Spongy hydraulic brakes all of a sudden

[Pig benis]

Hi chaps,

The other day I was cleaning my chain after a pretty mucky ride through Longleat forest and as I was putting the Specialized back into the garage I noticed that the rear brake lever was incredibly spongy. I thought that I must have got some GT85 on the rotor/pads, so I stripped down the rear brake, cleaned it all up with brake cleaner/degreaser and left my pads to soak in fairy liquid over night.

Cue this morning of putting everything back together and it is still spongy. The wheel will lock up, but a lot of lever action is required. The odd thing is, on my ride before cleaning the chain, the brake was on top form as always. If anything it is a bit too sharp, but now it's as spongy as a sponge.

Does anyone have any idea as to what is going on? I'm thinking if the pads are anything like the ones on my car, then I will need to get some heat into the pads before they come to life. But do bikes do this?

Any help would be great. I would like to fix this problem myself, as my local bike shop which is awesome they are also expensive and I'd rather spend money on my holiday.

Thanks very much,
P.B

Edited by Pig benis on Saturday 25th August 10:06

[timbo48]

What brakes have you got? I've got a Specialized Camber fitted with Avids. The rear has gone "spongy" on mine with the lever coming more or less back to the bars (pads look fine). I've been told that it's a problem with Avids and they will need bleeding for which you need a Avid bleed kit. Once done they're sorted. Of course you may not have Avids but I reckon bleeding them would be the answer anyway.

[Animal101]

You may have got some air in your braking system somewhere. I'd try getting a bleed kit for your brakes, there are some vidoes on youtube which will show you how to do it. It's a fairly easy job to do but can be a bit messy.

[daz3210]

Is it similar to a car? I can remember helping Dad when I was a kid....

pedal up........

pedal down.......

pedal up........

and so on

[Bacon Is Proof]

If, after initial spongyness, you still have good power then I would say it was air in the system.
Knackered pads shouldn't affect the feel at the lever, you'll just lose braking power.

[SkinnyBoy]

Take the pads out get a pair of long nose pliers and hold them over an open flame until they smoke a bit then dunk them in cold water. This should burn off any contaminants. Stick em back in and cycle them with a few hard stops from speed.

[nammynake]

They need bleeding. Buy a kit and DIY or pay your local bike shop about £10-£15.

[One8Two]

Spongy feel = air in the system so they'll need bleeding.

As others have said it's easy enough to do yourself, official Avid kit is expensive, much cheaper from these guys http://www.reddogracing.co.uk/itemdetails.php?part...

Mine are desperate for an overhaul before I get back on the MTB this autumn.