Mean Season

I guess we have been paying for the dry spring we had last year. While the temperatures have been pretty mild this winter. We have been ridding a constant roller coaster of rain, snow, warm temps, freeze, rain etc

Thus, making off road ridding and even gravel a slim opportunity in normal daylight hours. Perhaps, that is what inspired me to get a set of rollers to play with this winter. It has helped break up the indoor cycling boredom a bit. I have been taking advantage of the gym at work as well. I may look lost in a weight room, that is for sure. However, strengthening my weak left knee has been most of my focus.

Along with"training' I have been getting all my ducks in a row and doing service on the quiver of bikes and picking up some parts for the coming season. One of the projects i need to tackle is doing a fluid swap on my Shimano brakes. Not really a big undertaking, just one that I'm not sure is necessary. I seem to do a fluid swap on my Magura Marta's once a year, not because they say I should. More so because I've swapped frames etc. So for what some Shimano Mineral Oil cost it's cheap insurance for future flawless braking.
Well that is what I'm telling myself anyway.

So how do you know when to bleed your brakes? 

As a very general rule, one should replace the fluid in their brakes at least once per year, even if you don't notice any degradation in performance. If you ride more than average, or spend a lot of your saddle time in a bike park banging out laps on the char lift, you may want to do a bleed more often. A quick check of the fluid by leveling the lever so it's parallel to the ground and removing the reservoir cap will allow you to see if the mineral oil in the system is cloudy or dark with contamination. Keep in mind that some mineral oil is darker than others, but if it looks hazy or you spot any floating bits, it is time to perform a bleed. Likewise, a spongy feel at the lever, excessive lever pull, or brakes that pump up (meaning the bite point changes when they get hot during use) all mean that it is time.

As a semi-extension of my last post...

 To acquire a bleed kit and some fluids for my big S brakes.

I went with a new start up company I had heard some good things about. 

To acquire a bleed kit and some fluids for my big S brakes.

 

With free shipping when you spend 10 bucks and every major manufacture taken care of. It's one stop shopping for brake and most suspension fluids as well as bleed kits. My pre 2012 Shimano bleed kit set me back fifteen bucks, arrived quick and the components look quality. I haven't had a chance to run it through the paces of a full bleed. That said, I think it should do the job just fine and the prices the have on genuine Magura, Shimano and Maxima fluids has made me a customer already. 

If you need fluids or bleed kits check them out.