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Went to take the Status 160 out today, got 200m on the road to trails and the brakes both ends we're basically locked up.
I've had it on Guides and replaced the master cylinder piston which sorted them. But are the Codes the same, they overheat, swell and stop responding? They were ok before leaving garage and have been ok on rides before now.
What year are they? newer ones have no problems.
Bike is a 2019/20. Wasn't made before then. If it's not pistons, then I'm struggling with the answer.
Just tested it now cold and they're lovely
Had a similar problem with a SRAM Level rear brake which was locking on after a hot car journey. Turned out the brake fluid was contaminated and a dark colour. No probs since changing it.
never had it myself, and I was riding in hotter temps than today last year in northern Spain. The brakes could have been made a long time before they went on a bike?
When were they last bled?
If it’s not pistons, then I’m struggling with the answer.
Overfilled with fluid or air in the master cylinder reservoir. Fluid/air expands when hot and locks the brakes. If it is that, opening the bleed port on either the reservoir or caliper should relieve the pressure.
It is also possible that the clearance in the master cylinder is too small and the master cylinder piston jams when it gets hot. Pouring cold water over it or wrapping it with an ice pack might help with that. If it's been locked in a hot shed or car, the temperature could get over 50 degrees so they might be fine once the levers cool down a bit.
The fact they may/do sort themselves out when cool doesn't help much though if I need them on a hot day. It's obviously game over if that's what happens when out riding.
Thanks for the thoughts.
When were they last bled?
The bike rarely moves matey. And i do mean very very rarely.. it's the boys spare bike. We just happened to test it yesterday. They've not been bled in the 6 months since i bought the bike, but then again it's only been ridden 3 times... it worked fine on those times, but it wasn't 30+ degrees.
The rear has been removed from the bike now, the front will come off today and both will be replaced with new brakes.
The good news to that story is that by this evening there'll be a nice set of CodeRs for sale with new fluid and spare pads for anyone who wants a set.
The fact they may/do sort themselves out when cool doesn’t help much though if I need them on a hot day. It’s obviously game over if that’s what happens when out riding.
That'll depend on how hot they need to be to suffer the problem. If the bike is in a shed or vehicle with poor ventilation, the temperature will be much higher than outside in the breeze. The problem will be with the levers, not the calipers, because calipers get extremely hot in normal use. If you cool the bike down and they work at temperatures a human can survive at then they should be fine.
That's assuming that it's not caused by overfilling or air in the master cylinder reservoir. If that the cause, the remedy is pretty simple - just bleed them and make sure there's no air and they aren't overfilled.
I had exactly the same with c2013 SRAM XO (rebadged Avid Elixer).
Venting from the lever bleed port released them and produced significant bubbles and fluid. Changed bars and needed to extend the hoses recently, so gave them a really thorough bleed (hang them up, fill, bleed, jiggle lines, bleed, jiggle, leave overnight, jiggle, bleed) and so far so good. Didn't forget to de-gas the brake fluid.
I'm not sure I'm "Grrr, Tiger" enough for DOT brakes"!
I had this year's ago with some Avid Elixirs, I bled them and they've been fine since. I think I found out just before a ride so I just opened the caliper bleed port which released a little fluid and saved my ride.
That’ll depend on how hot they need to be to suffer the problem. If the bike is in a shed or vehicle with poor ventilation, the temperature will be much higher than outside in the breeze. The problem will be with the levers, not the calipers, because calipers get extremely hot in normal use. If you cool the bike down and they work at temperatures a human can survive at then they should be fine.
That’s assuming that it’s not caused by overfilling or air in the master cylinder reservoir. If that the cause, the remedy is pretty simple – just bleed them and make sure there’s no air and they aren’t overfilled.
SUre i get that.. i don't believe they were over-filled. I compeltely agree it's more likely at the lever end. I'm sure with a bleed, they'd potentially work.... but potentially and 100% are 2 very different things in my book...
Sounds like the lack of use has aided in this being an issue...I'm impressed that rather than spend a bit of time fixing this you've gone and bought new brakes - an easier solution, but hopefully the 'spare' bike will be used more frequently now and will result in less of these kinds of issues happening.
I get the 100% and potentially thing - but if the spare bike isn't being used at all then 100% is getting further away and potentially is turning into likely.
WEll due to being told off 🙂 i've fitted a new olive and barb back, re-fitted the line.... (stupid internal routing with a hold too narrow to fit a hose with an olive on !!!).
I'll bleed both sets with new fluid...
then come back and blame you lot if they're not right 😀