[Closed] avid elixir, do i need a bleed kit?

brake should be fully bled and ready to go

You can get an identical bleed kit for £15 from epic bleed solutions.

Recommended if you're planning on riding the bike more than once.

thanks garry, thing is a bike shop looked at it and worked for a ride and now doesnt, it could be another bleed needed or could be a duff brake. bike shop is out of the question as costs more than the brake and didnt fix it.
i'm swaying towards a new brake..

They're hated brakes because they need an excessive amount of tlc to keep them working - they do work well, though, if you keep on top of them.

I finally called it a day with elixirs on one of my bikes recently. Replaced them with slx, rear lasted 40 miles before badly jamming a piston and damaging the caliper seal - now useless 🙁 Think I'll just brake with my feet from now on.

The Epic Bleed Solutions kit works a treat at a fraction of the cost of Avid's official version. If you're installing Elixir 1s on both ends, you can pretty much guarantee that the rear hose will need to be cut to length. That'll then need bleeding.

avid elixir, do i need a bleed kit?

Nope. A dustbin will do.

avid elixir, do i need a bleed kit?

Nope. A dustbin will do.

Seconded, IMO the only good brakes from Avid are their cable BB7's.

Sell them and buy something that works

Thirded. A bin and a shimano Deore for 35squid is all you need...

Don't listen to all there's naysayers who suggest a dustbin.

An axe is what you need, plenty of carbs, and big guns to swing the bugger,

Plan on any hydraulic disk brake you mail order will need bleeding, over the years I've had Hope, Avid & Shimano's from lots of etailers and every single one has needed bleeding. Again Epic Bleed solutions, good service and good guides to help you.

I wouldn't want to own any brake and not have the tools to bleed it. Unless they were cable based obviously.

You just can't run the Avids without a bleed kit - even bled and maintained to the letter of the "instructions" (comedy elastic band pump pump tap tap squeeze this and release that trapped air pap design workaround) and they will almost certainly let you down in the worst places for no apparent reason. Even just changing pads is a lottery if they'll then need a re-bleed (in fairness I think the ones with the bite point adjust are worst for ingesting air).

I've been fitting and bleeding hydraulic brakes since 1994 (started with Magura rim brakes) and these are without a doubt the worst.

I held out with them, tried epic bleed, really wanted it to work. Bought an XT front, never going back.
Saying that, have guide on my new bike and they're fine.

Yeah, they come pre-bled. But expect to have to re-bleed them within 2 rides. The epic bleed kit is excellent.
I recently got rid of my elixir 3 after 1 year. Great brakes when working. But would squeal and need a rebleed every second ride (sometimes more often). Just bought some SLX and I didn't even need to re-bleed them after shortening both front and rear hoses!!

This got my Elixir 1s working well and staying that way for months...

[url= http://www.pinkbike.com/news/tech-spotlight-5-minute-bubble-bleed-2014.html ]http://www.pinkbike.com/news/tech-spotlight-5-minute-bubble-bleed-2014.html[/url]

My Juicy 3s are over 6 years old and have never needed a bleed.

My Elixirs are over a year old, I had to bleed them after shortening the hose. It took a couple of go's but they've been fine since.

I must be one of the lucky ones.

I have elixr 5s I think. 2.5 years / 3000km / 250 hrs use in the sh1ttiest of UK conditions

Bled once in that time, because I had a stuck caliper so serviced the brakes at the same time.

They aren't perfect - a little squeal, sometimes calipers get a little sticky - but I've not had a big problem.

Mind you, I have a set of Hayes Sole on my old marin HT that have never been serviced in the 8 years I have been using them.

When I had my bike repair business I used to bleed any brake for a flat £15.

Apart from Avids. For those things I used to charge £1 million per hour. I wasn't refusing to do the work, it's just the amount of money I wanted to compensate for the frustration and misery the damned things caused me.

Kill them. With fire. Then buy Shimano.