XT (M765) Brake Questions

I checked my pads today – on the rear brake the spreader had lost two of it’s ‘prongs’ (from the same side), they looked like they had been worn down, but there was a fair ammount of life left in the pads. Is this likely to be me being careless/ ham-fisted putting the wheel back on after a puncture or could something else be the cause (I regreased the hub bearings fairly recently but everything seems OK).
Also the fluid hasn’t been changed since the brakes were put on (’06 I think) does it go off over time, & if so how can you tell. Is it a fairly simple DIY job?

I have those brakes on two bikes and I think you might have been ham fisted. If you buy new pads, use the springy things for the old brake pads and then use them again on the new. I keep all the springy bits out of Shimano brakes and it has paid off over time. Sometimes they snap, disappear, break etc etc. I’ve even been quids in on ebay, someone was selling Shimano sintered pads cheap without the spring, I had saved loads of springs, so bought the pads very cheap.

After two or three years use, i’d certainly consider changing the fluid, if you level up the lever, take the reservoir cap off and the fluid looks dirty, then replace it(you wouldn’t expect a car engine to run at it’s best with dirty oil, would you?).It’s an easy job, small length of tube on the caliper bleed nipple into a jar, pull the lever,open the nipple, close the nipple, release the lever. repeat until clean fluid starts appearing in the tube.Make sure the reservoir doesn’t run empty or you’ll suck air into the system(if you do,just keep flicking the lever until the bubbles stop coming up through the reservoir),top the reservoir right up, refit the top cap and wipe off any excess.

On the other hand, many people I know have not changed the fluid in their shimano brakes for up for 5 years with no problems. One of the joys of shimano is their ease of maintenance. Save yourself the time and enjoy, unless they start to lose power etc.

Thanks – I put a new spring in from my spare pads, but just wanted to be sure I wasn’t missing anything obvious…..Goes off to check how clean the oil looks…….

I wouldn’t bleed brakes unless I was going to the Alps, or they actually needed it

I hate bleeding XT brakes. Have to do it 5 or 6 times until all the tiny weeny little bubbles have come out (after I invariably let air in to the system by messing up the bleed to start with!)

If they ain’t broke (ie spongy) I would leave them well alone