All Things Bikes and Tacos! (...and every vehicle imaginable)

I’ve done the same and found I get the same result as you, which is why I dial it all the way out now before the bleed.

 

Interesting. I really don’t want to do the process again haha

 

I bled a set of Levels a few months ago, which don’t use the bleeding edge, but now I don’t remember what I did to pressurize them at the end.

 

Having not used the bleeding edge, I don’t necessarily understand how it works. Just a way to keep the bleed screw installed while you do it?

 

bleeding edge makes it much easier to bleed and pressurize. also helps to keep it from getting messy. Intersting that they want you to pull the lever all the way in. I would try not doing that and see what happens. also, try this...close up the caliper side and then from the lever side, push some fluid into the system and pressurize it that way and then while you're holding the syringe, try pumping the lever. that might also help pressurize the system a bit more. once you're ready, unthread the syringe but be careful because some fluid might come out from the pressure. guides are notoriously annoying to use.

I can't promise this will work but...it's worth a shot.

 

oh absolutely. in a non-covid year they always seem to struggle with supply. my point being that they know they've got a good thing going and yet they consistently struggle. their customer support reviews are low year over year. It's kinda sad to see. I mean, commencal does it well in a non-pandemic year. so.....yeah.

 

I think they tell you to completely squeeze lever because air can be trapped in the little bladder the lever pushes on. Hope that makes sense.

 

I think I did that, if I’m reading it correctly. The squeezed lever portion is during the first part doing the caliper, then when that syringe is removed you have released the lever by then. Then when doing the lever syringe you pull it some during that.

 

ah. that all makes sense. yeah, that's annoying if it still feels bad. Try pushing on the syringe to pressurize the system and pray that it doesn't squirt back out when you unthread the syringe I guess.

 

Shimano brakes. Problem solved.

 

This is kinda why I posed the question. I’ve heard sram brakes aren’t great, but especially the guide r’s. So was wondering if it’s just kinda the best I get.

like I said, not bad, less mushy, but still not what I expected after new pads and a bleed.

 

Shimano rear brakes always give me trouble, at least when doing a new install. Every time there is one tiny bubble left in line that takes 15 minutes to get rid of because you think you got it reassemble everything only to realize the brakes are still just a bit soft at the end of travel.

 

lol. My experiences with shimano haven't been great. I also definitely prefer the sram's. Personal preference. but the Guides are shitty. and Sram knows it. That's why they got rid of guides and made the better G2 aka guide v2.

 

would you look at what appeared in my recommended vids.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aEIzbI1A-TQ

for some reason, this popped up on my youtube feed and I really enjoyed watching it. lolol

 

Nope, nope, nope. Shimanos are stupid easy to bleed, with a “gravity bleed” being the easiest and super solid way to get them feeling great.
SRAM are a pain to bleed right, but when done right feel awesome, and hold the bleed much, much longer. Plus, no wandering bite point. That shit is unacceptable to me.

 

Can barely tell these bikes apart...

 

Quite honestly I’ve watched the how to videos about 20x and can never recall the order. The last two times I just went off the books and did whatever to get the bubbles out. Try pushing all the fluid from one syringe to the other then back a few times. That’ll get rid of the bubbles. Then pull out the caliper one and put the screw in. Then just try and pull out the bubbles from the lever one. This worked 4x for me so far.

I thought everyone was shipping at the earliest Late Summer but two LBS’s quoted me March for Pivot Switchblades and one had one even in stock. Meanwhile Alchemy is shooting for March delivery as well.

 

That’s exactly what I did, alternating them back and forth to pull the bubbles out.

 

Some crazy good deals on suspension stuff. Scroll to the Calgary Cycle section!