There is no chance I am going to pay 45 quid for a Shimano bleed kit.

I've been eying up various home made kits on Ebay – syringes and tubing. Which are still over priced for what they are.

What bore of tube do I need and what capacity syringe?

I've looked at this one Bleed kit, which I am sure will do the job.

get some 50ml or 25mk syringes from eBay for £2 or so. Get windscreen washer tubing and LHM mineral oil from halfords (and an open ended 7mm spanner if needed!)

I think there are two types of windscreen tubes and I can't remember which it is (i just bought both as they were cheap)

edit: i wouldn't be sure that kit will fit mountain bike brakes, i bought some motorbike bleed nipple caps thinking they would be a cheaper option than the £1.99 shimano ones but when they arrived they were about twice the size!

iirc mineral oil causes the rubbers in most syringes to swell – so treat them as disposables.

Anyone care to share the reason why a bleed kit is required for Shimano brakes? I've always used the method of filling the lever reservoir with fluid and pulling the lever to flush the fluid thru the system with the bleed nipple undone 1/8th of a turn. Once fresh fluid is in the system, close the bleed nipple and pull the lever until no more bubbles appear in the reservoir – leaving the lever pulled overnight if necessary.

Is it just the new-fangled servo-wave versions that need a bleed kit?

I've found you get a better bleed by going bottom up. Via the reservoir will work but bottom up seems better. You can also use it to literally suck the air out of the system.