How To Bleed Shimano Road Hydraulic Disc Brakes

If you've purchased a new road bike in the last few years, chances are it's come with a set of hydraulic disc brakes. At first, hydraulic disc brakes can seem quite intimidating when it comes to servicing. However, they're relatively straightforward so, in this video, Ollie talks you through how to service your Shimano hydraulic disc brakes.

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Does your bike have disc brakes? Do you service them yourself? Let us know in the comments below!

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[gcntech]

Does your bike have disc brakes? Do you service them yourself? Let us know in the comments below!

[Dano_C]

8:18 This is the best tip ever, saved my day... I was rebleeding whole system again and again, almost spining bike around the bike stand, spining my bars.... nothing helped but this syringe brake fluid "pull" tip.

[mnbvcxz]

plastic tire lever works better than a screw driver for the pistons

[nicokuck]

The tip to pull air out with the syringe is a game changer!!! Thank you so much for this trick!!! I watched dozens of videos but I always had some air bubbles left no matter what I did. With this trick my brakes are so firm... It's unbelievable. Unfortunately it took so much time to find this Video... I instantly rebleeded all my bikes. Cheers!

[G]

If you pull air out of the lever through the funnel using a syringe, you will need to actuate the lever a few times with the funnel still on to repressurize the system before inserting the bleed screw into the lever. When you suck air out of the lever you are also pulling a little fluid out of the line and reservoir.

[daveyoung]

If you're pads are worn a bit and the lever travels a bit too far for your liking, a little tip. Pull the lever all the way in and secure with a velcro strap or similar and leave over night. This reseats the seals and the pistons won't return all the way, advancing the pads apparently and works a treat.

[pejs]

1:45 You have wires in the stem, so if you have air in the system, it will be better to set the front higher.
6:20 There's usually a lot of contamination in fluid in the clamps. I change the other way i.e. when the reservoir and tube is bleed, I use the syringe to drain the oil down - this is usually way in the automotive industry.
When the reservoir is deaerated and the valve in the caliper unscrewed, it is worth pressing the brake lever slowly several times

[robhingston]

I’ve watched at least 30 videos on how to bleed hydraulic brake and your video is without a doubt the most easy to follow.

[cathalgallagher]

"For single use only" is written on the side of the syringe because it's a medical device that's been repurposed for bike maintenance, not because of any corrosive property of mineral oil. The tendency of the presenters to make stuff up during technical videos undermines otherwise excellent GCN content.

[Nicolas-S-Brown]

One of the clearest bleed videos I have seen, and with some useful tips not usually mentioned.

[toddyaso]

Better to remove the pads before pushing on the pistons. This avoids any damage to the brake pad material, especially if they are resin. Def. replace pads if less than 1mm.
Money saving tips: 1. My bike shop doesn't give out the adapter that comes with each bike because they don't want to confuse the non-techy customer. So they gave me one for free.
2. I made a brake block spacer out of an old plastic gift card which I cut to size. I glued each piece together until I had the needed fatness and held it in place by a rubber band.

[davidgostick]

Ollie, you're a star! After some time (ahem) I am finally feeling brave enough to tackle this job and your video has completely demystified the process for me. Thank you!

[aidanmasterson]

Made look simple. After buying a German online bike I swapped hoses over to make it right front braking. They are a little spongy after this move so this is exactly the info I was looking for. Thanks!

[DanMcDuff-go]

Good tip to use the syringe to pull a vacuum on the lever. Just the trick to remove a stubborn bubble, thanks!

[bbkjl]

Excellent tutorial, well laid out tools needed and individual steps described... I’ll be asking my local bike shop to do this in my annual service!

[narcosis]

For doing the rear brake i found it necessary to loosen the handle bar within the stem so you could keep the reservoir upright.

[duanestark]

I'm somewhat surprised at how many comments are from people who have rim brakes and use this video to justify not having disk brakes. If you like your rim brakes that's fine, no one's forcing you to get disks (yet?). Bleeding your brakes isn't something that you do very often, my experience has been that I bleed them every 3 to 4 years. I'd change brake cables on my MTB yearly when I had V brakes, 15 years ago!

[adriansmyly]

I need to see how you do the REAR brakes! As you say, to get air out of the section between the caliper and the pedals you need to get the bike vertical...at which point the reservoir screwed into the brake lever empties onto the ground and the top system fills with air!

[LoeVG]

Always take out the pads when changing fluid or bleeding your hydraulic brakes. This will avoid you contaminating your pads.

[computerscientologist]

Literally exactly what I was looking for. GCN consistently reads my mind. Cheers Ollie.