+benniebeeker sweet! Thanks for sharing.

Sweet. Let me know how you like Ritchey 650b.

The syringe pushes the fluid up from the caliper, the gravity method does the same thing but uses gravity to get the fluid from the lever into the lines and down through the caliper. The only problem with the gravity method is that you have to make sure the rear caliper is hanging pretty low so you usually have to get it off the bike.

+Rich Wachtel this should help: kzfaq.info/get/bejne/o8qojN11s7-cf3k.html

Just wasted a lot of time figuring this out and there is actually a yellow shimano bleed adapter that you can use. Here's thread about it on MTBR forums.mtbr.com/brake-time/shimano-brakes-yellow-funky-bleed-thingy-tl-br52-1001030.html

Bleeding usually just makes the brakes firmer when the lever engages, unless there's just a lot of air in the lines. I find the engagement perfect on the Shimano XT brakes. I have them as close to the bar as I can without the lever hitting my knuckles (the ones left on the handlebar).

+Terry Chen I also find this to be a concern on my CX bike. I like the brakes to engage with minimum amount of lever throw. I will be doing a bleed on one side only as there seems to be a leak coming from the banjo bolt area as it has been collecting dirt. Thanks to Clint Gibbs for the tutorial!

+giovanni spinotti I did a video on how to bleed Shimano hydraulic Road brakes. Pretty similar process.

+Darren Dunn , The bleed nipple is there. Its just recessed into the body of the caliper (close to the bleed screw). There is a rubber plug that you need to pull off, then you'll see the nipple.

+Jack Gadamus but should have about the same firmness. Because the rear brake line is longer there's more of a chance to get air bubbles inside. It sounds like you need to bleed the rear brake.

Shimano's bleed process indicates to start at the factory settings which is free stroke all the way in and lever reach all the way out. But to be honest, it’s not something that I do and I’ve never had an issue with it. I just leave it where it’s at.

Since I live in an area without mountains and I have not been able to try that. But I've heard that you can drag your brakes down a mountain to get the oil off (usually I want my brakes working perfectly when I head to the mountains!). I think it depends on how bad the saturation is. I had a buddy who got oil on his pads and he was on a mountain bike course with steep drops and literally broke his hydraulic line he was squeezing the brakes so hard. I find the sand paper trick works best if you don't have it the opportunity to ride down the mountain to drag the brakes. Thanks for the Post! Take care.

It bleeds air bubbles out of the caliper

You'll see lots of reviews on this bike! This is one sweet ride. I'm still putting it together but in the next week or so I'll do a first look over it.

+Christian Paul Corpuz burping doesn't really apply the brakes. It usually applies to a tire. When you burp a tire you hit something that causes air to leak out between the bead on the rim, which is not good. Bleeding brakes means you just get air bubbles out of the brake lines.

+Clint Gibbs ok thanks for the answer

Unless you have a ton of air bubbles in your brake lines, bleeding doesn't effect the lever throw a whole lot. But it does effect how firm the lever is once it engages.

No, just get out enough so it won't drip inside the frame while pulling it through. Disconnect at the lever end (not the caliper end). It's mineral oil and not DOT so it won't corrode your frame. Just make SURE you don't get any fluid on the brake pads.

One other question, at the lever end there is a big connector on the end of the cable that goes into the shifter; does this connector come off?

jcaricati1 The road brakes on this bike are a split design, meaning they came apart in the middle. I did not have to remove the hose at the leaver end, like I would on a mountain bike. Is yours like this, or is the hose continuous? It may be helpful for you to send me a message on KZfaq with your email address if you need further help. That way you could send me a photo.

The hose is not continuous; there is a big connector in the middle. I have not tried to disconnect the connector. I can send you pictures if you'd like. jcaricati@yahoo.com

+The Psychonaut maybe once a year, if that.

thanx mang!

Not that I know of

+Pedro Barham like I've explained to others many times, there are two ways to bleed Shimano brakes. When I started bleeding them back in the late 90s the gravity method was the only method Shimano recommended. They have since moved to the syringe method. The gravity method goes from the lever down to the caliper, where is the syringe method goes from the caliper up to the lever. I've used both and both work well.

my favourite method is the gravity bleed thats why i like hope brake because its so simple unfortunately had mixed results with it on closed reservoir systems like shimano as the air bubbles can collect in the lever then people just end up having to redo it a few times to get it right in the end but they both produce the same result just the new shimano way is less hassle

all i was trying to do was inform people this is not the recommended method by shimano

No worries. I may try to post a video showing the syringe method in the next few weeks. When I used Avid brakes I would always use the syringe method.

Lots of alternative procedures are at least as good as Shimano's "correct" procedures. This is just one example.