[Legbacon]

For those of you with the Guide RSC, how much range does the contact adjustment give? Also how are the brakes at compensating for pad wear?

 

[tiSS'er]

For those of you with the Guide RSC, how much range does the contact adjustment give? Also how are the brakes at compensating for pad wear?

There is a ton of adjustment with the RSC. I am finding that they do adjust for pad wear, but not all too well. I like a medium throw on my lever which is about right with the contact adjust all the way out. I do occasionally have to do some minor pad adjustment to compensate.

However, the brake performs so well that i just don't care. I had the very same pad issue with my Hopes. The brakes are even quieter than Shimanos (yes, it's possible), have tons of modulation like my Hopes, but a bunch more power. The brakes feel downright fabulous, SRAM has done a nice job with them.

 

[JNG]

Mislabeled lever adjuster?

The adjuster changes lever throw by about 15mm.

Are the Lever Adjusters Mislabeled?

I just bled my new brakes as SRAM says with the adjuster turned all the way out (opposite direction of the arrow). The result is a lever that at rest has the tip 75mm away from the centreline of the handlebar. When I pul the levers the wheel stops turning on both sides with the tip of the lever 45mm away from the centreline of the bar.

I would like a shorter lever throw to engage the brakes. When I turn the adjuster IN (direction of arrow) the lever throw gets longer. When I turn the adjuster all the way IN the lever distance from the grip goes from 20mm away to 5mm away.

I sent an email to EpicBleedSolutions and was told that winding the adjusted IN (direction of arrow) would make the lever throw shorter not longer. They told me to bleed like SRAM says with adjuster all the way out and turn the adjuster in to make the brakes engage sooner. This is exactly the opposite of what actually happens.

 

[roQer]

The adjuster changes lever throw by about 15mm.

Are the Lever Adjusters Mislabeled?

I just bled my new brakes as SRAM says with the adjuster turned all the way out (opposite direction of the arrow). The result is a lever that at rest has the tip 75mm away from the centreline of the handlebar. When I pul the levers the wheel stops turning on both sides with the tip of the lever 45mm away from the centreline of the bar.

I would like a shorter lever throw to engage the brakes. When I turn the adjuster IN (direction of arrow) the lever throw gets longer. When I turn the adjuster all the way IN the lever distance from the grip goes from 20mm away to 5mm away.

I sent an email to EpicBleedSolutions and was told that winding the adjusted IN (direction of arrow) would make the lever throw shorter not longer. They told me to bleed like SRAM says with adjuster all the way out and turn the adjuster in to make the brakes engage sooner. This is exactly the opposite of what actually happens.

Same observation on my brakes. Turning the adjuster out makes the brakes engage sooner. WTF?

 

[OutLore]

Same observation on my brakes. Turning the adjuster out makes the brakes engage sooner. WTF?

Same on my Elixir9's

 

[Widgeontrail]

Same on my Elixir9's

Same with my RSC's. I think epic bleed solutions was incorrect. IF you want lotsa lever throw you can get it with Guides. If you want a little, you're SOL. The only thing I've found to help shorten the lever throw is pumping out the pistons.

Sram Suggests:

'Sticky' or slow brake pad return feel/excessive lever throw
If your brakes feel sticky, and exhibit slow brake pad return and/or excessive brake lever throw, it may be a result of the pistons sticking
in the caliper. Before completely disassembling your caliper, you can try to loosen the sticky piston by performing the following steps:
1. Clamp the bicycle into a bicycle work stand.
2. Remove the wheel from the affected caliper.
3. Squeeze the brake lever several times until the brake pads nearly contact one another.
4. Insert the Guide Pad Spreader Clip between the brake pads to spread the pads to the full width of the clip.
5. Remove the Guide Pad Spreader Clip.
6. Repeat steps 3-5 several times.
7. Reinstall the wheel.
8. Squeeze the brake lever several times to position the brake pads to the proper distance from the rotor.
9. Center the caliper on the rotor if necessary.
10. Spin the wheel and check the brake function. The pistons should move freely and there should not be excessive brake lever throw.

 

[JNG]

The bike mechanic at my bike shop who has set up a lot of Guide brakes has spent a lot of time trying to get the feel of these brakes to many customer's satisfaction - initially with no luck. He has given up on the SRAM/Epic Bleed Solution instructions. He told me to try dialing them halfway opposite the direction of the arrow. This middle position for bleeding will get us a lot closer to where many want to be.

Following the SRAM instructions make the adjust useless. Might as well not be an adjuster there. Because when done by SRAM instructions the lever is already too close or in the verge of being too close - turning the lever after bleeding just makes matters much worse.

 

[Widgeontrail]

The bike mechanic at my bike shop who has set up a lot of Guide brakes has spent a lot of time trying to get the feel of these brakes to many customer's satisfaction - initially with no luck. He has given up on the SRAM/Epic Bleed Solution instructions. He told me to try dialing them halfway opposite the direction of the arrow. This middle position for bleeding will get us a lot closer to where many want to be.

Following the SRAM instructions make the adjust useless. Might as well not be an adjuster there. Because when done by SRAM instructions the lever is already too close or in the verge of being too close - turning the lever after bleeding just makes matters much worse.

I found this helpful too. i tried dialing it all the way in and that didn't help. Halfway was some minimal affect. FYI, there are 100 clicks on the dial so 50 clicks is halfway.

 

[274898]

I just got the Guides and they have similar characteristics to previous versions in terms of adjustment. As for pad wear, I think that it depends on how well the bleed is to be able to compensate with the pad wear. If the bleed is more full with fluid, you have more range for adjustment as the pad wears. However, if the bleed is on not as full with fluid, then the range for adjustment is decreased.

Avids are not the easiest to bleed. However, they are the best brakes that Avid has made. I have had practically every model since Juicy 7s. The modulation is very good. I stick with Avid because their matchmaker design is great and your handlebar is really clean.

 

[Tbear]

Interesting tip about bleeding at 50% contact point adjustment... Here's another source with the same suggestion

I'm gonna try this on my RSCs as they currently provide pretty much no adjustment.

 

[bad andy]

I just did a hose shortening and bleed. Wasn't sure what SRAM meant by dialing the contact adjustment all the way towards the "+" as there was no + indicator at the lever. Figured it was opposite the arrow so that's what I did. Bleed went fine and brakes feel great right now, but playing with the adjuster seems to confirm what everyone else has observed - so as my pads wear and I want to make contact point adjustments, I feel I won't be able to. We'll see. Next time - I'm bleeding with the contact adjusts in the middle as the video suggests.