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Ive always bled them the lever way,.
but since helping in a bike shop,the syringe from the caliper has been the way ive done it there.
is this a better way?
I do mine from the lever. Simple and therapeutic, but slow and messy.
top down using the lever.
On my mini's I tend to use a syringe and draw the fluid through from the caliper. I sometimes also push [bubble free] fluid through up to the lever as well.
I doubt there's much in it.
Top down using the lever.
Note 1: if you have the Tech X2 lever there is any extra bit you have to do with the resevoir to get the air out. See the Hope video
Note 2: if your rear caliper mounting is pretty horizontal and you jack up the back end of the bike in a stand to bleed you can end up with the back of the caliper higher than the bleed nipple and trap air in there
Syringe, suck air out, push fluid in. Very similar to the Avid method really.
syringe from caliper and push fluid out of lever res ?
Who me? Yeah, sorry, syringe from the caliper. Close lever, suck air out, push fluid in. Open lever, push fluid up to the reservoir.
Lever down on hope, they don't have a bleed/syringe hole at the lever (so it be very messy) also you really need a good seal on the bleed nipple, hose and syringe if doing it from the calipler.
On other brakes, Calipler up with syringe etc.
18 bikes have a really helpful video on youtube, managed to bleed mine after watching it
I have a syringe with a cut down bleed nipple and an o-ring on it just for bleeding my Hope brakes.
Onzadog - MemberWho me? Yeah, sorry, syringe from the caliper. Close lever, suck air out, push fluid in. Open lever, push fluid up to the reservoir.
Can you explain that. What do you mean by suck air out, and does closed lever mean pulling it to the bars. Never tried caliper up but always wondered if it might be more effective, if messy
Vacuum pump and a resin catch pot.....no air guaranteed
ive done it with pushing the fluid through from the caliper and letting it spill out of lever reservoir,with rags wrapped round..
you think this is a good way of no air in the system?
Used to go from the caliper up but had better results last time going from the lever.
CaptainM, I attach the syringe to the caliper and pull the lever back to the bar and tie it off. Then pull on the syringe to such air out, then push fluid back in. Do this several time. Watch closely to make sure you don't POP the piston out. Then, open the lever, push fluid up to the reservoir, half fill it. Then, flick the lever to shift any small air bubbles. Push more fluid to fill the res. Close whenever, remove syringe, replace bleed nipple, zero piston, release lever, replace cap.
http://www.hopetech.com/page.aspx?itemID=SPG219
or watch Scotty Kilmer and his ideas on brake bleeding
Given they are scaled down vehicle brakes, I do mine the same way I've done cars/trucks/mo'bike's for years ...
Slip a ring spanner onto the nipple, then slide on a bleed tube (which is a length of tube about 100-120mm, stopped at one end, with a ~30mm split in about 4/5th of the way along (these are a few quid from a car supplies place)).
Get the bike upright, and secure.
Make sure the reservoir has lots of fluid - if you've topped it up / put fresh in, give it a few minutes to settle.
Give the lever a good few strong but gentle pulls back and release slowly, and on the last one, hold it pulled back as far as it'll go. Gently / slowly undo the nipple, and allow the fluid to seep out into the tube - the amount of volume released by the first few pulls should just be caught in the tube - as the fluid releases, you'll feel the lever loose all stiffness, and it'll come back to the bars.
Tighten the nipple properly, but carefully, and only then, release the lever slowly outwards, under control.
Give it a few seconds, then repeat until the lever firms up.
Check the fluid level in the reservoir each time, to make sure you've not started to get to the bottom as you'll have slurped air into the hose with fluid as you pull the lever, although if you've bled out a full reservoir of fluid before the
lever has gone firm ... you've got other problems somewhere.
Also use these little pauses to clean anything seeping from the bleed tube, so the bled out fluid doesn't leak / drip and contaminate your pads / rotor.
If the fluid has been in there a while, I drain it out completely and scrap it - replacing it with fresh.
I 'spose that's the lever method tho' - so I could have saved you some reading I guess by just saying that...
🙄
ahha i wondered about this..
when im replacing fluid,never can tell how much to use,to get rid of old?
Blower -you should see the change in colour as the new bleeds thru. Usually around 3 reservoirs full on hopes for me
I made a plate / pice of wood the same thickness as the pad and rotor,to avoid containation of the pads. Just a tip !