Originally Posted by jackb

My wife and I each bought a Domane last spring. While we really like the bikes, the hydraulic brakes are something I would not choose again. A few weeks ago we started out on a ride and my wife shouted over to me that she had no brakes on the rear wheel. The right brake lever depressed to the handlebar, so cancel the ride and off to the shop. the mechanic said that the rear wheel brake needed to be bled and we should leave the bike. Two days later we picked up the bike and found that the lever depression did not match that of the front brake. The mechanic adjusted the reach. The brake works fine but we were told that it might need bleeding again. In almost forty years of cycling I've never had a problem with rim brakes. I always adjusted them myself with no problem. Now we have very expensive bikes that might need periodic bleeding, a job that requires a few special tools and some learning or a trip to the bike shop.