Found a faster way to bleed Shimano brakes with a syringe clamp

I got tired of fighting with the funnel and syringe method on XT brakes last month. Tried using a small spring clamp from the hardware store to hold the bleed syringe plunger steady while I worked the lever. It stops the plunger from creeping back and sucking air into the system. Cut my bleed time from 20 minutes to about 8 on a full flush. Anybody else use little tricks like this for messy jobs?

2 comments

2 Comments

evaallen28d ago

Actually tried something similar on my old Saint calipers last year. I used a vacuum bleeder kit from the auto parts store with a little c-clamp to keep the bleed port adapter tight. That plunger creep drove me nuts too, especially on the rear brake where the hose loops over the chainstay. My trick was zip tying the syringe plunger to the handlebar so it couldnt move at all while I worked the lever. Cut my mess down by a lot, no more dripping mineral oil all over my rotors. The spring clamp idea is smart though, I might grab one this week since its simpler than my zip tie method.

evaallen28d ago

Three years back I bled a set of old Hope V4s with just a turkey baster and a piece of fuel line, no fancy kit at all. The trick was clamping the baster to the top tube with a couple of rubber bands so it stayed put while I pumped the lever. Your spring clamp idea would have saved me a lot of sticky mess on that ride.