Avid Elixir 3 Front Brake Problem

jndb72

Hi All,

I have the above brakes on my Canyon AM 5.0. Up until recently they have worked fine. However, yesterday I noticed that the front wheel started to squeal. Today, the squealing got so bad that I cut my ride short and headed back home. On the way home I pulled the front leaver and.................it didn't do anything. It pulled in all the way but had very little braking effect. It was almost like pulling fresh air. Does anyone have any idea how/why this has happened and how to go about fixing it? When I first noticed the squealing noise I pulled over to take a look, and it looked almost like the pads had been pulled in (I guess when I pulled the brake leaver) but hadn't released properly. I've had the bike since September and done about 500 miles, so I can't imagine they've worn out that quick?

I'm not to clever at fixing things but if it's a simple job I'll give it a go.

Thanks for any advise.

Cheers

nicklouse

are there any pads left?

do you still have the pistons in the caliper?

have a look.

cooldad

I've killed pads in around 20 miles in sunny SW.

Neal_

Remove the brake pads and see how much pad material is left, actually you don't really need to remove the pads but it then means you can check the pistons. Are the pistons protruding too much and can you push them back into the calliper easily? Is there brake fluid leaking from anywhere?

Regardless of all those checks the most likely reason for the lever pulling back to the bars is air in the system which would require a brake bleed. I've just do it today on my Elixir R's which was a bit of a pain but it's worked in firming up the levers. If you don't know what you're doing get a LBS to do it but ask Canyon to pay for it.

cooldad

Very unlikely they need bleeding after a few months.
Unless the lever is pulling into the bars and squidgy they don't. 99% of the time it's something else.
The system is sealed so the only way for air to get in is a hole, which would be noticeable, or over a long period.
Every time someone has a brake issue, bleeding is seen as the solution. It isn't.
Needs to be done if the system is opened - new cables etc, or otherwise every few years maybe. Any more and there's something wrong with the system.

Neal_

Mine are a few months old but were never that firm so probably had air in them from the factory. It could be air in the reservoir has got into the line as more fluid entered the system to compensate for pad wear?

It's the first time I've worked on a closed system, I much prefer open systems like my motorbikes had!

jndb72

Ok, the pads, as far as I can tell, seem to be intact. I've taken the front wheel off and gently seperated the pads with 2 small flathead screwdrivers. I then put the wheel back on and tightened everything up. The wheel then spins freely, with no squealing. I then tried the brake leaver, i have to press it about 4/5ths of the way to the handlebar before it bites, but it does eventually bite enough to stop the wheel spinning. I then span the wheel again, and.......squeals like a pig again. So I seem to have 2 problems, one the leaver has to be pulled almost all the way in before anything happens (and then it dosen't bite with the same force as it used to) and secondly the pads (or whatever) don't seem to be seperating correctly hence the God awful squealing noise.

Any ideas ot suggestions?

Cheers

cooldad

On the lever movement, if you open the pads fully it will need a lot of movement to brake. Just open them enough to get the disc in.
Lots of brakes squeal, especially in bad weather, but if the pistons are not returning you could try work a tiny bit of brake fluid into the seals and work them in and out a bit. Take the pads out first and don't get it on the rotors.
You could try cleaning the rotors with IPA and a new set of pads.

Neal_

Pretty much what cooldad said, definitely sounds like the pistons are sticking. For what it's worth the pistons on my rear calliper took more force to push in than the front although they haven't been dragging.

jndb72

Thanks for all the replies, I'll take another look at it on the weekend.

Cheers

BlueAdvocate

Neal_ wrote:

Pretty much what cooldad said, definitely sounds like the pistons are sticking. For what it's worth the pistons on my rear calliper took more force to push in than the front although they haven't been dragging.

Yep, I've had horrendous vibration issues with my Elixir 5s; taking the pads out and cleaning round the pistons seem to have cured this. Probably need to do it every few rides though.

Anonymous

cooldad wrote:

Any more and there's something wrong with the system.

That or you've got Juicys, but they count as having something wrong with the system anyway.

Anyway, other slim possibility is you've got a leak somewhere. Check around the calliper bleed screw or the lever bleed screw for fluid leaking. If it leaked it could run down and contaminate the pads, and loss of fluid means levers going right to the bar and fluid on pads means loads of squealing (and wrecked pads). Happened to one of our guys recently.

More likely the other options mentioned above though.

Tip - wheel out, pump lever a couple of times, push pistons back a little, then when refitting put a piece of thin card (e.g. business card) either side of the disc, pump lever a few times, remove cards and spin wheel.

I find it usually will stop rubbing then. Assuming the calliper is aligned.

Other thing is you may be able to adjust the bite point on the lever, but not sure with the Elixir 3.