Took my bike on her maiden voyage tonight up to Carron Valley. Everything seemed fine bar 2 problems.
1. My brakes are screeching like hell!
2. My brakes dont seem to very powerful I was pulling so hard on the levers that my fingers were getting crushed under the lever!!
Is the screeching just because there new?
And do my brakes maybe need bled to make them more powerful?
Thanks guys sorry for the lame questions but this is my first bike in 18years.
Firstly, what brakes are they?
Have you bedded the pads in? Not doing so could cause these symptoms.
New Elixrs are said to sometimes need a bleed when new and also some screech depending on the pads.
Have a look at the setup. When I got my Pitch both brakes were binding enough for me to notice it when riding. They really didn't set the bike up at all before I picked it up.
"was pulling so hard on the levers that my fingers were getting crushed under the lever!!"
You shouldn't have your fingers behind the lever. You should be able to use modern hydraulic disc brakes with one finger leaving you with three fingers to hold on with
This is the best pic I could find (look at the gap between grips and brake levers) but if you move the levers inward (with long levers you may find you need to leave the shifters where they are and put the brake levers the other side of them):
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Sounds like glazed pads perhaps? lightly sand the pads then deliberatly bed them in. What brakes might help.
If it was wet, you may have ground your pads down to nothing if they haven't been bedded in. My mate went through a set in one run at Keilder last week - brand new bike too - the grit and qwater just acted like a grinding paste....
Sorry guys the brakes are Shimano M575. Yes the brake levers are butted right up against my grips I was trying to brake with 2 fingers but when pulling hard to try and stop the lever was crushing my two remaining fingers on the grip.
I know I'll need to move them Inboard but surely there should'nt be so much play in the brake lever?
The brakes feel soft. Thats why I ask if maybe they need bled
thanks
New 575's do have a slightly soft feel, but nothing like what you describe. First off, have a look at how the pads contact the disc, if they aren't hitting it dead square across their faces, and at exactly the same time as each other then you'll be wasting braking effort distorting the disc and creating potential squeal(And depending on how far out,a soft and long lever).Next on the list is to get them properly bled, at one time you could rely on Shimano to bleed properly from the factory, but these days most need a bleed before use.
Take it back to the shop and ask them to do a PROPER pdi!
Wot reluctant said. Just take it back and ask them to sort the brakes
thanks for replies. I bought the bike online so its a bit awkward to take it back. I'll speak to my LBS about bleeding them.
Cheers
Brakes fixed. I bought a shimano brake bleed kit and done it myself was a doodle to do, I got alot of air from lines, however the brakes were still traveling in close to the grips so I fiddled with the grub screw that winds the levers in and out. I wound them out and its alot better!!
Oh,the joys of buying off tinternet. Was in my LBS yesterday and watched the mechanic painstakingly set up the brakes on a customers bike. Not a particuarly swish bike,but he'd got the brakes working beautifully.