Can hydraulic brakes cope with being bike being inverted?

friedpizzainbatter

Hi,
Apologies if this has been asked before, I did a search and didn't get any hits.
A few years ago I was told that turning a bike with hydraulic brakes upside down was a bad idea as it caused air bubbles to form.
Is this the case? I can't remember who told me this, but every time I'm at the 7 stanes I see lots of people with their bikes upside down while they put wheels on after travelling there with the bike in the back of the car.
I'm wondering if I'm being a bit of an idiot wrestling wheels back on after punctures with the bike the right way up?

nicklouse

It can not cause bubbles to form.

BUT if there is air in the MC then it can on some find its way to the hose. And then if the lever is activated while it is there you have issues.

Brakes that are susceptible to this are ones where you remove the cap to bleed the brakes. Ones that have a fully closed system fir bleeding etc are fine (avid, Formula) as any air is totally removed.

Antm81

I've never had a problem with it, or not with shimano brakes anyway. The levers do go spongy as air moves from the reservoir to the caliper, but a few pumps of the lever once the right way round sorts it out.

friedpizzainbatter

nicklouse wrote:

It can not cause bubbles to form.

BUT if there is air in the MC then it can on some find its way to the hose. And then if the lever is activated while it is there you have issues.

Brakes that are susceptible to this are ones where you remove the cap to bleed the brakes. Ones that have a fully closed system fir bleeding etc are fine (avid, Formula) as any air is totally removed.

Thanks for the reply. That's going to make life easier. : )