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1. brooess - Member

   If the levers are pulling too close to the bar, does this mean yr brakes need bleeding?

   I had a go at bleeding the rear - there was a fair bit of air in there but after maybe 20 mins of opening the bleed nipple, pulling the lever, closing the nipple, letting go of lever, refilling the reservoir etc, the lever never got any firmer. A couple of times there wasn't too much fluid in the reservoir - would that cause a major problem? I didn't let the reservoir empty completely, just close to it. Looking at the video on brake bleeding on Hope site, I don't think I was doing anything wrong.

   So I'm trying to work out how you know how many times to do the 'open nipple, pull lever' cycle. Do you just do it until there's no more air coming thru? I thought you did it until the lever stopped pulling to the bars, but if the bleed nipple's open surely all you're doing is pushing fluid thru the system?

   Posted 2 years ago #
2. coatesy - Member

   first check that neither of the caliper pistons are sticking as this can cause a long lever travel.Also, don't expect the lever to come up on the first stroke after closing the bleed nipple, give it a few strokes and see how it feels then.

   Posted 2 years ago #
3. luke.ellis - Member

   your just chasing the air out the system. the lever wont feel solid until all nipples etc are re-sealed / tightened.

   Posted 2 years ago #
4. jd-boy - Member

   Are you using a clear hose from the nipple to bottle, then you can see when the air is out of the system. have you still got plenty of brake pad left?.

   Posted 2 years ago #
5. CaptainMainwaring - Member

   Yes it will cause a problem if you let the resevoir get too empty. A bit of air in and you have to start again. Keep it topped up and +1 for clear hose from the caliper to see if you are getting air coming out. You have to pull the lever quite a few times to get full pressure once you are finished. Also have you tried winding the lever out on the adjustment screw?

   Posted 2 years ago #
6. brooess - Member

   Cheers All,
   It did occur to me that I was just chasing air thru...
   I do have a clear hose, yes, you can see the bubbles and eventually you see unbroken liquid coming thru, which from what you're saying means it's bled. Plenty left on the pads. I did wind out the levers to get decent leverage on but it was at the limit of the reach. Will get back on it next weekend. I know what I was doing wrong now.

   Posted 2 years ago #

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