think the front brake on my avid elixir r's needs bleeding.are there any heath robinson ways of doing this rather than the offical kit? i quite good at "alternative" repairs.it just looks like maily two syringes, torx key and some dot 5.1 are the little valve thingys on the syringes needed/essencial?
Hayes one works as I recall (and is cheaper).
Find (free) syringes down at your local park!!!
Someone on here made their own may show up with a cunning search.
I bought an Avid bleed kit, it's not worth the money at all, just a pretty box with some bits in
if you can work out and source the fittings you need, all the other bits are available elsewhere
I got a "Quad Technology 2 Syringe Bleed Kit with Adaptors" for £13 from :
http://www.rutlandcycling.com
(for some reason I cant post the full link to the product?).
and it works just fine on juicy 7's. It includes the clips to squeeze the tubes and 2 bigish syringes. It also fits Formula Oro's and possibly others too. Doesnt include fluid.
[url= http://www.singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/my-homemade-avid-bleed-kit ]DIY[/url] kit complete with instructions.
Well found Jimster.
i bought what grum mentions. works fine.
how do you actually bleed them? ive bled the brakes on cars before.is it the same way? ie fluid goes in at the handle bar end and air and fluid comes out the wheel end?
do you pressurise it at the top and vacaum it out the bottom?
All shown on either the SRAM or [url= http://www.parktool.com/repair/readhowto.asp?id=141 ]Park Tool[/url] website.
Exacrtly danny boy. I find flushing one way & the other & giving it all a good tap dislodges the teeny tiny bubbles you get on minaturised systems like these well.
Have a look on ebay for Avid bleeds kits. You will see quite a few at a cost between £25 and £35. If you look at the bottom of the screen you should see kits available from Hong Kong. These kits include all the bits you need apart from the Dot5.1 fluid. You can buy the fluid from Halfords - don't buy the BikeHut stuff though (125ml bottle. The regular Halfords Dot5.1 is the same price for 250ml!
For instructions on how to bleed the brakes just search on YouTube for Avid Brake Bleed Process - there is an instructional video. The process is very easy and makes a huge difference to the brakes. I did my Elixir R's a few weeks ago (they had been spongey since I bought them and although good I had been a little disappointed) and they are now vastly improved.
the guy has a very irritating voice but it tells you what you need to know. i always put the new fluid in at the caliper, as per the video, but i have no idea at all why i do this. presumably it shouldn't matter, or should it?
I bought the formula bleed kit for £13 and halfords for oil. Works just fine on juicys.