[KleinAttitude]

Hi I have a set of Avid Elixir brakes and CR Mag levers.

When the bike came from the shop I noticed the rear break had been set at a lower breaking pressure.

My front brake is sharp and hard when applied. But the rear lever is soft and takes a full depression to slow it down.

How can I change this and stiffen up the brake. So that is locks up and skids the wheel with little effort.

Thanks

 

[ibbo]

Sounds like the rear is not bled correctly.Avid are notorious for having crap factory bleeds.I've had 3 sets and have had to bleed all 3.

 

[SteveUK]

So that is locks up and skids the wheel with little effort.

Skids are for kids. Learn to modulate: it'll slow you down quicker.

 

[KleinAttitude]

Skids are for kids. Learn to modulate: it'll slow you down quicker.

I like my rear braking to be sharp.

The only way I have to stop at the moment is by going over the handlebars.

And that cant be right?

 

[tussery]

I like my rear braking to be sharp.

The only way I have to stop at the moment is by going over the handlebars.

And that cant be right?

Then you need to learn to modulate your front brake. There is alot of power in the front brake alone and you should really learn to use it to it's full potential without going over the bars.

 

[SteveUK]

I like my rear braking to be sharp.

The only way I have to stop at the moment is by going over the handlebars.

And that cant be right?

It's not right, no. As has already been said, you either need to learn to moderate of set your lever reach adjustment so that you're reducing the mechanical advantage of your fingers. If you can't just pull the lever less violently, then you need to move the lever so that the bite point in the stroke is closer to the bar. Out of interest, how many fingers do you use to pull the lever?

As it is, your front brake set-up or your braking technique (or both!) sounds like more of a liability than a safety device.

By the way...

When the bike came from the shop I noticed the rear break had been set at a lower breaking pressure.

In a properly bled system the pressure in the remains constant until the lever is actuated. The basic pressure of the system can not be adjusted.

 

[[email protected]]

Give them a bleed, I didnt think mine were bled that well, but after removing quite a few air bubbles I still havnt got that sharpness but it's slightly better.
The elixirs also dont seem to have as much adjustability as the juicy's, on a friends juicy 7's you could adjust it so the brake was locked by pulling the lever about a centimeter, I havnt ever been able to get my elixirs to do that (nor do i really want to!!)
But I do want them to feel sharper

 

[savagemann]

Resetting the pistons then doing a proper bleed should take care of your problems.

 

[KleinAttitude]

Resetting the pistons then doing a proper bleed should take care of your problems.

I,m going to get the shop to look at it when I take it back for the first service.

Basically I was the same pressure on the left lever as the right one.

I dont want a soft lever that pulls all the way to the bar to stop.

 

[AlexRandall]

That last comment almost confirms there is need for a bleed - there will be some air trapped in the wrong place. I have the opposite problem with all of my elixirs....they are almost too powerful and need to be tamed with some less powerful rotors than the stock G3's

 

[seburkhardt]

In some cases this is due to the pad adjustment deal. Try rotating the thing on the lever that says "pad contact". It will cause the brakes to catch sooner or later in the lever range. It's kind of a pain to rotate because the hoses have to rotate too.

I'd try that before i try a bleed.

I'll echo that generally you want the brakes to be kinda soft so you don't lock up right away...skidding results in a loss of control. It also tears up the trail and promotes erosion on a much grander scale.