Avid Elixir Disc Brakes
Discussion
I feel your pain. Bleeding brakes is bleedin' torture. I did some on Monday night.
FWIW, I've got three bikes, all using Hope tech levers (two with M4 calipers and one with a V2) and the results are never consistent, even if the method of bleeding is.
I;ve got one of the Hope bleed kits, which is good except that the drain hose for the caliper is far too short to be any use and does not stay fixed to the bleed nipple. The other (major) pisser with the drain nipples is their relative inaccessibility. Really, you need to take the wheels off IMHO.
In short, persevere with the Elixirs - they're good brakes and bleeding anything else is scarecly any easier!
FWIW, I've got three bikes, all using Hope tech levers (two with M4 calipers and one with a V2) and the results are never consistent, even if the method of bleeding is.
I;ve got one of the Hope bleed kits, which is good except that the drain hose for the caliper is far too short to be any use and does not stay fixed to the bleed nipple. The other (major) pisser with the drain nipples is their relative inaccessibility. Really, you need to take the wheels off IMHO.
In short, persevere with the Elixirs - they're good brakes and bleeding anything else is scarecly any easier!
NIIKME said:
What do you mean by a normal reservoir? My last 2 bikes have had Elixir's so I've never bled anything else... but I have to say its not an easy job and the caliper end in particular leaks like s
t when you pull the syringe out.
I mean like Hopes or similar, with a reservoir on the lever at the top of the system, seemed much easier to faff with to me.t when you pull the syringe out.pablo said:
have you tried the bleed kit from epic brake solutions?
Nope? I've been using the Avid kit.Digga said:
I feel your pain. Bleeding brakes is bleedin' torture. I did some on Monday night.
FWIW, I've got three bikes, all using Hope tech levers (two with M4 calipers and one with a V2) and the results are never consistent, even if the method of bleeding is.
I;ve got one of the Hope bleed kits, which is good except that the drain hose for the caliper is far too short to be any use and does not stay fixed to the bleed nipple. The other (major) pisser with the drain nipples is their relative inaccessibility. Really, you need to take the wheels off IMHO.
In short, persevere with the Elixirs - they're good brakes and bleeding anything else is scarecly any easier!
I have an old set of Hope M4s on my Hitman and they're a doddle to sort out in comparison. Also a set of Juicys on my Cannondale which (touch wood) have been fine so far.FWIW, I've got three bikes, all using Hope tech levers (two with M4 calipers and one with a V2) and the results are never consistent, even if the method of bleeding is.
I;ve got one of the Hope bleed kits, which is good except that the drain hose for the caliper is far too short to be any use and does not stay fixed to the bleed nipple. The other (major) pisser with the drain nipples is their relative inaccessibility. Really, you need to take the wheels off IMHO.
In short, persevere with the Elixirs - they're good brakes and bleeding anything else is scarecly any easier!
I think I'm going to need more brake fluid for all the attempts I'll need...
ETA: My Hopes have the old Mini style lever.
http://youtu.be/IoaPUw5DliA
Follow that to the nth degree and you can't go wrong, I run Juicys and Elixirs and never had a problem bleeding them.
Now, Ashima PCB brakes made me want to kill kittens!
Follow that to the nth degree and you can't go wrong, I run Juicys and Elixirs and never had a problem bleeding them.
Now, Ashima PCB brakes made me want to kill kittens!
God not that video again. I run it every time I bleed brakes and that woman's voice is haunting me!!
I've read about a lot of pain with elixir brakes on the internet and it just makes me wonder if there can be some variety in the levels of build quality between them - my old elxir SL for instance were solid brakes but my new Exlir 5s are nowhere near as solid despite bleeding them at two weeks old.
I've read about a lot of pain with elixir brakes on the internet and it just makes me wonder if there can be some variety in the levels of build quality between them - my old elxir SL for instance were solid brakes but my new Exlir 5s are nowhere near as solid despite bleeding them at two weeks old.
IroningMan said:
Like supplying Shimano brakes, for instance...? 
Hope 
I've just re-bled them. They're not amazing, but they're better than they were.
I've also managed to remove the head on the lever bleed bolt too
It's like they're designed to take the strength of a 12 year old.C'est la vie!
I had Avid Elixir 5s on my bike up until recently and they were nothing but trouble. The pads squeaked constantly, occasionally decided they needed bleeding and generally didnt work very well.
I have now replaced them with Shimano XT and had no probs, and much prefer the shorter levers.
I have now replaced them with Shimano XT and had no probs, and much prefer the shorter levers.
Sarkmeister said:
I had Avid Elixir 5s on my bike up until recently and they were nothing but trouble. The pads squeaked constantly, occasionally decided they needed bleeding and generally didnt work very well.
I have now replaced them with Shimano XT and had no probs, and much prefer the shorter levers.
Oh great I have now replaced them with Shimano XT and had no probs, and much prefer the shorter levers.
thanks for the vote of confidence - my bike is just 2 weeks old and already I am looking at new brakes. I shall see if they "bed in" over coming weeks...Gassing Station | Pedal Powered | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff