Avid Juicy 7's Lever Travel

Dave F.

Hi

I've just got a Specialized Stumpy & OOTB both brake levers travel about 2" at the lever's tip before the pads bite.

Is there a way to reduce this?
It's so bad that when I altered the reach of the levers to how I'd like them they're almost touching the grips.
I've turned the red pad engagement knob the full 20 revolutions so the pads are the closest they can be to the disk but still it's about 2" travel & there's about 1mm gap each side at the pads.

Seeing that they're new I'd be surprised if they need bleeding, but if they do I read that the lever/reservoir can be bled separately. Is this possible?

On my previous (& first) disc brakes - Hope C2's Sport, there was a way to adjust the push rod position, but not on these :-( .

Any help towards a solution would be appreciated.

Cheers
Dave F.

nicklouse

have you adjusted them? down load a manual and read it. there is the pad adjuster abd the lever adjuster.

miket-62

I have Avid Carbon brakes on my bike (might be different from yours)
The pad pressure is self adjusting
You only need to adjust how far out you like the brake levers from the handle/grip
There is a little red cross adjuster on the top of the brakes and then a grub screw adjuster looking down the lever itself inbetween the lever and grip.
Hope this helps

Dave F.

nicklouse wrote:

have you adjusted them? down load a manual and read it. there is the pad adjuster abd the lever adjuster.

Yes: "I altered the reach of the levers to how I'd like them they're almost touching the grips.
I've turned the red pad engagement knob the full 20 revolutions"

Cheers
Dave F.

Dave F.

miket-62 wrote:

I have Avid Carbon brakes on my bike (might be different from yours)
The pad pressure is self adjusting

Hi
Not sure what you mean by pad pressure. Do your pads rest against the rotor without the lever being squeezed? On mine there's a definite gap.

You only need to adjust how far out you like the brake levers from the handle/grip
There is a little red cross adjuster on the top of the brakes and then a grub screw adjuster looking down the lever itself inbetween the lever and grip.
Hope this helps

Yes. I've adjusted the red cross adjuster as far as it will go. (20 turns) & it still isn't enough.

Cheers
Dave F.

gbrnole

I had the same problem with my Juicy Ultimates, too much lever travel before the pad engages is what i guess your saying.

If you turn the pad contact adjuster all the way and it's still travelling too far before biting then re-bleed the brake system.

(Remember if you turn the pad adjuster 'in' then this is pushing the pistons back into the calipers, so you need to do it the opposite way!)

magic johnson

Juicys are a bit finnikie in that you need to ensure they are precisely aligned with the rotor. If you can see a definate gap between pads and rotor and the lever travel is excessive it will probably be that it all needs aligning.

If the bikes new get it back to the suppliers as this is part of the pre delivery check. If not I'd take it to a LBS - one that understands hydro's - and get it sorted.

We have fitted braided hoses to a few Stumpys as they seem to have a fairly long hose route (the back one especially) and the Juicy hoses are more prone to swelling than others-you may want to consider this as well-it stiffens up the lever feel no-end

Dave F.

alex.hulme wrote:

I had the same problem with my Juicy Ultimates, too much lever travel before the pad engages is what i guess your saying.

Hi
Yes, that's exactly my problem

If you turn the pad contact adjuster all the way and it's still travelling too far before biting then re-bleed the brake system.

Do you think I need to bleed the whole system? I understand there's away to do just the lever/reservoir. Have you done that? If so, any tips?

(Remember if you turn the pad adjuster 'in' then this is pushing the pistons back into the calipers, so you need to do it the opposite way!)

[/quote]
Yeah, that threw me to start with. It's not even that clear in the manual!

Dave F.

magic johnson wrote:

Juicys are a bit finnikie in that you need to ensure they are precisely aligned with the rotor. If you can see a definate gap between pads and rotor and the lever travel is excessive it will probably be that it all needs aligning.

If the bikes new get it back to the suppliers as this is part of the pre delivery check. If not I'd take it to a LBS - one that understands hydro's - and get it sorted.

We have fitted braided hoses to a few Stumpys as they seem to have a fairly long hose route (the back one especially) and the Juicy hoses are more prone to swelling than others-you may want to consider this as well-it stiffens up the lever feel no-end

It is new. I bought it mail order because my LBS couldn't get the one I wanted (Yes, another usless LBS). I know it's still their responsibility, but it seems more effort to send it back. Any way, I like to attempt my own repairs/adjustments. It's just at the moment I'm not sure what to do. I'll give the realigning a go.

Could you recommend a good hose, if I end up needing to replace it?

Cheers
Dave F.

razer

My juicy 3's are exactly the same. I have to pull them 50% of their full travel before they come on. I had put it down to maybe needing bleeing but im not 100% sure. How far should they travel before engaging?

gbrnole

Do you think I need to bleed the whole system? I understand there's away to do just the lever/reservoir. Have you done that? If so, any tips?

Just get a juicy bleed kit, if you own juicy brakes then its money well spent. Bleed the caliper, hose and lever its very quick and easy and atleast then you know your getting the best performance from your brakes.

Juicy 7's are designed so that you can have the pads biting when you want on the lever travel, hence the adjuster. If it's not working properly then from my experience you need to bleed them.

There was a review on disc brakes in a mag a couple of months back and they were testing Juicy Ultimates and they had to bleed them a couple of times from the factory cos there were problems.

Neily03

I had same problem with my stumpy i got on Saturday but i seem to have it sussed, use an allen key to adjust the reach of the lever and make the reach longer (further out from the bars) then use the pad contact knob and wind it 'in' to bring the bite point closer to the bars.

I know wind the lever out from the bars might sound like the opposite to what you want to achieve, i did too but just try the above. I'm pretty happy with mine now apart from the ridiculously long from brake hose so I've ordered a bleed kit and I'm gona shorten that a fair bit.

ddraver

Same problem - been told they need a bleed.....It hink a second problem is the hose length compared to the front so they feel different just cos of the extra fluid that has to move / compress

Dave F.

Neily03 wrote:

I had same problem with my stumpy i got on Saturday but i seem to have it sussed, use an allen key to adjust the reach of the lever and make the reach longer (further out from the bars) then use the pad contact knob and wind it 'in' to bring the bite point closer to the bars.

I know wind the lever out from the bars might sound like the opposite to what you want to achieve, i did too but just try the above. I'm pretty happy with mine now apart from the ridiculously long from brake hose so I've ordered a bleed kit and I'm gona shorten that a fair bit.

Cheers Neily

I'll give that a go when I get home. I thought, however, that the pad contact knob worked independently to the lever reach & so not wind it in?

Apart from the lever problem, how are you getting on with yours? I got the Expert & love the rear suspension. I had a Merlin hardtail before & the difference between the two when doing a rocky down hill is immense. I can't get over how the rear shock helps keep not only the rear wheel but also the front in contact with the ground. It is so well balanced & I've only had it a week.

Cheers
Dave F.

magic johnson

We used Clarks hose kits-they come with the correct fittings for the job.

Just ensure you check everything else before breaking the seals and attepting a bleed-particularly if you are inexperienced with hydro's.

Juicys do tend to have a spongie feel when compared to others-and longer lever travel. As the others chaps have suggested-try adjusting the reach screw and check alignment.

I have replaced 2 lever assemblies in the past (Juicy 5's) due to internal seal failure. The symptom was the lever gradually moved to the bar with pressure held on. May be worth noting

DR650s

I got the missus a rockhopper D4W and the brakes (Juicy 3's) were appaling, lots of lever travel, spongy when the lever did finally bite, and a long front brake hose. I bought the bleeding kit from CRC and followed the instructions. The brakes had a lot of air in them, and the fluid coming out looked cloudy, once bled I adjusted the reach slightly and now the brakes are perfect. I suspect that juicys need bleeding from new and a lot of mail order companies are not doing it (ours was from Evans).

Dave F.

DR650s wrote:

I got the missus a rockhopper D4W and the brakes (Juicy 3's) were appaling, lots of lever travel, spongy when the lever did finally bite, and a long front brake hose. I bought the bleeding kit from CRC and followed the instructions. The brakes had a lot of air in them, and the fluid coming out looked cloudy, once bled I adjusted the reach slightly and now the brakes are perfect. I suspect that juicys need bleeding from new and a lot of mail order companies are not doing it (ours was from Evans).

I suspect you're right. But I'm surprised they need to. From the blurb on the Avid site they appear to say that once they're put together in the factory they shouldn't need bleeding again unless the hose is shortened.

Cheers
Dave F.

Dave F.

magic johnson wrote:

We used Clarks hose kits-they come with the correct fittings for the job.

Just ensure you check everything else before breaking the seals and attepting a bleed-particularly if you are inexperienced with hydro's.

Juicys do tend to have a spongie feel when compared to others-and longer lever travel. As the others chaps have suggested-try adjusting the reach screw and check alignment.

I have replaced 2 lever assemblies in the past (Juicy 5's) due to internal seal failure. The symptom was the lever gradually moved to the bar with pressure held on. May be worth noting

Thanks for the advice Magic.
I shall look into it.