Got some new Zees to put on my hardtail. Can anyone tell me if it’s easier to shorten the hoses and reassemble the brakes while they’re off the bike, or should I attempt it once the levers and callipers are fitted? I’ve measured the length of the bike’s current brake hoses so I know how much I need to trim off the new ones. It’s a P7, so I don’t need to thread the hoses through the frame at all – the frame has clips. Thanks for any tips.

Depends if you can get the bike next to where all the good tools are.
Done it in a proper workshop with a nice little trolley next to me with all the bits on it.
Are you doing it on your own? Can’t easily walk with the bike when you forgot something halfway through 😉

mike – doing it on my own but with some help from a mate. We don’t have a workshop or anything fancy – it’ll be a trial & error job, with plenty of error, no doubt.

Both ways work, both have pro’s and cons. With help it’s probably easy but having it all laid out and ready will make it a smooth job

Personally I’d prefer to shorten off the bike if I had the option. If you have an existing set of hoses that are the right length, just measure them.

Always done XTs on the bike, with a bit of luck you may even get away without a bleed.

I’ve cut literally scores of hoses. Probably getting on for 150 or so.
I always always do it on the bike.
Like this:
Fit brake and adjust it properly. Then you know what the brake feels like and that it’s working and doesn’t need returning before cutting the hose
Trim the hose
I think out of every brake I’ve ever done I can only remember having to bleed one after cutting the hose. It’s a lot easier to do when the brake is solidly mounted on something – ie the bike! With the brake solidly screwed down you don’t end up with the hose flicking all over the place and loosing fluid, see?
Refit hose.
The brake should now feel identical to how it did beefore you trimmed the hose.

There’s two ways of trimming the hose neatly – a nice new sharp Stanley blade with the hose flat on a bench or a proper hose trimming tool. If you do a lot the tool’s well worth buying as you can do it with the bike in the stand and not have to drag it over to the bench. There’s also a tool that clamps the hose and pushes the barb into the end of it.

with a bit of luck you may even get away without a blee

Luck has nothing to do with it. 🙂

Fit brake and adjust it properly. Then you know what the brake feels like and that it’s working and doesn’t need returning before cutting the hose

So if the SLX brakes I’ve recently fitted are spongy and leaking oil from the lever end, would you say I’m best off sending them straight back rather than assuming the issues will be fixed when I shorten the hoses? Cos I had assumed exactly that, and was going to shorten this evening.