Viewing 40 posts - 1 through 40 (of 49 total)
  • How often do you bleed your brakes?
  • ski
    Free Member

    Been 4 years now, just wondering if its worth bleeding them for some fresh brake fluid, I take it that brake fluid does not last forever?

    😕

    globalti
    Free Member

    Never bothered. They work.

    trail_rat
    Free Member

    going by my mates and some folk on here dot fluid doesnt seem to last more than a ride.

    some folk seem to always be bleeding them.

    me – i bleed them when i cut the hoses or change the seals.

    esselgruntfuttock
    Free Member

    About every 50K miles.

    SiB
    Free Member

    Whats this bleeding you talk about!??

    2008 and still no need to bleed

    crush83
    Free Member

    had bike 2 years still not touched them

    will
    Free Member

    Not just me then 😆 October 2009 when the bike was new.

    sherry
    Free Member

    Bleed them when they stop working properly. Otherwise I wouldn’t bother, or if you crazy cook your brakes regularly.

    Northwind
    Full Member

    When they need it. Which is much less often than most people think. TBH most folks don’t keep brakes long enough for the fluid to need replaced. Most of the time, a need to bleed speaks of an earlier bad bleed (so a need to constantly rebleed kinda speaks for itself 😉 )

    shortcut
    Full Member

    Bleed them when they stop working. Or potentially if I have been running the same brakes for years and decide to do an alps trip where fresh fluid may well stop them boiling.

    Avid users may tell a different story though as they seem to do a bleed every 5 minutes.

    Mintman
    Free Member

    I only did mine at the 3 year point because I was playing with the callipers and accidentally introduced some air in the system.

    Otherwise my Juicy 7s would’ve kept on truckin’ for a bit longer still.

    MoseyMTB
    Free Member

    Everytime i get a new set of brakes as my tiny frames always need the hose shortening.

    Probably only about 4 times though as once they are done i leave them alone.

    watsontony
    Free Member

    “Otherwise my Juicy 7s would’ve kept on truckin’ for a bit longer still”

    Do you only ride uphill? or maybe not at all?

    Dales_rider
    Free Member

    Dont bother ever, just change the fluid onece in a blue moon.

    For interest sake

    New Dot 5.1 fluid boils at 270 °C
    With 3.7 % of water in it boils at 190 °C

    So the hygroscopic properties of brake fluid have an effect.

    timwillows
    Free Member

    When they need it, about once a year with juicy’s not found out for the XTs yet as only had them a couple of years.
    If a little soggy, tape the lever closed and leave overnight, often feels much sharper in the morning

    dizcostix
    Free Member

    I agree with the juicy comment – a pair of juicy carbons from 2005 – 2 bleeds.

    1st @ new and shortening hoses
    2nd @ 2007ish due to fitting goodridge hoses

    And they still work like a beast

    edlong
    Free Member

    Never. Bike was new in 2007. It still stops.

    TooTall
    Free Member

    usual rule for bike fettling:

    People who fanny about bleeding brakes regularly complain about brakes a lot.
    People who fit and forget tend not to mention them.

    alpin
    Free Member

    have an old set of Deores from about 2006/7 that have only been bled once and that was about 6 years ago.

    Shimano seem pretty good in that they don’t need bleeding very often, if at all.

    Avids on the other hand…. GF boiled her new Avids last year so i re-bled them. the rear would be fine for a while then go squishy. prob more to do with a crap bleed, but then they are a PITA to bleed properly and seem to take an age compared to Shimano

    patriotpro
    Free Member

    When they lose their bite or basically when I think they need a bleed.

    If they feel OK then don’t bleed em. Easy.

    bigblackshed
    Full Member

    Both sets of Hope are about 5 years old. Never touched them. Did have to cable tie the levers of the hybrid to the grips (bite point) in January. Not been used for a few months and they felt a little spongey. Over night they were fine.

    bigblackshed
    Full Member

    Double post.

    rondo101
    Free Member

    I bled mine (shimano) after 3 weeks in the Alps & Spain & the fluid was black! They felt fine BTW; the bleed wasn’t necessitated, it was in tandem with a hose change.

    Lionheart
    Free Member

    we are avids on every thing here. the SS (old Avid 7s) has not been bled in 7 years and work just right, James DH racing bike (new ish Elixiers CRs) seem like it needs bleeding every month all the others prob once a year.

    Mintman
    Free Member

    watsontony – Member
    “Otherwise my Juicy 7s would’ve kept on truckin’ for a bit longer still”

    Do you only ride uphill? or maybe not at all?

    Eh?

    I’m not sure what you’re on about? Playing wtih the callipers did not equal replacing the pads (if that’s the conclusion you’ve mistakenly come to).

    I was actually faffing with the angle that the hose entered the calliper (not that its anything to be proud of).

    To make it worse I was using Superstar pads in my Avid brakes and I still didn’t explode 😀

    grum
    Free Member

    My old Avids required bleeding constantly to get any kind of performance out of them, especially the back one. Current brakes I’ve never bled and don’t see any need to any time soon (Formula The Ones).

    deanfbm
    Free Member

    Shimano SLX M665s

    ~3 years old.

    About once a year in the uk, 3 days in the alps. Symptoms – pumping up a little, that’s all.

    Most customers that come into work “my brakes need a bleed”, 99% of the time it’s caliper setup and sticky piston.

    breadcrumb
    Full Member

    Bought my Pitch in 2008, never touched the Juicy 3s except for pads. Guess I’ve been lucky.

    _tom_
    Free Member

    Once.

    grum
    Free Member

    Bought my Pitch in 2008, never touched the Juicy 3s except for pads. Guess I’ve been lucky never known what it was like to have decent brakes so I don’t know what I’m missing

    FTFY 😛

    lunge
    Full Member

    I’ve bled my Hope Mono Mini’s once in 5 years as I based them and let some air in. I’ve never bled my age old Deore’s and I’ve had them for a looooong time.

    I’m in the “i’ll bleed them when they stop working” camp and so far they haven’t.

    beanieripper
    Free Member

    Shimano, about 6 years ago, still fine.

    leth
    Free Member

    Once a year when I do my bike services.
    The old fluid is always clear so it doesn’t really need doing but it’s just habbit now.
    Only takes a couple of minutes.

    sircharles
    Free Member

    I like to keep on top of my brakes, so at least once every two weeks!

    boriselbrus
    Free Member

    Still running a set of XT 4 pots from around 2003. Never been bled and still work fine…

    nickc
    Full Member

    I’ve bled a set of brakes twice. when changing a set of hoses. Fresh bleed on a new set of hopes as they weren’t done up tight enough. Since 2005 ish

    sbob
    Free Member

    ~every four years.

    wobbliscott
    Free Member

    There are only 2 reasons to bleed brakes or replace fluid.

    1. Water contamination: symptom is spongy non progressive feel. Fluid change required, and you need to suss out where the moisture is getting in as it shouldn’t.

    2. air in the system, symptoms, long travel on lever that shortens when you pump the lever. Fix is to bleed brakes and suss out how air is getting in as it shouldn’t be.

    Other than that no need to bleed brakes at all in a sealed system. Cars are not sealed systems so need bleeding every 2 yrs or so. Bikes systems are sealed, so in theory you should never have to bleed brakes or replace fluid so long as your system remains fully sealed.

    goldenwonder
    Free Member

    Depends on the brakes.
    DOT systems, every year/18 months as the fluid goes all crappy with it being hygroscopic
    Mineral systems, when they feel spongy-so hardly ever unless there’s another problem with them.

    yunki
    Free Member

    usual rule for bike fettling:

    People who fanny about bleeding brakes regularly complain about brakes a lot.
    People who fit and forget tend not to mention them.

    agreed

Viewing 40 posts - 1 through 40 (of 49 total)

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