Front today done the back a few weeks ago. Replaced the old calipers with new refurbed ones so all the seals are brand new just couldn't get the lever to firm up anywhere close to what it was like with the old calipers hopefully tying back the lever will sort it.
What did you do to your bike today?
- Thread starter edd1e
- Start date
you tend to get a lot of trapped air in the rubber hose going from the master cylinder reservoir to the brake lever/piston,i tend to squeeze that a lot while pumping the front lever and you see bubbles float to the surface
the tying of the lever should work though
the tying of the lever should work though
Soldato
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It's amazing how well tying the lever works, my front brake was getting a little soft, loosened the res cap a little and tied the lever for a few hours today while I was out, went to fill up a while ago and the lever is nice and firm now.
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Fingers crossed or else tomorrow's commute will either be very interesting or train based. Also found one of the bolts in my shock linkage was a fair bit looser than the rest so tightened that up and maybe that'll be the end of my off putting wheel movement in corners.
A thick bead of weld on the race can usually allow you to get a cold chisel under it, a few taps and it's off.
The other option is to grind a safe amount off (i.e. don't try to get right up to the stem) and then give the thin part of the race that you have just made a hefty smack with a cold chisel and hammer. That's usually enough to crack the race and relieve the tension.
Tying the lever really is some powerful black magic, yesterday the lever would happily have pulled well past the bar if it wasn't in the way. Cut off the cable tie this morning and it's perfect.
Need to strip down my rear brake pedal and clean and grease all the moving bits, it was fine on Friday then this morning it's solid and you need to really stamp down until it engages the rear brake then it stays stuck down. If I hadn't recently replaced the rear caliper and bled it I'd put it down to sticky pistons and poor pressure in the line but it seems to be the actual pedal pivot getting stiff.
Need to strip down my rear brake pedal and clean and grease all the moving bits, it was fine on Friday then this morning it's solid and you need to really stamp down until it engages the rear brake then it stays stuck down. If I hadn't recently replaced the rear caliper and bled it I'd put it down to sticky pistons and poor pressure in the line but it seems to be the actual pedal pivot getting stiff.
To all people talking about tying the lever back over night, it's only a temporary solution and indicates that the master cylinder seals and spring need replacing.
More often than not the master cylinder seals need replacing before the caliper seals. Though when working on the breaking system both should be replaced by a matter of course.
More often than not the master cylinder seals need replacing before the caliper seals. Though when working on the breaking system both should be replaced by a matter of course.
I agree it can be temporary since it just encourages air to dissolve into the fluid, which means it can come out again just like releasing CO2 from a can of coke.
However it only indicates that there is some air trapped in the system, it doesn't mean that the MC seals are necessarily bad. If the seals were bad then any pressure in the system that you applied when the lever is tied back would be gone after a while due to leakage.
Soldato
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Yeah I thought it worked because pulling the lever in allows the master cylinder hole into the reservoir to open, which also compresses the fluid and forces any air bubbles to the top and into the reservoir, which is why you unscrew the top slightly to allow excess air to escape.
My front lever is still spot on after tying back my lever overnight on Sunday no sign of it softening and as I said before I replaced the front calipers the lever was solid so there's nothing wrong with my front MC.
My rear MC on the other hand is getting the rebuild treatment over the long weekend as there seems to be no pressure to pop my brake pedal back up when I take my foot off it and the caliper and line was only replaced a couple of weeks ago.
My rear MC on the other hand is getting the rebuild treatment over the long weekend as there seems to be no pressure to pop my brake pedal back up when I take my foot off it and the caliper and line was only replaced a couple of weeks ago.
Checked that last night and it seemed fine, it's done this before but I put it down to the old caliper having perished seals and the piston being covered in rust and muck not allowing it to return properly.
If it was the spring I'd expect it to be bad and stay bad, but like I say it's been fine for a couple of weeks after changing everything and bleeding the system then I parked it up fine on Friday afternoon and by Monday morning it was gone again.
With what might I ask?
No nonsense paint and varnish remover from screwfix it's only cheap but does the job not that I'm a pro I've never done it before ha.. Respraying with just spray cans and seeing what it turns out like, primer paint and lacquer
Yea whoever sprayed it before hand hasn't used any clear laquer in fact it could do with a full respray.. I'll see how it goes trying to do it myself if its rubbish I'll just strip it all and take the lot to a real place