MORE BRAKING POWER in under 5 minutes (Shimano lever bleed) | Syd Fixes Bikes

Lever bleeds are quick and surprisingly easy and make a huge difference in how your brakes feel. Doing it yourself will also save you a lot of money.

What you'll need:

Other things in the shed:

00:00 Intro
00:19 What you'll need
00:35 Why should you do this?
02:16 Lever bleed
06:29 How to do a lever bleed in one minute

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Or hit the "Thanks" button above to leave a tip

[sydfixesbikes]

If this video was helpful and saved you time and/or money, consider supporting the channel by hitting the "Thanks" button above to leave a tip.

[skywellphotographer]

Someone else has probably already commented on this but as a bike mechanic I've done many many bleeds and a little tip is when doing a lever bleed it also helps to tilt the lever both up and down 45 degrees while pumping it as bubbles will sometimes hide along the edges of the master cylinder. PS...you guys rock!! Cheers!!

[veli-pekkaporrassalmi]

I love it how you guys didn't edit out all the small mistakes. Typically maintenance videos are about perfect execution of steps but in reality, we all make mistakes. We also learn from our mistakes and we can learn from other people's mistakes too. I think one of the greatest fear of new comers is "What if I make a mistake". This video shows that it's ok if you make a mistake, just learn from it and get it right the next time. Great content!

[sydfixesbikes]

We'll be posting a video about how to do a full bleed later this week so make sure you're subscribed!

[snowyr]

These guides are brilliant, especially the format of filming the whole process and then adding a quick step by step at the end - perfect when sat in the garage with the phone at hand.

[chiccorocker]

I've never thought about doing lever bleed only. Always did full bleed, but this makes a lot of sense and it's so much quicker. Thank you, this was really useful :D

[PeteBemmer]

Hey guys, just wanted to say that your new channel is soooo helpful. I love the format. This vid especially, as in the past I'd just thought, "Brake bleed? No way. Down to the bike shop I go, that sounds too technical". They're really confidence inspiring vids, so thank you!! And it's also super useful to hear stuff in layman's terms too rather than all the technical jargon that often makes a job sound way more complicated than it actually is. Keep up the good work yous two!

[williamfisher]

Thank you for this video. Got a new bike and after a few weeks the rear break started getting soft and pulled to the grip. After watching this video I ordered a break bleed kit off Amazon and used this method to bleed it and it worked perfectly. Thank for sharing.

[alphaartis]

Excellent. I order a bleed kit a few months ago but was a little nervous to do it until I watched this and it went flawless.

[bikeste]

So good. My 12 year old son, also my bike buddy and budding mechanic, is eating this up as well. You've got a great thing going. Thanks so much.

[loza]

Thanks for the video. Somehow I ordered a bleeding kit without a syringe and thought I’m not gonna be able to fix my brakes. I accidentally ended up at this video and realized that lever bleed would be enough for me. And it fully fixed my brakes in just a couple of minutes!

[karlcallus]

Fantastic! Thanks to you, I managed to do a lever bleed within minutes - and there were lots of bubbles coming up :) In the end, it still turned out that I needed to replace my pads, but now I feel confident enough to perform a full bleed if needed!

[JamesBond-hykv]

Did this with my new SLX brakes with fluid already in them. Cut the hoses down and followed this guide. Done in 10. Thanks you two! 👍

[Jeremy_ab_ca]

Here is a tip that helped me. When you pour the mineral oil, turn it so the jug is sideways. This way it will pour easier without the “gulps”. Its like pouring windshield washer fluid into a car. Thanks for the great content on this channel!

[dandeangeli]

Hey Syd and Mackie. I have tried multiple times to make my hydraulic brakes to work, not succeeded yet, but your video is so upbeat and straightforward I am going to try again. I especially like the video format of going slowly and then repeating the steps in summary. Great job. I will support you with $

[coepuffs]

I’m loving all these tutorials! I just got into mtb and these are definitely the easiest to follow along with as I try to fix up my own bike

[KingofMe]

My front brake went from a working state to not at all between rides. I wasn't sure that this would fix my issue but after a test ride, this seems to have resolved the issue. Thank you! Subbed!

[courtneyoneill]

Thank you for saving me time trouble and money. I really like to know my bikes in and out and do as much as these tips helps me do it right the first time

[MattPriceGuitar]

Thank you for this! I used this guide to fix a brake lever that went squishy. I've never had hydraulic brakes before and they seemed like black magic, this video totally demystified them for me.

[DaveMcHale]

I'm not the first to say this but THANK YOU for this video!! I've had a kit in my garage for maybe 2 months now, but haven't had the courage to tackle the job for fear of messing up the whole brake system and being without my bike until the shop could fix it. As Syd said, this completely "demystified" the process and everything went smooth as silk. Got out tons of bubbles on both brakes, but no dark stuff... woohoo! Thank you thank you thank you. Can't wait for the full bleed vid!