Changed my whole brake bleed process after a shop race in Portland last spring

So I was at this little shop get-together in Portland like 6 months ago and a guy there was servicing his brakes on a table next to me. He pulled his bleed block out and it was this custom 3d printed thing with little slots for the mineral oil to run through - not the standard solid block. He said he got tired of air pockets getting trapped behind the block. I laughed it off but then my buddy's bike had the same issue the next week. Spongy lever even after 3 bleeds. Switched to a slotted block design and it fixed it first try. Has anyone else run into this where the block itself causes the problem? Or am I just dumb for not thinking of it sooner?

3 comments

3 Comments

blairc901mo ago

Took me way too long to realize the block could be the problem, but yeah you're right.

max2231mo agoTop Commenter

Did you try swapping it out for a fresh one or just cleaning the connection? I had a similar issue with a relay once, where a tiny bit of corrosion was messing everything up. Ended up just scraping the contacts with a screwdriver and it worked fine after that. If yours is really bad like mine was, sometimes just replacing the whole block saves the headache.

kai_webb911mo ago

Just a heads up, scraping contacts with a screwdriver can sometimes make it worse if you're not careful. The metal on those relay blades is pretty soft, and you can actually gouge it or push the corrosion deeper into the surface. I usually hit them with a bit of electrical contact cleaner and a stiff nylon brush first. If that doesn't do it, then I go for the super fine grit sandpaper, like 1000 grit or higher, and just gently polish them. Your mileage may vary depending on the relay, though.