xtr 987 brake lever weird feel

[devinci]

Got a set of xtr 987 brakes. The rear lever started to feel weird today. It goes through its normal travel and the braking is ok but if I force it a bit further there is some more travel, bit spongy like feel, the lever seems to feel soft sometimes and then builds stiffers while I brake.

Is a bleed already needed?

[hjb1000]

My front 987 is starting to fade a bit too after about 4 months use, I'm thinking it's bleed time.

[devinci]

I hope my lever or master cylinder has nothing wrong... Hoipefully its the normal bleed time feeling

[ophiravina]

this is what happens with a lot of shimano brakes, a friend of mine had it with the 985 after 3 month of use. he is a bike shop owner so he bled the brakes immediately, and he had no problems since then ( about a year now)...

I have the xt brakes since july, and rear brake feel spongy since january haha.
I always say that I will bleed them when I will buy new brake pads, but when I switch my pads, I forget about it or I'm in a hurry...
I'm sure that it will solve the problem but I'm too lazy to do it, I will probably bleed them before the nationals

[DanW]

Sounds like normal bleed time. My XTR are starting to go a bit spongy and I've lived with it for a while... but having just put some new XT on my rigid SS I can see how overdue the bleed is! A quick tickle of the brakes on the SS has me catapulted over the front whereas I'm used to pulling the lever nearly to the bars before anything starts to happen on the XTR It's always a fun few minutes adjusting between the two extremes

[devinci]

how can you tell the bleed is successful?

I bled them a few minutes ago, put back old pads, put wheel back, press the lever and at first few strokes it was reaching the handlebars but after a few pumps it went back to where it was before. I then put new pads and now it feels stiff enough

[jmomentum]

Is there anymore feedback on these brakes (987)? I'm thinking of ordering them but there seem to be very few reviews.

Are you still happy with your brakes or are you having problems?

[devinci]

Hi

Very satisfied with my brakes. They work very well with my KCNC razor rotor and with my CL XT icetech rotors. For some reason, my regular non icetech XT rotors lack braking power massively.

[TheKaiser]

I don't know how successful it will be, but you may want to try "resurfacing" those XT rotors that lack power. First, to eliminate risk of contamination, clean the heck out of them with a brake cleaner like white lightning clean streak or other reside free brake cleaner, or alternatively, some hot soapy water with very thorough hot water rinsing, and then a rubbing alcohol wipe down afterward couldn't hurt.

Once you are certain there isn't any oil or anything that could recontaminate them, then get some super fine sandpaper or emery cloth and buff the braking surface with circular strokes, all the way around. You should be able to tell visually how much is needed, as the grit will leave swirl patterns where it has cut the surface.

Once you have sanded them to expose a fresh surface, mount them on the bike and do the manufacturer recommended bed in procedure, which is usually something like 15 hard stops from 20mph or so. I sometimes prefer to find a long hill and pedal down it in a low gear with the brake applied hard for an extended period, alternating front and rear.

The purpose of this is to get a layer of the pad material to transfer to the rotor, which provides the proper surface. Supposedly, switching from one pad compound (organic, semi metallic, etc...) to another can interfere with the process, and it should be redone for each new type of pad that you use. Something in the past may have interfered with the process on your XTs.