Similar - dropped the bike off the wall after a couple of years to let my youngest ride it. No brakes. Phoned local bike shop "you'd probably be better off replacing £65 + £20 fitting" Found this vid. Took me five min to find the ten year old bleed kit. Another ten to sort the brakes. Boys out riding now, Dad's a hero 😁
I bought a used Kona Cylinder Cone for $80 and both brakes were not operating. The owner told me he tried to bleed them and failed so he figured they were toast. I saw your video and was skeptical as I'd never seen this technique but I tried it and it worked great. Both brakes are working well with no sponginess and a good bite. Much appreciated.
Thanks for the video, my brake lever was reaching the limit of its travel so, inspired by this video, I used a syringe and hypodermic needle to top up the brake handle reservoir. This was done with the handle upright and the bung removed. Worked a treat, I pumped a few time and repeated the top up but I am not sure this was necessary. Only cost was the brake fluid, $10, the local chemist gave me the needle.
You are awesome, here in NZ a bleed kit is $60-$90! I just made my own with some tubing, a syringe for my cats medicine (she was happy to donate) and the thin plastic nozzle off a silicone spay can. Did as you said, 2 fully functioning brakes! Thank you so much
OMG, thank you for this genius tip! I bled my Hayes in 2 minutes using only 5ml syringe without any adapter, just pressed the syringe into rubber port.
Just did my Hayes 9 and made 2 homemade syringes. One for the calliper and one for the master cylinder. I had the callipers and handles disconnected so everything was off the bike and I just bench bled them. Work out great. Thanks for your video
Very helpful, thanks! I would recommend editing out the first 2 min. & 54 seconds because you're basically just showing the cobwebs on the bike, etc., and the "Meat" of the video starts at 2:54. But your 'hack' on bleeding the brakes is great, worth the wait, thanks again!
Yeah, you're probably right... in fact I know you are! Hahaha I just did this video off the cuff, and I'd not done any Tutotials before. I just tried this on a hunch it might work, and I was happy it did, so I figured I'd post a video for others in the same situation... particularly because all the Bike Shops I called said they can't service it and I would have to replace them with a whole new setup.
Given that the bleed nipple at the caliper was completely seized this gave a quick and effective method of purging air from the lever end. Thanks, a time saver!
Confirmed, this technique works well with Hayes Nine. For even better results do this: tilt the handlebars slightly away so that the filling valve is slightly elevated. With the adapter & syringe attached, flick the brake lever repeatedly. You don't need to pull it hard at first. Any bubbles trapped deep down will slowly accumulate. Then gradually pull slightly harder. It might take at least 5 minutes of flicking for them to all surface. Eventually you'll notice that the brake lever's resistance will start to feel normal, at which point you can pull out the adapter and reseat the seal.
Awesome! Thank you for the contribution. I didn't expect all of these responses. I really need to listen to my daughter, who's been telling me I really need to learn how to use TH-cam for my business, and not so much my hobbies! Hahaha
thanks. You saved the day with the video. Replacing these Hayes Calipers on on 2005 Kikapu was becoming too complicated. All that was wrong was air in the lines.
Wow dude, this is a great video/tutorial, thx much for posting it. And by the way, I took it a step simpler - no adapter, nothing. I simply stuck the end of the syringe to the lever’s opening, just attached it to it and pressed/pulled it down with the fingers on my left hand, then proceeded pumping the syringe with my right hand while also pushing down at the same time to provide additional seal. On the front brake worked with a single attempt, the rear took a couple - all in all, done in literally 5 minutes. Thx again for posting it!
Its because that isnt a bleed, thats removing air, the whole point in putting the syringe in the bottom is so you can replace the fluid entirely. It gets dirty and also absorbs water which will effect brake performance
Just came across this video. Wow, saved me so much effort and time. I wasnt able to inject that much in, but i did pull out a load of air and really badly discoloured old fluid. Brakes are a lot better, still not as good as the fron brake, but a lot better than it was. Might have another go at taking air out, see if I can improve it further. The Hayes video was more for the newer brakes I think, rather than the Sole / Nine
Thanks for all the positive replies! I didn't even know I had all these comments and views until my wife told me today! Hahaha In fact, I didn't even know what video she was referring to until she reminded me!
Just like when you change the brakes on your car or motorcycle, you should remove the caliper and brake pads to seat the brake piston back into the caliper body. Yes you have essentially bled the brakes but as you see in the video the lever is moving all the way towards the grip on the handle bar. This means that the piston is not traveling the proper distance to make contact with the rotor. When the brakes are cold its seems ok. But once you've ridden on a steep trail or under heavy braking your brakes will fade quickly and stopping power is reduced.
Thank you for this video, we have the exact same bike and with this video we just solved the brake problem with one regular syringe, we put pressure and released slowly then we saw the bubbles coming out. Cheers
Nice Hack! Thanks. I did this on a trail once by just adding a drop and pumping the handle a few times. That worked but I thought I just got lucky. This is much better!
Thanks for this video dude! I’m working on an old bike and hadn’t even heard of these levers before but I have the sram kit already so I should have a syringe that will work Appreciate this
This was great. However it worked better for me when I un tightened each caliper adjustment first then “burped” the line. Then retightened the caliper adjustment
Wasn't working for me for some reason, read the comments and all that stuff didn't work. So I just took the reservoir cap off and filled it, squeeze a lot, and tapped the lever with a screwdriver. You're looking for bubbles and even little tiny beer foam bubbles. And then add more, squeeze, tap, open bleeder. Add more, tap, squeeze, open bleeder repeat. This is my first time dealing with hydros on a 04 sasquatch. Make sure the reservoir is full full before you cap it and put the lever back where your like it. Took my dad and I hours haha owell. Shit happens
This is NOT how you bleed Hayes 9 or any other brand for that matter. You may get most of the air out of the reservoir which isn’t under pressure, but it will do nothing to help your lines or piston. Two syringes is the way.
@@jamble7k yeah, some other people posted that you could just get any syringe that fits. I had just bought the Hayes kit because I thought I needed it, until I figured out this method as looked through the contents of the kit. This made me realize I really didn't even need to buy it in the first place.
I reverse bled a hayes nine a few times and couldn't seem to get the last bubbles out no matter what. I.e. I could not get it rock hard,,, I could get it to work ok but it wasn't stiff... In theory the reverse bleed should work, but seemed to be bubbles stuck in the line somewhere. I Left it overnight with the lever up in the air and next morning worked the lever back and forward and managed to get the bubbles out straight away. As I had tried this the night before to get the bubbles out, I could improve it but not get the lever hard, but now got it hard! So I assume there were bubbles down the line that took time to come up! Ok next thing I pushed the lever down and locked if off went to use it and the lever went soft again afer a few pulls !@#$! I'm assuming I didn't have enough liquid in the resevoir so I forced liquid in and youtubed and did this method,, tried forcing fluid in through the top and kept levering and got it rock hard again. It seems to have stayed this time, but I can confirm that this method helps, even after reverse bleed!!! I can only assume the cylinder sucks air up into it the piston area if the resevoir isn't full, so filling the resevoir makes sense as when it is in the down position the air is at the top and it can suck air inside the master. (Think about a car master,, the oil is always above where it sucks in the oil but in this master with the lever in the down position it can suck air if the oil isn't enough). For proper maintenance though I think flushing the system particularly in an older bike should be the way to go anyway, and then use this method on top to get it to go hard. Another thing is leaving it enough time for any small bubbles to rise to the lever i think is also key, maybe this might take an hour orovernight??????? ????? With the syringe I just used a medical syringe that is curved and funneled to a poin and jams perfectly in the top hole, and with the reverse bleed to flush the old oil I just added a piece of tubing to the same syringe... You will need a 6mm ring spanner for the bleed nipple. My only other comment is don't ever do this over grass in case you loose the nipple....
Interesting technique. You are bleeding the line at its high point and allowing the air to rise through the line with the assist of the top syringe only. As for it not being the "right" way, I'd say that if you are getting air out, then you are improving the brakes. I'd like to point out that many of the brake bleeding videos make it a point of removing the air out of the syringe prior to bleeding. This is NOT necessary and a waste of time as long as you point the syringe down. The air will naturally stay on the top and won't reenter the system unless you totally empty the syringe.
You can use dot 4 oil for car brakes for hayes/avid/sram. If you have tektro/magura/shimano, you should use some mineral oil, LHM+ oil for citroen hydraulic systems is good, I use it
The whole concept of the two syringes is to renew the old that runs in the hoses. This is is what your safety depends on and on a bike that has been sat for 3 years it is recommended that you use fresh oil. When your safety depends on it don't do it the fast way do it the proper way
I have the perfect solution, I took the disc brakes off the bike and threw them in the bin, then I fitted mechanical caliper brakes, no more problems and I couldn't be happier.
Don’t do this way How to do it right quickly Yes pull the little black pin out of the brake lever reservoir put your brakes up like he’s showing yes but now go to the brake calliper bleed screw Fill your syringe up with no air with brake fluid .3or .4 Put the plastic 5/16 hose or 1/4” hose from the syringe And push it over top of the bleed screw make sure your syringe is very full of brake fluid now slowly push the syringe at the calliper bleed screw keep pushing until clean no air fluid starts coming out your brake lever where you took the pin out when the brake fluid is clear coming through there put the pin back in and screw back tight the bleed screw done.
Did this exact method on my Giant with the Hayes Sole and they feel tighter than ever. Used some regular ATE Super Dot 4 from the auto-shop and man the brakes grip harder than ever.
@@MrRichardH1 Sorry if I offended you man, you were literally just trying to find your words and talking about nothing for the first few minutes. it felt like you were trying to force your video over 10mins by wasting our time. No offence man just giving people the time code to see what they came for that's all. Speaks to your character the way you respond
Colton Maas It wasn't MY video. I was just objecting to your unnecessary rudeness and suggesting YOU might instead do something useful. Always happy to give advice. Cheers.
Similar - dropped the bike off the wall after a couple of years to let my youngest ride it. No brakes. Phoned local bike shop "you'd probably be better off replacing £65 + £20 fitting"
Found this vid. Took me five min to find the ten year old bleed kit. Another ten to sort the brakes. Boys out riding now, Dad's a hero 😁
I bought a used Kona Cylinder Cone for $80 and both brakes were not operating. The owner told me he tried to bleed them and failed so he figured they were toast. I saw your video and was skeptical as I'd never seen this technique but I tried it and it worked great. Both brakes are working well with no sponginess and a good bite. Much appreciated.
Thanks for the video, my brake lever was reaching the limit of its travel so, inspired by this video, I used a syringe and hypodermic needle to top up the brake handle reservoir. This was done with the handle upright and the bung removed. Worked a treat, I pumped a few time and repeated the top up but I am not sure this was necessary. Only cost was the brake fluid, $10, the local chemist gave me the needle.
You are awesome, here in NZ a bleed kit is $60-$90! I just made my own with some tubing, a syringe for my cats medicine (she was happy to donate) and the thin plastic nozzle off a silicone spay can. Did as you said, 2 fully functioning brakes! Thank you so much
OMG, thank you for this genius tip!
I bled my Hayes in 2 minutes using only 5ml syringe without any adapter, just pressed the syringe into rubber port.
Just did my Hayes 9 and made 2 homemade syringes. One for the calliper and one for the master cylinder.
I had the callipers and handles disconnected so everything was off the bike and I just bench bled them.
Work out great. Thanks for your video
OMG bro, thank you! I was so lost, but was able to follow your instructions even without the official Hayes kit. A million times thank you.
Just keep pumping bro, you do not have to remove it, as long as you arent pumping the air back in, youre gold.
Very helpful, thanks! I would recommend editing out the first 2 min. & 54 seconds because you're basically just showing the cobwebs on the bike, etc., and the "Meat" of the video starts at 2:54. But your 'hack' on bleeding the brakes is great, worth the wait, thanks again!
Yeah, you're probably right... in fact I know you are! Hahaha I just did this video off the cuff, and I'd not done any Tutotials before. I just tried this on a hunch it might work, and I was happy it did, so I figured I'd post a video for others in the same situation... particularly because all the Bike Shops I called said they can't service it and I would have to replace them with a whole new setup.
Worked perfectly. Just did this fix. Took my bike to a repair place and they told me to replace the entire line. Thanks for this video.
I was told the same thing....did you get a "HAYES" kit or just a general bleed kit? (I noticed it is more expensive).
Thanks for making the video. Once I saw this I bought a bleed kit. My local bike shop wanted about $60 to bleed my brakes. You saved me $40!
Did you get a "Hayes " kit or just a "general" bleed kit?..(I noticed it's more expensive).
Hey man, thanks, just got a bike with these breaks and was going to go to the bike shop but now I know thank you man, true legend. Definitely liking.
Given that the bleed nipple at the caliper was completely seized this gave a quick and effective method of purging air from the lever end. Thanks, a time saver!
Great Video! Thank you! Just did this and saved time and money. Its been about three weeks and the brakes are still solid.
Confirmed, this technique works well with Hayes Nine. For even better results do this: tilt the handlebars slightly away so that the filling valve is slightly elevated. With the adapter & syringe attached, flick the brake lever repeatedly. You don't need to pull it hard at first. Any bubbles trapped deep down will slowly accumulate. Then gradually pull slightly harder. It might take at least 5 minutes of flicking for them to all surface. Eventually you'll notice that the brake lever's resistance will start to feel normal, at which point you can pull out the adapter and reseat the seal.
Awesome! Thank you for the contribution. I didn't expect all of these responses. I really need to listen to my daughter, who's been telling me I really need to learn how to use TH-cam for my business, and not so much my hobbies! Hahaha
thanks. You saved the day with the video. Replacing these Hayes Calipers on on 2005 Kikapu was becoming too complicated. All that was wrong was air in the lines.
Pure genious. Just saved me a small fortune at the bike shop.
Wow dude, this is a great video/tutorial, thx much for posting it. And by the way, I took it a step simpler - no adapter, nothing. I simply stuck the end of the syringe to the lever’s opening, just attached it to it and pressed/pulled it down with the fingers on my left hand, then proceeded pumping the syringe with my right hand while also pushing down at the same time to provide additional seal. On the front brake worked with a single attempt, the rear took a couple - all in all, done in literally 5 minutes. Thx again for posting it!
Wow, this is very helpful, thank you
Thank you so much for sharing this! Just completed 2 mountain bikes with Hayes 9 brakes and it worked flawlessly on all four brakes.
Lmfao sure it did!!!!
Its because that isnt a bleed, thats removing air, the whole point in putting the syringe in the bottom is so you can replace the fluid entirely. It gets dirty and also absorbs water which will effect brake performance
I don't disagree that it's always better to do a much more thorough job, including replacing the fluid entirely.
Just follow this video, and my breaks are back in business with no mess. Great idea, thank you!!!
Just came across this video. Wow, saved me so much effort and time. I wasnt able to inject that much in, but i did pull out a load of air and really badly discoloured old fluid. Brakes are a lot better, still not as good as the fron brake, but a lot better than it was.
Might have another go at taking air out, see if I can improve it further. The Hayes video was more for the newer brakes I think, rather than the Sole / Nine
Thanks for all the positive replies! I didn't even know I had all these comments and views until my wife told me today! Hahaha
In fact, I didn't even know what video she was referring to until she reminded me!
Clever quick fix, thanks for taking the time to share it!
Just like when you change the brakes on your car or motorcycle, you should remove the caliper and brake pads to seat the brake piston back into the caliper body. Yes you have essentially bled the brakes but as you see in the video the lever is moving all the way towards the grip on the handle bar. This means that the piston is not traveling the proper distance to make contact with the rotor. When the brakes are cold its seems ok. But once you've ridden on a steep trail or under heavy braking your brakes will fade quickly and stopping power is reduced.
Thank you for this info!
Thank you for this video, we have the exact same bike and with this video we just solved the brake problem with one regular syringe, we put pressure and released slowly then we saw the bubbles coming out. Cheers
Can you explain to me how you did it with regular syringe? Thanks in advance
Let's see a video withe the regular syringe lol! I was thinking that looks pretty easy and that ain't no special adapter really.
Very helpful! Thx from Cowansville, Qc
Nice Hack! Thanks. I did this on a trail once by just adding a drop and pumping the handle a few times. That worked but I thought I just got lucky. This is much better!
Great short cut and work less and ride more on that sweet bike.
Thanks for this video dude! I’m working on an old bike and hadn’t even heard of these levers before but I have the sram kit already so I should have a syringe that will work
Appreciate this
Brilliant! Just did my brakes and they work like new again. Thank you for sharing.
Great tip, thank you!
Thanks this video helped alot
Man, you are difficult to listen to.. however, I value and appreciate your time and effort in helping us out! Thank you.
I am french and I understood everything :) yeah
Great video and spot on for saving money. Thanks.
Absolutely brilliant idea, just did it, worked perfectly! Well done and thanks!
What's the name of the "thing" you put on syringe to connect to the lever?
This was great. However it worked better for me when I un tightened each caliper adjustment first then “burped” the line. Then retightened the caliper adjustment
Just used this method. Perfect! Thank you 😊.
For bleeding the brakes, don't you actually need to replace the whole liquid inside with new one?
Does it makes any difference?
When do you actually bleed the brakes?
Thanks for this video. Worked perfectly for me!
This is the easiest way I’ve ever seen bike brakes bled
Thanks, easy to follow fix for this 😊
So simple, thank you!!
Wasn't working for me for some reason, read the comments and all that stuff didn't work. So I just took the reservoir cap off and filled it, squeeze a lot, and tapped the lever with a screwdriver. You're looking for bubbles and even little tiny beer foam bubbles. And then add more, squeeze, tap, open bleeder. Add more, tap, squeeze, open bleeder repeat. This is my first time dealing with hydros on a 04 sasquatch. Make sure the reservoir is full full before you cap it and put the lever back where your like it. Took my dad and I hours haha owell. Shit happens
Awsome explanations!!
Fantastic tutorial. Thanks.
Video was on point. Thank you
Thanks!
It works perfectly for me.
Awesome video. Thanks
This is NOT how you bleed Hayes 9 or any other brand for that matter. You may get most of the air out of the reservoir which isn’t under pressure, but it will do nothing to help your lines or piston. Two syringes is the way.
This is absolutely not how you bleed breaks this will get your breaks back in a pinch. If their were any bubbles in the line they are still there.
Great video .. THANKS!...
nice job
Thanks for your video. I save 60$.
Nice video were did you purchase the hayde kit
What’s all the gunk in the lever? I have the same on mine
Well done. Good job!.
It worked
thank you so much
Can you show where you get the syringe? I checked eBay but the tip of the syringe kits looks like threaded and different from yours. Thanks
hayes pro bleed kit, however there is lots of aftermarket options too
@@jamble7k yeah, some other people posted that you could just get any syringe that fits. I had just bought the Hayes kit because I thought I needed it, until I figured out this method as looked through the contents of the kit. This made me realize I really didn't even need to buy it in the first place.
I reverse bled a hayes nine a few times and couldn't seem to get the last bubbles out no matter what. I.e. I could not get it rock hard,,, I could get it to work ok but it wasn't stiff... In theory the reverse bleed should work, but seemed to be bubbles stuck in the line somewhere. I Left it overnight with the lever up in the air and next morning worked the lever back and forward and managed to get the bubbles out straight away. As I had tried this the night before to get the bubbles out, I could improve it but not get the lever hard, but now got it hard! So I assume there were bubbles down the line that took time to come up! Ok next thing I pushed the lever down and locked if off went to use it and the lever went soft again afer a few pulls !@#$! I'm assuming I didn't have enough liquid in the resevoir so I forced liquid in and youtubed and did this method,, tried forcing fluid in through the top and kept levering and got it rock hard again. It seems to have stayed this time, but I can confirm that this method helps, even after reverse bleed!!! I can only assume the cylinder sucks air up into it the piston area if the resevoir isn't full, so filling the resevoir makes sense as when it is in the down position the air is at the top and it can suck air inside the master. (Think about a car master,, the oil is always above where it sucks in the oil but in this master with the lever in the down position it can suck air if the oil isn't enough). For proper maintenance though I think flushing the system particularly in an older bike should be the way to go anyway, and then use this method on top to get it to go hard. Another thing is leaving it enough time for any small bubbles to rise to the lever i think is also key, maybe this might take an hour orovernight??????? ????? With the syringe I just used a medical syringe that is curved and funneled to a poin and jams perfectly in the top hole, and with the reverse bleed to flush the old oil I just added a piece of tubing to the same syringe... You will need a 6mm ring spanner for the bleed nipple. My only other comment is don't ever do this over grass in case you loose the nipple....
Fantastic info. Thank you.
Yeah, a full flush would always be the best way to go. I'm glad this method helps as one of the final steps in the process.
Thank you!!!
Excellent.
Interesting technique. You are bleeding the line at its high point and allowing the air to rise through the line with the assist of the top syringe only. As for it not being the "right" way, I'd say that if you are getting air out, then you are improving the brakes. I'd like to point out that many of the brake bleeding videos make it a point of removing the air out of the syringe prior to bleeding. This is NOT necessary and a waste of time as long as you point the syringe down. The air will naturally stay on the top and won't reenter the system unless you totally empty the syringe.
Makes sense. Thanks for the insight
I broke the little rubber tube that the plug fits in to, does anyone have any advice on what i can do? do i need a whole new lever?
You need a new bladder, if you unscrew the cap on the res with the 2 screws the bladder is the rubber part. Replace that.
🤔⁉️😃‼️🧰💉THANK YOU.. MY BIKE WAS SITTING ALSO.....AFTER I BOUGHT BRAKES FROM AMAZON....I REALIZED.....REAR BRAKES NOT WORKING!?....
Did you do this on the Hayes Radar brakes from amazon?
What oil did you used?
Normally DOT4
You can use dot 4 oil for car brakes for hayes/avid/sram. If you have tektro/magura/shimano, you should use some mineral oil, LHM+ oil for citroen hydraulic systems is good, I use it
The whole concept of the two syringes is to renew the old that runs in the hoses. This is is what your safety depends on and on a bike that has been sat for 3 years it is recommended that you use fresh oil. When your safety depends on it don't do it the fast way do it the proper way
I have the perfect solution, I took the disc brakes off the bike and threw them in the bin, then I fitted mechanical caliper brakes, no more problems and I couldn't be happier.
This is "burping " i.e removing air. This is not a full bleed which is changing the old fluid for new fluid .
Dude, thank you for the video. However, get to the point. Too much side talk will cause people to go seek another video.
Don’t do this way
How to do it right quickly
Yes pull the little black pin out of the brake lever reservoir put your brakes up like he’s showing yes but now go to the brake calliper bleed screw
Fill your syringe up with no air with brake fluid .3or .4
Put the plastic 5/16 hose or 1/4” hose from the syringe And push it over top of the bleed screw make sure your syringe is very full of brake fluid now slowly push the syringe at the calliper bleed screw keep pushing until clean no air fluid starts coming out your brake lever where you took the pin out when the brake fluid is clear coming through there put the pin back in and screw back tight the bleed screw done.
Did this exact method on my Giant with the Hayes Sole and they feel tighter than ever. Used some regular ATE Super Dot 4 from the auto-shop and man the brakes grip harder than ever.
3:02 till 5:02 is what you're here for. Save yourself from his wasting your time, and learning how to speak.
With how long this video is he may as well ramble for 1 more minute, then copyright claim his own video to gain monetization.
Colton Maas Thanks for your useless input, Colton. Says so much about you. Come back when YOU are worth our time.
@@MrRichardH1 Sorry if I offended you man, you were literally just trying to find your words and talking about nothing for the first few minutes. it felt like you were trying to force your video over 10mins by wasting our time. No offence man just giving people the time code to see what they came for that's all. Speaks to your character the way you respond
Colton Maas It wasn't MY video. I was just objecting to your unnecessary rudeness and suggesting YOU might instead do something useful. Always happy to give advice. Cheers.
Anyone know where to buy the syringe adaptor and fluid?