[mike256]

Hi guys,

Struggling with the amount of lever throw with my code r brakes. I single finger brake with my index fingers and I cant get the bite point far enough to get the lever off my fingers when braking heavily. The rear isn't unusable but the front is much worse. The shop looked at it and felt they fixed it by lubing the pistons or something like that. It improved a little but not much. I just tried bleeding it, 3 times, using different methods on youtube. No improvement. The third and last go made it worse so I've given up for the day. I've noticed other bikes with code r brakes that i've tried have had a similar issue.

Does anyone have any advice on how I can fix this or is this how code r brakes just are? If so, which brakes will get the brakes at full force with the shortest throw and the best adjustment away from the fingers?

Cheers!

 

[blueglide]

Hi guys,

Struggling with the amount of lever throw with my code r brakes. I single finger brake with my index fingers and I cant get the bite point far enough to get the lever off my fingers when braking heavily. The rear isn't unusable but the front is much worse. The shop looked at it and felt they fixed it by lubing the pistons or something like that. It improved a little but not much. I just tried bleeding it, 3 times, using different methods on youtube. No improvement. The third and last go made it worse so I've given up for the day. I've noticed other bikes with code r brakes that i've tried have had a similar issue.

Does anyone have any advice on how I can fix this or is this how code r brakes just are? If so, which brakes will get the brakes at full force with the shortest throw and the best adjustment away from the fingers?

Cheers!

I have Code R brakes on my Heckler and had the same thing. Worse on the front than the rear. I bled the brakes but there was no air in the system. Reading on another site I found this Piston Release Tool for SRAM Codes
I ordered it and lubed all the pistons with some sram brake grease and q-tips to make sure none were sticking. Some were stickier than others. Then I made sure my caliper was equally distant on both sides from the rotor. It wasn't so I made slight adjustment. Then with wheel out I carefully pressed brake levers to slightly push the pistons out until they allowed wheel replacement without excessive distance between rotor and pads. After replacing wheel I pressed brake lever to get everything aligned and they have been great since. A lot of initial fussing to get everything dialed in but now they work great...one finger braking...no rubbing or noises.

 

[mike256]

Thanks blueglide. I ordered one of those tools and will give it a try.

 

[Can2pir]

This looks very promising!

 

[mike256]

I just gave that a go can2pir - well the part after he inserts the brake pads. I definitely noticed some improvement so I rebled the system and then did that at the very end. Had to apply heaps of pressure and I've got it so that the rotor is just barely touching the pads when spinning the wheel. Lever throw seems to be really good now and barely any movement from the bite point to fully on. Heading to the bike park tomorrow so I'll see how it goes. Once the tool blueglide mentioned arrives i'll redo everything from both posts and replace the pads and see how good I can get it going!
Thanks very much guys

 

[blueglide]

I just gave that a go can2pir - well the part after he inserts the brake pads. I definitely noticed some improvement so I rebled the system and then did that at the very end. Had to apply heaps of pressure and I've got it so that the rotor is just barely touching the pads when spinning the wheel. Lever throw seems to be really good now and barely any movement from the bite point to fully on. Heading to the bike park tomorrow so I'll see how it goes. Once the tool blueglide mentioned arrives i'll redo everything from both posts and replace the pads and see how good I can get it going!
Thanks very much guys

I have no experience with the process shown in the video but it was discussed in another forum and there were some posts suggesting that pressurizing the system (via the calipers) could be harmful to the diaphragm system in the brakes. It might be worth looking into that possibility to avoid damaging your brakes. Hopefully somebody with more knowledge could advise if it's a good or bad idea.

 

[PJJ205]

Having the very same issue since day 1 on a brand new bike. I have bled the rear 8 times and the front 2-3... still mushy. I put Code RSC levers from my last bike on, figured it was seals in the lever so I rebuilt them both today; same feel after lever rebuild, fluid replacement and a fresh bleed. By far the most annoying brakes that I have ever dealt with in my life.

 

[mike256]

Having the very same issue since day 1 on a brand new bike. I have bled the rear 8 times and the front 2-3... still mushy. I put Code RSC levers from my last bike on, figured it was seals in the lever so I rebuilt them both today; same feel after lever rebuild, fluid replacement and a fresh bleed. By far the most annoying brakes that I have ever dealt with in my life.

Do the rsc brakes as a full system have the same issue? Crazy they spec these brakes. At the park today my rear was mush, front lever kept away from the bar since pressurizing the callipers which was good but still pretty weak.

 

[mike256]

I have no experience with the process shown in the video but it was discussed in another forum and there were some posts suggesting that pressurizing the system (via the calipers) could be harmful to the diaphragm system in the brakes. It might be worth looking into that possibility to avoid damaging your brakes. Hopefully somebody with more knowledge could advise if it's a good or bad idea.

Hopefully it doesnt damage them, but it is nice to have some function back to them damage or not

 

[PJJ205]

Do the rsc brakes as a full system have the same issue? Crazy they spec these brakes. At the park today my rear was mush, front lever kept away from the bar since pressurizing the callipers which was good but still pretty weak.

Nope, but that could also be because there are 1 out of 4 pistons stuck out on both calipers even after rebuilding them with new pistons, so the advancement on the pads may have removed all of the mush factor. Besides the annoying stuck pistons, the Code RSC calipers were WAY better. Interesting enough, the only difference is supposedly better piston material (phenolic) on the RSCs, yet the same bleed block that I was using for my RSC calipers will not fit into either new sets (4 different calipers) of Code R brakes that came on brand new Santa Cruz bikes; the shapes are slightly different.

 

[mike256]

That's not super reassuring to replace them with code rsc which the shop has here. If I can't get them working well I think I'll finish out the year with them and then change to full xt brakes/drivetrain over the winter.

 

[mike256]

Figured I should come and give an update in case others have a similar issue. I tried all the solutions and the best I could get them was with aftermarket pads and either pads rubbing slightly and strong, or not rubbing and weak. They didnt seem to fade quicker with the slight rubbing. Even after this though the input pressure was inconsistent for same braking force so I couldnt just add the same lever pressure to get the same result each time.
Ended up replacing with code rsc and galfer floating rotors. So much better. Stronger, less fading, very adjustable, and consistent pressure input required for same output. They shouldnt be wasting peoples money speccing r’s.

 

[TheRoadNotTaken]

Just installed, trimmed, and bled the Code rs. Same issues. Much weaker than I expected given what I've read. Should have read more I guess.

 

[Fuse6F]

does anyone actually remove the caliper from the frame and suck/pull on the caliper end while rotating the caliper into diff positions. if you dont air will still be in the caliper!!!

this will show as mushy brakes that lack power and or brakes that drag as you go up in altitude. (learned this after going from 3000' at home to 9500' start elevation on a bike vacation)