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I have a set of Frankenbrakes that I REALLY like, they suit me perfectly. Avid Juicy Carbon Levers paired with old style Code calipers, linked with (Superstar) braided hose. The rear hose was recently damaged so I decided to replace it using identical components, i.e. the original compression fittings, new Avid olives and barbs and a new length of braided hose. AFAIK all is assembled correctly (I've done this job quite a few time in the past...) and I've bled it soundly, using the correct kit. No bubbles to be found at all now, all is good.
Brakes work well, BUT as I pull hard on the lever I can see fluid seeping along from the caliper and lever unions underneath the transparent outer of the hose. AFAIK I have tightened the unions correctly although I have not used a torque wrench to check. They have however been progressively tightened in an attempt to solve the issue to the extent that I'm worried about stripping threads if I go much further.
Your thoughts please about where I have messed up.
Could it be that the Avid barbs are slightly smaller than Superstar's? I fitted SS hose to my Hope Minis but used Superstar's own fittings. That said I've had similar seepage previously using Hope fittings and braided hose - solved by using stainless fittings torqued pretty tight.
Did you remove the plastic coating from the end of the hose where the olive sits?
Thanks Mama, nope, I didn't remove any outer at all, just a good clean cut through all the layers of the hose and then the Avid olive slid onto the end.
Ambrose 🙂
Might be worth a try using Superstar's fitting kit and just removing the outer plastic where the olive sits. I'm guessing if you did this with an Avid olive it would be too loose if it fits over the whole outer easily. Have a look [url= http://singletrackmag.com/forum/topic/hope-braided-hoses-need-shortening-how ]here[/url] - some folks say that the plastic outer should be removed where the olive sits and others not (I guess it depends on the hose/fittings used).