any tips for bleeding hope M4's?

[biandon]

I have the hope M4 with Pro Open Levers. The front is rock solid but the rear is pretty mushy. I've bled the darn thing a few times already but I just can't get the lever to feel right. I'm following the directions on hope's tech manual, and I think I've done everything right. Does anyone have any other tips or things I should watch out for? does the caliper need to be oriented in any specific way? Can the mushiness be caused by sticky pistons?

Thanks

[DamienC]

Have you checked your brake line for kinks, punctures, breaks, etc.? That's the first thing that came to mind.

[Brian HCM#1]

If your not using their bleeder and doing it manually, the key is to have gravity help you the lever has to be at the high point and the caliper at the low. Sometimes this means removing the caliper from the frame if to don't have a workstand to hold the bike at a more vertical angle. If you are doing that and still not working, most of the time the lever seals need to be replaced.

[Gfreak]

I have experience the same problem in the past with my M4's. Check to see if the cylinders are contracting at the same rate or in other words if one of the cylinder's is touching the rotor before the other. this is where the squishy feel comes from. If this is the case then you will have to clean and lube the cylinder that is sticking.

I hope this helps.

[biandon]

hey, i think that's what it is. how do you get the pistons out and what do you lube it with?

thanks!

[Brian HCM#1]

Originally posted by biandon
hey, i think that's what it is. how do you get the pistons out and what do you lube it with?

thanks! That won't make a difference with the mushiness, if the pistons are sticking, with a screwdriver push and back the good piston(s) and pump the lever, that will break it free. You just have a bad bleed is my feeling.

[biandon]

Brian, I don't know if the mushiness is coming from a bad bleed or uneven pistons, but after messing with the pistons, the mushiness is gone!

Thanks to everyone for the help. :)

[Gfreak]

I'm glad you got them to work. That's the thing about Hope breaks they can take a lot of playing, adjusting, fiddling etc. but when you get it figured out there is not a break that works better.

Also I would have to agree with Brian, it probably wasn't a "squishy" feel in the levers as I described in my last post. I was being lazy in my post and should have wrote the following:

If the breaks do not feel solid near the beginning of the lever stroke but rather at the very end of the lever stroke than most likely it is due to uneven piston movement. If the lever action feels squishy through the entire stroke than it's a bad bleed.

Anyways I'm glad you got your breaks working!