Do I need to bleed? And the economics thereof...

alomac

I had my bike upside down for some trail-side repairs, and the rear brake lever has gone 'to the handlebars' soft (Avid Juicy 3). I can still stop with it, and it has improved a little after the ride home, but not much. Does it sound like it needs bleeding?

Also, if yes, would it be better to buy a kit and DIY or would it be cheaper to have a shop do it? I know it would normally be better to buy the kit, but I'll be leaving Sweden for Australia in four months, and would have to abandon the kit when I go. If the brakes are unlikely to need bleeding again in that four months, and if having the LBS do the work costs less than buying the kit, then I'm thinking I should just go with the LBS.

Cheers,
Adam.

nicklouse

could be some air in the master cylinder that has got past the piston and into the brake line.

Just needs sucking out. full bleed not needed.

Bleed kit very usefull to have.

woodywmb

Your brake needs bled. The options are:
- Buy a kit. Shimano have a fancy kit for £50 and an older, cheaper version for £12. Neither is good value.
- DIY. Boots have a syringe for £1. Your local pet shop will sell you ID 4mm tubing for £2. Halfords have mineral oil or Dot fluid for a fiver. Assuming you already have a 7mm spanner or a tiny shifter, the total is £8.
- Shop job. £20 for half an hour's work. Comes with guarantee. And no oil over the garage/kitchen floor.
You decide.

Joe_Pineapples

The Avid bleed kit is a bit expensive at around the £30 mark, but it's good and does exactly what it says on the tin.
I'm a bit fussy with my brakes and bleed them every now and then rather than just when I feel the bike needs it. As for adandoning the kit, well it's really only two syringes and brake fluid. It doesn't take up much room.

Watch:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GzZkEIrCBJ0

Joe_Pineapples

Woodywmb wrote:

Your brake needs bled. The options are:
- Buy a kit. Shimano have a fancy kit for £50 and an older, cheaper version for £12. Neither is good value.
- DIY. Boots have a syringe for £1. Your local pet shop will sell you ID 4mm tubing for £2. Halfords have mineral oil or Dot fluid for a fiver. Assuming you already have a 7mm spanner or a tiny shifter, the total is £8.
- Shop job. £20 for half an hour's work. Comes with guarantee. And no oil over the garage/kitchen floor.
You decide.

The Shimano kit won't fit Avid brakes.
You can't bleed Avids like you're bleeding a motorbike, you need the Avid kit.

The Spiderman

The Avid kit come with two specific bleed screws.Have a look at the SRAM website for the video intructions,to see if you reckon you can do it.Fairly straightforward if you are mechanically minded.

rudedog

before you look into bleeding, try this first ! pump the levers a few times and then tie them back to the handlebar grips and leave over night - I used cable ties for this. It forces trapped air out with needing to bleed.

I've since read that if you slacken off and rotate the levers on the bars so they point upwards before tieing them back that it works even better (but just tieing them back without rotating the levers worked for me)

If this doesn't work then you probably will need to bleed them