SRAM Guides Locking/Not Returning

[Speedfreak]

Anyone else have this issue? I was riding a few weeks ago and my brakes fully locked. Thankfully it was relatively flat and not while going downhill. Basically had to drag the bike back to the car. Took SRAM til this week to get the parts to my LBS and then I had to pay for the bleed Not thrilled.

Looks like there's a bunch of threads about it on MTBR like this one:
https://forums.mtbr.com/brake-time/g...y-1011229.html

[Dantheman]

Yes, I had this issue with the Guides on my kid's bike. Though for us it only occurred in hot weather. No issues since we got warranty levers from SRAM, knock on wood. It's pretty insane this is still an ongoing issue.

You should learn to bleed your own brakes, though. It's not hard. The kit will pay for itself many times over.

[bluenext]

If they brakes have been stored at high temps they’re going to lock up again even after the bleed. I’d recommend to cut your losses and trash them if that happens. There’s a bit of lit online about a way you can take apart the levers and shave down the inside of the barrel to allow the levers to return. Messing around with that only to rebleed is not worth it.

[One (+) Sentence]

Bring them to your favorite LBS. That was a common widespread problem with Guide levers. SRAM will replace them at no charge. For a while SRAM was even reimbursing shops for the install, but that program has ended. Don’t waste your time trying to bleed them. That will not help.

[g_man80]

It's also my understanding that this was fixed on the newer B1 version of the Guides sometime in 2017.

Also, if you're having problems during a ride, squirt some water on the lever (piston housing). Sometimes it's enough to reduce the swelling of the stuck piston.

[toast2266]

Super well known problem. Sram will likely warranty them without issue. I warrantied a set of guides for the same issue that were a few years old.

[smmokan]

Yep, warranty them... and then sell them.

[milestogo]

Yep, warranty them... and then sell them.

This.

[Dantheman]

I'm pretty sure his lbs got him new levers from sram. Sounds like that took weeks and he had to pay for the install which is what he's mad about.

I'm pretty sure this has been fixed. But there are lot of unsold bikes and stock out there that will have this problem once they start being used and sram doesn't seem to care.

[jm2e]

I'll bet they had amazing modulation when they were locking up though.

[Speedfreak]

Yeah they warranties them. Just pissed it (1) took over and month, (2) SRAM isn’t reimbursing shops for the service so the cost is being passed on, and (3) SRAM really doesn’t seem to care or is just ignoring it hoping it’ll go away. I’ve talked to a few people at this point that have had replacement sets end up doing the same thing, which is definitely concerning.

[One (+) Sentence]

Yeah they warranties them. Just pissed it (1) took over and month, (2) SRAM isn’t reimbursing shops for the service so the cost is being passed on, and (3) SRAM really doesn’t seem to care or is just ignoring it hoping it’ll go away. I’ve talked to a few people at this point that have had replacement sets end up doing the same thing, which is definitely concerning.

If you bought the bike from a LBS, take it back to that shop. They have a lot of flexibility in waiving the charges for stuff like the install and bleed, especially if it was an expensive bicycle (like most bikes that get spec’d with Guide brakes) that came from their shop.

The nice SRAM bleed kit is $95. I think most shops fee to bleed one brake is between $20-$40.

[jm2e]

This sounds like a really Juicy issue. I’ll be an Avid reader of this thread to see how it works out.


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[grinch]

They feel ok when they work but lack power on long steeps. Codes are very nice.not sure if they have the sram quality control issues. I had a pair of guides but I sold them in place of quad piston shimanos . Shimano has always worked well for me. Any of the four piston models , xt,zee, and saint will feel/work the same. Same brake pads. Zee’s don’t have the lever adjust dial that I like. If you had old 2 piston slx/xt I’d say just buy zee 4 piston calipers(without the levers for dirt cheap) and add those on. Much power low hassle

[Speedfreak]

This sounds like a really Juicy issue. I’ll be an Avid reader of this thread to see how it works out.


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I see what you did there HAHAHAHA