Review: Epic Bleed Solutions – Avid Elixir disc brake bleed kit
One of the best features of hydraulic disc brakes is that they are basically pretty low maintenance. I’ve had some disc brakes that have never needed anything other than new pads from time to time.
Despite that, there’s a good chance that sooner or later you will find you need to bleed them and that’s where Epic Bleed Solutions come in.
The best reason for bleeding your brakes is that it considerably improves their performance. Most hydraulic systems use fluid which is hygroscopic, meaning it attracts water. Over time, this water in the system can lead to a spongy feel to the brakes, so replacing the fluid is a smart move.
Other reasons for bleeding your brakes include swapping the brakes to another frame and needing to split the brake hoses, air in the system or even crash damage.
So there’s plenty of reasons to bleed your brakes but the problem is that most hydraulic brakes require a specific bleed kit from the manufacturer. This can be pretty expensive, for example the official Avid bleed kit for my Avid Elixirs (which need bleeding more than most) retails at £39.99. Ouch!
With that in mind, I was pretty interested to try the Avid Bleed Kit from Epic Bleed Solutions. Their Avid bleed kit costs just £12.99 with free UK delivery and includes everything you need for the job: Protective gloves, two syringes with flow locks on them with brass threaded bolts to attach to the brake inlet/outlets, an elastic band (!) plus more than enough fresh DOT5.1 fluid to get the job done. A really good package.
There’s full instructions, but I recommend a quick Google to throw up some official SRAM videos to help with that too as – although a simple job – with the Avids everything needs to be done in the right order.
All in all, I’m pretty pleased with Epic’s bleed kit, it’s well worth checking out. Other kits are available (for Shimano, Formula, Hayes and Clarks), as are further supplies of hydraulic fluid should you need it. RockShox Reverb users with the remote XLoc may also be interested to know there’s a kit for that too!
About the author
Matt is one of the founding Molefathers of the Muddymoles, and is the designer and main administrator of the website.
Having ridden a 2007 Orange Five for many years then a 2016 YT Industries Jeffsy 29er, he now rocks a Bird Aether 9 and a Pace RC-627.
An early On-One Inbred still lurks in the back of the stable as a reminder of how things have moved on. You can even find him on road bikes - currently a 2019 Cannondale Topstone 105 SE, a much-used 2011 Specialized Secteur and very niche belt drive Trek District 1.
If you've ever wondered how we got into mountain biking and how the MuddyMoles started, well wonder no more.
There are 4 comments on ‘Review: Epic Bleed Solutions – Avid Elixir disc brake bleed kit’
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StevenD says:
The Shimano kits are only £4.99 ! I think I will order one now for my Spring service. Nice one Matt.
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Posted on January 17, 2012 at 10:00 pm
Epic Bleed Solutions says:
Thanks for this review, Matt. Just to let people know we will hopefully have a Magura kit online within a couple of weeks as well as Hope. We’re also working on a universal bleed kit which will suit users with multiple bikes/brake sets.
If you’re interested in any of the up coming products please get in touch.
Epic.
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Posted on January 17, 2012 at 11:03 pm
Related: Ride report: Wednesday 7 February – Night riding in the snow | Muddymoles
Epic Bleed Solutions says:
Just a quick update to the product releases we mentioned in our earlier comment. Our Avid bleed kit has now been updated with new and improved bleed adaptors and locking syringes which make for a more secure syringe assembly.
Also our Magura bleed kit is now online and available in disc and rim variations.
Our RockShox Reverb bleed kit has also been launched since we last posted and offers a massive saving over the genuine SRAM kit.
We have also dedicated a section of the website to bleed kit spares and we have now added more products to our ‘brake fluid’ section.
Also check out our Clear cable rub / Protective frame patches which have gained some positive feedback since their launch.
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Posted on April 25, 2012 at 6:01 pm