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Hi all
Just bought & installed new style XT brakes. Had to trim the hose which was all ok
Now the levers are really stiff with not much travel before they bite.
Anyone else had this and will they settle in?
Also what does the free stroke screw do?
Cheers all
pretty sure thats normal on them mate.
you could try and push the pistons back into the calipers a bit so they have to travel more before the pads contact the disc.
Did you have to bleed them? If so did you push the pistons back?
Also what does the free stroke screw do?
It differentiates them from slx's on the spec sheet. Otherwise SFA.
Pushed pistons back in but didn't have to bleed em.
Thought that was the case with the screw thing!!
Damn good brakes though
Well on mine there is a fair bit of "free" pull before anything happens. Maybe go and ride them - get them bedded in and warmed up see what you think then.
And yes, fine brakes. Especially the no faff aspect once you're up and running.
Had exactly the same on some xtr trails. You need to let out a tiny amount of mineral oil from the bleed port or otherwise just pushing back the pistons will result in them slowly creeping back to place which you will probably find will be slighlty extruding.
All the best with the tweaking,
Lee.
Mine were the same on fresh pads, after a few rides they gained allot of modulation. Could just be the adjustment period though they are much more bitey than old Shims or Hopes but now i wouldn't have them any other way 🙂
The free stroke affects how far the lever travels before biting!
DrP
Here is exactly what the freestroke adjustment does.
"Shimano: Free stroke is defined as stroke of the lever before the pads start touching the rotor. The free stroke screw simply changes the starting point of the master cylinder piston. If the screw is all the way in, the master cylinder piston will be all the way in, and the free stroke will be the shortest. Turn the screw out a bit and the master cylinder will start further out. Because it has to travel further before it closes off the reservoir port, the free stroke is longer. In the picture of the clear brake posted above, the free stroke screw is turned all the way in.
I’ll admit that it is confusing because it seems to have the opposite effect when you turn the screw. The stock position is all the way in and that’s where most people like them. If you do nothing but turn the screw out, the pad contact point moves out. So it feels like you’ve made the free stroke shorter. The problem is that turning the free stroke screw also effects your initial reach adjustment. The pad contact point came out, but the starting position came out more. So it’s always at least a three-step process. First set the reach adjustment so that the lever starts where you want it, then adjust the free stroke screw to get the amount of free stroke you want, then turn the reach adjust knob to put the lever back where you wanted it.
I would personally like to see a lever that allows for an even shorter free stroke adjustment but as it is, when the free stroke screw is all the way in, the master cylinder is right up against the reservoir port. So really the only way to give people less free stroke would be to sacrifice clearance between the pad and rotor."
As for the XT brakes, you could try bleeding them with the yellow spacer, that forces the pistons to be all the way in.