Free Stroke Adjustment Trick | Hydraulic Disc Brakes With No Adjustment Screw
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- Опубликовано: 1 сен 2020
- The free stroke adjustment on Shimano hydraulic disc brakes greatly affects the fit and feel of the brake lever in your hands. Unfortunately, only the top tier hydraulic levers like Shimano GRX 810, Ultegra, and Dura Ace get a proper free stroke adjustment. However, if you have a low to mid range hydraulic disc brake set, like Shimano GRX 400, GRX 600, 105 and Tiagra, you’re still in luck with this free stroke adjustment hack.
It’s a bit of a controversial one, because you’re never supposed to squeeze the brake lever with no wheel installed. However, if you’re careful and take the time to understand what you’re doing and why, this trick can work pretty well. No brake bleeding is required using this method.
Let me know how this trick works for you. Comments and questions are always appreciated.
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Loved your video. I used a slightly different approach. I measured the thickness of my rotor at 1.64 mm. Then got out feeler gauges and tried different combinations until I found 1.57 mm thickness. I dropped the wheels out and put the feeler gauges between the pistons of the Shimano 105 hydraulic brake. When I actuated the front lever the brake pistons came in to grip the feeler gauges, causing a slight tightening of the free stroke. This method gave me precise control and works beautifully. Whatever the thickness of your rotor is, use feeler gauges that total .07 mm thinner. If you want even less free stroke, try .09 mm thinner. I think you’ll be pleased with the results.
Nice! A much more controlled approach.
This is exactly what I was going to say. Fool it into thinking the rotor is a bit thinner with metal shims. Brilliant. I just discovered my brand new XTR M9100 2 piston brakes have no free stroke adjustment. Gonna do this!!!!!
Thanks to your comment, I learned what a "feeler gauge" is and that such tool exists. 😀
With my M9100 XTR, .051" of shims worked great for a .070" XTR rotor. I may try to go a bit further. This method works excellent. 👍👍
I know this is an old comment, but just wanted to thank you. I was going to try this later today thinking it might work on my 105 brakes, I'm glad to hear it worked before I dig my feelers out of storage.
Thank you so much for teaching me how to reset my hydraulic calipers. I pressed the brake lever when the wheel was off and didn't know how to fix that problem until watching your video. Thank you for anticipating my problem and having an easy fix.
Super effective teaching! You broke down the steps and reasons in an easy to understand method. Most home bike tweekers can now impress their friends!
GREAT VID .Dont forget if you push the pistons out a bit you make space in the systym.replace that space with hyd oil;
Brilliant and well explained!!!! I have just bought a Creo with GRX600 levers and was dissapointed there was no adjustment, this is a great workaround thanks for the tip!!!!
I started asking question after the 4th approach of rear brake bleeding process. This video helped me out and brakes works much better now
You sir are a champ! Incredibly clear explanation, covered all the key points, no doubts left whastoever!!!
Thanks in abundance!
I wish Shimano-tec videos were this well executed and paced!
Great video! Super informative and right to the point. I just got my first bike with hydraulic braking and I already miss the simplicity of mechanical brakes. Once I use your steps though and fine tune it to my liking I'm sure I'll be glad to have the GRX groupset
So eloquent and on point. Love it!
Such a clear presentation, well done for sussing this out and presenting it so well, thank you
Brilliant video, really well presented and the tinker works effectively. My levers have a free stroke screw but it made little difference. This approach is perfect.
Remarkably clear and concise presentation and speaking.
Nice! Just got my bike back from the shop after a brake bleed, and my levers had way to much free stroke. Thought i was gonna have to take a trip back to the shop. Thank you!
Nice video and very informative! Instead of squeezing the brake lever incrementally with no rotor present, just put together a credit and, say, a business card (about 1.6mm thickness) and place these between the pads before squeezing the brake fully. if still too much free stroke, remove the business card and repeat with just the credit card. This way you can gradually decrease the free stroke without going too far.
Thank you a lot. I just bought the grx rx400 levers and combined them with deore calipers.
Excellent video/explanation! Thank you sir...
Great tip. Gonna try it on my mountain bike.
Great tips! Thanks 👏👏
Great explanation!!
Smashed the like button. Going to check the channel and likely subscribe. Your editing and narration skills are top notch and all who make videos should take note. Thank you for sharing this ever so important bit of information. I now have the much needed adjustment that has been eluding me.
So kind, thx 🙏
exactly what I was looking for
Excellent concise explanation, thank you.
This worked like a charm!
Amazingly helpful video. I haven't done bike maintenance for a couple years now but I just got a new bike that comes with hydraulic brakes installed. Unfortunately the box looks like it got banged up and the front wheel wasn't installed in shipping. This whole time I've been trying to figure out why the tension is way too tight on the front wheel and every video I've watched about hydraulic brakes just talks about caliper alignment. I hadn't heard about this biking taboo about engaging the brakes without a disc but this makes so much sense with hydraulics. The brakes on my bike must've been engaged in transport. I'm going to try resetting the resting point like you showed but now I also have the bonus of knowing about this free stroke adjustment hack!!!
Thanks so much. You explain things so well, even for a beginner like me!
Cheers!
Great video!
Very interesting 💪
Thanks
Thanks, not at all what I thought, but one small part solved my problem :)
Very clearly explained - thanks!
Thx for watching!
Concise and very informative!
As a v-brake user, I enjoy a very short free stroke on my back brake, and I'm always surprised (and slightly terrified) whenever I find myself squeezing a hydraulic brake lever, and nothing happens for the first 50-60% of the lever's travel.
Now that I'm adding a bike with disc brakes to my stable, your procedure will likely be one of the first things I perform on it in order to be able to trust the brakes and love the bike.
Nice! Thing is the effective pull ratio is different on v brakes vs disc. Whereas you can get a away with very tight v brakes, disc brakes with too little free stroke are subject to disc rub if rotors aren’t perfectly straight
@@TheBikeSauce That makes sense. And it's something I will learn to understand and get used to. But as you describe in the video, it's also an important aspect to feeling safe and confident.
Right on!
@@TheBikeSauce True, and one negative of disc brakes in general. I hear Shimano has plans to address this in future.
informative, to the point, thoughts are well organized. Top notch bike video thank you!!!!
Thanks for checking it out!
Legend. Worked on my Sram AXS Rival levers. I wish you much revenue and kudos through your RUclips channel.
😆 glad it worked out
Really helpful. Thank you :)
Thanks a lot! You saved the day!
I adjust free stroke by installing a square or 2 of highly sticky 'scotch' aluminium foil to the rear of the pads. This tape is used in the aero industry for similar purposes.. I get the product from a friend who works In the UK and services helicopters for offshore.
Used it forever on mechanical and hydraulic pedal cycle brakes.. Its very precise to me and easy.
Agreed, on the few rides I'd done on bikes with hydraulic brakes I found the excess freeplay rather unnerving. My preference on rim brakes has been to set the brakes up so that the slightest movement of the lever engages the brake. But to transfer to hydraulics, having to hunt around for that engagement point on a brake system with so much stopping power, with a corner fast approaching is a recipe for losing the back wheel or being thrown over the bars.
Thank you for this, I've just made the adjustment on a recently-purchased bike.
Bravo fantastic trick! Thank you. this method shortens free stroke by essentially resetting the pads closer to the rotor. Like the video said, if your rotor is not near perfectly straight, or you have disc rub issues, then this trick may not work for you.
Great advice.
Well presented. Well Done.
Thx, Gary
great help.
What a great tip! Thanks, you just gave me back the right breaking feeling in my back brake :-)
Right on!
This explains why I had such a hell of a time getting my wheels back on after shipping my bike across the country. I must have squeezed the break levers while packing it away 🤦
Thanks for that!
It's really hard when the manufacturer and all other guides don't tell you this.
Ain't that the truth!
Yeah, why is this not in the manual?
It’s kind of a hack and really only meant as a temporary fix
Legend, perfect video
Wow, this is an awesome tip! I wish the bike shop mechanics would be so knowledgable.
Glad it was helpful. I’m sure your local mechanics know this too.
@@TheBikeSauce I was at 2 bike shops and nobody could help with this free stroke, they just said that it is not adjustable. One bike shop said, that I need to change the brake pads, which I doubt, because the bike is only 4 months old and 1000km of total distance ridden. Your advice acually helped to make the brake at least usable, however I think there is also air in the system, that needs to be removed.
Nice! Well a full bleed will likely help, but this trick works in a pinch
@@eldarssa2788 I’m in the same situation, free stroke seems to be a “problem” for many people
they are. it's just not in their interest to set you straight. they rely on you coming back. that's why they only do what you ask for.
I found placing something slightly thinner than the disc to put in between the pads, before engaging the brakes, provided a good resting point. I experienced a little brake rub and found recentering the caliper fixed it. Thanks for the tip!
I'm about to try this for the first time and was thinking of doing the same thing, stacking up a few plastic cards so I can adjust as needed.
Ditto here, realigning the caliper housing gets rid of any rub.
Ok, just went out and tried this technique on my 2023 Trek Domane SL5 with 105 kit. IT WORKS great.
Thank you again for this awesome information that is so hard to find.
🤘🤘🤘
Thanks man
Thank you, this worked great for me too, but I don't understand how this works since the system is a closed loop. Can you explain how this works for the cylinder to stay in position without adding oil?
I'm pretty sure this will only work for a while. Once the pads and rotor wear down, the system will begin to compensate normally again. Of course depending on how quickly you wear down the pads, this may last a reasonably long time before you would have to do it again.
Thank you! Love the bite on my 105s, but there is far too much freeplay.
Great video 👌👌
Thx for watching!
thaks man
Thanks!
Thanks, Dan!!!!!
Mae sure you do this with new pads fitted or you’ll need to carry out full process when you replace pads.
Thanks.
you sir are a genius
😆
Great video, i have dura ace, but cant find the free brake adjustment. Any ideas?
I really need to try this on my sram axs setup. The adjustment is at max but still the pads don't make contact till the levers are near the bars. Even the bike shop said that's just the way it is, nothing can be done. Glad I saw this
AXS levers definitely have a free stroke and a reach adjustment. You’ve got both maxed out? If so, then perhaps play with the clamping position on the bars. If all else fails, this trick should help
did that turn out to be a bad bleed cos sram bleed is a PIA
Thank you for taking the trouble to create this video.
Saving me money. Been smashing my fingers under the lever until now!
😆 well that’s just no fun
I always thought it would adjust on its own but you really need to remove the disc to get that extra movement. But never remove the break pads too, because if you close the break too far, you might destroy the membrane of the brake (completely destroying the brake and hydraulic fluid leaking out)
Just get the syringe with a small drop of oil and pump it into the caliper don't do anything with the brake lever so as you apply pressure open and close the little tab then try your brake lever this is the best hack is out there
Thanks for this. It worked beautifully on my GRX 400. Fairly new bike and the factory free stoke seemed too long to me. Now it’s nice and short like I like it. No rotor rub either. This is a good thing to do if you know that your system is new. I don’t like to bleed my system unless I know that it’s time to replace my brake pads as well.👍
Nice! Glad it helped
I can’t see how this adjustment will hold for more than a short while. The hydraulic system from lever/reservoir to pistons has a very specific volume and, at any point in time, a very specific amount of fluid in it. Partially pushing out the pistons in this way will momentarily expand the volume of the system, but not fluid filling it, effectively inducing a slight negative pressure in the line and reservoir. The only way to get a lasting shorter and firm stroke is to add more fluid to the system by bleeding and filling. I did try the hack on my GRX 600s and all I achieve was a bit of rotor rub and no change to the stroke. I pushed the pistons back and will proceed to a full bleed.
Thanks for this. I've just bought a new Canyon Endurace 7 with a Shimano 105 groupset, including disc brakes. The front brake lever has way more travel than the rear brake, and I prefer them to be equal and quite tight. I'll give this hack a try to see if it helps.
Actually, the levers do have adjusters. Shimano must have added this to the 105s since this video.
adjusters for reach, or free stroke? most have reach adj , but no free stroke
It for reach adj@@TheBikeSauce
pads should reset themselves if you sqieeze brake leavers too much.
what actually can help is reducing thickness of bleeding block slightly so you will overfill system with brake fluid so pistons will be naturally furter out just do not overfill it too much :)
So how do we adjust the free stroke on Grx 810? I can’t find any adjustment screw.
Does this apply to SRAM AXS RED road brakes ?
Very good! Congrats! But I have a question: as the disc wears, do we need to readjust this?
the disc and the pads...
At 4:56 you adjusted the reach with what looked like a toothpick...how exactly did you do that? Is there a dialing screw like on other levers?
GRX levers have a 2.5mm (I think) reach adjustment screw accessible from the side of the lever. It turns a cam and sets the reach very easily
Quick way to find exact out-of-true spot on disc is whiteboard marker line around disc and give it a spin.
Great hack!
This saved the world actually. And space too ...
Ha. It's a trick that's worked for me for a long time. But proceed with caution as people have mixed opinions about this trick I think.
Hoping this works on my Shimano 105 BR-R7070 hydro. Free stroke is to the bars before it grabs well. Fingers crossed
It should help
Hi, thanks for your video, in fact I was looking for a video which explains how to reduce free stroke on my new Bike. I come from a rim brake bike and on my new disc brake I noticed that the lever is too long. So the procedure is to remove the wheel and try a little bit to squeeze the lever without wheel, right?
Yup. Once the free stroke is reduced, you can then adjust the lever reach to be closer to the bar
@@TheBikeSauce ok, it should be not easy to squeeze a little bit and pads don’t touch themselves 😅
Do you think I can use a feeler gauge with a bunch of thickness to dial in the free stroke instead. Like stick a feeler gauge that is a little thinner than the rotor. I feel like this might be more consistent and can dial in the free stroke better based on feeler gauge thickness being used.
For sure
... to add ... my problem is that levers are going all the way to grip which is not good so i tried this trick but it's interesting when i press the brake, pads come closer but they return almost to initial position which is odd in my opinion, pressing brake couple of times more they get closer i guess because on front brake i managed to get some shorter travel of lever, but now pads are touching the disk for a bit.
On back caliper i also did the same but lever still goes way back and pads are also hugging the rotor a bit.
What are my other options ?
So you generally have to squeeze much further than you’d expect to reset the pads a bit further in. You’re right though; too far and you’ll get some pad rub. You can push the pads back into the caliper with a flat plastic tool and try again. As for the rear, you can try squeezing a bit further, but a cure all would be a full brake bleed with a properly sized bleed block.
There is some diference between the Tiagra and the GRX RX400 STI shifters or is just the name?
I need to replace my levers and the Tiagra model are so much cheaper than the RX400.
It isn’t taboo in the bike world. It’s just very dangerous.. this, like over filling the system causes seals in STI to rupture..have seen it (and done it) a few times
2nd this. Done it myself: 250€ damage
always scared to be on the drops as my current 105 brakes have quite a free play before biting. already adjusted with the hack method, hopefully, more confidence on the drops now. thanks bikesauce!
What hack? Shimano 105 have free stroke adjustment.
Depends on which version of 105
@@TheBikeSauce which version has one? Thanks for the vid btw!
Great vid nd just what i was looking for, do you know if SRAM has any adjustment or should i use this process?
Depends on the model I think. Basic levers don’t usually get a free stroke adjustment
@@TheBikeSauce its Sram Force HRD, if not Ill have to try your adjustments
Been using this method for a while on my 105 brakes, but the reduced freestroke always seems to last for about a day for me, so I have to do it each time I ride pretty much.
Interesting. Haven't experienced that.
@@TheBikeSauce I have no experience with this (just interested because I have small hands and wondering whether I need GRX 812 levers on my first road/gravel bike), but as soon a I saw you adjust the pads back in just by pushing them with that plastic tool, my question was: how do they not just reset by themselves when you use them for the first time?
Good question. I think it has to do with where the force is coming from. Pushing the pads manually is different from actuating the lever and having the master cylinder compress the brake fluid. Either way, it’s certainly a hack. Works well for me and levers don’t reset to their original position.
Hmmm...thinking about how the cylinder seals advance with pad wear, doesn't pad wear slowly "undo" your adjustment, to the point where the seal finally rolls forward enough to advance (at the original pad to rotor spacing)? Seems like you'd have to do this adjustment a few times over the life of the pads, and it's basically eliminating one of the advantages of hydraulic disc brakes (i.e. automatic pad wear adjustment)
You're not wrong. It's certainly not a 'clean' solution, but it helps in the meantime if you don't have higher end levers
@@TheBikeSauce I can appreciate that.
can this also be applied to mtb hydraulic disc brakes?
Yea should work in a pinch
really usefull ... the 105 doc say there is a free stroke bolt but it isnt lol... shame on shimano
What about the Giant Conduct system ? Do you know how to do it on that?
Isn’t that system partially mechanical? If so, you can probably take out some the slack through cable tension adjustment
in case you have not figured it out it work the same way but a good bleed is better giant don't seem to be ale to do it at the factory also titen the cable as much as possible
@@meneldil7604
Well more or less.. :D
i dont find any instructions on how to tighten the cables..
@@Milan-de9fp I have a link for them if you like
@@meneldil7604 oh yes please that would help a lot! Thanks in advance 🙏🏽
So, after doing this trick, is it recommended to top up the hydraulic fluid?
I haven’t needed to. Fundamentally, it’s just pulling a bit more fluid from the reservoir.
@@TheBikeSauce alright. Thank you. I did do the ‘fix’ on front and back. It did help. Not perfect, but an improvement for sure. I was wondering if I could shim behind the brake pads to apply the same ‘hack’. Thoughts on that?
I wouldn’t shim the pads; the pad to caliper engagement is pretty critical
@@TheBikeSauce roger that.
On my sram rival eTap (garbage brake all over) this only works for a very short time and then slowly creeps back to the original position.
If you then have adjusted the reach too far in you can hardly break anymore since the levers hit the bars :/
Bummer. Yea it’s not a perfect solution. Works fine on my grx600 series
@@TheBikeSauce I’m seriously considering selling my road bike and getting a different one with a Shimano group set.
The only good thing about the rival eTap is the wireless system, that works great, the mechanical parts are all noticeably inferior…
No need for a new bike, groupset swap is easy enough
@@TheBikeSauce easy yes, cost effective - probably not. Here in Europe an 2x12 ultegra di2 Kit goes for around 1800€…
Why do my cheap Tektro brakes have a free stroke adjustment and my Shimano's don't?
Good question
theres reach adjustment in 105
but not free stroke adj
The correct free stroke is 4mm. Well, at least for me
what also works fine is replacing your old worn off pads for new ones :D
Pad wear doesn’t affect lever free stroke. Modern hydraulic disc calipers self adjust for pad wear
@@TheBikeSauce aha, and adding more fluid into hydraulic system works ??
Oh no, this video isn’t adding any fluid to the system. It’s just tricking the system into thinking it’s got a thinner / thicker rotor. It’s a workaround for not having a free stroke adjustment.
@@TheBikeSauce yea sure i get it, i am only thinking if you do it with a really worn out pads, if it is needed to add the fluid into system, just asking
So in al actuality you are simply reducing pad travel and therefore reducing gap between pad and disc thus causing even more rubbing with less debris on the system. which is already pretty anoying on a GRX brake on gravel. And every little bit the pad wears creates more travel so undoing your work. Up to the point that you're back to the original travel.
Yup. Most of the higher end levers have a knob or adjustment screw to do this for you
@@TheBikeSauce sorry but that is not the case. On the high end levers you can adjust the free play between lever and piston as well as the reach of the lever. But that doesn't reposition the pads/pistons in the calliper. There is even a overlap between the two adjustments. But as it is an open system (as opposed to what you mention in the beginning) the piston in the lever has to retract all trhe way to open towards the reservoir. Thus it's not possible to adjust the travel of that piston itself. What you are doing is simply limiting the travel inwards of the pads therefore also the gap between pad and disc potentially causing rubbing or more rubbing and wear af pad and disc. And most of all irritating noise. None of that is done with the adjustment of the high end levers
Sure, but it’s the same effect if you can’t afford high end levers. Not a perfect solution, hence the disclaimers in the video. If you can true disc rotors well, then no rubbing. I’ve had no rubbing on this setup so far and I use this technique on all my bikes. Disc rotor rubbing is irritating, I agree with you
so 105 doesn't get free stroke adjustment? that's bullshit -.-
😆 I don’t believe it does. Perhaps 105 will eventually get trickle down tech
...why not just make a shim that's thinner than the rotor?...
Good idea. It might work, but there’s other variables to consider. Also this isn’t an adjustment you should have to make all the time.
@@TheBikeSauce A shim would be more repeatable, though. I tried doing it with a washer that was 0.1 mm smaller than my rotor and that seemed to make a slightly improvement. I'm not sure if I want to push it any more without a better understanding of how the system works. Might try filing it down another 0.1 mm, though.
Nice!
@@TheBikeSauce I tried filing it down to .2 mm thinner than the rotor. I wouldn't recommend going any thinner than this. There's just a little bit of stroke before top edge of the pad hits the rotor, which is enough to cause drag but not enough to provide any braking force. Now I think the pad to rotor angle actually causes more perceived free play than the air gap.
Machined or filed by hand?
If the Shimano System is as effective as on their MTB lineup, it's useless anyways. Literally nothing happens when you change free stroke on the XT/XTR system.
Haha hadn’t experienced that in the past
People on YT need to learn to just FUCKING get to the point.