Have Shimano XT brakes and have just bled them last week. There is virtually only about 10mm travel before the brakes are fully on. I have another set on another bike and there is much more travel before the brakes come on (these were fitted straight from the box, ready bled). Both have the bite adjustment set at the same level (does not seem to make any difference anyway). Just wondered if anything is wrong, as it takes a bit of getting use to the brakes coming on only with a very small movement. I bled the brakes from the caliper using a syringe and I don't think there is any air in the system. But I did not bleed from the reservoir. Any help would be much appreciated.

This is a common problem on the XT/SLX brakes, I have stated before these are a pain in the ass to bleed. Every other brake system I have had have always been a doddle to bleed.

I had the same issue for the first few times, I would bleed from the caliper end till no more bubbles were seen. Everything would be ok then all of a sudden the lever would return to the bar and a few sudden pumps it would harden it up again.

I found if you leave the res cap on and the lever pulled back (isolating the caliper) attach a syringe full of mineral oil to the caliper and crack the bleed nut, then create a vaccum by pulling on the syringe you should be able to remove the trapped air in the caliper

They should make this post a sticky!

Or maybe read & then follow the very clear manufacturers instructions on how to bleed them !

Bleed the suckers properly !
Yes it is a bit of a faff, and does smack of a slight flaw in the design that traps minute air bubbles, but follow what it says and it works.

Perhaps this should be a sticky – "RTFM" 😀