Noticed the lever sticking a bit recently, not returning as it should.
Took the front wheel out and pushed the pistons back a little as the pads were starting to catch the rotor a little and now there is absolutely nothing at the lever
Completely loose, no squeeze at all, are they **** ?
6month old XT’ s….?
Had no problems with my old Hope X2s for 3 years!

No idea of the cause, but bleeding is the place to start

Another “XT brakes not working” thread 🙁

I’m hoping that I’m finally free of XT brake problems now that I’ve bought some Hopes….

Bike upside down when you pushed the pistons back in? If so, you’ve allowed air previously trapped in the reservoir into the system, and discovered why I always recommend a bleed from new regardless.

6month old XT’ s

There’s your problem

Pad retraction relies on the spring in the master cylinder. Shimano levers seem to be particularly prone to getting bunged up with mud etc, the spring isn’t strong enough to push the stuck piston back.

The servo-wave type levers only push on the master cylinder. Pulling on them does not pull back on the master cylinder.

After pushing the pads back you would usually need to give the lever a few pumps before the pad position is reset. The stuck piston means you can’t get the fluid into the system to allow this, giving you the no brake effect.
You could try stripping the lever and giving it a good clean to hopefully get it moving again.

That or it’s new lever time.

Out of interest, have you used non-shimano mineral oil to bleed them in the past? I’ve previously used halfords lhm fluid, but recently got some proper shimano fluid and it’s like water by comparison. I wonder if some thicker mineral oil loads the piston seals more which causes them to invert/dislodge and cause lever issues.

The systems I’ve only ever had shimano fluid in work far better than the systems which have had lhm in.

I thought pad retraction was caused by deformation of the seals not the spring in the master cylinder?

The problem is they are rubbish Shimano brakes. Do a search on here and you will find many threads on the subject.

Yes they are OK when they work and they are cheap but that’s not the be all and end all.

I will only ever buy Hope brakes. Partly because I never have a problem with them and if I did I know I could get spares.

Unfortunately my new road bike came with shimano hydraulic discs. I’m not holding out much hope for them lasting long.

Unfortunately my new road bike came with shimano hydraulic discs. I’m not holding out much hope for them lasting long.

Mine have lasted 2 years so far…

My Shimano’s are 4 years old and still work like new, they’ve only had 4 new calipers and 3 new levers and 40 bleeds 😆

Bet you’ve had three new frames too 😛

Is the freestroke screw all the way in? If it is back it all the way out and pump the lever. Then top the reservior up. If this doesn’t work, then at 6 months old, warranty is your friend!

Its a common fault, dont do anything, just send them back for an exchange.