elixir cr problems

big-ted · Jun 4, 2009

ronan said:
and pad contact all the way in (actually its all the way 'out' according to the dial, but if i move it in the direction it says 'in' it comes to the bars, maybe its the way i bled it)

with the setup above the lever feels mushy and theres no power (i can move the wheel with the lever squeezed by pushing forward) but if i move lever reach all the way out the lever is super tight and the brakes are powerful so i cant move the wheel at all, and the squeel stops, sup with that? how do i get it so i can have the lever all the way in but the with the feeling of it all the way out?

and the problem with the back brake is the opposite, the pistons are moved all the way out(?) but the pads touch the disk with the pad contact adjusted all the way in, if i move it out a few clicks the pads stop touching and the wheel moves freely.. but the lever goes to the bar

is there any tips to bleeding these brakes? high altitude? upside down? its super frustrating to have a set of the latest 'cool' brakes and not even be able to get them setup how i want them

thanks

I wont provide bleeding tips, as I'm not familiar with the Elixr brakes, but you're confused with regards Avid's nomenclature for the contact adjuster. "In" moves the bite point of the lever "in" tomwards the bars. "Out" moves the bite point away from the bars. Capiche?

numerik · Jun 4, 2009

Sell them like I did, and buy Formula The One. Best brake ever probably.

RUFUS · Jun 4, 2009

You do know that there are 2 adjustments right?

I have not been a fan of mine so far. Always bleeding them, the front brake red adjuster screwed all the way out and off and they almost always feel like crap and fade really fast.

I have a new set coming from warranty so I have not written them off yet but so far I miss my codes.

davetrump · Jun 4, 2009

ronan said:
2 pad adjustments?

lever reach and pad contact is all i got

if i cant get them working ill probably sell them and buy some saints, if you live your levers out then they work fine but i do not..

they are hard to ge the air out of....

bleed them with the red knob turned all the way in the OUT direction.

once done pushing fluid through, leave syringe on lever and reinstall bleed screw at caliper. them pull up on syringe in the lever.... all the way, fairly fast (just dont pull handle out).... hold it for a second and repeat. you will most likely see a bunch of air bubbles come out.

they are good brakes when bled properly, unfortunately this is hard to do sometimes.

they were giving me fits until somone gave me this tip... so far so good since then.

SylentK · Jun 4, 2009

In addition to the above, when you are pulling out bubbles with the syringe, try rotating the lever on the bar and keep pulling on the syringe. Smack the lever body a few times too in the different positions. Chances are there are still a few bubbles coming out. Apparently its easy for them to get stuck in the taperbore. Its easier if you have an old handlebar to use for this, so you can really get those bubbles out. Remember, it is possible to bleed just the lever, too. Don't feel like you have to do the caliper everytime. Especially as bubbles tend to rise....to the lever. I didn't learn these tricks myself. Although I have used them, and the do work. Thank Acadian if they work for you!

davetrump · Jun 5, 2009

ronan said:
this sounds like an interesting tip which ill try tonight or tomorrow, when closing the caliper do i squeeze the lever or do i leave it open? after playing it fluid dribbles out when you close it without squeezing the lever

don't need to squeeze the lever

sram has a tech manual on their website for these brakes, and they bleed slightly different than juicy's

you oump fluid through first before bleeding caliper.... and i have had best result by simply pumping fluid through, closing caliper and then bleeding lever as described above.

they do drip a bit more fluid when syringe is removed compared to juicy calipers. this is normal... just stuff a rag in there to catch it.

monkeyfcuker · Jun 5, 2009

RUFUS said:
You do know that there are 2 adjustments right?

I have not been a fan of mine so far. Always bleeding them, the front brake red adjuster screwed all the way out and off and they almost always feel like crap and fade really fast.

I have a new set coming from warranty so I have not written them off yet but so far I miss my codes.

I hear you with that one, thought I loved mine but got 'em on some proper hills and they fade pretty quick and never really recover. Now the back is making that seriously annoying mooing noise :disgust1:

Back to Code caplipers if I ever get my finger outa my arse and change them.

uphillmotopode · Jun 5, 2009

I had a pair(actually still have them sittin in a box) of elixirs and loved the power for about a few weeks, got them on a bike at the end of last fall. rode them maybe 5 or 6 times bled well workin like vices on my rotors. then they started gettin squishy on me.(had a post on here a few months back about them) one lever started leakin like a siv. went thru my LBS and got replacement from sram about a week later the other lever leakin as well,LBS to sram new lever, and there they sit in a box never reinstalled, I bought a pair of formula megas and they are the right formula.been ridin all spring on them so far and they are great. a little tricky too get bled right but thats life.

dump · Jun 5, 2009

Squishy sounds like air in the lines.

I'm going to put on a new set this weekend. Wish me luck

davetrump · Jun 6, 2009

ronan said:
ive looked on the sram site and looked all the tech docs for avid and cant see any tech manual for bleeding elixirs (the user manual doesnt even have bleed techniques!)

can you link me to the tech doc you're talking about? thanks

it's right there under tech manuals... 58 pages of fun (just go to pg 49)

http://sram.com/en/service/avid/tech_manuals.php

Teamsuzukirm19z · Jun 8, 2009

I had the CRs but mine were funky too. Mine always felt fine as far as bleeding went but when it came time to stop it was scary. I replaced the pads even though mine were just about new thinking that I must have contaminated them but that still didnt work. Called sram and the offered to send me codes instead.

I will say that the CR brakes that came on my friends session 88 work really good so I know that they can but I def had a bad set.

Now I have Code Carbons.... Code caliper and juicy carbon lever body. Codes work super good and with the mag caliper and the juicy carbon leverbody they are pretty light, not sure on the numbers and they have amazing power and modulation. They actually feel much better with the juicy carbon body. I always had problems with the Code leverbodys getting air in them or not circulating the fluid because I always found my self pumping the pistons out.

banrider · Jun 30, 2009

Ronan, did you manage to bleed you Elixir at last?I'm about to cut the hoses on mine and I'm a bit scared after reading this thread...

banrider · Jul 1, 2009

okay, only one silly question for the people, is it compulsory to bleed the brakes after shortening the hoses? I mean, does air always come inside the brake system when shortening the hoses?

Huck Banzai · Jul 1, 2009

davetrump said:
they are hard to ge the air out of....

bleed them with the red knob turned all the way in the OUT direction.

once done pushing fluid through, leave syringe on lever and reinstall bleed screw at caliper. them pull up on syringe in the lever.... all the way, fairly fast (just dont pull handle out).... hold it for a second and repeat. you will most likely see a bunch of air bubbles come out.

they are good brakes when bled properly, unfortunately this is hard to do sometimes.

they were giving me fits until somone gave me this tip... so far so good since then.

The avid bleed kit I got came with almost those exact instructions. I was pretty astounded by the amount of bublles/air it draws out, and have had perfect bleeds every time so far (only 4, 2 each Code and J7, but all easy and solid.)

dump · Jul 12, 2009

finally put on my pair of elixirs. Very impressed so far. Installation was a snap. Adjustments couldn't be any easier. Looking forward to getting them fully worn in. I only started to really feel the power at the end of my 1hr ride.

djjohnr · Jul 12, 2009

Avid brakes are so hit and miss. The rear Juicy 5 that came on my Reign X has never been right, no matter how much I bleed it it's mushy. I need to just replace the line and bladder at this point as a last resort. The Elixirs that came on my 303R function just like they should, but talk about a lack of modulation.

davet · Jul 12, 2009

gurp said:
The rear Juicy 5 that came on my Reign X has never been right, no matter how much I bleed it it's mushy. I need to just replace the line and bladder at this point as a last resort.

I had one of those too. Dealer did a swap and all was good.

I was really hoping these Elixir's were going to be the shiznit, I'm in the market for something new.

Routier07 · Jul 12, 2009

I had a set of Elixir CRs back in April, and after a few bleeds and never getting a solid sharp lever feel I had to send them away for warranty for what seemed to be bad hoses.

They got back and still felt like crap so I sold them for cheap and bought myself the new Saint brakeset. Couldnt be happier with the new Saints, yes they cost quite abit but they are just unreal!

IH8Rice · Jul 12, 2009

i lost all the fluid in my rear brakes over night after installing new pads....not a good way to start the day.
dont know wtf the problem is

dump · Jul 12, 2009

gurp said:
Avid brakes are so hit and miss. The rear Juicy 5 that came on my Reign X has never been right, no matter how much I bleed it it's mushy. I need to just replace the line and bladder at this point as a last resort. The Elixirs that came on my 303R function just like they should, but talk about a lack of modulation.

Went for a ride early this morning. brakes felt great. no problems w/ modulation at all. Didn't even really think about the brakes - they just worked.

IH8Rice · Jul 23, 2009

god damnt...i soaked another set of pads because my caliper is FUBAR. after re-bleeding them i put new pads in to try em out and they got soaked again. the fluid only leaks out when i squeeze the lever hard and it just barely seeps out from the seem of the caliper. the bolts that hold the caliper together are tight so i dunno what the problem is.
gonna call Sram tomorrow

cant seem to find their CS #...anyone know it?

Bicyclist · Jul 24, 2009

IH8Rice said:
god damnt...i soaked another set of pads because my caliper is FUBAR. after re-bleeding them i put new pads in to try em out and they got soaked again. the fluid only leaks out when i squeeze the lever hard and it just barely seeps out from the seem of the caliper. the bolts that hold the caliper together are tight so i dunno what the problem is.
gonna call Sram tomorrow

cant seem to find their CS #...anyone know it?

You have to go through a shop, they only deal w/ shops, not consumers.

I will say their shop CS is excellent, and any reputable shop will be able to take care of you.

IH8Rice · Jul 24, 2009

yeah i figured as much. im giving them to my buddy who works in a LBS.

IH8Rice · Jul 24, 2009

sram has a new set coming to my buddy's store by wednesay.
awesomness

elixir cr problems

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