Some guy on Reddit roasted my brake bleed and honestly thank god

Posted my first disc brake bleed last month and some commenter said "enjoy your squishy lever" and told me I probably still had air in the line. Ignored it for a week until the lever started feeling soft on a ride. Pulled the caliper off and tapped it while bleeding again, sure enough a tiny bubble came out. Lever's perfect now. Anyone else get a mean comment that actually saved them from a crash or something?

2 comments

2 Comments

riverowens1mo ago

@paulperez is right about the tap method being slept on. Its not some secret mechanic hack, its basic physics. Air sticks to the walls of the caliper and needs a little vibration to break free. But here is my real question for you - did you do the tap while the bleed screw was open or closed? Because I see people tap it all day with the screw tightened down and then wonder why nothing changes. You gotta tap while the fluid is actually flowing through so that bubble has a path out. If you tapped it with the bleed port closed, you were just shaking the air to a different spot in the caliper. Not trying to be mean, just wondering if that first bubble you got was from the tapping or just from letting the system gravity bleed longer. Paul's comment got me thinking about how many people skip the step of pulling the caliper off the frame and rotating it so the bleed port is at the highest point too. That alone catches so many hidden bubbles.

paulperez1mo ago

People sleep on the tap method way too much. Tapping the caliper with a hex key while you bleed is honestly the difference between a good bleed and a perfect one. Air bubbles love to hide in the corners of the caliper body and they won't move unless you shake them loose. That Reddit guy probably saved you from a long walk home or worse if you were going downhill fast. Every mechanic I know taps the caliper as part of their standard bleed routine, it's not some secret trick it's just common sense.