Got some superstar pads(Sintered) for my Avid Elixir 3’s and they don’t seem to have lasted very before I am pulling the lever and its touching my fingers put some new ones in this morning and they feel 100x betters and bite straight away.

Looking at the pads that came out they look like there is still loads of pad there comparing them to the new ones although they look badly pitted and shiny, Is it possible to kill the pads before they wear down? I know i can adjust reach but the pistons should adjust automatically if that makes any sense??

Fairly easy to contaminate them with oil although this will often mean disks are coated too which would affect new pads as well.

Very likely contaminated, possibly from something oily picked up from the trail on a wet ride, or may just GT85 overspray, or sebaceous oils. Try grilling/baking them (they may smoke a bit), then sandpapering off the burnt residue. Careful not to burn fingers. This worked for me.

Cheers will give it a go 🙂

pulling the lever and its touching my fingers

So is the bite point moving inwards over time/as the pads wear? If so then its the brakes not the pads where the issue lies. Could be sticky pistons/air in the system/not enough fluid in the brakes causing either the pistons to not be pushed out or excessive negative pressure in the reservoir sucking the pistons back in.

If you pump/pull on the brake lever in quick succession does the bite point move?

So is the bite point moving inwards over time/as the pads wear? If so then its the brakes not the pads where the issue lies. Could be sticky pistons/air in the system/not enough fluid in the brakes causing either the pistons to not be pushed out or excessive negative pressure in the reservoir sucking the pistons back in.

If you pump/pull on the brake lever in quick succession does the bite point move?

Yes that’s right, I will try putting the old pads in and pumping the lever see what happens.

The brakes are not that old and don’t leak so I am assuming there is plenty of fluid in there. Last time i putnew pads in i had to push both pistons back in and they moved quite freely.

am pulling the lever and its touching my fingers

try pulling the lever in and tying it off using a zip tie and leave it overnight…this should push any air in the caliper back up to the reservoir

also as mentioned give your rotors a good clean and sand them so if the old pads were contaminated then any residue from the rotor doesnt do the same to the new pads…

The brakes are not that old and don’t leak…

Consider yourself lucky, though I like the feel of my Avid Elixir 3’s they require frequent bleeding. They’re apparently notorious for it looking online. Going to try that zip tie trick as my rear lever went floppy after the last ride.

Gently Tying off (or elastic bands) your lever every night is a good idea, I know some motocross types who did that.. it works like a mini-bleed, forces bubbles into top reservoir. Keeps everything firm for longer between bleeds. I do it regularly.

If you do tie the lever back, make sure you then remove the air from the reservoir otherwise you’ll end up with it back in the system, probably sooner than later.

Quick question, how do you remove the air from the reservoir?

Fluid in the bleed syringe, screw it into the lever’s bleed port and suck the air out, squeeze the syringe to replace it with fluid.

A few bubbles in the lever reservoir will not normally re enter the hose, unless the fluid level is too low. The feed port will normally be a the lowest point, and bubbles rise….

For what it’s worth my 2011 avid elixirs regularly needed the bite point resetting (achieved using the red pad spacer) however my 2012 set is significantly better – all I’ve had to do is replace worn out pads.

All it takes is to wheel the bike through a trail gate on the back wheel, and you have the potential for that air to get in the system (i’ve seen the results umpteen times), for the sake of two minutes work, I really don’t think it’s worth the bother/risk of it happening.

The problem is the little Avid logo on the brakes. Get rid. IMHO.

Elixir CR’s here. Notice the rear sometimes goes soft, (as in the lever pulls back a long way) after bike has been on the wall (hung vertically by front wheel). It goes once the bike has been upright for a few mins, & lever pumped. For the little I paid they are excellent brakes. Better than the Hope Techs I bought at 4x the price.
All our bikes have Avids, usually picked up cheap from here. Even the old Jucy’s. Bleeding is easy enough.

Anyone else read this as “worn pants” first time round?

or is it only me 😳