Help with MTB brakes!

[John G]

Hi All,

I have a Specialized Stumpjumper FSR Elite 2010 Mountain Bike and need to change the back brake pads. Rear Brake:Custom Avid Elixir R SL, alloy backed semi-met pads, 185mm. I need to get the brakes fixed soon so I can start tackling the cycle cross season!

So far Sylv and Ilija have tried to help me with limited success unfortunately... the issue has been that the back brake "pushers" have not been retracting fully back and so the pads are scrapping the brake rim!... in our attempts we have managed to bleed the oil out of the back brakes!

Is there anyone that has experience with bleeding/refilling Avid Elixir brakes? I have no kit, so if anyone has the kit/know how and is happy to help us out that would be much appreciated!

I live in South Croydon and am more than happy to come out too you!

Thanks in advance!

John

[Sylv]

John, I would take the bike to Bromleybike.co.uk and ask for Howard, a top mechanic, to have a look at it. He'll sort it out or tell you what's wrong with the brakes. It's a 12km trip to get there.

[John G]

Thanks Sylv, need to pull my finger out sO I can hit one of these cross races!

[stamourp]

Hi John,

If you haven't dealt with this already then you can buy an official Avid bleed kit for something like £40. That said, the one I had was next to useless and I did my Ultimates the old fashioned way.

If you're not comfortable with bleeding them I'd suggest getting a shop to do it as it shouldn't cost too much, probably less than the official kit. SRAM have a YouTube channel covering the topic if you fancy giving it a go:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IoaPUw5DliA

If the pistons aren't retracting into the caliper, they probably need removing and lubing. Try leveraging them back into the caliper (gently) with a large screwdriver (ideally do this with the pads in to avoid marking the pistons). If when you next apply the brake - assuming there is enough fluid still in the lines, and do this with the rotor in place otherwise the pistons may pop out - and the pistons don't retract once more then they need to come out and be lubed. Again, I'm sure a good bike could do it for a reasonable charge, otherwise I think you can send them back to Fisher who offer a service and return facility.

Good luck.

Thanks

Peter

[John G]

[quote="stamourp"]Hi John,

If you haven't dealt with this already then you can buy an official Avid bleed kit for something like £40. That said, the one I had was next to useless and I did my Ultimates the old fashioned way.

If you're not comfortable with bleeding them I'd suggest getting a shop to do it as it shouldn't cost too much, probably less than the official kit. SRAM have a YouTube channel covering the topic if you fancy giving it a go:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IoaPUw5DliA

If the pistons aren't retracting into the caliper, they probably need removing and lubing. Try leveraging them back into the caliper (gently) with a large screwdriver (ideally do this with the pads in to avoid marking the pistons). If when you next apply the brake - assuming there is enough fluid still in the lines, and do this with the rotor in place otherwise the pistons may pop out - and the pistons don't retract once more then they need to come out and be lubed. Again, I'm sure a good bike could do it for a reasonable charge, otherwise I think you can send them back to Fisher who offer a service and return facility.

Good luck.

Thanks

Peter