Plainsman

I could really use sone help here! I haven’t ridden my road bike with hydraulic discs for a couple of months, it’s just been hanging on the wall (one of those pedal type hangers, so it sits parallel to floor, but at a slight angle to the wall). Last ride the brakes were tight and responsive. Anyway, I pulled it down today and the brakes are super spongy! It takes at least 1/2 a pull before I feel the pistons engage. Any remedy for this short of a brake bleed? I don’t have the equip for that handy, and was hoping for a DIY solution. Otherwise, it’s off to the shop!

Crankycrank

A trick that can sometimes work if you don't have too much air in the lines is to leave the bike in a parallel position to the floor which is probably OK with your wall storage setup. Squeeze the brake lever and strap/tape it down and let the bike sit for at least 12 hours. Flick the brake line with your finger at least a couple times in that 12 hours to loosen any air bubbles. After the 12+ hours, undo the strap and let the lever quickly snap back. Sometimes this can allow the air bubbles that have migrated to the lever to get past the plunger and escape the lines. It's no cost, no wrenching, easy and worth a try. You might have to do it twice depending how much air might be in your system so try this first and if no luck you might have to do a proper bleed.

Plainsman

This is great stuff! I tried strapping them down overnight last night, but missed some steps. My bike was upright (not lying down parallel to the floor as you indicate), I didn’t flick the lines, and so didn’t let them snap back quickly. I’ll try again tonight. So the bike needs to be on its side on the floor for this to work? Thanks!

Crankycrank

Oh no, sorry, I meant the bike should be upright and parallel to the floor. The idea is to have the levers at the highest point in the system so air rises to the top.

Plainsman

Okay, that makes more sense! I have it on a floor stand so it is perfectly upright. I’m hoping last night’s fail was due to lack of flicking of the lines, and not quickly releasing the levers.

oldbobcat

All the air in the systems just floated to the levers where it's more noticeable. So all you have to do is bleed them, and since the air is already in the levers a simple top bleed should be sufficient.

So hanging your bike this way didn't cause a problem. It helped you find one that was there all along. Often, when I know the brake fluid isn't old or contaminated, I'll just pick the bike up by the handlebars and bounce it on the rear wheel. That will float the bubbles to the levers to make for an easy top bleed. When I'm done I'll do it again. If it holds, great. If it doesn't, well, then I do a full system bleed.