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After around 7 years since last being out on the bike I’ve dug it out with a view to hitting the trails soon and surprisingly all seems to be okay with the fox shocks in terms of no signs of fluid leakage and travel etc. I think the Avid Juicy Carbon brakes could do with a bleed and I have the gear for that but I am wondering if the system should be completely drained and the fluid replaced? If so is there a guide for this as I can only find the bleed instructions? Cheers
I've got some 2003 Deore brakes on one bike that must have 10 year old fluid in.
If it was DOT based I'd be a lot more cautious.
If you're bleeding them anyway I'd just shove enough through to flush them and hope the seals are ok.
Bit of lube round the shock rings too.
The brake fluid going bad thing is a bit exaggerated IMO. They are sealed so the idea that they get full of water just sitting there doesn't really make any sense. However, the pistons may have seized to the caliper seals. Giving them a good clean, making sure the pistons are free, and draining and replacing the fluid makes sense.
As far as suspension goes, with air sprung forks and shocks, I remove the valve from the air chamber and inject a few CCs of suspension fluid to lube the seals. Then I pump it up just a little and turn it upside down to try and distribute the oil around the chamber, then gently cycle it through its travel to work the oil into the seals. Then finally pump it up to full pressure to check.
Thanks folks
It's presumably a fairly posh, if older, bike (Juicy Carbons) so I'd be tempted to get it properly sorted.
At a minimum I'd service the fork lowers (+ air can if full sus).
If the brakes feel OK and don't rub, I wouldn't touch them, but I'd go easy on descents on the first ride since they might fade a bit if the fluid has leaked / gone bad (I found that my Juicys needed bleeding yearly, even when I didn't ride that bike).
If you can't do that stuff, find a mechanic who can. I have a friend who works as a mobile mechanic and he's doing exactly this job - getting bikes ready for summer. £150 ish IIRC.
Thanks superficial. It’s a 07 Santa Cruz Heckler. At a minimum I was going to bleed the brakes as per the above. I need to lube the pistons and have found folk saying use the same brake fluid or use silicone grease (applying with a q tip) - any guidance for me here as to which to use would be good?
Forks wise I don’t have a lot of time in terms of getting the gear to replace the seals etc but I could change the oil if the stuff can be got from the local Halfords.
In terms of taking it easy - I will be given I haven’t ridden for years and years! Thanks for the offer of the mechanic but I’m in Ireland.
Avid are DOT based so I'd do a full flush and refresh.
You'll be able to tell when all the old fluid is flushed through as after 7 years it will be a dirty brown colour and the new fluid will be pale yellowy and clear. Whether the seals will be OK is a different question but worth a try before investigating other options.
Avid are DOT based so I’d do a full flush and refresh.
You’ll be able to tell when all the old fluid is flushed through as after 7 years it will be a dirty brown colour and the new fluid will be pale yellowy and clear. Whether the seals will be OK is a different question but worth a try before investigating other options.
Thanks Alan. Stupid question but in order to flush the system should I just fill syringe at calliper end with new fluid and have an empty syringe draining into a container to purge out the old fluid then do the full bleed procedure?