[atarione]

Oooops... I have been in Ireland (amazing... I didn't want to come back at all... great country and people.. super fun). My Trance 2 advance had been sitting a few weeks (maybe 3~ because I had taken my 29er instead the last rides before trip..

blah blah... I guess I should have checked it out more carefully but something I noticed rather quickly on the first descent.. I had basically no rear brakes and minimal front brakes (SLX with 180mm Shimano rotors) ..


GOOD STUFF... inadvertent death grip challenge.. I'm no small lad 6'3" 260lbs.. so having no brakes wasn't super ideal..

happily as you can see i didn't die (or crash) got home bled the brakes a fair bit of air in line.. which is weird as they had been fine 3~weeks ago... guess I will keep an eye on it...

 

[chazpat]

How was the bike stored? If not in a normal upright position, this can happen. I often have to pump my brakes up if it's been laying down inside my car for awhile.

 

[Lone Rager]

Were the levers soft or was there just little pad/rotor friction?

 

[atarione]

bike was stored upright in normal riding position.. brake levers were very soft went back to handle bars and rear brake didn't seem to engage at all while front brake had marginal braking abilities..

I bled both lines and I got quite a few air bubbles coming out of both lines.. both front and rear seem ok for now after having been bled .. weird because brakes had been fine 3~weeks ago..


the XT's on my 29er are fine but that bike had only sat about 2~weeks.

 

[Lone Rager]

I got nothing on your issue. Weird that both brakes would take on significant air just sitting upright. Sabotage? Does your SO or the mob have a hit out on you?

Anyway, the usual recommendation is to do a quick ABC check prior to every ride: Air, Brakes, Chain (drivetrain). Good idea to check the security of QRs or axles too.

 

[WHALENARD]

I'm convinced the Shimano air entering the system thing happens toward the end of pad life. The cylinders extend beyond ideal then all the rattling around allows infitesimal amounts of air to sneak past the seal. The thing is, compared to other brakes, there still may be a fair bit of pad left. So with that there was most likely already air in your system that from regular use was in a relatively benign area of your master cylinder. Sitting for 3 weeks things work toward equilibrium and air made it into the line or elsewhere.

 

[atarione]

ha.. I don't think I have enough life insurance for my wife to wanna off me.. and reasonably certain I don't have any mob issues atm...

I will keep an eye on it.. I will check the brake pads for wear.. I honestly don't remember how they looked last time I checked them? (other than.... meh fine.. that is) but the pads might be a bit old now.