Avid Code lever stuck

[?????]

The lever piston assembly in my rear Code brake is stuck. I took it apart, everything looked alright, put it back together, and still stuck. The piston stays closed and then I can't force any fluid through the system.

The last time I rode this bike the brakes worked fine. I've been out of the country for 6 months and now just tried to go for a ride, but the first time that I squeezed the rear brake lever it didn't return.

Again... the lever piston assembly looks fine... but is somehow stuck and the pressure of the spring won't even begin to push it back. Any ideas?

[TheTruth]

I have the same problem. What gives!?

[demo 9]

Master cylinder, its a known problem with codes, the real solution is buying a lever that isnt a code lever, the normal solution is just another master cylinder

[freshwire]

At first I thought your post said "Avid Code lever sucks" guess it was subliminal but very true all the same...My front brake lever did the same thing...sent it to Cambria...guy said he could fix it...he had to send it to SRAM and they just said..."It's toast" and "no, we won't just sell you a lever, ya gotta drop ANOTHER $250 and get the whole mess!!!! "

THe caliper is fine, the rotor is fine...but they won't sell just the lever...WTF????

2008 brakes gently used, well maintained, bled constantly...(another bad feature of these brakes) got 2 seasons out of the left lever and it takes a dump???

EXTREMELY disappointed with them...paid nearly $500 for the set...will never buy them again....right now using a Juicy 3 that I borrowed and it works just as well and it's the bottom line brake...no reach adjust...but who cares...put a set of used Juicy 3's on my kids bike $90 on ebay....they work perfectly....Code brakes are just way over-priced, high maintenance, and as you now know...prone to efing up for no reason...other than you actually used them to stop your bike...I feel ya dude...but you are prolly SOL...guess ya gotta buy hopes, or formula for 4 or 500 a pop to get good brakes with good modulation that will not crap out after 2 years....??? INSANE!!! like all the other crap ya need for this ludicrously expensive sport....

[Killerbarbies]

Get Straitline levers for Code..simple solution

[Inclag]

Get Straitline levers for Code..simple solution

Levers don't solve cylinder problems

Had the same problem and completely disassembled and greased the cylinders and that fixed the problem. A bitch to do, but far cheaper than buying new ones.

[BikeFan84]

Get Straitline levers for Code..simple solution

:facepalm:

Had the same problem and completely disassembled and greased the cylinders and that fixed the problem. A bitch to do, but far cheaper than buying new ones.

I did the same thing several times, still doesn't work. sometimes the spring doesn't spring back, or it get corroded and "hangs" up on the innards of the lever. "Greasing" doesn't solve this problem, but steel wool sometimes does.


I have the same problem with one of my codes, and I think instead of rebuilding them again, I am going to buy a set of Elixir CRs now and run them with the code calipers.

[MDJ]

Ha. So it's not just me. I have one rebuilt last month and took the bike in the shop today to have the other rebuilt. Yes, Codes suck.

[captainspauldin]

Ha. So it's not just me. I have one rebuilt last month and took the bike in the shop today to have the other rebuilt. Yes, Codes suck.

yeah, happened to me in whistler 2 years ago.. Brought it to Fanatik, they rebuilt my master cylinder and all was good again. I've since bought new Saints and I'm loving them so far (although the Elixir5's on my FR bike are nice for cheap brakes)

[The Breaker Man]

Best thing to do is find a set of used juicy lever or code 5 lever assemblies, attach them to your code calipers, and throw away the code levers.

[rockofullr]

"no, we won't just sell you a lever, ya gotta drop ANOTHER $250 and get the whole mess!!!! "

What????

Did you ask for the lever or did a SRAM vendor ask for the lever? Your lbs should be able to get pretty much whatever parts they want from QBP or BTI.

[zdubyadubya]

Master cylinder, its a known problem with codes, the real solution is buying a lever that isnt a code lever

buy a set of Elixir CRs now and run them with the code calipers.

Best thing to do is find a set of used juicy lever or code 5 lever assemblies, attach them to your code calipers, and throw away the code levers.

all these people speak the truth. i chose the route of juicy 7 ultimates paired with code calipers and my friend chose Saints to solve our Code issues. Both of us are happy and the problem is solved.

FWIW: The oldest Codes (the galvanized ones) appeared not to have this problem, it popped up with the black/PC white ones. The new Codes have gone to a taper-bore MC (ala elixir) so this problem should also be addressed there as well.

[zdubyadubya]

"It's toast" and "no, we won't just sell you a lever, ya gotta drop ANOTHER $250 and get the whole mess!!!! "

THe caliper is fine, the rotor is fine...but they won't sell just the lever...WTF????

your experience is def out of the norm. i would try another LBS. I could easily get on the phone with SRAM right now and get them to send you another COMPLETE brakeset right now for FREE. And the best part is that its not cuz I'm special , its cuz thats just how SRAM is... "oh, you have a part that doesn't work perfectly? here, we are sending you a whole new one today"

[supertucanos]

same problem here, i hadn't ridden for a few months, was hanging for a ride and during my night before bike prep i pulled the front brake on and the lever stuck! wtf! not having the time nor patience to send it back i decided to take matters into my own hands,

i downloaded the the manual off the sram website and poceeded to pull the lever apart, after about 3 hours of f**king with it i discovered that for some reason the white teflon washer that sits behind the rubber piston had become to big for the bore sleeve, how that happened i have absolutely no idea. so, i hit it with some wet and dry sand paper (1600) and took just enough off all the way around the edge so it would slide freely. rebuilt the lever, re-bled the lines, 5 hours later was finally finished wishing i had just sent it back to sram, but at least i could ride in the morning. as a side note, the rebuilt lever now feels smoother than the other one but there's no way i'm touching it unless it f**ks out too, so far so good.

score one for the home mechanic, but i don't recommend it unless you have limitless patience and know that you'll still love sram in the morning.

[Mladek]

A bit of a hassle, but I fixed the sticking problem by disassembling the lever (instructions are on the SRAM web site) and sanding then honing the small end shaft (taking off about a 1/20 of a millimeter of material) at the end of the piston assembly (way easier than trying to get at the washer and making sure no left over crud contaminates the piston internals).

After reassembly and bleeding, the sticking problem was fixed (still not as silky smooth as the other lever that worked out of the box, but good enough for the back brake).

All in all, it took me about 2 hours (including the brake bleed).

BTW the biggest pain was getting at the retention ring. Since its way down in the assembly, my ring pliers wouldn't reach. Had to manipulate it with a pair of needle nose pliers (including a whole lot of swearing) for about 1/2 hour to get it back in.

Putting the ring in open end up allowed me to get the shaft through the opening, after which I simply rotated the ring to its original open end down position.