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Hi all, wonder if someone can help please!
I’m taking advantage of the second coming of the winter and planning to fit some new SRAM Guides on my Whyte T-130. The internal routing has baffled me though....is there any way to disconnect the level or calliper end and thread it through without a) having a fluid disaster or b) having to re-bleed!?
Thanks in advance!
Fraid not, that's why internal routing is a crap idea!
Yeah you could get away with running a hose through, connecting the lever end of your hose with the double barb off of a reverb, pulling it through and then popping a new barb/olive on the lever end before reconnecting. If you were super cunning and careful you could do all that without needing a re-bleed... if...
I had to do the same on my last Stumpy (with Guide Rs too). I just carefully disconnected the hose from the lever (mopping up any spilled fluid). Dabbed the end of the hose to make sure none leaked out, then just threaded and connected with a fresh olive.
Still needed a bleed, but felt all the better for it. Shortened the hose while I had the opportunity too.
I was a bit nervous about doing it at first, but it was fine.
^^^^^^^
I did this but did It with the frame upside down so I kept the hose sorta upright.
Did it on a gravel bike with dropped bars an internal routing thru them as well which was very interesting 🙁
Have used a park tool which was a cable an screwed into the hose with a screwy barb and pulled thru which was dead easy although tools expensive did wonder if a ghetto version could be rustled up.
More or less impossible to disconnect a brake hose without at least some air getting in. One trick is to remove the pads, pull the lever a few times to extend the pistons then disconnect at the lever end. After reconnecting push the pistons back and the air will then be in the reservoir rather than the hose. This may leave you with a usable brake but you'll probably find that as the pads wear and the amount of fluid in the reservoir decreases, the chances of air getting into the hose increases. So better off just doing it properly and bleeding it.
Thanks all for the replies, very much appreciated!
Hose cutter and more fluid arriving today. I’m sure I’ll be back on later when I inevitably can’t thread the cables through the frame.....
As long as you remember how gravity works it needn't be too messy. Keep the disconnected ends at the highest point. Spinning the brake lever on the bar so that the hose connection is at the top can help.
+1 for high points. It’s a fluid based system. If the open end becomes the lowest point in the system, you’re getting air in there for sure.
TBH, I’ve always wondered why there aren’t cap tools available for this so that you could split the line high and cap it while it remained high before you started trying to thread it etc. Seems such an obvious thing.
Everyone (manufacturers, forums etc) says you can trim without bleeding but it’s not always true. Best to have the kit ready then it’s a nice surprise if you don’t need vs bike beached for days while more stuff acquired.
TBH, I’ve always wondered why there aren’t cap tools available for this so that you could split the line high and cap it while it remained high before you started trying to thread it etc. Seems such an obvious thing.
There is,that park tool screws in the end an gives you some wire to pull throu 🙂
Best to have the kit ready then it’s a nice surprise if you don’t need vs bike beached for days while more stuff acquired.
Yep taking your brake apart without having the stuff to fix it is a recipe for disaster, any tiny thing can mean you need a bleed or you may convince yourself it's OK 🙂
I had to do my first one, I gave it to the bike shop, they had all the stuff and it came back all sorted