Bleeding Avid Juicy 5

Just got a bleed kit for my Juicy 5s as the levers were both feeling a bit too "loose" and front occasionally went all the way to the bar. Followed all the instructions included and now the rear brake is worse – lever goes right back to the bar. It still works but it feels awful. Front is ok but no better than it was tbh.

I did miss out one stage – didn't bother taking wheels/pads out and inserting the spreader. I didn't do that as I don't have a stand so the bike would be a pain in the arse to work on without wheels. Is this the problem?

Any other ideas other than me being mechanically incompetent? Very annoyed now as it seems I've wasted £30 😡

You need to push the pistons back in.

And yes you did waste £30

http://www.singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/homebrew-avid-bleed-kit-anybody-want-one

As above push the pistons back in and stick the transport device in. I'll be honest with you bleeding Juicys is a bit of a ball ache and does take some practice.

Ok cheers – wish the manual mentioned that the pistons need to be pushed back! Just says install the pad thing to ensure no fluid gets onto the pads. Watching the video on youtube now and it looks like the manual is wrong again – says to bleed the hose first and then the rest, whilst the video says it should go caliper -> hose -> lever..

Force fluid into the system before detaching syringes. First time I followed the instructions and had exactly the same problem you're experiencing.

I bled Juicy 5's after watching THIS Sram guide. Every step is explained and brakes worked fine after the bleed.

I did check the manual that came with the bleed kit but it's always easier when someone shows You how it's done for the first time.

i found that having both syringes attached with plent fluid in the top doing the sucking thing. then push the fluid through to fill the caliper syringe. sucky thing at the bottom to pull any bubbles from the caliper. then push fluid back up to the lever syringe. repeat above.

once done rebleed once through with fresh "sucked" fluid giving the lever a tweek to make sure all the bubbles are released.

replace grub screws and ride.

sounds a bit much but did that on a 5 a few weeks ago and its more powerful than my front mini.

Tried again after watching videos and its slightly better but still shite. Ready to give up and just take it to the lbs. Absolute pain in the arse! I've now ran out of the supplied fluid. Looks like another bottle of that is about a fiver, I'm almost tempted to just spend that fiver on a decent cable and stick my bb7 on, haha

Oh and I managed to drip a bit of fluid onto my front disc during this process. Whats the best way to clean it off?

nuke has the answer. If it was due to pushing the pistons back (or not) then you'd end up with an overcharged system. what you describe sounds like exactly the opposite. After doing the suck/push thing with the lever, make sure you finish on a push or you collapse the bladder and under charge the system.

aha, that could be it. I think after doing the suck/push I just left it without pushing back in.

There's a guide on YouTube – really really handy.

Even I can do it!

Yep thats what I followed after the instruction manual didn't work for me – no luck :\ Gonna just see how much the lbs charges haha, anyone want a discount avid bleed kit?!

Bummer. Maybe try the lbs then – something may have broken?!

Ignore the manual, follow this:

And do not be tempted to 'miss' any steps out.

The manual is indeed cack for instructions.

Maybe I'll get some more fluid and try again tomorrow following that vid again.. is it ok to use dot 5.1 fluid meant for car braking? Seems like better value for money as you can buy it in bigger bottles than for bikes.

Ant Dot 5.1 will do mate.

But remember that it goes off over time so a big bottle of it might be too much unless you bleed a lot of brakes.
It's hydroscopic so absorbs water. More water your fluid absorbs the lower the boiling point = shit brakes.

Right ok.. the reason for getting more is that it'll probably take me another few goes to get it right on one brake, then I'll have to do the other still 😆

One bottle of brake fluid later and both brakes are working. Not much better than before though, they both still flex to the bar when "engaged" as it were. Is that a flexy lever design/fault or still not properly bled? Also the front lever has loads of "slack" before engaging and making the brake work.

+1 "You need to push the pistons back in."

How is it flexing? Up and down or is it spongey?

You might need to adjust the lever position using the grub screw behind the lever (I think).

A newly bled brake feels much better when done properly.

Car DOT fluid is THE way forward – much cheaper than bike branded stuff.

Spongey and also both levers just feel a bit loose/wobbly so have a bit of up/down play as well.. Always felt like that though but I didn't buy the bike/brakes new so tbh I dont really know how they should feel.

did you adjust the lever reach and pad adjuster all the way out before starting? try that

My front J5 lever used to wobble too – annoying. They might be wearing out (I binned mine).

Got any bike nut mates? It's the sort of thing that might be better to have seen properly.

Mind that DOT fluid – it's very corrosive.

😮 £30 for both brakes to be bled at the lbs so maybe its best to figure this out for myself. I'm now wondering whether the problem is just worn and flexy levers though, I have read things about juicy 5 levers being a bit like this. Wish I could afford a new set of brakes!