How To Bleed SRAM HRD Disc Brakes | Road Bike Maintenance

[@gcntech]

Let us know how you get on bleeding your SRAM brakes in the comments!

[@MrDenden94]

how about making a video about mechanical disc brakes for a change? staring to feel like a dirty pesant here #Hydromasterrace

[@RixterNow]

GCN Tech Wow that's a lot of work, at least compared to the Shimano brakes I've bled. Nicely done Jon

[@mf0u3021]

Looks like the flat mount calipers have a much better port position than the post-mount!

[@Gaskellorama]

When you pressurise the system from the calliper you mention the lever has to be less the 90mm from the bar. Should the syringe feel stiff still when the lever is fully extended before closing the hose clamp? Is the syringe going soft a sign the lever wasn’t dialled in close enough to the bar?

[@asicdathens]

Very similar to my Sram HRR (hydro rim brakes)

[@Echo81Whiskey]

This needs to be the ONLY sram bleed video. I bought the sram pro kit, watched the sram official video and after 3 hours I gave up and dropped the bike off at REI Then I came across this version and bleed my friends brakes - this VIDEO is GOLD!

[@nicofico88]

I’ll never get tired of suggesting Shimano brake systems at the shop.

[@pauldunlap1832]

Brilliant! Bike mechanic for 42 years and still come back to this video for a refresher 🤠

[@coreys1]

This method also works for rival AXS brakes as well. I followed sram's guidance for a top down bleed via their instructional video and could not get a solid bleed. Followed this bottom up version and it worked like a charm!

[@GARoskilly]

I finally got it right ! ..... I successfully bleed my Sram Rival Brakes ..... Simple easy to understand video ... Thank you Sir ... "Giddy Up"

[@pyllyntuoksuinenisanta6004]

Worked really well for me and the brakes are working better now than they were straight from the shop when I bought my bike in 2020. I had a brake fluid leaking behind the levers before but now after bleeding the brakes the leaking stopped completely. I have one remark to make about the SRAM Pro bleeding kit's syringes: When you pull the plunger to remove the air pockets from the fluid, the air is leaking in to the fluid behind the piston seal, so I wouldn't use too much time to get rid of the "air pockets".

[@ddn1539]

Thank you for sharing this! I just succeeded in bleeding the front brake, and I now know why my next bike will have Shimano brakes.

[@cycling2005]

If you have followed the correct process several times and still cant get any pressure at the lever on the rear brake, try the following. You will notice the caliper bleed port is facing upwards and is at the top of the front caliper. The rear however when bolted to the frame is at the front and lower part of the caliper. This means there can be air trapped in the caliper body which no amount of bleeding will remove. Air travels upwards. Unbolt the caliper from the frame and let it hang down so the bleed port is facing upwards. Re bleed and make sure to pull on the caliper syringe several times to dislodge the trapped air. This will definitely be required if you have replaced or cleaned the pistons or they have travelled out too far, and got air behind them.

[@YakubFloyd]

Best comment! Thank you so much, this helped me bleed my brakes correctly. I live in the swiss mountains and i need proper working brakes.

[@egorblinov2472]

positive and charismatic narrator

[@Wintermute666]

Yep. This works well. Rear is trickier. Degassing the fluid takes ages, but procedure is spot on. Just need a lot of patience

[@Kctheminer]

The best instructional video I've seen on brake bleeds, it took me forever to get my front done but that's all down to personal error and getting ahead of myself. Props to you guys for this fantastic how to!

[@gethind-j2390]

Jon, the greatest magician since Merlin. Great vid.

[@andypaton4087]

at 3:10, do you not need to unlock the syringe hose clamp to push the excess air out?

[@janwillemkuilenburg7561]

My god what a procedure!!!!

[@ipms01]

Although an old video by now it was excellent value information to bleed my SRAM rear brake caliper. Since I bought the bike I have been annoyed of the longish travel of the lever. Now this has been fixed. A little messy but working none the less!

[@Chris12912]

Excellent demo, I've watched many videos. I'm off to complete my first hydraulic bleed, especially as when replacing the pads one of the pistons crept out and leaked 🤦🏾 Here we go 🤞🏾

[@tinniswood2577]

That was very informative thank you. I will be sticking with my bleeding rim brakes.

[@thebikerei]

best "how to bleed sram disc" !!! thanks alot!

[@Yu-chi-em]

Great vid, great instructions; still relevant 3 years later ;) But One question remains: what to do with the oil on those half full syringes? Is that clean oil that you can use again, or should you dispose of it?

[@mawhim]

Be aware the newer type HRD have an allen key bleed screw at the caliper. This screw is not removed. The syringe 'clips' into this Allen screw (not screwed in as seen here). It uses a different fitting on the syringe that is hex shaped to allow loosening of bleed screw to open the system. The rest is pretty much the same. I think if you follow the AXS system you may find it the same. Worked for me.

[@goldenmountains1371]

this only affects the eTap brake levers/ callipers?! with the mechanically shifted doubletaps it is still like in the video, isn't it?

[@DougMorley1]

What a rigamarole! As has been said below, cable should never die, I sincerely hope!

[@toby-y3c]

Thank you for this video. It was easy to follow and helped me work on my brakes. However I would be interested to know if any oil spilled from either the lever or the caliper while installing the syringes is replaced during the bleed process?

[@chrisdaigle5410]

DOT fluid also removes paint, so make sure to clean it off any painted surface.

[@mauricebrocco8131]

Lovely and clear also a little great English course! Super well done 👍 ❤

[@nickjordan6069]

Brilliant and very helpful video. Thanks...my brakes actually work after a full rebuild of the caliper! Great stuff

[@LarsTore]

I look forward to the video when you do the Shimano disc brakes!

[@NoobStar177]

Good video! But this shows why I prefer mineral oil over DOT. You don't have to change the fluid that often, it does not attract water an it is not corrosive (or bad for your skin).

[@chipgoon]

Forgot to mention to push the air out on the last step of syringe preparation (after having clamped down the syringe and pulling vacuum)

[@jonmarshall2125]

Thank You !! Got both front and rear brakes bled on first try.

[@shahedsaffari365]

Great video I will try on my rival brakes. Question tho, SRAM say don’t push the syringe connected to the caliper ever and only pull at the lever but you do both, how come?

[@keithsmith2579]

Many thanks Jon, for the very clear and precise instructions; so useful as the last time that I bled hydraulic brakes was on my Mini back in 1970 (I'm a 70 years + rider)....it would appear that it's a tad more complex with my FreeRanger's SRAM Rival discs; thankfully I now have the knowledge to do the job...!

[@k42p3r]

Great video! You should make one for eTap AXS as well. I also had to watch the official SRAM video in order to bleed my Force AXS brakes. By the way, the suggestion with the rubberband and squeezing the lever in the end of the video is brilliant! Good job guys.

[@jimsmock7717]

Thanks for the video. I "got along" very well with your tips. I was amazed by the volume of suspended air in what appeared to be good brake fluid.

[@gcntech]

Glad it was helpful!

[@greg_mid_tn3150]

Could you go over the advantages/disadvantages of hydraulic vs. mechanical disc brakes? I have mechanical and am trying to figure out if it is worth the trouble to change to hydraulic. Thanks!

[@thijsvandenbroek5333]

Greg_Mid_TN are your mechanical disc brakes powerfull? If so Do You have special cables? And what callipers do You have?

[@greg_mid_tn3150]

Thijs van den Broek I have Avid BB7 disc brakes and they'll throw me off my bike if I get on them too hard (I ride a recumbent - Bacchetta Giro). I weigh 100kg. Just regular brake cables.

[@thijsvandenbroek5333]

Greg_Mid_TN i have shimano cx77 disc brake callipers only 1 Moving Pad with 105 11speed shifters with normal cables but the power is very low do You have any tips?

[@thijsvandenbroek5333]

I paid like $50 for each calliper but the power is very very low

[@harrymcgarvie666]

Thijs van den Broek try fitting compressionless brake outer cables. You can buy a set of trp ones online and they make you mechanical disc brakes work so much better!

[@drcrackers922]

Fantastic video John. Very helpful. I’m used to bleeding Shimano brakes so it was very helpful to see what you did with the pistons in the levers

[@7novalee]

This was way better than following Sram's instructions. You need to tech those guys how to write a procedure.

[@onmyway111]

Worked perfectly thanks a mill!!

[@notthatgoodreally]

This worked perfectly with my brakes.

[@jakekav123]

Best scram bleed video out there

[@phlidd]

"You'll feel better after a good bleeding" - Medieval Barber Theodoric of York

[@k42p3r]

Could you do a video on how to install eTap HRD, including hose cutting, setup, etc.?

[@tanbceug]

Perhaps you could add more info on bleeding the rear wheel. Because the front wheel caliper is alot simpler. What are the things that we have to look out for when bleeding the rear wheel, I think it would have additional steps ?

[@storegga]

I've ridden Shimano almost exclusively on MTB and road and only now my enduro have guides and new gravel on the SRAM force hydros. I can't remember my slx and xtr hydrauuuulics taking this much faffery !

[@sulfarinol]

Great video! Looks easy, I will give it a try :)

[@anthonycordeiro3205]

Your the BEST Mr Cannons with your guidance my brakes are buttery smooth thanks a Ton keep up the great work you will definitely be missed on screen best of luck to you Sir 🤙🏻

[@darengardner9351]

great video easy to follow and makes it simple

[@MrCrazydogy]

Awesome video. I have a question though. I did this today for my front brake and it worked really well, however when I used the same method for the back brake, it doesn't seem to be working at all, and after everything, there's not enough pressure to even move the pads. Am I doing something wrong? Do I have to angle my bicycle in a certain way? Or do something that I didn't need to for the front?

[@marcfarraye2699]

Yass thank you for the video!! My brake is back to firm - no more loose, spongey brakes :)

[@ericmehlenbeck7881]

Great video! Don't have hydraulic brakes, but wondered how complex this process is. You make it look manageable!

[@gcntech]

Thanks Eric, We're glad you enjoyed the video!

[@ianwright1129]

Good easy to follow video. Mine had a leak on the master cylinder cover too, so I had a slightly bigger job but these instructions helped a lot!

[@MrOsteroiri]

Got my brakes working again after piston check.. Thanks!

[@sidato1216]

After pumping the brakes a few times use a degasses syringe to pump a bit more fluid into the lever and the biting point will be more responsive.

[@lightsourceteam1410]

so what do you do with the excess DOT left in the lever syringe?

[@MikaelSchou88]

Great video. The best one out there. 🤓

[@tonysettel1189]

You video was really helpful. The bleed went well. Thanks for the help!

[@neilashton9459]

Well done and got me through my first full bleed after some caliper replacements. Only mistakes were entirely mine. Thanks!

[@thevincentpaul]

Only mistake was buying sram brakes 😂

[@maxgrass8134]

Hi John, I have a SRAM Rival 22 brake and after bleeding its worse than before. The brake grips but the pressure is released after a very short moment. After that there is zero braking power. I re-bled, but the result is the same! What am I doing wrong? Thanks max

[@sudduthjonathan]

Is it just me, or do you also think Jon would make a good doctor on TV? Dammit Jim, I’m a bicycle doctor, not a GCN host!!! Thanks for doing this video. I’m sure it will greatly help some people bleed their own brakes.

[@Ff6022]

Hello, great vid. I just got an orange RX9 with Sram rival, how do you adjust the reach?

[@thiloanschutz5703]

Can you do the same for shimano disc breakes?

[@jamesblackler8901]

please do a video on maintaining mechanical disc brakes!

[@renebattermann2266]

It should be mentioned that DOT 5.1 isn't exactly the healthiest of fluids, so it's definitely advised to be careful dealing with this and wear safety glasses in addition to gloves when bleeding your brakes. :)

[@AnselmPahnke]

I have a question. For me its not clear how you measured the > 90 mil. Distance to the leaver... I followed your Instruktion but when I break now, the moment of feeling the breaks while breaking still doesnt work nicely. I use to much way of the leaver until it really breaks. I am used to having that feeling instantly on one spot....you know what I mean ;)?

[@neilmat71]

Good video Jon. You need patience of a Saint to get this bleed process right. I'm sticking with rim brakes.

[@brunom3478]

Excellent video

[@TacticalDannyBoy]

Thanks Jon. This video is better than Sram's lol.

[@PeterBaumgart1a]

Did you HAVE to remove the wheel and brake pads? Looks like that block isn't doing anything there that the pads and disk wouldn't do already. Or is it about access with the wheel in the way?

[@CDGZZ]

Good video, can you explain what happens heen the distance of the lever is more than 9 cm? Is there a specific distance which is best during bleeding?

[@elgrupo2069]

wondering the same but there is no clue. It is not mentioned on the sram page at all

[@gingerrussell]

Is it easy to remove the hoses from the levers? I want to switch my handlebars over and the new ones have internal routing!

[@phillentz6742]

GREAT job John. Like you bracelet too. Made or purchased? I kind of want one.

[@JonCannings]

10MIL Phil hi, it's one of these qhubeka-bracelets.myshopify.com/ thanks, Jon

[@bobsuruncle6762]

I was just starting to warm up to discs. Calipers it is

[@petrbenda1686]

Please, why is it so important to keep the 90 mm distance? Thanks a lot and keep creating such a useful content!

[@literoadie3502]

Carbon steel brake rotors would dissipate heat better than stainless. You could have a special set just for racing, which you clean, oil and store immediately after the race to prevent rust, before putting the stainless clunkers back on for everyday riding.

[@BikesBlades]

Why do you think carbon steel would dissipate heat any better than stainless? They have the roughly the same emissivity. Surface finish is a bigger factor.

[@ryanrocquework6115]

I was having some disc rubbing on the front brake only. I tried to just loosen the calipers, hold down the brakes, and then retighten them with the brakes on. That didn't seem to work. When I took out the pads, it appeared the front tire had not been seated properly, and that there was excessive wear on one side of the pad, towards the back. Do you think I should just replace the front pads only, or both the front and rear pads? Is it possible to not replace the pads, but make it so they don't rub on the rotors? Also, when do you need to bleed the brakes? Is it part of general maintenance or only when you get a spongy feel when braking?

[@benstanden8784]

Wow, that's way more complicated than Shimano! Shimano hydraulics are even easier to set up than cable disc brakes, no need to spend forever trying to stop the pads rubbing.

[@Liam_ridesbikes]

Why does the brake lever need to be pulled in while bleeding? What does this achieve that pressurising the system with the lever open doesn't achieve?

[@d3l1a2704]

I love this!

[@javierlituma5436]

Hello there i did the bleeding but the levers doesn’t move got stock Please help

[@bryanwall6284]

I did this and then the lever is soft, does that mean air is still in there?

[@1900e]

Yes

[@radumate]

What do you do with the DOT fluid left in the syringes ? can be reuse or just dispose ?

[@danielwallis1640]

Ive got a new bombtrack hook c gravel bike with sram rival on. Factory pads wore out after only a few rides, replaced but brakes felt spongy....ive now tried bleeding them numerous times and now losing faith in sram after being shimano on all my other bikes. Just cant get them to bite, lever almost to bar and still the wheel with a bit of effoert will move...not great.

[@danielwallis1640]

Think I might need to do more degassing.....do you keep doing this until there are no bubbles at all? There seems to always be some small ones that disappear when syringe pressure released back... Must say love gcn videos as they're always well done....just not working on my set up and I don't know why.😢

[@guy5paris]

Same for shimano too please!

[@oscarhockerfelt7424]

Why do you advice the use of strapping the brake lever when the SRAM user manual instruct us not to?

[@ErikWilde]

If you are wondering why things at the caliper don't attach as shown here, chances are you have a Bleeding Edge version of Sram, so make sure to find some guidance for that.

[@protocollo]

Many thanks doctor John :)

[@markusgerster6118]

what kind of effort is that? I'm already thinking about selling my bike. you can now push my brake levers almost to the handlebars although the pads are still good. I regret having bought a bike with SRAM and can only advise everyone against it

[@EmmaAndNeil]

The very reason I’m staying with rim brakes. A pain in the ass and look at all the expense that goes with it! Bet that bleed kit wasn’t cheap.

[@mf0u3021]

Fat Lad At The Back A lot less than multiple decent compressionless housing and cable kits over a bikes lifetime.

[@mf0u3021]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/Z3jWXoKpmKt6fM0 Don't forget the cost of bartape when replacing cables.

[@asicdathens]

I paid 40 euros for the bleed kit.

[@tomfrantz]

Thank you.

[@travisvanneste]

I follow this procedure exactly. Lots of bubbles at first, keep working / repeating the process until there are none, seal everything up, and I don't have any pressure at all afterwards. Lever goes to the bar and pads barely pinch at all.

[@ursschwarzwald5074]

Warum ist es bei diesem Fahrrad komplizierter wie bei einer s1000r auch? Wenn die Bremsen schon keinen wirklichen Ausgleichsbehälter haben, warum befüllt man sie dann nicht einfach von unten und fertig

[@jeancanaday9684]

How does it handle on sand?

[@zmkpower]

really sweet and practical instructions, SRAm instruction manual was a total crap.

[@jslonisch]

No eye protection? I thought this fluid was a bit nasty, is it actually not that bad?

[@pedalscript]

Degassing the fluid is actually not necessary, as per Park Tool's video on the SRAM bleed procedure kzbin.info/www/bejne/mIC4k4iqlr6Uhac . Even SRAM no longer advises to do so when asked about it.

[@georgesolomon5696]

how often is the bleeding needed...

[@faintscrawl]

My front disc always rubs a little, even if I adjust and re-centre the calliper. Is there any chance that bleeding the brake could fix this?

[@quinntitchkosky5396]

Bent rotor

[@wi11ow13]

My SRAM brake leaver is still spongy even after two bleeds using this video. Anyone have any suggestions?

[@zbyszekbutelka844]

Do I really need all those kit to do this ? Can i do it with more common weapons?

[@culrossharbour257]

I think goggles would be useful for the first part when you are prepping the syringes.

[@ChristianBorrman]

the whole process... dot is basically bleach ph wise