Well, fingers crossed Avid Elixirs.....

[Nigeyy]

I think I might be one of the few people in the world who have had no problems with their Avid Elixir brakes (I have Elixir 1's which may make a difference as they don't have the bells and whistles, and they came on the bike). I've found them to be reliable, great modulation (prefer them over my friends Deore brakes) and powerful. However....

I've had the brakes for 5 years now, and I decided in my wisdom that I should be replacing the old fluid in them. So after buying an Avid Pro bleed kit, I had a go, replacing all the fluid, and while the bleed process is really a pain in the behind (particularly compared to Shimano) I completed the process. Yes, Shimanos are definitely easier brakes to bleed, and at one point I was starting to wonder given how many air bubbles were coming out whether or not my seals were letting in air, but eventually no bubbles came through -and this was at both the calipre and the lever for both brakes.

I also tried an experiment -in the rear brake I degassed the fluid, in the front I didn't bother. Made absolutely no difference at all. I did this based on when I was following the SRAM instructions to degas, I couldn't help but notice:

• all the air seemed to be originating from the bottom of the syringe where the seal is -which made me suspect that the air was coming past the syringe seal.
• Additionally, the brake fluid comes in a vacuum sealed bottle, so won't it degas naturally?
• and when you bleed you are creating a vacuum anyway, so you are degassing on the fly so to speak.

My conclusion is degassing is a complete waste of time, and at least from my limited experience, makes no difference whatsoever. Anyway, my brakes are absolutely fantastic now -so why the "fingers crossed" in the thread title? Well because I've heard that Elixir brakes can leak air after a bleed so I'll wait a month or so before I declare absolute success!

 

[Milkfloat]

My Elixirs did not even get to the stage of needing bleeding, they got binned well before that. I spent more time freeing sticky calipers than I did cleaning my drivetrain. Switched to Shimano and not had a problem.

 

[Yellow Saddle]

I think I might be one of the few people in the world who have had no problems with their Avid Elixir brakes (I have Elixir 1's which may make a difference as they don't have the bells and whistles, and they came on the bike). I've found them to be reliable, great modulation (prefer them over my friends Deore brakes) and powerful. However....

I've had the brakes for 5 years now, and I decided in my wisdom that I should be replacing the old fluid in them. So after buying an Avid Pro bleed kit, I had a go, replacing all the fluid, and while the bleed process is really a pain in the behind (particularly compared to Shimano) I completed the process. Yes, Shimanos are definitely easier brakes to bleed, and at one point I was starting to wonder given how many air bubbles were coming out whether or not my seals were letting in air, but eventually no bubbles came through -and this was at both the calipre and the lever for both brakes.

I also tried an experiment -in the rear brake I degassed the fluid, in the front I didn't bother. Made absolutely no difference at all. I did this based on when I was following the SRAM instructions to degas, I couldn't help but notice:

• all the air seemed to be originating from the bottom of the syringe where the seal is -which made me suspect that the air was coming past the syringe seal.
• Additionally, the brake fluid comes in a vacuum sealed bottle, so won't it degas naturally?
• and when you bleed you are creating a vacuum anyway, so you are degassing on the fly so to speak.

My conclusion is degassing is a complete waste of time, and at least from my limited experience, makes no difference whatsoever. Anyway, my brakes are absolutely fantastic now -so why the "fingers crossed" in the thread title? Well because I've heard that Elixir brakes can leak air after a bleed so I'll wait a month or so before I declare absolute success!

Your observations are interesting and by and large true - degassing is a waste of time.
However, SRAM's concept of degassing is laughable. Really, really laughable.
When you pull on that syringe and see the development of bubbles, you aren't seeing air but fluid vapour. It is a process known as cavitation. It is the same reason you think you see air bubbles around a boat's spinning propeller even though it is completely submerged in water. Cavitation is essentially boiling by reducing pressure.

You are indeed lucky with your Elixirs. Good luck for the future with those.

 

[Nigeyy]

Yeah, that's the weird thing, I've seen soooo many bad reports about these brakes, and I really don't baby them. I mean, if was looking for new brakes and I'd read what I've read about them, I would never ever buy them myself, but they came with the bike. I am beginning to think I'm one of the exceptions. Obviously didn't come off the production line last thing on a Friday I'd say. I've also read some of them were fitted with bad seals, so maybe I got a set with good ones!

Interestingly before I bought the bleed kit (not cheap!) I seriously thought about putting it towards a new Shimano brakeset replacement, but I do like the feel of the Elixirs. Like I said, keeping fingers crossed.....

My Elixirs did not even get to the stage of needing bleeding, they got binned well before that. I spent more time freeing sticky calipers than I did cleaning my drivetrain. Switched to Shimano and not had a problem.