoir. It should NEVER empty by itself. It goes down as the pads wear and comes up when you install new pads.

 

The best way to bleed them is to inject oil with a 20cc syringe from the bottom at the bleed valve on the caliper until no more bubbles appear in the reservoir. It is a 2-man job. One so suck up the excess oil from the reservoir using another syringe (and watch for the tiny bubbles) and the other to operate the bleed port (7mm ring spanner required) and inject the oil.

[stewie911]

When I pull the lever, the lever touches the handlebar.

Pumping makes it stiffer, but it still touches the handlebar

[stewie911]

b.u.m.p

[100Tours]

The implication of what Johan is saying is you most likely have a leak somewhere.

 

Check the connections on brake and lever for signs of leaking and replace the olives if you find signs of leaking (the olive is a piece of soft brass that squashes up against the cable to make a seal - should be able to get a new one from a bikeshop for a few R's if needed).

 

Check around the top of the reservoir for signs of leaking around the rubber diaphragm too. if this is the problem set the brake horizontal, open up the reservoir, clean around the seal and replace. Again if necessary you can probably buy a new diaphragm from the lbs.

[gummibear]

I have the same problem with my back brake,the front is fine,but the back is very soft and takes a while to return back after pulling it. 

I checked no leaks anywhere.

[X-Gear]

Unless you really like to struggle with it, just make a quick visit to the LBS and their machanic will surely assist and educate you.  Maybe at a small fee, but then next time you know what to do.

 

And is anything IS broken or leaking, you at the right place to get it fixed.

[Wayne Potgieter]

if you are having problems with bleeding brakes, try these...

 

 

 

[Wayne Potgieter]

just playing on a friday!

[stewie911]

Thanks. Will try the elastoplast as last resort.

[Ysterman]

Last night I adjusted the brake caliper cause I heard a strange noise when braking & thought that due to wear the caliper was not aligned.

 

So turned the bike upside down to work on, pulled the break couple of times to align the caliper and noticed that every time I pulled the lever, I had to pull it further before the brakes worked ... and now it almost touches the handlebar ...

 

Is there easy way to fix ... immediately turned the bike over & pumped the brake lever ... but no luck yet.

 

What happened?

[HairyLegs]

You got air in the lines from the bike being upside down. Time to do a full bleed.

[Cassie]

Yip, It's really basic if you have the correct syringes and tubing...

anyone should be able to do it...

[Ysterman]

You got air in the lines from the bike being upside down. Time to do a full bleed.

 

Thanks, I guess lesson learned here ....