I know there are many Avid haters but personally I love the Elixirs. I’d recently encountered problems bleeding one of my sets – the symptom was an endless stream of air bubbles, this was nothing to do with the brake but caused by the poor quality of the basic bleed kit and air getting past the seal between the red plastic and clear hose.

I’ve now got the pro bleed kit and the difference is night and day – so if anyone is havin problems splash out on the new pro bleed kit!

+1, I like the one Epic sell though.
I love my Elixir R’s and they love me…
As an aside, the same kit did my mates’ Formulas…
The magic steps are the degas and reverse bleed I think. Oh, and fresh syringes. Never underestimate the importance of the seal in the syringe body.
The steps seem a little counterintuitive to begin with but work really well.

elixirs are awesome brakes, nearly every single problem reported about them can be put down to people not knowing how to bleed them properly.

that’s also the reason people rave about shimano brakes, they are pretty unremarkable really but a chimp could bleed them.

Elixirs = Endless problems bleeding, time out from riding, pad rub, but good stopping power.

Shimano = No issues at all bleeding, no pad rub, good stopping power.

Pay your money and take your choice.

If avid problems are just bleed related why do so many levers get replaced by SRAM tech centre when brakes are sent back

Go Shimano I just have and you wont have this problem again! Its simple the problems your getting is because you have Avids lol

the only problem with avids is back shed “mechanics”. bleeding them is simple if you have any idea what the bleeding process is meant to achieve and your not just following some instructional video on yootoob.

Eh? Just ask a pro bike mechanic what they think when a bike with Avids on comes into the shop for a brake service….

Blleding them is simple when they are working correctly….. So for about first 6 months.

Ive had good results painting the inside of the caliper with dot resistant paint to stop the corrosion that bungs the system up. Got about 18 months out of them ( elixer 5)

Then i just bought some real brakes (hope)

Mine have been good. Bleeding is fine, reliability fi e. Changing the pads is a pain when it needn’t be. They also rub. I assume this is due to minimal clearances but that also gives better braking.

Never understood why people felt the need to bleed brakes all the time. Seems some people create problems rather than solving them.

I appreciate the better engineered Shimano’s but can’t stand the lever shape so it’s Avid for me.

Never owned elixirs, as the juicys I had previously were more than enough to convince me to avoid avids from then on. Then I hired a NP Mega in molini, which was fitted with elixirs. Awful, awful brakes.

Funny how anyone who has had elixirs and moved on generally slates them, the only people who rate them are those that currently have them.

Not wanting to admit your own kit is shite, I suppose.

I have formulas on 2 bikes, which are the same bleed process really, and they are really good. Even surprised me the fact that they are Italian and have lasted!.

Nothing is shite until it gives you problems!

So then, Avids need a PRO bleed kit, not the Amateur, that is available off the shelves…
Shimano brakes are great until your caliper decides that the seals have done enough….
Hope on the other hand…..
Its a good job cars aren`t like this isnt it!

I’ve had Elixir Rs on mine for years (think they’re the first incarnation) Changed pads a few times but haven’t had to bleed them and they’ve been flawless.

Nah. Dunno what bleed kit I have; it’s a proper Avid one in a white box.

But, bleeding them isn’t the problem. It’s all the other crap that goes with them. Bought some Elixir for my Inbred to replace the Juicy’s that were quite old. Was gonna go for Shimano, but wanted to keep the pads the same across bikes.

Both sets are fairly problematic to be honest. Should have got some SLX or XT instead, or even forked out and tried some Hope.

Won’t be bothering with Avid hydraulics again….

I had a problem with one of my Elixirs when bleeding – turns out that the bladder on the piston is easily damaged. New piston kit and a re-bleed and all is good.

Oh, and I use the Dr Coopers bleed kit – cheapest on ebay.

bigyinn – Member
Nothing is shite until it gives you problems!

Never driven a fiat, bigyinn? 😀

As much as I have liked my avid’s, when they work they are good brakes. I have just stripped some off my snapped iron horse, they will not be going on my new bike.

I’m well and truly fed up with the inconsistent bleeding of them, one brake always feels better than the other, generally the rear seems to feel spongy. Try as I might I can’t get them set up properly with the levers as close to the bars as I would like.

They are now set for the spares bin as they also have no resale value.

Rusty Mac – Member

They are now set for the spares bin as they also nave no resale value.

Don’t be so sure on that.

I stuck a fairly knackered pair of Juicy 7’s on eBay. I explained that they worked, but weren’t great, could do with a full strip and service and that it was unlikely you’d get them set-up without a fair amount of rub.
I sold them without the rotors and they went for £45.

Only cost me £130 new from Merlin and they were at least 4 years old! I’ll probably get £20 or so for the rotors too if I ever get round to sticking them on ebay.

Well that is at least something,will try and get them bled again and on the bay.

I have had most of the different types of brakes and still have avid, shimano, and Hayes. they all stop me well but my Acids, a 2013 set of Codes are probably the best brakes I’ve ever had and my shimanos are brand new Saints which are good but don’t feel as nice.

As with the OP, I stick with Avids (well Code or Elixirs, Juicys were dire) because of the ease of bleeding them once you’ve got the kit.

Had a nightmare trying to bleed Hopes – neither me or more experienced mates could resolve it, meant I had to send them back and miss out on a planned weekend in the lakes.

Do any of the other manufacturers produce similar kits ?

Funny how anyone who has had elixirs and moved on generally slates them, the only people who rate them are those that currently have them.

Avid (juicy 3s) replaced with Formula The Ones, replaced with Elixir CRs. On paper the Formulas were a much better brake but they were too powerful for my liking and were downright dangerous when fatigue set in and i lost my ‘touch’. The avids still bring me to a halt when needed but their crapness suits my preference of slowing me down a little bit. Saying that they could probably do with a bleed and my opinion could very well change 😀

I’ve found best “fix” with the Avid basic bleed kit is to use a dab of fluid on the rubber syringe seals, every time. Keeping the kit in the (warmer) house as opposed to the garage, keeps the tubes pliable and easier to seal shut with the clips.
They can be a pain, yes, but I have a set of juicy 3 which just keep working and a secondhand ( apparently “not very good and won’t bleed right” ) Elixir R on the front of my hack bike, which I’ve just got a perfectly good bleed on first time.

Hmm, I have a set of Elixr 5’s and have been pretty happy with them so far. They are powerful and stop me fine so not much not to like.

I had an issue pushig the pistons back in recently though and also accidentally let a bit too much fluid out of the system so now they require a bleed for the first time.

I’ve got the kit of Epic Bleed Solutions so presume the instructions with that will work well? Seems straightforward to me.

To be honest given that the process of bleeding is to remove air bubbles I generally ignore the complex avid bleed procedure* now (unless I’m replacing the fluid) and just use one syringe leaving the other end of the brake closed with the grub screw. Keep the syringe upright with at most a quarter filled with fluid and pull the bubbles out with a vacuum effect; works perfectly.

* except I do remove the pads, use the bleed block and ensure the contact adjustment is in the correct place and the leaver adjustments so its 75 to 80mm from the handle bar.