Hi,

So, there are various demonstrations/guides on the net for bleeding Shimano brakes. Some are quick bleeds and some are quite comprehensive.

I’ve done the quick bleeds and not been that impressed.

What guide/method have you found that does the job properly?

Cheers for any help.

Remove caliper, pump the pads out fairly far, almost touching. Cover caliper in towel to protect.

Bleed from bottom up into funnel.
Clean up, lever pads apart just enough to clear your rotor, centre them.
Rock solid (for me at least)

Been doing this on deores, xt’s slx’s and the new xt’s and it works well for me.

Epic bleed from their website works for me . The 5 minute bleed is great

http://www.epicbleedsolutions.com/blog/5-minute-shimano-mini-bleed/

Or the longer one

http://www.epicbleedsolutions.com/blog/how-to-bleed-new-shimano-brakes/

As above epic bleed no problems

As Kayak says.

There are full instructions on the Shimano website. Don’t skimp on the fluid either. The newer brakes definitely prefer genuine Shimano mineral oil whereas earlier versions were less fussy.

The shimano way works for me, if all the steps are followed. I push out the dirty crap from the lever 1st though, by putting fresh oil in at the calliper.

I always follow this

[video]https://youtu.be/9ZYmW8i8TWQ[/video]

mityvac vacuum pump on caliper and suck through. 5-minute job. Great tool.

I’ve been using Epic Bleed recently, works fine.

Need some more Shimano fluid though – any deals about?

Remove brake from bike, hang from another bar clamped to a workstand to get the hose straight. Push pads out and remove. Insert yellow bleed block. Remove all the stuff off the top of the master cylinder so I can pour fluid straight in with a dropper bottle. Attach hose and bag to the caliper bleed port. Open bleed port. Add fluid to the master cylinder as it comes out of the bleed port. Tap hose and caliper throughout. When no more bubbles and the new fluid is coming through, then pump lever a bit. Shut bleed port. Tap everything and pump the lever till firm. Top up master cylinder till full. Put everything back.

Basically the same gravity technique as the older style shimano brakes. I’ve just not gotten round to getting the newer kit for the current brakes. The gravity technique still works well and needs barely any kit.

Need some more Shimano fluid though – any deals about?

Halfords sell a 120ml IIRC bottle for 6 quid.

The yellow spacer block gives me bad results on some sets, like it takes up too much space so slightly reduces the fluid in the system below optimum, and the brake is soft. Been meaning to try what kayak describes above.

How do people manage the official procedure of pumping the lever whilst quickly opening and closing the bleed port on the rear brake? Always have to ask my kids to help with that step.

That’s the step that I find makes the difference. If you get the bike in the correct position, it’s not that difficult.

kayak23 – Member
Remove caliper, pump the pads out fairly far, almost touching. Cover caliper in towel to protect.
Bleed from bottom up into funnel.
Clean up, lever pads apart just enough to clear your rotor, centre them.
Rock solid (for me at least)
Been doing this on deores, xt’s slx’s and the new xt’s and it works well for me.

Anytime I’ve done something like that I’ve ended up with an over-flowing reservoir when I’ve moved the pads back out.

Close the reservoir before putting the pads back in?

I used to do this with earlier x70 models. The 8000s seem fine with the blocks.

The reservoir is closed. I’ve talking about the actual reservoir in the lever, not the funnel

Nope – never seen that. Sorry.

Question re @kayaks ‘pump out the pads first’. Surely, if bled properly they’ll be no space left in the closed system and therefore no space for the pads to be pushed back in again (to be able to get rotor between them)?

It just means the pads are closer to the rotor and you have less lever travel before they bite. I like it like that – many don’t.

scotroutes – Member
Nope – never seen that. Sorry.

I wasn’t asking if you had. For the record though, I have – twice. It’s still just a reservoir with a diaphragm and a plastic cover, so if it gets properly filled the oil will find a way out somehow.

Remove from bike

Raise them above your head

Throw into skip

Buy new ones 😆

Ah – the avid technique 😉 😀

Serious question now. Is the epic bleed kit and technique better than me just doing the old gravity technique? Presumably it’s quicker and with less mess?

Push pistons back.
Remove pads.
Insert yellow block.
Push fluid up from syringe on caliper into cup at top.

Job done. 5 mins.

The whole point of the Shimano “Servo Wave” is the pads are well away from disc and won’t contact it until the lever has moved a good bit.

As per the instructions, always amazed at the amount of people who know better than the Manufacturer.

The epic works for me

As per the instructions, always amazed at the amount of people who know better than the Manufacturer.

Yup.

Epic way for me. Bought a huge bottle of Shimano mineral oil, so can do it as often as I wish. 10 minute job now I’ve learned the ropes.

Err, how often do you think you have to bleed them? 😆

As per the instructions, always amazed at the amount of people who know better than the Manufacturer.

Really? The manufacturers bleed them with proprietary equipment in a very different way to the way they publish. The published instructions are designed to be as foolproof as possible, not to get the absolute best performance.

The ‘5 minute bleed’ article on Pinkbike is worth a look http://www.pinkbike.com/news/tech-spotlight-5-minute-bubble-bleed-2014.html

Err, how often do you think you have to bleed them?

OK, let me rephrase that. I’m a bit ham-fisted, and it’s easy to rebleed if it’s not quite right first time. Plus, got three bikes with similar brakes between the wife and me, so it’s a couple of times a year on average I reckon in total.

Plus, got three bikes with similar brakes between the wife and me, so it’s a couple of times a year on average I reckon in total.

I have so far had to bleed the XT785’s on my Soul once, in the 3 years I have had it, when I replaced the left hand lever. Bike is used at least once a week, usually twice. The SLX’s on my 1 yr old Anthem haven’t needed a bleed yet. not the Deore’s on my Son’s 18 month old Cube.

I do have the Epic kit though, and rate it.

Following the manufacturers guidelines gets me a perfect bleed every time, as long as I follow to the letter. SRAM or shimano. Using the epic bleed kit for both.

I generally cba though with shimano, I just bang in new fluid from the caliper with the yellow block in till the fluid comes out nice and pink at the top. Job done in a couple of minutes, usually needs the levers taped to the bar overnight if you don’t put in fresh pads though. Gets a bleed that’s almost perfect.

Anything avid or sram you can’t cheat with.. Follow the guide to the letter or you end up with no brakes. New guides way better.

My question is; my the hell cant the BIG s put a flipping thread on the caliper bleed port?
Popping a rubber hose over the top is just shit when you are push/pulling fluid through.

Three sets of SLX and one set of Deore; all shortened, none bled.

The plastic tubing should just hold itself in place – it’s a tight fit and it’s not under any pressure.

Remove rear calliper. Push Pistons back all the way. Insert bleed block. Unscrew reservoir filler bolt at lever. Twist a fine plastic plunger-less syringe into the filler bolt thread. Fill with mineral oil.

Zip-tie lever to bar. Leave overnight.

Remove zip-tie. Replace filler bolt. Re-fit rear calliper.

Front caliper doesn’t even need removing.

Easy kids. Let gravity do the work for you.

The plastic tubing should just hold itself in place – it’s a tight fit and it’s not under any pressure.

It should, but its still just plastic hose pushed onto a nipple. Crap.

Just used the epic bleed kit I bought last week. Dead easy and has sorted my front brake out a treat.