Shimano Dura Ace 9200 disc brake calipers

If it was me, I'd get the hopes and sell the Dura-ace as new. They'll not be worth much once they start leaking.

Plenty of power and no issues at all in 5000km. YMMV

Don't get the Hopes if you're a weight weenie

I think newer generations of Shimano are pretty sound. There are certainly plenty of people in my roadie club using ultegra and DA 12 speed with no problems reported. I have been using ultegra 8100 and XT 8120 brakes for 2+ years without incident (*touch wood).

Happened on my mates v new 12spd di2 dura.

Had RS785s on my much used Tripster since they came out. Never leaked, been bled about twice in 8 years... superb brakes.
I'd try the 9200s see how they go.

Sorry, curious bystander really, but was a cause of the leaking ever identified? I wondered if it was storing the bike in cold temps, e.g. my dad suffered it but stored his bikes in a draughty shed. I've never suffered it (touch wood) but store my bikes indoors.

Same as a the Ultegra crank failures, I've had several sets and never had a failure, but they all live indoors and presumably dry out reasonably quickly after each ride.

Don't throw the calipers in the bin Just give them to me. All my Shi9mano brakes work just fine so I'm obviously one of the lucky ones...

Cheers for the replies

May give them ago and see what happens

@Desperatebicycle i had multiple RS785 calipers leak on me, Madison had to keep sending me replacements

@13thfloormonk apparently its an o ring between the two caliper halfs that causes the leak iirc

Ive also go a debonding Ultegra 11 speed crank, its been back with Madison for 2 months now and still no sign of the Shimano replacement which is a pain as i need a crank to fit to my old bike so i can sell it to pay for the new one!

All my bikes are stored in a insulated garage with a dehumidifier running on smart mode to get rid of any moisture before it builds up

its an o ring between the two caliper halfs that causes the leak iirc

Ah yeah, I remember now, I was thinking of a previous theory that piston seals got cold/stiff then failed.

All my bikes are stored in a insulated garage with a dehumidifier running on smart mode to get rid of any moisture before it builds up

Yikes! That sounds even cushier than my garage, worried that your cranks still de-bonded. Mine are on the 'good' bike so rarely get wet, certainly never salty winter roads wet...

Sorry, curious bystander really, but was a cause of the leaking ever identified? I wondered if it was storing the bike in cold temps

I bought some brand new SLX 4 pistons brakes as soon as Shimano released them. 1 leaked straight out of the box.

Yikes! That sounds even cushier than my garage, worried that your cranks still de-bonded. Mine are on the ‘good’ bike so rarely get wet, certainly never salty winter roads wet…

Those cranks were a good 8 or so years old and on a bike that was used in all weathers, the debonding had only just started and wasnt noticable until i stripped the crank right down removing the chainrings

I had an xt caliper finally start leaking this summer after six years with no problems. It wasn't the o-ring between the caliper halves; with the pads out you could actually see bubbles forming round the edge of the pistons when you squeezed the lever.

Six years constant, reliable use - I don't feel too let down, but it's a pity Shimano don't make spares available. I've bought a seal kit off eBay and intend giving that a go one dark evening this winter. It's the lack of a sustainable approach to spares provision, rather than the actual failure, which is frustrating.

I expect that’s a liability issue. They supply spares for all parts for years after they’ve been discontinued in many cases apart from safety critical brake spares.

I’d prefer they supplied them, but as you say, there’s workaround options from 3rd party suppliers, so no real problem.

I'm sure it's liability issues, as you say. While caliper piston seals seem easily available from third parties, there are other cheap parts that break, which could be viewed as consumables, that aren't (such as lever piston guides).

Fitting those would be well beyond most home mechanic’s abilities - same issue really.

For balance, I had to replace an RX4 because of a hairline crack in the caliper body, which was causing it to weep fluid onto the pads.

Anecdotally, I have had this problem quite a bit on bikes that weren't being ridden much. e.g. two barely used s/h mtbs I bought insta- leaked at the caliper. Also my spare cross bike that I never rode off-season.

I'd be inclined to stick with shimano on a road bike I was going to ride a lot. Plus the hope caliper on dura-ace shifters is a pseudo-bodge, so I wouldn't do it preemptively.

Sorry, curious bystander really, but was a cause of the leaking ever identified? I wondered if it was storing the bike in cold temps, e.g. my dad suffered it but stored his bikes in a draughty shed. I’ve never suffered it (touch wood) but store my bikes indoors.

I was wondering similar.

I've had dozens of Shimano calipers and I think only three have leaked.

Two of those were on a 2nd hand bike that may have been stored outside.