[Closed] XT Brake pulls to bar

Are they the new ones and did you follow the instructions? I belive the free stroke screw needs to be wound fully out.

for what its worth the screw doesnt seem to do anything anyway and my lever pulls too far back

Surely I should expect more than one days hard riding before another bleed is required?

Definitely! If you squeeze and release the brake repeatedly, does the lever bite get further away? That's my usual test to see if it needs bleeding or not.

[url= http://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/freestroke-adjustment-on-current-xts ]read last post on here[/url] to see some more re freestroke function and bleeding

Are they xt 775 or 785?

When you bled the brakes did you put the pistons all the way back in or not touch them?

Without the pads in gently pump the brake and bring the pistons out a touch (not too far or they will drop out)

Then put pads back in and check. I use an Old rotor so i dont have to mess about with the wheel. See if it improves the bite point. Then put the wheel in and check its in the centre and doesn't rub.

If that fails then I would bleed them again

Pad wear shouldn't cause any change of performance on a hydro brake, they're self-correcting (in practice it can do a bit but it should never be major)

I reckon- you had some air in the reservoir still, so the pressurised system was air free but then it took on air from the reservoir in use (from pads wearing, or from being turned over, or just from normal displacement). Basically the whole thing needs to be free of air not just the working parts.

If I squeeze and release repeatedly, it stays the same.

Yes, I bled them with the free stroke screw wound a fair way out.

As an owner of Avid's it was told that this could never happen 😯

Well blow me down with a feather 😆

They're 785's

Sounds more like you still have a bit more air in the system. Try re-bleeding them again it only take 5 minutes tops. If it still persists then I would think you may have air getting into the line (when bleeding check all nuts are screwed tight) 🙂

Yeah, I think it must have a leak somewhere, although I tightened everything before I bled them, and they worked really well for most of the day.

The more I read and tinker, the more I think that bleeding current-gen Shimano brakes is a total dark art. I swear they have all sorts of air-pocket/holes in them, it's really hard / inconsistent to bleed them well.

So yeah, try again. And again. Etc.

try pulling the lever in and tying it off with a zip tie overnight...this should farce any air in the system back up through the line into the reservoir...thisa should also point out any potential leaks you have on the brakes...just to be on the safe side try to cover the rotors/pads if you can to prevent contamination from brake fluid
also with the lever/reservoir in a horizontal position, unscrew the reservoir screw so any air can escape

also with the lever/reservoir in a horizontal position, unscrew the reservoir screw so any air can escape

I'm picturing someone taking out the screw, seeing it's not full to the brim with oil...and then just patiently waiting for the air to 'escape' itself and magically be replaced with oil 🙂

(Obviously you need to push the air out by adding oil from the other end).

Thanks folks. I'm going to go for another bleed, and will try gonzy's method in advance of bleeding. I appreciate I need to push some fluid through from the caliper though 🙂

Which method are you using to bleed them?

Oil from the bottom up or just the funnel screwed into the reservoir?

I've tried quite a lot of brakes and Shimano are by far the easiest to bleed in my opinion. I bleed from the top down. I never touched the free stroke screw, it was all the way in.

Which method are you using to bleed them?

Oil from the bottom up or just the funnel screwed into the reservoir?

I use an Epic Bleed kit and follow the Shimano instructions to the letter.

Anything I'm missing?

maybe a daft q, but with the Epic kit, have you taken the plunger out of the top syringe, so it's an open bath ?

I just bled my brakes. Pumped fluid from the bottom up and filled the attached reservoir to make sure there was no air.

The front was perfect but the back was terrible (XL 29er)

I removed the reservoir and replaced the cap but left the syringe on the caliper. (Pads and rotor removed)

Un did the nut and forced some extra fluid in and locked it off. In affect forcing extra fluid in and pressurized it. This made the back feel just as good as the front.