Bought a set of R1s of Ebay, apparently new off a bike. Certainly they were absolutely spotless. Fitted them expecting great things….what a let down.

Felt like sponge, can just about lock the rear, front is vague at best. Wondered if the pads were contaminated so cleaned rotors (again) and swapped the pads round to see if the front had improved. Still rubbish..

Theres certainly alot of pull before any hint of a bite point but it certainly doesn’t go back to the bars. Been up and down the road about 30 times trying to bed them in, do I cycle up to a big hill tomorrow and hope they’ve bedded by the bottom of the descent, or do I quit, send them off for a bleed (and new pads) and rob the big bike of the xts for my race on saturday.

🙁

drop the wheels pump the leaver a few times the pads will get closer and closer…. do it just till there isn’t enough space for the disc, then separate the pads JUST enough for the disc to fit. then try them!

i have a set and man they are great!!! but i did find the front was alittle like what your describing and searching on the interweb i was able to find that solution and it worked!

They should be strong like ox… Mine are just R1X- RX pistons on R1 levers- and they’re still stoppy enough that I’d be happy to put them on the dh bike.

As Cazum said

Mine are strong like baby lamb……pathetic infact.

If you find me speared on a tree half way down the final gt7 descent you’ll know what has happened.

Are the pads black too? If so, they’re the organic ones which are dangerous in the wet. I changed to sintered and was much happier with them.

I’ve got some new pads for those, if you like I can bring them down. Though we’ll be arriving at the last minute so not sure if there’ll be a good time to do a handoff…

Have you done the “tie back lever” thing? Very bodgy but can help, and if nothing else is sometimes useful for diagnosis.

Alternatively, I’ll buy them off you for a pound and a part-eaten energy gel?

Cazums tip appears to have improved the sponginess, although now I’ve got a bit of rub on the rear, nothing extreme. Will see if they actually stop the bike tomorrow afternoon.

Thanks for the offer NW (for the pads, not the energy gel), but I fear I’ll need more than 20 min to set these little fellas set up judging by tonights fiasco. I’m going to be riled if I have to revert to my XTs, it will spoil my enjoyment knowing I’m lugging an extra 100 grammes up the hill…

ps..whats the ‘tie back bodge’

Just tying the levers back overnight- lets any trapped air gather up nicely, in the morning you untie them and give them a pump and see what happens. It’s bodgy because doesn’t get rid of any problem air, just lets it our of the hose/master cylinder into the reservoir so it can get back in, but it make re-bleeding much easier and also gives you a clue as to the cause. If it makes no difference then it’s probably not the bleed.

Sounds like you need to bleed the brakes. Too much lever travel is a classic sign of air in the brake lines. A firm lever feel and poor stopping power would lead me to suggest contaminated pads/rotors.

Bleed them. The guy might have had to split the house to get them off.

The guy might have had to split the house to get them off.

That’s a bit worrying – you could have got mortar in them.

yep it’s standard to consider a bleed even on a new set of brakes.
http://www.bikeradar.com/gear/article/workshop-how-to-bleed-formula-r1-and-the-one-brakes-30359/
http://www.pinkbike.com/news/Tech-Tuesday–How-to-Bleed-Formula-RX-Disc-Brakes.html
It looks a bit more involved than with some brakes.

I just shortened my R1X yesterday without the need for a bleed, of course, if I didn’t have the bleed kit to hand then you know they would have required one!
The bite point on mine arrived very early with little lever travel when the bike was delivered, so I actually let some brake fluid out of the master cyclinders – totally oposite problem to yours…