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Im using a set of 08 xt disc brakes and i cant get rid of the spongy feeling??
they were built up last year and bled to get rid of the air, after this the lever was ok .
no if i haven't used my bike for a couple of days i can pull the rear lever all the way to the bars for a couple of presses before the brake starts working??
can anyone tell me the best way to bleed this brake as its doing my nut!!
cheers
steve
Try bleeding them from the caliper up.
Get a syringe and fill with mineral oil. Take the cover off the lever to expose the fluid reservoir. Then attach syringe to bleed nipple, open the bleed nipple and then use the syringe to force fluid up the hose to the reservoir.
Once you've done this, put them back together and then zip tie the lever to the bars and leave for 24 hours. This will help any remaining air bubbles migrate back up to the reservoir.
My highly technical method involves bouncing the bike on its back wheel in the vertical position to get all the bubbles up to the reservoir. Then wind out the levers and tap the caliper with an allen key to make sure any bubbles can escape. Takes a couple of minutes and seems to do the job.
I have one of these, which works a treat :
[url] http://www.cyclesportsuk.co.uk/product_info.php?products_id=1873 [/url]
....although was only £20 when I bought mine - you could cobble something together though. definately reccomend bleeding from caliper up
Before bleeding I take mine off the bike and hang in the garage overnight by the levers with the levers pulled on (using spacers for the pads and elastic bands) so the air is in the reservoir before I start bleeding.
I then put back on the bars for bleeding. Seems to work.
Word of warning if you do the bottom up method, make sure there's no muck in the bleed nipple (especially if the cap is off or missing). I pushed some muck into the caliper when bleeding it and it caused me a major headache, I had no idea what I'd done, I ended up eventually stripping the brakes down short of throwing the bike in the tip.
cheers all , going to try them from the caliper up!!