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Hi
Dug my mtb out of the shed and the callipers have seized closed. My question is: worth paying a local bike shop to repair or replace the brakes? Would like to keep the discs the same and keep costs to a minimum.
Thanks in advance
have they still got the old pads in? Can you remove the pads and push the pistons back?
Towards the end of the live of mine, they still worked...but required bleeding more often. surely worth a shot before upgrading them?
I had some Elixir 7's and once the pistons started sticking they were a pain in the arse.
I looked at the cost of seal & piston kits to re-furb them myself, but it was only about £20 more to get some SLX brakes from Merlin.
I'd just keep on the lookout for brake kit deals from Merlin or one of the discount German suppliers like Bike Discount.
You might have to swap the hoses round & do a bleed, but IMO it would be worth it.
Short answer: No.
This is the answer:
https://www.planetx.co.uk/i/q/BCSRGU/sram-guide-r-hydraulic-disc-brake
this is what I did after spending FAR too much time on those damn 5's, they just never worked right and I've always had Avid/Sram brakes. I've now got Guides on all the bikes, Avid's confined to the scrap bin...
Thanks for all the responses. Taking the pads out the pistons move very slightly back in but are effectively pushed right up to the pads.
Those Sram look good do you know if the rotors will be compatible please?
No, bin them. Great brakes until they needed maintenance, then they turned into a bag o shite.
Cheeky plug but I have a £30 Planet X voucher for sale in the classifieds 🙂
I managed to salvage a pair once. I remember a fair bit of silicone grease being involved to clean and lube the pistons. I'd squeeze the levers out and paint lube on with a cotton bud. They're still going strong today.
Generally not worth paying somebody to fix them compared to the cost of new brakes (that come with a warranty)
One quick fix you could try if the system appears overfilled rather than pistons seized is undo the bleed plug on the lever a half turn and reset the pistons, wrap a rag round the lever to catch any fluid that comes out. (no idea how Avid brakes go from fine to apparently over full (absorb moisture?) but it has worked a couple of times just to get a bike going again)(obviously should be bled, but....)
If the pistons are not retracting I would just bin them, you can fit new pistons/seals/scrape corrosion out the seal grooves, but its really just not worth it.
If you are mega skint I have fully stripped the calipers in the past and cleaned and lubed to bring them back to life, but not worth paying somebody to do it, especially if the lever then shits itself shortly after.
Yep I think in the bin and time for an upgrade. Thoughts on the rotors please?
Thanks again
Rotors should be fine if you use the same adapters / brackets. May need shorter bolts as I think the Elixirs used washers, someone else maybe able to clarify?
Lovely stuff, cheers.
What size are the discs?
If they are 185s I would get new as 185 cps mounts dont play nice with normal calipers
Not sure, I’ll check.
With the planet X Guide R’s just factor in you also need to buy bar mounts as they don’t come with any. Unless your elixirs have some that are compatible (I’ve never had elixirs to comment).
The Guides will be a useful upgrade over you current brakes - love them and have them on both my mountain bikes.
Edit - Looking at elixir 5 images online it looks like newer ones have the bar mounts you can probably use with guides - but the older ones have built in bar clamps