Thread: Avid Hydro Brake Question...To Bleed or Not to Bleed?

My x.7 brakes on my 575 were working great at the end of the fall, newish pads, perfectly bedded in, no more annoying turkey-gobble sound...I was very happy with them.

I moved into our new house a few weeks ago, and in the spirit of re-organizing everything, I now hang my bike from the ceiling via a hook through the front wheel. I was warned that this could make any air bubbles in hydraulic system rise to the top and fuck my shit up. I didn't believe. I do now.

So now both levers come all the way back to the bars. So, do I have to bleed them? Can I open the resevoir at the levers and burb the air out? Can I just top the sytem off with more fluid?

As I've mentioned here on the Sprockets forum before: I'm a clueless goon when it comes to bike maintance. I also detest paying some stoney kid $50/hour to wrench on my shit. So help me out. Thanks.

Why don't you just go to a mechanic that isn't some stoner kid.
I charge 30 bucks for juicy bleed.

buy the avid bleed kit for ~40 bucks. the directions are easy to follow. plus, you'll be able to bleed them for basically nothing (<5 bucks for more DOT fluid) in the future. i just did it and was successful on the first try. you can do it!

it's not the stoner part of the equation that I have a problem with...it's the cash.

so $30 for a mechanic to bleed my brakes...that sounds about right...but like House says...if it's $40 for the kit maybe I should do it myself. Not that hard? Avid Hydros use DOT fluid? So do I need to bleed?

If I hang the bike back up from it's rear tire maybe the bubbles will go back and I won't have to do shit? Stupid idea?

Originally Posted by ANON-505

Not that hard? Avid Hydros use DOT fluid? So do I need to bleed?

Avid's bleed kit has great instructions, easy to follow. You can do it.

As for hanging the bikes - do what I do and put two hooks in the ceiling and hang it by both the seat and bars so it's upright.

The bleed kit should be less than 40 bucks...

The kit itself is idiot proof basically, if you can operate a syringe you can bleed your brakes.

Originally Posted by ANON-505

Can I open the resevoir at the levers and burb the air out?

I've done this with great success on Shimanos. Just set the bike up so that the reservoir is the highest point of the system, and take the reservoir cover off (careful w/ this - my Shimanos at least have a gasket and 2 very small screws that are almost impossible NOT to lose). Make sure there's enough fluid that the reservoir is basically full, and pump the brake lever. You should eventually see some air bubbles coming out from the master cylinder. Keep doing this for a while until no more bubbles. The lever should gradually get firmer and have less throw as you're going along.

Might as well try this first, since cost is $0.

I have the Avid bleed kit, and it's a bit finicky. Search here on it -- I posted in a thread (or maybe started a thread) about how to bleed the brakes, and there's some good responses in there.

While I was able to get the lever feel back to acceptable on my bike, it's still not as nice as the lever feel on Mrs. C.'s bike, and both have the same Avid hydro brakes. Her bike just hasn't been messed with.

Originally Posted by ANON-505

If I hang the bike back up from it's rear tire maybe the bubbles will go back and I won't have to do shit? Stupid idea?

If the trapped air goes to either end of the system, (lever, or caliper), then the result will be the same.

http://cgi.ebay.com/Avid-Hydraullic-...QQcmdZViewItem

$25 + shipping.

they are a bit harder then an hayes, but not too bad if you follow instructions

im pretty much a bike jong, but i helped my friend bleed his stumpy's juicy 7s, really easy.

really would recommend doing yourself, we did three bikes and by the end we did the last bike in like <15 minutes.