tankist

I have a very new Orbea bike with SRAM Force eTap AXS components. After a couple of weeks of riding the brakes levers come very close to the handlebar drops when applying brakes. The brakes feel great, not spongy, I just want to increase the contact point. The screws that regulates it are already at the limit. Will adding more brake fluid to the brake system help? Or should I do something else?

cxwrench

You can't 'add' fluid to a brake system...you don't just pour it into a reservoir. You can cheat the piston setting part of the process by using a thinner bleed block than the SRAM one. This will allow you to pump a bit more fluid into the caliper and thus 'set' the pistons a little closer to the rotor than they would normally be. There was a guy that was on RBR I think that was 3D printing them for a bit, not sure if he is still doing it.

vane171

I'd take check where you bought it and complain hard, threatening to return the bike. I suppose you have warranty but I have no idea if that covers things like this.

Sometimes this summer I recall someone also having the same problem, don't know if on new or older bike.

I don't have disks but I would never live with levers needing deep depression to activate brakes, never mind if that even makes you worry if you soon won't be touching handlebars with those levers. It is a matter of safety and also if you need to do really emergency braking, you will find that levers that didn't yet touch the bars will touch them, on rim brakes anyway, no idea how disk brakes behave.

Over the years when I was checking people's bikes, just clunkers, I always made it a point that brakes would have some reasonable lever depression travel to start braking. Most cheap bikes that have seen some use almost always have long travel in levers and I find that sloppy, offending my mechanical feeling, never mind the safety issue. If I was buying expensive bike, knowing this issue can crop up, I'd stay away from disks no matter what simply because I couldn't live with such a thing. It boggles my mind that anybody can sell non-travel adjustable brake levers.

tankist

I saw some video, though it was in Russian and for Shimano brakes, that they fixed this problem by adding a bit more of brake fluid into the system. I do not understand why it is impossible to add more fluid. Suppose there is a leak somewhere, it is fixed and then the brake fluid should be added back to normal.

The LBS is Mike's Bikes and so far the service was horrible. The one in Berkeley where I bought the bike did not adjust the FD. It was too low and limits were too wide, dropping the chain inside and outside. I fixed it myself at home, no big deal.

The second one in Pleasanton took the bike inside to check the brakes levers reach and somehow managed to kill the right shifter. They acknowledged their screw-up and fixing it right now.

I'm not sure if there is a return policy on bikes, is there? I love the bike, but I'm really scared of these LBSs "experts".

TiHabanero

I just installed force brakes on a customer's bike. Sram brakes can be finicky to bleed, especially the rear, and typically it takes me two bleed cycles to get the rear to behave correctly. Shimano is a much easier set up and have never had to do more than a single bleed cycle to get the rear brake nicely set up.

Amt0571

My SRAM Rivals also come close to the handlebar when braking. When I replace pads the lever travel is reduced for a couple of rides and then it returns to longer travel.

I've bleed them several times using the SRAM block to no avail, so I finally concluded they're like this and I simply got used to it since they have excellent braking power and feel anyway.

ARider2

I prefer the feel of hydraulic disc brakes to the mechanical (cable operated) version. Hydraulic brakes seem to require less pressure on the brake lever and provide a more direct feel once the brake pad has come in contact with the rotor. On the other hand I like the ability to adjust the amount of brake lever travel that mechanical brakes provide, and I like even more the ability to adjust the distance between the brake pad (at rest) and the rotor for each side independently. I dislike the fact that it is difficult or impossible to adjust the amount of brake lever travel on hydraulic discs, and also if the caliper starts to leak it will ruin the brake pads and make a mess. Finally, mechanical disc brakes never need to be bled which is can be a messy and time consuming affair compared to a simple cable or pad adjustment for mechanical brakes. In summary, mechanical disc brakes offer a lower price point, are easier to maintain and adjust, while hydraulic brakes offer better performance but require more maintenance (the occasional bleed) and cost a little more.

gsa103

This video looks like what you need.

tankist

Thank you for the video, I've seen it already. The levers are adjusted to their limits, but still I almost pinch my fingers when I brake.

cpach

Were it my bike, I would probably start with a bleed first and see how that did. Simply adding more fluid to the resevoir will do nothing because it's an effectively open system that closes when the master cylinder piston travels past the inlet from the resevoir. There's also a running semi-common problem with SRAM road hydraulic brakes where the piston on the master cylinder sticks slightly, not returning fully to its neutral position, which begins showing as a later pad engagement point in the lever travel and progresses to an essentially nonfunctional brake. My own personal eBike needs this--I'm waiting on a spare moment and some DOT grease to fix it. This can be alleviated by servicing the master cylinder assembly and bleeding. https://www.servicearchive.sram.com/..._d_english.pdf is the service procedure. This isn't insanely hard or anything but should be handled by a journeyman(woman/human) mechanic.
Take it to a real f'n bike shop. There's a chance that SRAM will be willing to either warranty the levers or compensate the shop for labor to service them properly. You really shouldn't have to foot the bill on this--nonwarranty labor on this is kinda brutal, with maybe 20 minutes of shop time per lever in addition to the time to do a full bleed on both.

cxwrench

You didn't understand what I was saying. You can't add fluid to a properly bled brake. If the brake has air in the system somewhere then of course you can bleed them and 'add' fluid. I'm in the bay area and am of the opinion that Mike's generally has the lowest quality mechanics of just about any shop around, definitely any large chain. They truly attract the lowest common denominator. A couple years ago they tried to get me to come work for them. At that point I'd been a pro mechanic for over 20 years and have worked for several pro teams. They offered me $16/hr. Probably took me 7 seconds to be outside the store.

^This^ is very true.

tankist

Thank you for the link to the SRAM manual, very helpful.

Where can I find a decent bike shop in Bay Area? So far I had bad experiences with all 4 I've tried. In the process of fixing their screw-ups I learned to do myself almost everything on my other mechanical bikes. But electronics and hydro brakes are new to me.

cxwrench

Where do you live?

tankist

San Francisco Bay Area, Danville

cxwrench

I'm in Marin, PM me if you need anything and it isn't too far away.