Nigeyy
Legendary Member
- Location
- Massachusetts, USA
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:
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.