Just had the worst brake bleed day of my career last Tuesday

Three bikes in a row. First one was a Shimano XT that just would not stop sucking air. Tried everything, new olives, fresh fluid, even a vacuum bleed. Second one was a SRAM Level that had a stripped bleed port. Third one was some cheap Tektro on a department store bike where the lever just exploded mineral oil everywhere. By the time I got home my hands smelled like brake fluid and I still had a headache from the fumes. Has anyone else had a day where the universe just decided you weren't gonna win with hydraulics?

3 comments

3 Comments

kim81928d ago

Three bikes in a row" reminds me of my buddy Dave who went through a whole weekend rebuilding his Hope brakes only to find the lever was cracked from day one.

mia74828d ago

Wait, the lever was cracked from day one? That's brutal. I'd be so mad if I spent a whole weekend messing with brakes only to find out a stupid lever was toast from the start. Hope parts aren't exactly cheap either, so that's a real kick in the pants.

the_holly27d ago

...and then on top of all that, I swear the mineral oil got into my watch band and it still smells like a mechanic's shop three weeks later. @kim819, your buddy Dave sounds like he's got the same luck as me with Hope stuff, I had a set of Tech 3 levers that just would not self-center no matter how much I fiddled with the adjustment screw. Ended up swapping them out for some used Shimano Zees off a friend's downhill bike and calling it a day. Tektro levers are the real villains though, I had one on a commuter bike that started weeping fluid down the handlebar like a leaky pipe.