Soft disk brakes ?

[J4CKO]

Am planning on, after changing jobs and not cycling for a while, starting again.

Was going to use my hardtail MTB but whilst checking it over, the rear brake is really soft, the lever goes tot he bar almost and not much stopping power, the pads look ok and it was fine last time I used it, doesnt seem to be leaking so any ideas what it could be ?

I replaced the rear brake once before, so it has a cheapish Avid Elixr 1, front is an Elixr R which works fine.

Not got the gear to bleed these, is it worth bledding it ? the kit is £20 or so, otherwise, do I junk it and just get anew one, it doesnt go off road much so doesnt need o be fancy, its just really for commuting, cheap as possible.

[Jimbo.]

It needs bleeding.

[J4CKO]

Jimbo. said:

It needs bleeding.

I just ordered a Clark B2 rear brake for £20, pretty much the same price as the bleed kit but guaranteed to work, can attend to it later but want to get back riding to work, commuting seems to kill components, mainly down to the salt on the roads in the winter

[Jimbo.]

Lack of maintenance kills components!

Whilst I’m all for throwing Avid brakes in the bin, this new brake will need bleeding at some point to.

[SniktySnikty]

Yep it probably needs bleeding. Worth checking that the caliper is centralised properly, pads are wearing evenly, rotor is true. If one piston is moving significantly more or extended more than the other it will have a spongy feeling even when bled.

[Herman Toothrot]

The Clarke’s are amazing brakes, got them on my commuter and they have been rock solid from day 1 and still are. They could teach a few high end manufactures how to make a reliable brake. They come with olives if the line needs shortening may need a drop of oil in the port at the top but that’s as easy as undoing one Allen bolt dripping in the oil while squeezing and releasing the lever until it’s full and putting the bolt back in. They are a bit grabby / sharp so don’t brake hard on 1st use or you may stop rather more abruptly than you planned.

[J4CKO]

Jimbo. said:

Lack of maintenance kills components!

Whilst I’m all for throwing Avid brakes in the bin, this new brake will need bleeding at some point to.

What maintenance do they need, the pads were hardly worn, it got the odd wash but the coating had fallen off and it lost pressure, been through two rears, front has had the same treatment and works like it did on day one.

Had a full new drivetrain, gear cables and generally gets looked after, not sure what else I can do to brakes, especially when they havent been used much, can only guess its the road salt over the winter.

[Jimbo.]

J4CKO said:

What maintenance do they need, the pads were hardly worn, it got the odd wash but the coating had fallen off and it lost pressure, been through two rears, front has had the same treatment and works like it did on day one.

Had a full new drivetrain, gear cables and generally gets looked after, not sure what else I can do to brakes, especially when they havent been used much, can only guess its the road salt over the winter.

Bleeding for a start. Else you’ll be throwing another £20 down the drain buying yet more replacement brakes. Suddenly that bleed kit doesn’t look so expensive.
And yes, keep the brakes clean: I found a cotton bud wiped around the edge of the pistons every now and then helped a lot.

[Runes]

J4CKO said:

I just ordered a Clark B2 rear brake for £20, pretty much the same price as the bleed kit but guaranteed to work, can attend to it later but want to get back riding to work, commuting seems to kill components, mainly down to the salt on the roads in the winter

If you have to cut the hose of your new brakes down to the correct length, won't you need to bleed them anyway?

[Europa1]

Shouldn't this be in the computers thread?