westfielder

Dear all,

Going around in circles here searching for an answer. I am new to the world of quality bikes and disk brakes and certainly hydraulic ones! My son's 'expert' mate tried to tighten the brake lever mechanism on the handle bars resulting in snapping the metal of the clamp so it needs replacing. I can't seem to find a BL8000 any more.
Will a BL-8100 be interchangeable with hoses etc? There's only the brake lever on that side (left) so no gear lever to be mounted to it.. Any other suggestions welcome (including recommendations of where to buy at lower cost, time is not tight).

I understand that the brakes should only be tightened enough to stop them moving on the bar but move in a crash so stop them being broken.

Many thanks in advance

Nick
:-)

Barry2 

Welcome to Bike Forums.

I don't understand how you can't find a BL-M8000 <<Clickable Link

What am I missing ?

Barry

westfielder

Thanks Barry, I did lots of similar Google searches that link to stores selling it but they're all out of stock, hence the question😃

Barry2 

Jensen is a very reputable seller. Amazon is good and has cheap shipping with Prime.

Barry

grumpus

Use a torque wrench to avoid dangerous or costly mistakes - Shimano states 4-6 Nm for that bolt.

soyabean

I admit it takes experience to get a feel for proper torque, I'm rather good for anything automotive and can get it within 10% by feel, but for bikes I learned by using a small torque wrench for everything under 10Nm until I got the hang of it.

The whole point of a torque wrench isn't to get it right on the nose, it's so you don't go beyond 200% of specs which is where things get critical.

When something calls for 5Nm and you give it 8Nm, that'll be fine. But not 10-15Nm which that fastener might actually still hold.

westfielder

Thanks both on the torque wrench thoughts - like you, I'm happy stripping an engine and these small torques are a bit foreign to me so will get one of those

Barry, thanks for suggestions - I had found Jenson in the USA but they won't ship that part to the UK. Couldn't find a Jensen or Jenson based in the UK.
The only one on Amazon has a delivery estimate of June-Oct!

I think I am back to my original posted question - can I swap in a BL-M8100?

Thanks

Barry2 

They are not out-of-stock, they are all out-of-country.
Even my LBS, 12mins away has one in stock.

You might have mentioned you are in the UK when I asked “what am I missing”.

Shimano has compatibility lists, go look up your caliper.

Barry

westfielder

Good point, lesson learned :-)

veganbikes

Yes the 8100 will work fine. Use torque wrenches and never let some random "mate" touch the bike take it to a professional. A lot of brake levers especially mountain biking might be set up looser than you might normally consider and that is to help prevent damage in the crash. Tight enough not move under normal usage but if things get rough they can get out of the way.

If you or someone you know is not confident in something don't do it, ask for help first either to actually help you do it or to do it for you. Saying "I got this" when you don't can be quite dangerous and I understand this situation was not your doing but is very common especially with younger folks who want to be mechanics and sometimes even older seasoned mechanics. They want to know everything but don't realize they can't know everything and don't know their limits. It is frustrating especially with the older techs who are like I know and they don't. I am fortunate enough to have some oddly specialized knowledge but also know my limits and know if I am unsure stop and ask for help or if I am not 100% sure just get a second opinion or I just haven't done it in a while, same. Watch a video from Park Tool or pull out my old copy of Zinn and the Art of Road Bike Maintenance or similar type of deal.

My MTB is running two different XT 4 pots because one needed to be warrantied but so far I haven't noticed. This is slightly opposite from you were I have two different calipers rather than levers but I cannot imagine a difference or enough of one to really worry.

Russ Roth

https://www.bike24.com/search-result...hTerm=BL-M8000, starbike might have them as well.

I also like to set my MTB levers just the tiniest bit loose, so they don't freely move but if you give them a hard shove they've rotate a touch. Just enough so that when you get up from a crash the lever is slightly rotated and not bent or broken and can be shoved back into the proper position. Road bikes I lean on the levers just like everyone else so proper torque all the way, but as long as MTB levers don't move under normal use they're tight enough imo.

SoCaled 

Exploded view and compatibility chart - https://dassets.shimano.com/content/...8000-3853C.pdf

westfielder

Phew, thank you all :-)

I was struggling to understand compatability documents too. Being new to this world of such bikes I'm sure with a lot of reading I would have worked it out - but for now just want to get my son's bike on the road. I will order a BL-M8100 (and appropriate torque wrench!). But will aim to tighten just enough to stop the clamp moving:-)
I will report how I get on :-)

bboy314

I wouldn’t bother with the torque wrench, unless you want it for other components. Just tighten bit by bit, until you can’t rotate the lever with some force from your hand. There’s a pretty wide margin of error for this particular operation - your son’s mate must have really gone into gorilla mode.