After doing a strip down and clean up of my V2's I now need to bleed them.
Just wondering if its worth investing in a Bleed kit as the system has been completely drained all is the trusty tube all that's needed (albeit possibly a much longer process)?
just used a tube on my Tech 4's last night, 😀
that's what I normally use however this time round the brake lines are completely drained so thought it could be a lot harder to get rid of all the air.
I have thw bleed kit and never use it
Just get a syringe pipe and bleed it upwards from the caliper to the lever
that is force the dot fluid up form the caliper viw the blled nipple and syring to the lever and remove it from the lever with another syringe [ I use an Avid bleed kit tbh ] or soak it up with a rag
takes a few minutes to do
just used a tube on my Tech 4's last night
+1, i use i bit of RC plane fuel line, rock solid brakes in 1 min.
You definitely don't need a kit. Hopes are a synch unless something is wrong.
thanks for the suggestion about the syringe and bleeding from the caliper.
Well done this and got rid of a lot of air however after I still have no brakes!
No idea what going on. The pistons operate and the wheel does stop however its very vague and not solid at all.
The more I pump the brake the stronger the resistance is however once I stop this goes away.
Away got any suggestions?
seal issue in the lever?
Not bleed properly - one syringe should flush everything out though
repeat before diagnosing a seal issue though
*this is from mono minis (*and motorbike way)and assumes no seal leaks etc
level reservoir as upright as poss, cap off, fill up, tube on nipple along with ring spanner, and then pump brake to buggery and then undo nipple to push fluid through (making sure res level always high). I tend to try and pump through what I think is 'all' the origial fluid if you see what I mean.
Then with nipple tight(sealed), pump brake silly and hold on tight, gently tap the brake caliper (wood/rubber)[*this may(or may not) help release any air bubbles], then release nipple and as brake lever comes to end of travel simultaneously close nipple. Repeat till happy
thanks for the replies every one.
Well I tried the methods mentioned here and got success with the front brake. Rear brake however works well when being pumped however there's nothing there at any other time.
As I purchased the brakes second hand I'm gonna strip them down and replace the seals.
Thanks for all the suggestions and advice. Luckily the front brake was performing well so I managed to take the newly built Ellsworth for a little stroll along the canal splashing in all the puddles I could find.....guess I still haven't grown up!
Bit of tube and new bottle of 5.1 is best. Use the gravity method as per hope video. If you can be arsed change all seals and pistons once a year, fiddly but well worth it or at the very least always use a new diaphragm.
If system is dry and full of air then you need patience not a bleed kit!
I bleed mine top down in a conventional way - works fine
I would suggest another bleed before you start replacing seals
rear brakes can be a pain if there's a loop around the bottom bracket meaning the caliper and lever are the high points, if struggling I remove the brake and bleed it so I'm going from the low point to the high point, I always back bleed with a syringe
+1I have the bleed kit and never use it
hopes are so easy to bleed in either direction. if you've filled the system from the caliper, try back purging it a little
The main place I've seen air trapped in hopes is usually the other half of the caliper so it's worth detaching the caliper from the frame and holding it so that any trapped air will rise to the bleed nipple from both sides. Tapping the caliper can help any bubbles rise.
Another thing to try is to start with the pistons protruding by a couple of mm, open the bleed nipple, then push the pistons home.