[Closed] Bleeding sram guide brakes... Tips??

I just bleed them the say way as old Avid Juicy. Suck and bubbles out of the caliper. Push fluid up the system to the lever then suck bubbles out of the lever. For some weird reason Sram tell (or told? Not looked for a while) you to wind the RSC / bite dial OUT when bleeding and IN when finished which makes the brakes go from feeling 'not great' to terrible. Doing it the same way to old Juicy 7s gives the brake a much more solid feel.

There is a video on YouTube, think it might have been an old MBR one, I’ve used that & follow the process exactly & every time they have been perfect.

The only caveat is it’s RSC’s and Codes I’ve done it on, not the cheaper Guides which can be problematic.

When I had Guides I used to bleed them as per the SRAM video on YouTube. Used to work out ok.

Remove pads, re set the pistons place the bleed block.
Attach both syringes.
Start at the caliper.
Push from the bottom first. Then push from either end to get rid of the air.
Push the bottom syringe and close the bleed port.
Pull a vacuum with the top syringe and push-pull and flick the lever to dislodge any air.
Push the syringe to fill the lever.
Quickly replace the screw.
Spray with water and clean up.
Check movement of the pistons. Make sure they all move. Be careful not to pump the pistons out.
Insert pads and make a cup of tea.
For a super duper bleed I then leave the bike over night and do a lever bleed again to make sure there’s no more air in the system.

What samuelr said... Very detailed instructions sir!

Haven't used my bike for 4 weeks due to breaking a hand...brakes felt very mince, so I twiddled the dial a bit and made them really squishy then dialled it back and it formed it up.

Left the levers locked on overnight and front brake feels nicely solid but back is still a bit squishy...so I'm guessing I have air still...so elevated bike so cable is pointing up from caliper to lever and hopefully that will get all air to lever.

I'm tempted to then attach a syringe the lever a d pull syringe to try and draw the air our then a wee squirt of fluid back in.

Do I unwind the lever and adjuster on the RSC lever before I do this?

I'm assuming the air will all be at the lever no, so just need to replace the air with fluid - yeah?

Unbolt the caliper end.

Remove the lever from the bars.

Hang the whole system up so that the caliper is at the bottom and lever at the top.

Buy some Shimano brakes and fit those instead.

Bleed from the bottom, syringe half full of brake fluid with some tubing that fits the nipple tightly.

Take the fill screw out on the bars, bit of paper towel to catch spillage.

Open the bleed nipple, push fluid through until coming out the top.

Use paper towel to mop up.

Never had an issue with any brakes/clutch on 2 wheeled machines bleeding from the bottom, also takes minutes.

Ha, scotroutes!
I've shimano on all the other bikes, but tbh I was mega impressed with the guides..
I wore the pad /backing /rotor out at bpw, and think the piston came out too far...

Hopefully will get them good again!

DrP

Buy some Shimano brakes and fit those instead.

Yes, because you can then bleed them perfectly and play the game of “what will happen when I pull the lever - nothing, or everything?”

😆

Nah, the Guide RS and the Codes RSC brakes have been superb for me, pretty much trouble-free. I think the 4-week lay-off has just helped the issue of when the brakes were first fitted to the bike, so hopefully a wee lever tickle will sort that. Will open up the Contact point (so the pads are as far away from rotor as possible) and also adjust the lever reach to as far away from bar as possible. Will then attach syringe to lever and give it a wee pull to extract any air and then a wee push to replace air with fluid. Will then reset the lever reach and that should be it. With the contact point as far out as possible, it will hopefully reset the pads to not need to be moved so close and then I've more adjustment as the pads wear.

I've a pair of SLX brakes from 2014/15 and they work, but they don't get used as the bike they are on is in storage!

Buy some Shimano brakes and fit those instead.

Tried it once. I find Shimano brakes terrible for some reason. They're not - can't be - but I can't get on with them.

I've done my time bleeding Avid/SRAMs though. When, with the old avids, the internal lever seals used to go I nearly went mad trying to work it out and got my bleeding process nailed as a result, only to realise I needed a replacement seal kit. For £15, the brakes were like brand new after a satisfying bit of intricate lever surgery. Haven't had to do that with guides yet, but I'm ready. I'm ready...

Make sure you dont have lazy pistons, as I found this will give a mushy feel or poor power, more so if its just one piston. Push the pistons out enough so you can give them a clean with contact cleaner and then lube the pistons with hunters silicone oil.

Buy some Shimano brakes and fit those instead.

And have a wandering bite point, no thanks. Cura's are brilliant, power and modulation, doddle to bleed as well.

I had some issues with mine.

1) Get a decent bleed kit, if the o-ring on the bleed port spike thing is worn its impossible so make sure its a good seal.

2) Follow the sram instructions to the letter. Not "well surely it would be better to do x now" and do them in a random order, do exactly as they say.

They're not as logical as hope or foolproof as shimano, but they do work. Once you've done them once and its worked then its easy.

It's messy though. Why they cant put normal bleed nipples in normal places ive no idea. If you can take them off the bike and mount them somehwere else I would.

The brakes are only a few months old, and the bleed kit (epic) is brand new..

I'll bleed again as per SRAM website, talking plenty of time (again!).

Oh... with Shimano you benefit from 'leveling out' the lever...same on SRAM?

DrP

I was lazy and just did the lever - quite a lot of air shot out as I pulled the plunger up...then I pushed plunger down and refilled...came to a stop. Remove syringe and a lot of fluid dribble out but was expected. Brakes feel good but suspect a reverse bleed will probably help - without resetting the pistons so that where they are just now is their furthest apart position.

Edit - Sorry, I've just realised I've hijacked this thread...wasn't my intention, but I'll stop now!

Some good tips above

Only one I’d add is to tap the caliper when pushing fluid through from the lever, and tap the hose and lever when pushing fluid through from the caliper.

This helps dislodge any trapped air bubbles. Less of a problem with newer brakes but the older designs (Formula Oro in particular) had loads of books and crannies for bubbles to hide inside the callipers.

Definitely agree with the taking caliper off and hanging vertically.

I was new to bleeding SRAM brakes last year @samuelr nails it really, when doing this step though:

Remove pads, re set the pistons place the bleed block

I'll squeeze the lever so that the pistons are gripping the bleed block, LBS said to do it, something about space behind the pistons I think.

That could be to reduce the massive amount of travel the pistons will do when you first pull them and everything moves to set positions...if you don't push pistons back then they will not travel as far so lever pull shouldn't be as great.

Interesting read here. Might try this later as I need to bleed my rear Guide RS. . . https://www.pinkbike.com/forum/listcomments/?threadid=190668

Reading that PB article reminded me of something I saw on GMBN tech for SRAM about balancing the pressure systems between the caliper and the piston by removing the pads, inserting a pad spacer tool and squeezing the lever but providing firm resistance to even it out.

Careful squeezing lever with pad block in. I've bust seals doing that before. Though was old Juicys which were always rubbish anyway.

I find once I have to bleed Guides they're never quite the same. I've managed to shorten hoses and get away without bleeding.

The bite adjuster I believe just tweaks the travel of the plunger, though still find doing what SRAM say with it either makes no difference or makes it worse.