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I have to admit, this is the bit of bike 'putting together' that I tend to get most stressed about, even with Shimano brakes which use mineral oil.
I have hose cutter, vice, blocks, bleed kit, etc, but I always seem to leave it to the last bit of any build. In my head it just seems to take longer than I would think it should.
Are others the same.
Any tips and tricks to ensure success every time?
Thanks.
Half an hour per hose, that's how long my guides took and I'd argue they're more of a faff to bleed because of the horizontal reservoir.
Took me better part of 2h when I done it first time. But that was including de-gassing DOT, that probably took most of that time.
Also lost loads of time going forwards and backwards on YT tutorial to make sure I'm doing everything as it should be.
Hoping to improve on that in the future 🙂
Cheers!
I.
Half an hour per hose is about right, so budget two hours.
three to four minutes, more if you think they need bleeding afterwards
on a fresh pair of brakes id budget an hour of workshop time.
on anything used/unknown id put them at 45 mins and end to get them working right. invariably pistons will be sticky or otherwise.
and then occasionally you'll get a curve ball that takes all the time 🙁
Top tip.
Unless you are desperate to do it quickly don't worry about getting the bleed spot on. Get it near enough then cable tie the lever to the bars and leave it overnight. With the brake jammed on this way any little bubbles left over should migrate to the lever. Then a 5 minute lever bleed will get them spot on.
If they are already full and Shimano then most likely no need to bleed.
If you do need to bleed then mini-bleed will be fine if you didn't touch the caliper end.
10 min per end...
From empty ... better to just do it slowly as per richmtb
10 minutes if all goes well - you might get away without needing to bleed them if you're lucky. If things go bad, all day, a week, a month...
Shouldn't require a full bleed if you're not flapping about, if you've got all the tools within reach and not dripped any fluid or very little just attach funnel with a bit of oil and give the lever a few pulls, with the blocks in to stop pistons creeping out of course.
tapping in the hose insert at the cable end can be a real bind sometimes....
In my experience:
If you have a litre of Shimano mineral oil and you don't plan to use your bike for a week, it will take 30 seconds.
If you are down to the dregs of the mineral oil (but it should be enough if all goes well) and you are planning a night ride tomorrow evening, it will be an absolute ballache with every issue imaginable.
I've managed a few Shimano brakes without bleeding. Remove pads then pump lever to push pistons out a little bit, disconnect the lever and cut the hose to required length. Fit new barb ( or re use the original if it not damaged) and olive before reconnecting then use a tyre lever to push pistons back fully before re fitting the pads and front wheel. Few pumps of the lever and u should be good to go