Shortening Clarks M2 hoses - no olive / insert

wilbo83

I recently purchased a set of Clarks M2 hydraulic brakes based on good reviews in MTBR and MBUK. The hoses supplied are too long and I need to shorten them however the brakes did not come with spare olives and inserts like the shimano ones do. Does anyone know how I can shorten them or where I can get spares?

dgunthor

is the olive and insert the same as shimano? can get shimano replacements

wilbo83

dgunthor wrote:

is the olive and insert the same as shimano? can get shimano replacements

No idea, was hoping someone may have the answer to that question and have done this process themselves. May take the hose off later to take a closer look and grab some pics.

cooldad

Ask the seller.

wilbo83

cooldad wrote:

Ask the seller.

I have done, via phone, email and Facebook with no response to any. The clarks website claims they pride themselves on after sales service but it doesn't appear that way. They have spares listed for other brakes they make but it's like the M2 ones don't exist with no product videos, no spares etc.

cooldad

Sounds like a rubbish seller. Name and shame.

wilbo83

cooldad wrote:

Sounds like a rubbish seller. Name and shame.

That was contacting Clarks directly via details on their website and facebook page.

cooldad

You need to contact the seller.

dgunthor

just had a look at a magura tutorial and their hose/olive looks identical to shimano. i'd wager 99.99% that clarks is identical too.

superstar have a 4 x kit for £4.99:
http://www.superstarcomponents.com/en/o ... rt-kit.htm

or £2.49 for one from chain reaction:
http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/shim ... -prod69605

Bigun6767

Hi, I too have purchased some Clarke's m2 brakes. I shortened my rear hose.The ends that you need are hayes hfx-9/sole My lbs supplied them for me.£3 a piece. Hope this helps.

wilbo83

Bigun6767 wrote:

Hi, I too have purchased some Clarke's m2 brakes. I shortened my rear hose.The ends that you need are hayes hfx-9/sole My lbs supplied them for me.£3 a piece. Hope this helps.

Thank you so much. I have contacted both Clarks and Chain Reaction, both have got me nowhere. The guy at Clarks basically said "you have to understand the value you are getting"! I still reminded him that Shimano brakes come with spare olive and insert. He said that a Clarks shortening kit was available, at a further cost, but they couldn't supply it and Chain Reaction should have it but don't, so I was back to square one!

Could you provide any further information about the shortening process? Is it the same as for shimano?

jimothy78

dgunthor wrote:

just had a look at a magura tutorial and their hose/olive looks identical to shimano...

How much detail can you see on a video - can you measure internal and external diameters by eye? That's quite clever! Also, which Shimano ones are you referring to (they make two different sizes)?

Methinks the lady doth assume too much :roll:

To the OP - I think the only way you are going to make progress on this will be to actually remove your existing insert and take it to an LBS who will hopefully stock a range of different ones that you can compare it to, side-by-side. The construction of the M2s does indeed appear to be very similar to some of the older Shimano products, so it's likely that one of their inserts will to the job, but you'll have to check very carefully that they match exactly.

dgunthor

my bad - should have realised there would be no standard - it's all the rage these days!

John Wh

In the same boat as you (although I've not even looked into it yet). I've got a bit of a loop that I can put up with till I upgrade eventually. Saying that, they are doing a sterling job at stopping me for £40 for a full set

dgunthor

yes, they got a good review the new clarks ones

thorny17

Bigun6767 wrote:

Hi, I too have purchased some Clarke's m2 brakes. I shortened my rear hose.The ends that you need are Hayes hfx-9/sole My lbs supplied them for me.£3 a piece. Hope this helps.

I just purchased a set of your M2 brakes, so far so good. the rear cables too long, I have looked all over the web for information on which fittings and no luck.
Just wondering if these are the parts required

M2 Brakes found your post
Can you let me know if this is the right part
http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/nz/e ... p-prod7479
or
http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/nz/e ... p-prod7486

or am I braking up the wrong tree

John Wh

I've had them for a few months and noticed uneven pad wear on the rear. One pad is more worn towards the back (slanted) and the wheel-side piston has probably not moved since I bought them.

Tried resetting the pistons and replacing the pads, they were just grabbing the disc and not retracting even though the pistons were moving freely with a press.

Chucked in the towel and ordered SLX M675s. They are god brakes when they work, very much worth it for £40.

Bigun6767 recommended hayes hfx-9/sole ends in a post earlier just in case people missed it