My bike is a Niner RLT with the Apex 1 groupset. I bought it last year and it has about 500 miles on it. I noticed the brakes feeling pretty weak lately and tried to bleed them (I haven’t had a bike with hydraulic brakes before). I have the SRAM Pro bleed kit. With the front brake, I have to pull them all the way in to have any decent stopping power. The rear brake is better than the front, but not as strong as it used to be. I followed the SRAM bleed procedure video and also watched the GCN bleed video.
I was able to get a good amount of air bubbles out of the system on both brakes. The DOT fluid wasn’t discolored. The brakes still feel pretty weak after bleeding them twice. I have to pull them close to the bars to get them to work. Any ideas on what I can do?
I also noticed the brake pads look pretty rough (see photos). I measured them with calipers, and they’re all about 3.8mm thick, so they still have some life in them (SRAM says to replace them at 3mm). Should I sand them down and try to bed them in again? What grit sandpaper should I use? Do I need new pads?
by LordHenrik220
1 Comment
With the bleed blocks still in place – if the levers aren’t feeling firm after bleeding them, bleed them again. There’s still some air somewhere. You might need to tilt the bike on different angles to release them up to the lever.
If the levers do feel feel firm with the bleed blocks in place – then its probably just the pads. Spray them with iso and wipe off any external contamination. Another spray of iso and hit them with a jet lighter for a minute to try and burn off any contamination a bit deeper in. Then scuff them with some sandpaper. Before you put them back on, give the rotors a good clean with iso. Then re-install and [bed them in again](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BWQxGzHQZVU&ab_channel=ParkTool).
Don’t skimp on bedding them in properly… too many people think you can bed brakes in with normal use – but that’s as likely to glaze the pads as bed them well.
If after getting the levers feeling nice and following the pad revival process above doesn’t work – just get new pads. Some pad contamination can’t be fixed.