Ask the experts

[volklpowdermaniac]

You're saying they are out of true enough to see by eye in the box?!
Unless you have Steve Austin's bionic eye that would indicate a huge amount of waviness. Far more than could ever work in the actual brake. I doubt I could see even a 1/8" gradual wave without it being mounted on the wheel and spinning.
If it is that bad, someone at the shop dropped it.

Oh yeah I meant I put it on the bike, and spun it, maybe I should have clarified d’o$
But Yeah I mean I don’t know what it is but I pulled it directly off shelf onto bike and when you look down the barrel of the brake with the rotors out and give it a spin you can see it moving off center quite easily, not touch the walls of caliper obviously, but not hard to see either

[Duffman]

What's the best way to shorten Shimano brake hoses on new cheap mt201 brakes without a full bleed. Picked up a set for the groms 24in to replace some mech discs but as expected the hoses are long

[teledad]

What's the best way to shorten Shimano brake hoses on new cheap mt201 brakes without a full bleed. Picked up a set for the groms 24in to replace some mech discs but as expected the hoses are long

I've had good luck just disconnecting the cable at the lever, cutting the cable and installing with a new olive & barb, then doing a lever bleed with the funnel.

[El Chupacabra]

What's the best way to shorten Shimano brake hoses on new cheap mt201 brakes without a full bleed. Picked up a set for the groms 24in to replace some mech discs but as expected the hoses are long

You can remove the wheel, squeeze the lever and force the pistons out a bit (not too far),then cut the hose at the lever end. Reassemble lever end (barb, olive), push pistons back into caliper. Reinstall wheel, align brakes.

This seems to avoid any bleed maybe 75% of the time. If needed, a quick reservoir bleed will take care of it.

If this sounds risky, don't do it.

[MCS5280]

Trying to get my body position on my trail hardtail closer to my full suspension bike. It looks like a 40mm rise bar will do it (out of room for more stem spacers). Any recommendations for a compliant 31.8 bar with 40mm rise? Relatively light rider (155 lb) so don't need anything too beefy.

[D(C)]

Trying to get my body position on my trail hardtail closer to my full suspension bike. It looks like a 40mm rise bar will do it (out of room for more stem spacers). Any recommendations for a compliant 31.8 bar with 40mm rise? Relatively light rider (155 lb) so don't need anything too beefy.

If you don’t need wider than 760 mm, the Renthal Fatbar Lite feels pretty nice. It has less backsweep than average, which may be good or bad depending on preference. If you need wider or want more backsweep, the Chromag FU40 is a good choice. Of course, none of this is scientific in terms of compliance, but they have felt good to me.

[Sylvan]

...the Chromag FU40 is a good choice. Of course, none of this is scientific in terms of compliance, but they have felt good to me.

Went down the compliance rabbit hole last year managing a back injury. I narrowed it down to 31.8 alloys and decided on the FU50 for the big bike, and FU40 for the trail bike. I haven't tried all the bars, but I'm happy with both. Helps that they're local to me and I can walk in and pick one up.

[J. Barron DeJong]

What’s the correct number of pieces for a Shimano brake piston?



Two real questions:

Is it worth buying a replacement piston to fix, given that Shimano doesn’t sell them, so it will be some sort of knock off (and I guess if the answer is yes, any ones in particular)?

Did I do something that caused this? The damage was all on the back side of the piston, internal to the caliper. FYI, I just use a plastic tire lever when pushing pistons back in.

[Andeh]

Did I do something that caused this? The damage was all on the back side of the piston, internal to the caliper. FYI, I just use a plastic tire lever when pushing pistons back in.

Judging by the frequency that this happens to my buddy who runs XTRs on all his bikes, the answer is "you bought XTR brakes." I seems like he's cursing about this every 6 months or so.

[dannynoonan]

What’s the correct number of pieces for a Shimano brake piston?



Two real questions:

Is it worth buying a replacement piston to fix, given that Shimano doesn’t sell them, so it will be some sort of knock off (and I guess if the answer is yes, any ones in particular)?

Did I do something that caused this? The damage was all on the back side of the piston, internal to the caliper. FYI, I just use a plastic tire lever when pushing pistons back in.

Pushing the pistons back a tiny bit cockeyed will cause that, the back of the piston contacts the caliper bore and it can chip. I don't know if it helps much but I always use an old pair of brake pads when pushing pistons back, to create a perfectly flat surface at the point of contact.

[J. Barron DeJong]

Pushing the pistons back a tiny bit cockeyed will cause that, the back of the piston contacts the caliper bore and it can chip. I don't know if it helps much but I always use an old pair of brake pads when pushing pistons back, to create a perfectly flat surface at the point of contact.

Noted, thanks.

Anyone find that a proper piston press helps prevent this? Looks like most just wedge in there, which seems like it could create the same issue.

I think the SRAM one is different but maybe doesn’t fit into a Shimano caliper body?


Edit:

Hmmm…

[Dumbest Known Time]

As a PeePee 1.0 owner I hadn't ever considered sticking it in a brake caliper. Do you think I need the 1.2 firmware update or should it be good to go?

[El Chupacabra]

As a PeePee 1.0 owner I hadn't ever considered sticking it in a brake caliper. Do you think I need the 1.2 firmware update or should it be good to go?

Depends on how firm it is, and whether firmness lasts for more than four hours.

[McShortyShorts]

Can the endcaps of a DT350 front hub be swapped between 15x110 boost and 20x110? I need to get new wheels but I want to make sure the front one is single- and dual-crown fork compatible

[volklpowdermaniac]

[QUOTE=J. Barron DeJong;6919366]Noted, thanks.

Anyone find that a proper piston press helps prevent this? Looks like most just wedge in there, which seems like it could create the same issue.

I think the SRAM one is different but maybe doesn’t fit into a Shimano caliper body?


Edit:

Hmmm…



[/]
Sucks about the piston, if you go back a page or two had exact same issue . Fortunately had an old Shimano caliper I was able to harvest one from. Was able to get it back in using just a little careful alignment and pushing. As I’m sure you saw the pistons crack into one bagilon pieces so make sure the old one is completely out.

[J. Barron DeJong]

Sucks about the piston, if you go back a page or two had exact same issue . Fortunately had an old Shimano caliper I was able to harvest one from. Was able to get it back in using just a little careful alignment and pushing. As I’m sure you saw the pistons crack into one bagilon pieces so make sure the old one is completely out.

I replaced the caliper right when it happened, so will keep this around as a spare for parts at least, if not worth rebuilding with an aftermarket piston.

I think I got the pieces out, but will definitely need to look more carefully if I ever end up wanting to use that caliper again.

[Benneke10]

I was given a few hundred packs of expired Clif Shot Bloks from a friend who accidentally had an amazon subscription and forgot about them... they expired between 1 and 3 years ago, are they safe to eat still?

[Phall]

I’ve been eating gu’s and bars, that expired between 2019 and 2022 this year, still alive. Don’t break a tooth!


Sent from my iPhone using TGR Forums

[BigHerm]

Carnauba wax never goes bad!

[Roxtar]

Noted, thanks.

Anyone find that a proper piston press helps prevent this? Looks like most just wedge in there, which seems like it could create the same issue.

I think the SRAM one is different but maybe doesn’t fit into a Shimano caliper body?

I have the Park tool and don't really use it because of that reason. The rather steep angle creates a lot of side load.
I generally go old school. Just leave the pads in place (or better yet, use an old worn set) and use a screwdriver to press them in. The srewdriver lets you get to the center of the pistons, removing the side load and getting even pressure.

[Boissal]

Don’t break a tooth!

Agree that this is the biggest risk by far. I occasionally will try and munch of cliff blocks that I opened and didn't finish a few rides back, those things turn into cubes of the hardest substance known to science.

[singlesline]

I was given a few hundred packs of expired Clif Shot Bloks from a friend who accidentally had an amazon subscription and forgot about them... they expired between 1 and 3 years ago, are they safe to eat still?

Technically that's a "Best By" date and not a safety/expiration date.

They don't have to guarantee flavor/texture, but it is purely a suggestion and they should be totally fine as long as they weren't open or stored somewhere crazy.

[zion zig zag]

Agree that this is the biggest risk by far. I occasionally will try and munch of cliff blocks that I opened and didn't finish a few rides back, those things turn into cubes of the hardest substance known to science.

I'll occasionally have a half eaten pack in the hip belt pocket of my ski pack come the first tour of winter. They're essentially hard candy at that point.

[Benneke10]

They are mostly still pretty soft. I have a lot.. if anyone wants some expired bloks let me know! Happy to share

[NT]

What’s the correct number of pieces for a Shimano brake piston?



Two real questions:

Is it worth buying a replacement piston to fix, given that Shimano doesn’t sell them, so it will be some sort of knock off (and I guess if the answer is yes, any ones in particular)?

Did I do something that caused this? The damage was all on the back side of the piston, internal to the caliper. FYI, I just use a plastic tire lever when pushing pistons back in.

I've had this happen to two different XT 4 piston calipers. Both times took it to a shop and they were able to get it warrantied by shimano. Apparently it's a known issue.