hydraulic brake question

nedia10

Hi ive just purchased a new trek 6300 which comes with avid juicy i believe brakes

i love the bike, the only problem is the brakes are swapped round from the conventional way?!

why is this? im finding it very hard to adjust to and have nearly went over the handlebars a few times due to this!!

is there any easy way to swap it round, and why is it done?

cheers
nedia

stu8975

Where did you buy it from? I suggest you return it to have the hoses swapped to the correct sides. Trek in American/Some european countries - have their brakes opposite to what we have, ie left is front and right is rear. But if you bought it in the UK then it should have them done correctly, if you bought it from USA or outside of the UK(imported) then the brakes are set correctly for them and you will need to take it to a bike shop and have them swapped to the correct way, but you will be charged if this is the case.

Stoo61

Pretty sure its something to do with the difference between European and UK braking i.e. they are on different sides. They can be swapped back, but I guess that would require new levers but I'm not sure. Someone will be along with a better answer in no time.


Welcome.

nedia10

stu8975 wrote:

Where did you buy it from? I suggest you return it to have the hoses swapped to the correct sides. Trek in American/Some european countries - have their brakes opposite to what we have, ie left is front and right is rear. But if you bought it in the UK then it should have them done correctly, if you bought it from USA (imported) then the brakes are set correctly for them and you will need to take it to a bike shop and have them swapped to the correct way, but you will be charged if this is the case.

i bought it second hand, has only been used 3 times or so, so im unsure of whether its uk or american! (most of the stickers are still on it tho)

how much would a bike shop be asking to get them swapped do you reckon?

Daz555

Never having had hydraulics - can't they just be bled, rerouted to the right levers and then reconnected and refilled? You'll need the right kit of course and your LBS will be able to help.

stu8975

Its just a csae of swapping the hoses from each lever over and re-bleeding them, now some brakes have re-usable bits (hope) so you dont have to have them re-bled, but most do so it would be better to take it to a decent bike shop to have them swapped over. Cost? i would reckon on £30 to swap and re bleed them, but it may be cheaper, maybe more expensive, give few of them a call and ask for prices.

nedia10

no probs ill make a few enquiries tommorrow and find out a rough price!

generally id risk something like this myself but after paying a good sum for it i think ill give it a miss! lol

stu8975

What model brakes are they by the way? (juicy 3/5 etc), what year trek 6300? stick a pic on if you dont know

sniper68

I thought Avids were universal-ie just unbolt the lot and swap sides.

nedia10

Front Brake -- Avid Juicy 3, hydraulic disc; 185mm front,

Rear Brake -- Avid Juicy 3, hydraulic disc; 160mm rear rotor

Brake Levers -- Avid Juicy 3, hydraulic disc

thats off a site

its a 2008 model i believe!

heres a pic if its of any use:


if its a really simple thing to do and nothin needs bled and all that i could try it myself?

crashtestdummy12

If your a newbie you probably won't have the tools and skills to swap over the hoses and bleed the hoses, however I think the juicy 3s have flip flop levers, ie. you can simply put the right hand lever on the left side and visa versa. I might be wrong, but it's worth a try.

stu8975

According to the tech details its just a case of swapping the levers and clamps, no bleeding required. section 5a in the installation/

http://www.sram.com/_media/techdocs/95-5013-109-000.pdf

Northwind

I suppose the hose route might give you a little hassle, but it won't take 5 minutes to try it (hose route from front caliper to left bar is shorter than to the right)