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I've shortened a few hoses recently (SRAM and Shimano) and they don't feel as though they need bleeding afterwards.
Strange as I'd have thought some air would get in
would you normally expect to bleed afterwards?
thanks
Not if you do it carefully. You might get a small bubble of air in but it'll be right at the top so will self bleed
Recently shortened some deore for my son and SLX for my dad. Neither set needed a bled afterwards.
I always bleed but then I am a perfectionist. Logic dictates there must be some air in there somewhere - even if it has risen to the top. This cant be beneficial..... and if there is air there is also moisture which will be absorbed into the brake fluid. Neither of these things can be good.
There's a bit of luck involved and also an element of tolerance and use... You know how sometimes, people say their brakes were fine til they turned the bike upside down, as if it's just normal? That's because of air in the system but outside of the pressurised part. So even if you didn't feel you needed to bleed, maybe there's still a problem waiting to get you. Or, maybe not- especially if you're careful, the fluid's [i]fairly[/i] static in the system and unless it moves, there's nowhere for air to go.
Personally I don't mind bleeding brakes so I tend to just do it anyway, it only takes minutes. But it's not always necessary, or even useful. But you kind of need to plan for it.
Have always followed the epicbleedsolutions hose shortening procedure in near-surgical conditions
Have also got a proppa hose cutter that cuts the hose cleanly and the barb can be inserted without any effort
So far Deore/SLX/XT (x2) & zee have all come out LOADS better than when they went in esp the Zees they're amazing
Have yet to bleed any of them
You could try a 5 minute mini bleed to purge the system of any trapped air at the piston/lever end, which is where any air might be lurking following hose shortening.
Procedure here: http://www.epicbleedsolutions.com/blog/5-minute-shimano-mini-bleed/