Anyone know anything about disc brakes?

Well I have to disconnect it from either the lever or the caliper to fit it through the channel in the fork?

You might not need to bleed if you are careful feeding the hose. Or if it's SRAM, then use a little Reverb barb to block the hose whilst you thread it.

Yeah, cut off the barb, leave connected to the lever, and thread it through the fork.

I thought my front SLX disc caliper was leaking so I’d pulled it off and shoved it away in the garage.

At the time there was what I thought was some fluid on the back of the pad which it looks like I cleaned off as there was none there when I looked at it today.

Would a cracked piston not normally leak, at least a little, ‘at rest’?

I’ve left it with the lever zip tied to a bit of handlebar, that’ll surely show up any leak?

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Would a cracked piston not normally leak, at least a little, ‘at rest’?

Maybe not, if pressure is needed to open the crack

See if there’s anything on the back of the pads tomorrow then I guess.

There are hundreds of threads on various MTB forums complaining of Shimano calipers weeping fluid past/through pistons and contaminating pads - wouldn't be surprised if this was the same. Seems to happen when they've been left alone for a while, but no-one is really sure what the actual cause is

This happened with 2 of my XT brakes, cleaned and topped up the fluid.

Touch wood, never happened again since.

Bloody brake is toying with me. Checked it this morning after it’d been sitting for a good 19 hours with the lever zip tied down and nothing on the back of the pads.

Have now got a toe strap pulling the lever on even harder to see if that does owt.

Go to a steep hill, give it some cooking, check after for leaks

Currently unable to do so due to a collarbone with a gap in it.

Then I'd give the brake a good bleed to remove any air and leave it, unless one of the pistons feels crunchy or have any visual damage.

I have a Hope Mono Mini 2004 rear brake on a bike which hasn’t been ridden for a while; I’ve just gone to take it for a ride and the lever travel has decreased to a couple of millimetres.

The lever still feels nice and firm when the pads bite, and there are no leaks, but the free stroke is so tiny now that the pads rub.

What could have caused this, and how best to fix? The identical front brake is still completely normal and fine.

Spread the pistons and hopefully it'll self adjust back to where it should be after pulling the lever a few times.

DOT fluid is hygroscopic, maybe give it a full bleed?

Will spread the pistons and bleed if that doesn’t fix it. Thanks!

Surely answered before but I can’t find it and am clueless so please be kind!

I think I need to replace the pads on my Force22 post mount calipers (I include the latter in case newer flat mounts have different pads, what one more standard after all).

Any recommended replacements?

Would any of these work? https://gorillabrakes.com/search?type=product%2Carticle%2Cpage%2Ccollection&options%5Bprefix%5D=last&q=Force%20pads*

I think it's the ones with the hole to the side, but there's a very easy way to check from your end.

I need to bleed a rear GRX brake today (lost some fluid and gained some air while pushing pistons out to clean - it was too hot in the garden, I should’ve taken a break) as the lever hits the bars before the pads grip.

I have an Epic Bleed kit - any pitfalls? I’m sound mechanically, but this will be my first attempt.

just be careful undoing the bolt at lever, they are made of cheese

Good job I’m not lactose intolerant.

Done. I think.

Bled them and still had a bit too much travel at the lever for my liking - so injected a drop more fluid at the bleed port while depressing the lever. Seemed to do the trick. Nice and positive feel.

So that SLX front brake has sat for a week with the lever squeezed pretty tight with a toe strap and there's still nothing on the back of the pads, if the piston was cracked/leaking that'd have shown it up Shirley?

If I use them on my new project I'll likely need longer hoses so they'd both be getting bled anyway. Not sure whether replacing the hoses will be financially sensible though, I might be as well just using them on a bike they'll fit on and buying new brakes for the new bike.

Swap rear hose and caliper to front and only replace the rear hose?

First ever attempt at bleeding a brake today. Did it go well? If we judge it by the amount of mineral oil on my garage floor and clothes: no. But if we judge it by the performance of the brake after bleeding? Also, no.