Bleeding Brakes

[ysnnim]

For some reason both my front and rear Magura Julie's have gone all 'spongy' on me. Pads are fine. Rotors are fine. They can be 'pumped' to get pressure - however not ideal. Two questions really...
1. Why does this happen - and
2. Is the cure bleeding the brakes...or topping up with fluid...

It just seems odd...fine one day, f**ked the next!

[snotrag]

They need bleeding.

Bike shop will do it, or you can buy a bleed kit and do it yourself.

Make sure you take pads out first, and dont touch the friction surface AT ALL!

They simply take on minute amounts of air over time, which creates bubbles, giving the spongy effect.

[ysnnim]

Currently at bike shop being bled...

How good are the kits you can buy (given my patience with fiddly jobs runs to about 10 mins)

[snotrag]

ysnnim said:

Currently at bike shop being bled...

How good are the kits you can buy (given my patience with fiddly jobs runs to about 10 mins)

Good... but can be fiddly... They shouldnt need doing again for a fair while now So I wouldnt bother if your not into fiddly jobs.

[gbbird]

Slightly off topic, bit i have just fitted some Magura Louise brakes to my Cove, and they are infintely better than my Shimaono LX brakes on my Merlin

[GHW]

I've bled my Julies once and am not looking forward to doing it again. It's a very, very fiddly job.

[DanH]

The other thing that can help with this problem is using a cable tie to leave the levers held tight, as though you were braking, overnight. Seems to get some of the air bubbles out. Got the tip from a technician at specialised as my new stumpy fsr had a really long spongy travel on the rear calliper. I did this, and it didn't seem to work at the time, but came back to the bike a week later and its now fine.