bleeding Hayes sole brakes

snig
snig Posts: 428
edited June 2014 in MTB workshop & tech
Just about to bleed my brakes, will be the first time, so read loads, the only thing I'm confused about is the position of the bike whist bleeding, some say the levers need to be higher than the pistons and Hayes themselves say the bike needs to be horizontal to the ground??

Anyone know for sure the best position for the bike when bleeding and any other tips that would help, cheers.

Comments

  • The Rookie
    The Rookie Posts: 27,812
    Lever higher than the calliper (they both contain pistons!) which is how it would be if the bike is level on the ground, so your confusion is which of the effectively the same advice to follow!

    Bike level on the ground, it's easiest!
    Currently riding a Whyte T130C, X0 drivetrain, Magura Trail brakes converted to mixed wheel size (homebuilt wheels) with 140mm Fox 34 Rhythm and RP23 suspension. 12.2Kg.
  • snig
    snig Posts: 428
    The Rookie wrote:
    Lever higher than the calliper (they both contain pistons!) which is how it would be if the bike is level on the ground, so your confusion is which of the effectively the same advice to follow!

    Bike level on the ground, it's easiest!

    Thanks,yeah didn't word that very well, what I meant was some advice I have seen, from forums and Youtube have the back end in the air, at a 45% angle, or the front end higher than the back end.
  • The Rookie
    The Rookie Posts: 27,812
    Raise the front if you really want for doing the rear brake (not the front), but I wouldn't bother.
    Currently riding a Whyte T130C, X0 drivetrain, Magura Trail brakes converted to mixed wheel size (homebuilt wheels) with 140mm Fox 34 Rhythm and RP23 suspension. 12.2Kg.
  • snig
    snig Posts: 428
    The Rookie wrote:
    Raise the front if you really want for doing the rear brake (not the front), but I wouldn't bother.


    cheers, will give it a go with both wheels on the ground, just got my bleeding kit today so will give it ago tonight.
  • snig
    snig Posts: 428
    well managed to do them, the one that badly needed doing (back brake) couldn't have gone easier, max of 15 minutes if that, so I thought even tho the front brake seemed fine I might as well do that one too, well that turned into a 2 hour job! for some reason the brake fluid would not come out,of the lever, well it would but only at a mm a time after pressing the bottle for ages,after putting it all together again it was worse than what the back brake was, thought it could be something blocking one of the tubes, so checked all of tho, I even tried running the fluid from the lever to check for a blockage but it drained fine from the brake end,ended up trying 3 times but no joy, so in the end tried the bleeding process from the lever end and it worked fine.

    Anyone any idea what the problem was, my only guess is an air blockage but I don't think it was that?

    oh and for anyone reading this that is about to attempt this, it's a 6mm spanner for the bleed value not as I read a few times on the web a 7mm, luckily I tried it outside the shop before buying and cycling away :D
  • photonic69
    photonic69 Posts: 2,796
    Yup. That's mechanics for you. Same with cars, bikes, motor bikes, DIY..... Simple job goes well so you press on. Second part takes n^3 times longer than you thought. Never fails.


    Sometimes. Maybe. Possibly.

  • The Rookie
    The Rookie Posts: 27,812
    You may need to back off the lever reach adjustment, on Shimano's if it's maxed out you can't get fluid back into the lever at all.
    Currently riding a Whyte T130C, X0 drivetrain, Magura Trail brakes converted to mixed wheel size (homebuilt wheels) with 140mm Fox 34 Rhythm and RP23 suspension. 12.2Kg.
  • snig
    snig Posts: 428
    The Rookie wrote:
    You may need to back off the lever reach adjustment, on Shimano's if it's maxed out you can't get fluid back into the lever at all.

    cheers, I'll take a look at that.

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