My p7 came with a set of Avid Juicy 3’s and they’ve been a nightmare from day one.
Pistons always sticking, need bleeding all the time, always seem to be rubbing no matter what I do.
I’ve got so fed up of going to my bike before I go out and, upon spinning the wheels as a quick check, find they’re rubbing – again !

I took the back brake off completely yesterday and left it at home just so I could ride to work. Fine for commuting but don’t want to ride it off road with just the front !

Is it worth stripping them or should I give up and ditch them for something reliable ? Can I lube the pistons with anything even if it means replacing the fluid every so often – they are always sticking ?

If the only answer is to replace them – what with ? I don’t need anything daft : I get off road around the Peak District and Sherwood Pines but using in slick mode to get to and from work more currently. The Avids have always felt powerful enough, they just dont work !

PS I am not made of money…

You can take out the pistons and grease them with red rubber grease. I just did this with a Juicy 5 and it feels so much better now and doesn’t really rub any more. Probably going to re-do the front it made such a difference!

Cheers – can’t believe I haven’t come across that stuff before !

It’s got to be worth a few quid to try it before I convince myself I need yet more hope trinkets or similar.

Anyone found that new seals make any difference ?

I forgot to mention I also changed the pistons + seals when I greased it all up. So it could be the new seals/pistons that made the difference, could be the grease.

Tried RRG and new seals with Elixirs, didn’t really help though. I think sticky pistons might just be a symptom of the Avid design. Hope all the way now 8)

I might try a piston and seal kit if I can find one – they all say juicy 5/7…would these fit ?

I might try a piston and seal kit if I can find one – they all say juicy 5/7…would these fit ?

Yeah, the only difference is the o-ring between the two calliper halves. Make sure you don’t lose the old one.

I was never able to get my Juicy 3 pistons to stop sticking and I tried everything before giving up – new pistons and seals, RRG, the works. I think there’s something about gritstone-based Peak District mud that just kills them.

I clean/lube the seals with a paintbrush dipped in silicon grease.

There’s definitely a knack to lining up the calipers I agree but there are plenty of threads on here that’ll explain the best way.

Juicys aren’t to everyone’s taste but if you have the knack and you look after them they work amazingly well for the price. My P7 also had a set of Juicy 3 before I got a deal on some Juicy 7 and have never been tempted to change.

Bin ’em – only solution I eventually found.

Especially after once too often having to change pads out on the hills.

Hope’s now, and no troubles at all.

I’ve been in exactly the same situation as you Br1zz. I liked them in use when they did work, but after wasting money and time on trying to get/keep the Juicys (older 3s) working I gave up and went for some m595 Deores. Only had to change pads since in months of riding… no faff.

Your money’s better spent getting shot than trying to fix the Avids in this case Imho.

Been down this route as well with Juicy 5s, eventually got fed up of rebuilding every couple of rides (only the front one never the rear one) so I binned them and bought a set of Hopes. No maintenance all year 🙂

oh dear…I feel an expensive ‘treat’ coming on – working brakes sound tempting !

all brakes do this to some degre emy hopes have done it and needed regreasing adn the pistons and seals are only about 6 months old – not used that bike much though to be fair

You won’t like this but a friend had a P7 with Juicy 3s… they were unequivocally crap and he ended up replacing them with Hopes.

Get rid of them, they are too much hassle.

They are a hassle, I had some a few years back that needed constant attention. Back to shimano and so little maintenance and when you do its easy.