Bar swop, hydraulic brake hoses

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liam7020
Posts: 1263
Joined: Tue Jul 27, 2010 10:04 am

by liam7020

I'm planning to do some cross this winter and intending to buy a Vitus Energie bike from Wiggle. The bike comes with a house brand handlebar with internally routed hoses which is both heavy and a tad fugly. So I'm hoping to change it to something pretty in carbon and keep the hoses external.

This will obviously entail dismantling the existing hoses to get them out of the handlebar. I'm well experienced working on rim brakes but disc brakes not so much, so my question is what is the most efficient way of getting this job done without a fountain of hydraulic fluid spraying over me and the bike? Cheers.
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Klaster_1
Posts: 1390
Joined: Mon Aug 15, 2016 10:25 am
Location: Paphos, Cyprus

by Klaster_1

liam7020 wrote:
Sun Aug 29, 2021 1:11 pm
what is the most efficient way of getting this job done without a fountain of hydraulic fluid spraying over me and the bike
1. Ask Wiggle to put a bar of your choice, if they carry it.
2. Use services of a LBS.
3. Loan or purchase necessary tools and consumables, learn how to maintain brake lines. Maybe ask a friend to help, if they know how.

Personally, I really dislike brake maintenance, mostly due to tedious cleanup afterwards.

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liam7020
Posts: 1263
Joined: Tue Jul 27, 2010 10:04 am

by liam7020

I've asked Wiggle - they won't play ball on that one. I have nearly all the tools I need for the job and I'm pretty sure I can do the job myself but just looking for a heads up on the best way to do the job with the least mess. As you say, disc brake is a tedious operation - I'm not a fan but do see their value on cross bikes.
Tarmac SL6 & Campag Record EPS https://weightweenies.starbike.com/foru ... 0&t=153968

"Sometimes you don't need a plan. You just need big balls." Tom Boonen

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Klaster_1
Posts: 1390
Joined: Mon Aug 15, 2016 10:25 am
Location: Paphos, Cyprus

by Klaster_1

liam7020 wrote:
Sun Aug 29, 2021 4:03 pm
just looking for a heads up on the best way to do the job with the least mess
What I learned besides the bleed itself is to prepare containers for oily parts, 2-4 food packaging trays will be enough. If you have disposable rags, tore a few beforehand, keep oily and dry rags separate. Prepare all the tools before starting and do the procedure in mind first. Use degreaser to clean oil spills, like isopropyl alcohol. Work in gloves to protect the hand skin. Eventually, the gloves will get oily and you'll need to touch something clean, like pump the lever - you can put several layers of gloves and remove dirty ones, or keep spare clean gloves, or make sure you can remove the gloves and put them back without hand getting oily. If the floor should be kept clean, for example if you service the bike in a living room instead of a garage, put a protective layer on the floor or clean it thoroughly from inevitable oil drops, you absolutely don't want to step into oil later. After the bleed is complete, put all the oily tools, rags and gloves into one of the trays I mentioned and wash with soap. Make sure the syringe plunger - if you use one - moves freely, you don't want to pull a stuck plunger too much and pop it out, spilling oil everywhere. If you use Shimano mineral oil containers, the plug gets brittle over time, be careful not to break it. Small Shimano oil bottles (50ml?) are easy to spill, so close them as soon as possible. I've watched a bunch of brake bleed tutorials to learn, but nobody mentions minute details like above (except for NileBlue, but that's not a bike channel).

liam7020
Posts: 1263
Joined: Tue Jul 27, 2010 10:04 am

by liam7020

Cheers for that - very thorough, I aapreciate it. I assume I would be better to disconnect the hoses from the levers rather than disconnecting at the calipers and trying to pull the hoses from the frame.
Tarmac SL6 & Campag Record EPS https://weightweenies.starbike.com/foru ... 0&t=153968

"Sometimes you don't need a plan. You just need big balls." Tom Boonen

by Weenie


Visit starbike.com Online Retailer for HighEnd cycling components
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Klaster_1
Posts: 1390
Joined: Mon Aug 15, 2016 10:25 am
Location: Paphos, Cyprus

by Klaster_1

liam7020 wrote:
Sun Aug 29, 2021 5:48 pm
I assume I would be better to disconnect the hoses from the levers rather than disconnecting at the calipers and trying to pull the hoses from the frame.
Good idea. Depending on bar internal routing channel diameter and flare nut size (some Shimano ones are ~12mm), you might have to cut the ends off in order to remove the bar. Make sure you got spares, barb press, hose cutter (or a sharp knife), and cut wrenches.

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