Disc brake setup on new bike

[American Friend]

Bought a new MTB with Avid Elixirs. Two things about the brake setup don't seem quite right.

1. There seems a lot of unnecessary hose between the levers and first clips. I assume the bike shop just fits the brakes as they come from Avid with a one-size-fits-all hose length? The frame is 15".
2. The levers travel maybe halfway between normal resting position and the bars before the brakes start to bite. A friend's Elixirs seem much tigher. Could the brakes already have air in them? BTW, there's no "contact point" adjuster on this particular model.

Is this normal on a new bike?

 

[domjon]

Bought a new MTB with Avid Elixirs. Two things about the brake setup don't seem quite right.

1. There seems a lot of unnecessary hose between the levers and first clips. I assume the bike shop just fits the brakes as they come from Avid with a one-size-fits-all hose length? The frame is 15".
2. The levers travel maybe halfway between normal resting position and the bars before the brakes start to bite. A friend's Elixirs seem much tigher. Could the brakes already have air in them? BTW, there's no "contact point" adjuster on this particular model.

Is this normal on a new bike?

My boardman came with elixirs and the rear needed bleeding within the first couple of weeks...I shelled out for the bleed kit and did it myself...'was easy to do and made a world of difference. It is a bit annoying though when you've spent your hard earned on a new bike and it isn't set up right. Take it back the shop if you aint happy with it would be my advice...I didn't 'cause I thought Halfords were likely to do more harm than good but if it's a reputable LBS you should be fine.

 

[Globalti]

Agreed. On the one hand the bike shop should set it up correctly but on the other hand when you take delivery of a new bike you can usually consider it half ready for riding; there is a whole lot of fettling and adjusting to be done before you've got it set up the way you like it. It's definitely time to learn how to set up those brakes. Dunno about yours but with Hope hoses you can, if you're careful, shorten a hose without needing to bleed out air. Just make sure you keep the end of the hose up so it doesn't drain and cut with a sharp knife then replace on the spigot with plenty of brake fluid around, i.e. present at the end of hose and spigot. On the travel, hydraulic disc brakes work like a small hydraulic pump to move a pair of pistons which are an extremely tight fit in their seals (as you will discover if you ever try to remove a piston). The normal movement of the pad is accommodated by the flexibility of the seals and only occasionally do the pistons actually creep through the seals as the pads wear. I would start by giving the levers a really good hard squeeze to try to settle the pistons a bit further out. When you release the levers, new oil should enter the active pumping area from the reservoir and your brakes should be biting a bit sooner. If that fails, off to the LBS.

(One sure way to fettle it would be to gently squeeze the levers with the wheels out, which would force the pistons out a little but that's a bit hit & miss as they might go too far and end up grabbing, in which case you'll need to force them apart with a screwdriver - go on, be brutal - and start again.)

 

[American Friend]

I suppose the question is where's the line between the bike shop's responsibility when setting up a new bike and customer fettling with minor adjustments. It's one thing to tweak the lever position, and quite another ballgame if the brakes need a bleed.

I'd be happy to be corrected on this, but I have a hunch the Avids have to be bled to shorten the excess hose.

As for the brake lever travel, would a bleed shorten the lever travel without changing the spacing between the pads? I don't want to start faffing with the pad spacing and then end up with drag and squeaks.

 

[GilesM]

As for the brake lever travel, would a bleed shorten the lever travel without changing the spacing between the pads? I don't want to start faffing with the pad spacing and then end up with drag and squeaks.

If the brakes need bleeding the lever will have a spongy feel about it as you increase the tension on it, rather than a very firm feel that a correctly bleed brake will have, if the lever has a good firm feel to it, but just bites after too much travel I would try Globalti's suggestion and activate the brakes with the wheels removed.

 

[American Friend]

Damn. They're definitely more on the spongy than firm side. How annoying.
Many thanks though for the clarification.

 

[GilesM]

Damn. They're definitely more on the spongy than firm side. How annoying.
Many thanks though for the clarification.

I would suggest comparing it to the feel on another bike with the same brakes, just to confirm. Bleeding the brakes isn't difficult, and if you want to shorten the pipes it would be a good time to learn, (although yu could take it back to where you bought it from as they should be right when they leave the sop) get onto the Avid website, there will definately be some advice. I am not sure how Avid recommend bleeding their brakes, but I find the best way is with systems that use low pressure compressed air at around 20PSI, most kits have an attachment to fit to a car tyre valve for the compressed air supply, I use the same system for bleeding the car brakes aswell, very easy.

 

[American Friend]

I've got the theory, watched the video, looks simple enough, but I'm just not ready to dish out £40 or whatever for the Avid bleed kit (Avids are apparently a bit particular about how they're bled) as it's a brand new bike.

Guess it's back to the bike shop and hopefully they'll put things right without quibbling. Mind you, I'd asked them to set up the fork for my weight and riding style and they managed to get that totally wrong. And we're not talking about Halfords here.

Hmmm. Maybe I better bite the bullet and just do it myself.

 

[GilesM]

I've got the theory, watched the video, looks simple enough, but I'm just not ready to dish out £40 or whatever for the Avid bleed kit (Avids are apparently a bit particular about how they're bled) as it's a brand new bike.

Guess it's back to the bike shop and hopefully they'll put things right without quibbling. Mind you, I'd asked them to set up the fork for my weight and riding style and they managed to get that totally wrong. And we're not talking about Halfords here.

Hmmm. Maybe I better bite the bullet and just do it myself.

The £40 now will help you, and save you money in the future, you'll definately need it one day, and it will be a 10pm on a Saturday night when you are trying to get the bike ready for a Sunday ride you really don't want to miss.

Don't be too harsh on the bike shop for the way they set-up your forks, they probably used the manufacturers settings which are not always perfect, you really need to be sitting on the bike for the initial set-up and then fine tune it as you go for your first few rides.