Forum menu
I am about to swap my brakes from an old bike to a new frame. However one of the hose guides goes all round the hose. This means I have to remove either the brake or the lever. I have never had to do this or bled the brakes before. Any tips on the easiest way to do this?
You're likely to need a new insert and olive for the brake but here are some instructions.
Remove the wheel but leave the pads in the caliper. Pump the brake lever until the pads meet in the middle. Undo the hose from the lever and cut off the existing olive and insert. Carefully feed the hose through the frame mounts trying to minimise the loss of fluid from the open end. Fit the new olive and insert and screw the shroud back to the lever to nip the olive up. Using a something soft like a tyre lever (or a flat blade screwdriver on the back of the pads) push the pads to push the pistons back into the caliper.
On newer Shimano brakes you can usually get away without a bleed.
I would remove at the lever end. Make sure you have a good spanner that fits the nut well to avoid rounding it off. Will need a new olive too to avoid it leaking when reassembled (not sure if you can get away with using the old one once more?) try to keep the hose end above the level of the calliper and you wont loose fluid. Take your time and good luck 🙂
Thanks guys. Will get an olive and give it a go.
Done! Thanks very much for the help.
The brakes all seem to be working fine and no bleeding required. Still on the workshop stand though so I haven't tested it yet.
Thanks again.