yeah q-tips, I might have done that with hayes but not on modern brakes
Anyone take brakes off bike to bleed them?
Posted by: BC_Nuggets
Thanks for all the great advice. I guess I will pop the pistons out a bit and lube em up with mineral oil first. Toothbrush work well for this?
I think I have enough of the mineral oil to do a full flush of front and back.
Dental floss
There's a Lego block single piston extension doohickey satisfies me so much, I was about to 3D print the hope blocks they have on their page when I saw that and made it in a jiffy. Very cool lateral thinking (if you have a lot of Lego lying around)
I’d ride a Lego bike if I could.
Since we're on the brake bleed topic, this is how I do my SRAM brakes.
Posted by: BC_Nuggets
I’d ride a Lego bike if I could.
Gravity flush and bleed was reasonably successful. I really should get a bike repair stand though. A gong show it was haha.
Posted by: BC_Nuggets
Gravity flush and bleed was reasonably successful. I really should get a bike repair stand though. A gong show it was haha.
Every cyclist needs a work stand.
Posted by: ClydeRide
Posted by: BC_Nuggets
Gravity flush and bleed was reasonably successful. I really should get a bike repair stand though. A gong show it was haha.
Every cyclist needs a work stand.
This has become painfully obvious to me unfortunately. To me there's nothing less exciting than shopping for a bike repair stand but goddammit it needs to be done.
Posted by: BC_Nuggets
Posted by: ClydeRide
Posted by: BC_Nuggets
Gravity flush and bleed was reasonably successful. I really should get a bike repair stand though. A gong show it was haha.
Every cyclist needs a work stand.
This has become painfully obvious to me unfortunately. To me there's nothing less exciting than shopping for a bike repair stand but goddammit it needs to be done.
MEC sells different levels of Feedback stands, and there are often Park Tool stands to be found on FB marketplace.
I've been using one of these for over a decade with no problems. Price has gone up quite a bit though jeez.
https://www.mec.ca/en/product/5013-302/sport-mechanic-work-stand
Posted by: thaaad
I've been using one of these for over a decade with no problems. Price has gone up quite a bit though jeez.
https://www.mec.ca/en/product/5013-302/sport-mechanic-work-stand
I've been using that one for over a decade as well.
Having said that, over the years I've done several successful brake bleeds without a stand when one wasn't available. I usually rig something up with blocks of wood or patio chairs or something like that.
--
As for Shimano bleeds, after many years on SRAM brakes I found the Shimano procedure with their bleed kit confusing and messy. A few months ago I picked up a Shimano bleed kit from bleedkit.com that looks like it would allow a more SRAM-like bleed method with two syringes. Haven't tried it yet, will report back when I do.
Posted by: [email protected]
Posted by: thaaad
I've been using one of these for over a decade with no problems. Price has gone up quite a bit though jeez.
https://www.mec.ca/en/product/5013-302/sport-mechanic-work-stand
I've been using that one for over a decade as well.
Having said that, over the years I've done several successful brake bleeds without a stand when one wasn't available. I usually rig something up with blocks of wood or patio chairs or something like that.
--
As for Shimano bleeds, after many years on SRAM brakes I found the Shimano procedure with their bleed kit confusing and messy. A few months ago I picked up a Shimano bleed kit from bleedkit.com that looks like it would allow a more SRAM-like bleed method with two syringes. Haven't tried it yet, will report back when I do.
The bleedkit.com system is exactly the same as the Shimano system except it uses an empty syringe rather than the funnel. Otherwise the procedure is identical from a brief look at the video. Push fluid up from the caliper into the lever syringe (funnel) followed by a gravity bleed from the lever syringe down to the caliper. There is no vacuum placed on the lever end of the system with a syringe. Im guessing Shimano doesn't want people pulling a vacuum on the lever end to protect the bladder from being ruptured.
Last edited by: shoreboy on April 23, 2024, 2:48 p.m., edited 1 time in total.
Two useful bits and pieces I have for brake bleeding is a large length of thick copper wire, the 6 Ga 50amp house wiring stuff and electrical tape.
Use the thick wire to form holders for your syringes that are wrapped around your bars etc so you can leave them in position and not have to hold them all the time. The tape is good for sticking catch pots like old yogurt pots etc to frames for brake juice spills and anything else you want to not move, like handlebars etc
Posted by: shoreboy
The bleedkit.com system is exactly the same as the Shimano system except it uses an empty syringe rather than the funnel. Otherwise the procedure is identical from a brief look at the video. Push fluid up from the caliper into the lever syringe (funnel) followed by a gravity bleed from the lever syringe down to the caliper. There is no vacuum placed on the lever end of the system with a syringe. Im guessing Shimano doesn't want people pulling a vacuum on the lever end to protect the bladder from being ruptured.
You are right! On closer inspection it doesn't have two syringes, the funnel just looks like one. I hadn't even looked inside the box before. I had added it to an online order on a whim based on a photo, that's what happens with impulse buys. Luckily it was only 20 bucks or so.
So I guess I can't escape the funnel and gravity bleed ;-)
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