Hydraulic brake lever travel...too much

[Martin Shaw]

this new road eBike i bought is the 1st bike i've had with hydraulic braking and there seems to be too much lever travel especially at the front although i gather all checked before leaving the shop.I am used to a cable disc brake which i am used to adjusting so the lever is sensitive and does not require a lot of pulling to start working.I cannot imagine they need bleeding yet as its only a few weeks old so is there anything i can do to "harden" the brake feel and make them more sensitive.What will upgrading to a 180mm disc from a 160mm do...

 

[Deleted member 4366]

You don't need to change the discs.

If your lever goes a long way before anything happens and then it's firm, you need to adjust the reach. reach adjustment is different on different brakes. We'd need to know exactly which ones you have.

If the lever starts to apply the brake at some point but then it's like a stiff spring, so the hard you pull it, the further it goes, you have air in the system, so it needs bleeding.

 

[GLJoe]

.I cannot imagine they need bleeding yet as its only a few weeks old .

work on your imagination! its very possible.
Check for any weeping fluid anywhere (often one needs to tighten up the hydraulic connectors), and buy a 'bleed kit' (prob only around £15 or so). Often you don't need to do a full bleed - just top up the fluid directly into the reservoir on top of the brakes.

 

[Woosh]

You probably won't need to bleed the brakes, try topping it up with a few drops of brake fluid first.
Loosen the lever and turn it horizontal so that the top up port is highest.
Pump the brakes so you reduce the free stroke and make it feel like normal, then use a strong rubber band to tie the brake lever. Leave it tied up over night. The air should gather at the topup port.
The following day, open the top up port, release the leaver slowly.
Open up the top up port and fill the reservoir with a few drops of fresh fluid.
If that does not work, then try burping.

 

[Martin Shaw]

As you get down into the brakes (RS685) they are firm its just i want to ride on the hoods and be able to feather them without all that movement.Will adjusting the reach move the lever further away from the rubber hoods...

 

[Deleted member 4366]

As you get down into the brakes (RS685) they are firm its just i want to ride on the hoods and be able to feather them without all that movement.Will adjusting the reach move the lever further away from the rubber hoods...

There's separate free-stroke and reach adjustment. Look at page 62:
http://si.shimano.com/pdfs/dm/DM-BR0008-08-ENG.pdf

 

[Martin Shaw]

There's separate free-stroke and reach adjustment. Look at page 62:
http://si.shimano.com/pdfs/dm/DM-BR0008-08-ENG.pdf

Thats great..thanks for the link...