Avid Elixir CR Problems

toss a fresh bleed on there?

once a month, on a DH bike, for av(o)ids is about normal...

Get a shop to check them out. A whole bunch of elixirs had a problem with the seals and they were doing warranty repairs to them.

A friend of mine had a similar issue with an elixir (if not the same, can't remember if the lever rebound was slow). The problem occurred when the reach was adjusted all the way in, solution was to back it out a bit.

user error

Bleed them again, Elixir's are a VERY involved bleed and can take a long time to get all the air out. I've seen the same things happen to nearly every Elixir I've encountered but after spending a long time bleeding them they run great after that.

-One thing I do is zip tie the lever to the bar and leave it for a while (like overnight). This pressurises the system and compresses any air bubbles so they can migrate there way up to the lever before you start the bleed
-Bleed them as normal, and make sure the pad contact is all the way out (opposite to the arrow or maximum "throw")
-Then leave the lever syringe on to suck out any air, as this is the part that takes ages. I now draw back on the syringe several times, then change the orientation of the lever (the bled port isn't at the highest point) so you have to move it around alot, loosen the clamp to point it up, draw back on the syringe, wiggle the pad contact adjuster in and out 1/4 turn a few times the point the lever back down. Keep pulling the syringe in and out and moving the lever around, you should see lots of little bubbles coming out and keep doing it until they are gone.

The main thing to keep in mind is the fac thte taperbore design has lots of pockets to trap air and because air is always trying to rise upwards, it can be hard to get it out of all the little nooks and out the bleed port. Loosening all the bubbles then moving the lever so the bleed port is at the highest point is basically the key to getting it all out

a Avid brake with problems??

No worries, I have found most people who have problems just didn't spend enough time bleeding them but it does seem odd that they failed pretty much overnight. Will be interesting to see what SRAM say about it!

I've spent years selling and working on SRAM products including 100s of pairs of Juicy and Elixir disc brakes of all model flavours


this includes owning many different pairs of Juicy 3, Juicy 5, Juicy 7, CODE, Exilir R and CR brakes

something many fellow mechanics will agree on, is the reduction in quality of both manufacturing and quality control on more recent Avid brake products, compared to earlier model years

some Avid disc brakes have inherent problems with "holding" a good bleed, and require a rebuild with new parts under warranty, or at times complete warranty replacement with a new unit


find an experienced mechanic with Avid brake experience, get them to do a good bleed and see if your brake behaves

if not, and if your brake is less than 2 years old, contact your local Avid dealer...

I agree, my oldest Juicy carbons have been bleed once in 5 years with fairly hard use. My Elixir survived a few months before it started to leak at the lever.

Downhillbiker23 said:

Fresh Bleed? Its hasnt been more than 2 months. Its just odd, it lost all pressure today. I will email sram on it. Sucks because my last weekend is diabloween this weekend and if the brakes are broken im screwed

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It doesn't matter. If you boil brake fluid once, it's screwed afterwards. You may also have a blown seal, may have had humidity or micro air bubbles in the fluid etc. First thing you should do is rebleed, and then go from there. It takes 10 minutes, whats the big deal?

EVIL JN said:

I agree, my oldest Juicy carbons have been bleed once in 5 years with fairly hard use. My Elixir survived a few months before it started to leak at the lever.

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my pops uses juicy carbons as well, but he's a xc guy that climbs up hills faster than he descends them. doesnt push his brakes hard. rides 1x a week.

his brakes, more specifically his front, get spongy, and lose their firmness, with the quickness. it constantly needs to be bled..and they'll feel great right after, and within 2-3wks time, soft and spongy again.

my juicy 3's have been great. rock solid feel to them, even after a season of hard abuse. hoping with the switch to codes next week, i will have the same luck. avid QC seems array as of late.

get a bleed kit and follow step by step the instructions. also there are detailed youtube videos from sram telling you exactly what do to. if you break it down and do one step at a time its really not a big deal

I can't believe no one's said this: get your brakes fixed, sell them, get shimano. Done.

IH8Rice said:

a Avid brake with problems??

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must spread rep

Downhillbiker23 said:

I cant bleed brakes

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It take 10 minutes to do it.......to learn though, you have to invest some time.
Read the printed instructions and watch the videos a few times.
There are some nuances in the video that aren't in the printed instrucitons.

Some LBS's have "shortcuts" for the procedure.
Learn to do it yourself the right way.

Just buy some Codes, and then after you see what a nightmare they are you will wonder why you complained about the Elixers.
BTW, tonight I am bleeding my Juicy 5s for the second time in 6 years, and not because they really need it. The brakes still work perfectly but I stripped the whole bike and rebuilt everything else so feel obligated to do it.

Downhillbiker23 said:

But if nothing can be done I will have to try bleeding them at my LBS

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if they cant get your chain length right causing you to break derailleurs, i wouldnt count on them knowing how to bleed brakes properly

MDJ said:

Just buy some Codes, and then after you see what a nightmare they are you will wonder why you complained about the Elixers.

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he'll have twice as many problems if he went with the Codes...lever problems and piston problems.

My Juicy 5s on my little bike are awesome.

I'm on my 2nd set of Elixir CRs on the DH bike. They were cheap on chainlove one day, so I replaced a pair that I thought I'd smoked pretty good on a crash (both levers were pretty beat). The 2nd pair is acting up now. Annoying.

I must say though, when they're working well, they feel awesome.