I put a new set of Ultegra 685 shifters and RS785 brakes on my bike. With the bleed block in they have the perfect lever pull. When I put the pads and wheel in the pull is too long. The only thing I can think to do is beed with pads and wheel in. Any other suggestions?
I just fought my 785's for a while. First tip is for the rear, make sure to unmount the caliper and let it hang as low as possible. Next is make sure you are doing the handlebar ±30 ° while flicking the brake lever with the funnel in to get last bubbles at the end of the bleed and my final tip that helped is to do the bleeding with the reach and free stroke screws all the way out, then put them back where you normally ride with them at once the pads are in. That said after I got really good at all of that, one of them still bottomed out on the bar with the pads in. Thanks to Shimano for replacing it under warranty even though it was over 2.5 years old.
Can you guys tell me how you actually did the bleed, since there seems to be different techniques or methods?
I don't have a lot of experience with bleeding brakes, but did get my 785's bled successfully. They are amazing, BTW. I mounted a syringe on the top of the lever, and bled "down". Because there seems to be no other way.
This isn't a bleed issue at all. It's a factor of how far the piston has to travel to push the pad onto the rotor issue.
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\nOne thing you can do is to pull the pads and give the lever a squeeze. This will push the pads out of the calipers a bit, be careful not to go too far or the pistons will fall out. Also, if you go too far the pads will contact the rotors when you put them back in. Of course this decreases the clearance of the pads to the rotors so the rotors need to be very true or you'll get rubbing.
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\nThis is the only way I've been able to get my rear Shimano lever to feel the same as my front.
BrownDog wrote:goneskiian - That is exactly what I did?
Not from what I can tell. I didn't describe a bleeding method. What I describe is all after you've bled them. Then again, maybe bleeding with the pads and rotors in place will get the pistons in a similar position.
I bled both of my brakes with the bleed blocks in place and the front pad contact is just right while the rear has too much lever pull before the pads make contact. So I did as I described after bleeding to get the pads a touch closer and the lever throw to match the front.
The issue is that the bleed blocks keep the pistons farther apart than they are in normal use. The brakes are self-adjusting and should "pump up" when you reinstall the pads and wheel, and work the lever a few times (goneskiian's tip is a quick way to accomplish the same thing). I experienced the same thing you did after bleeding according to Shimano's instructions, but working the levers resulted in them both ending up equal and solid, the rear just takes more actuations to get there.
I have a related question on the R785s. I've adjusted the free stroke screws and they don't seem to make any difference. Regardless of their position, the brake levers stop with the shift buttons around 5/8" from the bars. They're solid, so I know that there's no air in the system. How much actual adjustment are you guys seeing?
