[Closed] I've just bled my Avid Elixrs for the 3rd time and...

Welcome to the wonderful world of Avid brakes

I Hope you find a solution.

Welcome to the wonderful world of Avid brakes

Surely they can't all be that bad? I've got some Elixir CR's coming... 🙁

It took about 5 bleeds for my Juicy 5 to firm up. Great when they're working but an absolute pain in the arse when they're not!

It's not that I'm not happy with the position or feel of the one I have bled, it's just that it's not as firm as other which I haven't had to bleed yet. Should I bleed the one I haven't done to get them to both feel the same? Is is that a risky tactic?

Did you reset the levers and pistons before bleeding? Are you sure you've got all the air out.

Personally I've not had a single problem with both sets of Avids mind I've not had a problem with any of the Hopes I've owned either.

Hey, me too!
Had go number 3 last night, spent ages on it.
Had the caliper off the fork, bike upside down and would have sworn I'd made a better job of it.
No bloody difference at the lever.

Can't be bothered with it again. Might just whack it into the LBS to get done once a year now.

I take it you've followed the instructions in the kit? Took me a while to work out the step I was missing! All good now though :o)

here's a tutorial video from sram
[url= http://www.pinkbike.com/news/tech-tuesday-bleeding-avid-brakes-2010.html ]click[/url]

I Hope you find a solution.

i got rid of my elixirs after a week. stoopid brakes

Love my X0 brakes. Hated my Hopes.
Horses for courses I suppose. Imagine if we all liked the same things!

I have some jucy 3s and they keep rubbing, and are so soft!

I take it you've followed the instructions in the kit? Took me a while to work out the step I was missing! All good now though :o)

here's a tutorial video from sram
click

Other things to try are making sure both caliper pistons are moving freely, remove one pad and brace the disc against the other whilst pulling the lever. Don't pump the piston too far, but allow it to come out further than if the pad was in, push it back in and repeat for the other piston.Also worth checking the caliper is perfectly aligned, both pads hitting the disc perfectly square, flat, and at exactly the same time, if they aren't then you'll be flexing the disc, which can come across as a soft feeling lever.

love elixirs - as above, read the bleed sequence and follow it to the letter - mega powerful, solid lever feel. got them on both bikes

to on and off. hope v2 for the win . power is nothing without control

i bled my hopes today they now feel perfect, fit for the mega!

Each to their own - hopes just don't feel powerful enough for my tastes

we had these brakes on the bikes in Gran Canaria.

we came to the conclusion that it was a feature of Avid. it was very hit'n'miss regardless of which mechanic bled them.

it was a bit of a gamble as to whether they'd work or not after sitting the bike on its head to repair a puncture of when off-loading them from the trailer.

a friend had one bike and the bite point would disappear mid ride... very scary!

edit: i'm talking about Elixir. not had experience of other Avid brakes.

v2's= the best

No, Formula Oro=the best for the money and better than Hope M4s

Let the "WHOSE BRAKE IS BEST ARGUMENT BEGIN" oh it has already.

It took me a while to bleed my Magura FR the other day so don't worry about it. Its not that easy and it only takes a tiny bit of air to spoil the feeling at the lever. rear was done first time, front took about 5 times! its bob on now though. I wouldn't say my rear is better than my front, I was just luckier with the rear than the front I guess.

keep trying, be patient, read the instructions, you will manage it.

Had a similar with my code 5s but only under working conditions.

Persevered with a few bleeds and eventually glug glug glug, out came a load of air.

I think I may have wound the reach adjuster in/out too far which prevented a proper bleed. On the final bleed I remember fiddling about with it but cant remember what I did.

sitting the bike on its head to repair a puncture of when off-loading them from the trailer

Some one once told me never to do this because there can be a bit of air in the master cylinder. Upturning the bike can have it moving into the working part of the brake line..

Try bleeding xt dual controls. Flippin heck. One pair I have are rock solid, the other are like a sponge. Proper annoying.

I should have put a smile in my post really to show that I was just messing about, sorry.

For whatever reason Avids do not like lying down on one side , or being upsidedown . Always need a few lever pumps to get the feel back.

My rear brake goes to the bar when in full chat mode , which is interesting . I put it down to the brake line being maybe 2" short , and full travel 'pulling' the pistons back into the calipers

Top Tip , insert 2 x 50p coins into caliper if you need to use force to return them and have no old pads kicking around . Use a screwdriver to push then back by twisting the blade between the 50p's. Or use 100psi of compressed air and push them right out , clean and refit.

when i'm removing the syringes and putting the little screws back in, there always is a bit of fluid coming out, any tips on how to prevent this happening? i'm putting the screw in as quickly as I can. this happens at both the lever and the caliper, i'm thinking this could be the issue with the bleeds.

allmountainventure - Member

" sitting the bike on its head to repair a puncture of when off-loading them from the trailer "

Some one once told me never to do this because there can be a bit of air in the master cylinder. Upturning the bike can have it moving into the working part of the brake line..

only if they haven't been (can't be) bled properly.

singletrackmind - Member

For whatever reason Avids do not like lying down on one side , or being upsidedown . Always need a few lever pumps to get the feel back.

My rear brake goes to the bar when in full chat mode , which is interesting . I put it down to the brake line being maybe 2" short , and full travel 'pulling' the pistons back into the calipers

^^^^ yup, experienced this alot, too.

had one guy last year on tour whose Avids closed up completely. we were at 2100m and it was cold (5°C). we descended down to 600m where it was much warmer (27°C) and his rear brake had clamped up completely to the point were he couldn't even turn the back wheel. bike shop reckoned that an air bubble had expanded forcing the oil into the caliper.

good when they work, but can be VERY hit'n'miss.
i wouldn't want them on my bike.

Here you go, try this [url= http://www.sram.com/_media/pdf/avid/AVID_BrakeSetUp1.pdf ]sram linky[/url] not a video, but a pdf which seems difficult to find nowadays! explains a lot and helped me. I just got a proper bleed kit after two years of " i'm not paying that for a couple of plastic syringes"! so i'm in the middle of brake faff.

blatant plug-got the kit from all terrain cycles for £25, bargain (compared to some prices anyway!)

I have Avid Elixirs and Avid Codes
both let air into the system from the bite point adjuster
it's a known and common problem
on one brake it's manageable, on the other it's made them unuseable
shite

Just watched the video. Thank God I've got Shimano brakes on my bikes - maybe not as powerful as Avids but a doddle to bleed - no special tools unless you count a 6" plastic pipe.

I'll pass the bad news on to my mate - his new bike with Elixirs desperately need bleeding. I am sure he will be thrilled at all the faff and additional cost.

Have just replaced a Juicy 5 with a Formula and the difference is night and day - the avids feel shite in comparison! Not tried to bleed the formula yet though but it looks a lot easier than the avid.

I think what i was originally missing was the 'pressurising' by pushing the lever out with the caliper syringe 😳