[Eddie Laurie]

My avid elixirs are very squishy and when I pull in the lever it goes all the way to the grip I already replaced the brake pads not that long ago and I don't know if they just wore down all ready, I was wondering if I should blead the brakes

 

[Cotharyus]

Yes. They need bleeding if they're doing that.

 

[DTL]

Yes. They need bleeding if they're doing that.

I have a similar problem. Mine started yesterday when I went to ride I noticed the rear caliper was locked up and the lever would not compress leading to my rear wheel being stuck. I bled the rear brake with the avid bleed kit and finally got the rear caliper unstuck. Problem is now the lever is mush to the grip and i have very little rear brake stopping power. Any ideas of what might have gone wrong and how to resolve it? Thanks

 

[DTL]

Ok i think i fixed it. I just rebled the rear brake lever by itself. There were lots of air bubbles in it. The lever is no longer squish and is providing adequate power. I will report back if there is a relapse of same problem.

 

[Cleared2land]

I will report back if there is a relapse of same problem.

Unfortunately, with Elixers, there very well might be a relapse. I had so many relapses, I finally went Shimano. No more relapses.

 

[Cotharyus]

I have a similar problem. Mine started yesterday when I went to ride I noticed the rear caliper was locked up and the lever would not compress leading to my rear wheel being stuck. I bled the rear brake with the avid bleed kit and finally got the rear caliper unstuck. Problem is now the lever is mush to the grip and i have very little rear brake stopping power. Any ideas of what might have gone wrong and how to resolve it? Thanks

Sounds like your initial problem was one that happens with DOT fluid - which is to say it absorbed water, causing volume to increase, which eventually just caused the brake to lock the wheel up. Then it sounds like you got a bad or incomplete bleed. That's not hard to do no matter what kind of brakes you have. Any DOT fluid system (or mineral fluid system for that matter) should be flushed once a year whether you think it needs it or not.

There are enough people running around who simply got tired of bleeding Avids or couldn't figure out how to bleed them properly that they switched to shimano. Newsflash. Yes, the Shimano design is self bleeding to an extent. One day it will reach that extent and you'll have to bleed them too. I've never had the consistency problems so many people swear they've had with Avids. It's moot point though, the Elixir is dead, long live the Guide.