Boom King
downloaded a pic of moorey's bruised arse
Why doesn't that surprise me?A certain red and white branded store on Kings Way in South Melbourne...
Why doesn't that surprise me?A certain red and white branded store on Kings Way in South Melbourne...
Seems shop dude was being nice, got the ggf from the mechanic about warranty, need to send back to crc as they are definitely stuffed.Mine went in today, will see what happens seeing as bought from crc. Shop said they 'should' be able to sort it and asked for copy of the receipt. Fingers crossed.
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Their general policy is replacing the entire lever, not just the piston assembly. If the lever is still sticking they haven't done anything. Now that's shoddy service.Got my bike back, I'm not sure they did anything. My levers are dirty, i.e not new, are SRAM refurbishing levers? Surely they would at least clean the levers? They aren't sending a kit to the shop are they?
The rear lever is still slow to return. The front lever wasn't that bad.
Are you allowed to share this bleed technique, or will you have to kill us if you tell?Their general policy is replacing the entire lever, not just the piston assembly. If the lever is still sticking they haven't done anything. Now that's shoddy service.
Went in to pick up my bike with the new RSC levers today as I'd had a call saying they were ready. Turns out they hadn't arrived and that Sram had sent back my old RSCs. As I was about to leave (for the second time) with Rs on the bike so I could ride it this weekend, their post arrived and sure enough there were the RSC levers. I was in a hurry as I had to get to work, so they quickly whacked on the levers as I said I would do the bleed myself. On the plus side they gave me some top tips on Srams new in-house bleeding technique and tonight I did the best bleed I've ever done on Sram brakes. I'd have to say the new technique is excellent - even easier than Shimano!
Called bike shop this morning, much cursing (by them at absent mechanic) told to bring bike in they will do by lunch. New levers were located still in wrapping but my bike had enjoyed a nice holiday hanging out with all the other bikes at the shop for a week! Hopefully back riding tomorrow!Got my bike back, I'm not sure they did anything. My levers are dirty, i.e not new, are SRAM refurbishing levers? Surely they would at least clean the levers? They aren't sending a kit to the shop are they?
The rear lever is still slow to return. The front lever wasn't that bad.
Sram's customers can't know the technique, otherwise bike shops would lose billions of dollars on bleeds. But I'm going to ruin it for them.Are you allowed to share this bleed technique, or will you have to kill us if you tell?
This trick has been around for years, but not often discussed. I've often heard it referred to as a "Whistler bleed".Sram's customers can't know the technique, otherwise bike shops would lose billions of dollars on bleeds. But I'm going to ruin it for them.
Bear in mind that this technique assumes that you have fluid in the callipers. If you have an empty system, you will first need to plunge fluid through the system from the calliper end.
So it's really simple:
1. Put bike in bike stand and remove pads. Wind levers all the way out and with RSCs CPA all the way 'in'. Retract pistons to flush with calliper housing using a pair of pliers (or some more appropriate and exact tool) and insert a bleed block.
2. Half fill a syringe with the relevant dot fluid making sure there are minimal bubbles.
3. Open bleed port, attach syringe, and firmly push down the plunger. When you do this you will see lots of bubbles rushing up into the syringe.
4. Pull plunger out as far as it will go, sucking even more air out of the system.
5. Let go plunger and remove syringe.
6. Push all air out of syringe, fill to about 1/3 and repeat steps 1 - 5 two more times.
7. On the last repeat, push down a bit on the plunger before removing from bleed port. You should see fluid overflowing out of the bleed port. Quickly screw the bleed port screw back in.
8. Wipe off all excess fluid (obviously, usually I wrap a rag around the lever to minimise spillage) and reinstall pads, wheel and take bike off stand.
9. Pump the levers a few times and they will firm up to rock solid.
10. Crack open a Pirate Life PA or IPA, spend lots of time looking lovingly at your pride and joy and congratulate yourself on having a 'shop bleed' without having wasted $80 of beer money...
#disclaimer: this helpful instruction tutorial was sponsored by Pirate Life.
## rode the bike on 11 repeats of a DH run today and the brakes were flawless.
Assuming step three is the bleed port on the lever, there Is nothing special about this procedure, it strikes me as a sloppy way for a shop to churn out as many warranty replaced levers as possible without doing a proper bleed where all fluid is replaced and removing any air bubbles at the calliper end.Sram's customers can't know the technique, otherwise bike shops would lose billions of dollars on bleeds. But I'm going to ruin it for them.
Bear in mind that this technique assumes that you have fluid in the callipers. If you have an empty system, you will first need to plunge fluid through the system from the calliper end.
So it's really simple:
1. Put bike in bike stand and remove pads. Wind levers all the way out and with RSCs CPA all the way 'in'. Retract pistons to flush with calliper housing using a pair of pliers (or some more appropriate and exact tool) and insert a bleed block.
2. Half fill a syringe with the relevant dot fluid making sure there are minimal bubbles.
3. Open bleed port, attach syringe, and firmly push down the plunger. When you do this you will see lots of bubbles rushing up into the syringe.
4. Pull plunger out as far as it will go, sucking even more air out of the system.
5. Let go plunger and remove syringe.
6. Push all air out of syringe, fill to about 1/3 and repeat steps 1 - 5 two more times.
7. On the last repeat, push down a bit on the plunger before removing from bleed port. You should see fluid overflowing out of the bleed port. Quickly screw the bleed port screw back in.
8. Wipe off all excess fluid (obviously, usually I wrap a rag around the lever to minimise spillage) and reinstall pads, wheel and take bike off stand.
9. Pump the levers a few times and they will firm up to rock solid.
10. Crack open a Pirate Life PA or IPA, spend lots of time looking lovingly at your pride and joy and congratulate yourself on having a 'shop bleed' without having wasted $80 of beer money...
#disclaimer: this helpful instruction tutorial was sponsored by Pirate Life.
## rode the bike on 11 repeats of a DH run today and the brakes were flawless.
Yep, the lever.Thanks Nauty, assuming in step 3 that you're talking about the bleed port on the lever, not the caliper?
I would have gone for a Karl Strauss or Endeavour golden myself, but each to their own...
Edit: Just thinking on that technique, how does it actually refresh the fluid in the brake system, like the published SRAM method does?
I agree that this procedure is sloppy for a bike shop - especially when charging $80! I've had those brakes for quite a while now and to think that my $80 didn't even pay for a fluid refresh is definitely disappointing. For $80 it would be nice to see some silicone spray on the pistons to free them up as well.Assuming step three is the bleed port on the lever, there Is nothing special about this procedure, it strikes me as a sloppy way for a shop to churn out as many warranty replaced levers as possible without doing a proper bleed where all fluid is replaced and removing any air bubbles at the calliper end.
Vacuum bleeding is far far superior. Compressed air pushes new fluid through the system from the calliper end, once all large air bubbles are eliminated, pulling a vacuum does a spectacular job.
I'm left wondering if the SRAM factory is even vacuum bleeding. Mates with brand new Giants, the factory bleed on the front Guide brake is rubbish. I get the rear might have been done at the giant factory after internal line routing, but the front should be as delivered from SRAM. Even then, Giant would have the volume to be wanting/needing vacuum bleeding. Pity the poor sods on a production line using syringes.
To each their own but my understanding is despite all the possible lubes out there, brake fluid is the only 'lube' that should be on pistons, and toothbrush and soapy water for cleaning.For $80 it would be nice to see some silicone spray on the pistons to free them up as well. .
Exactly what happened with me - LBS took pictures of serial numbers (etched on calipers - they can be hard to find) and gave them to SRAM, 2-3 weeks later, new levers sent and fitted by LBS. I suspect that SRAM might be refurbishing all the levers that come back and exchanging them out as faulty ones come in, hence the variable turnaround delays. I could be wrong, but it would explain why my original levers were R's and the ones I got back were RSC's, and the opposite is happening to others.Heard the other day that if one fails, and the serial numbers are similar, then SRAM will replace both straight up
Finally got my new RS levers installed on the weekend. LBS said they are churning through 4 replacements per week at the moment.I'm in the same boat Nautonier. Picked up my bike today (from the same LBS) only to find my RS brakes had been replaced with R's. They said they would check with SRAM tomorrow but I'm pretty pissed that they didn't give me a heads up beforehand. I'll let you know if I get anywhere.