gliderrider

Hi Glenn, I like the 'hang it from a tree' idea; a nice bit of lateral thinking! Its just a shame I cut down what would have been the perfect tree for this a few months ago... I did have a pressuried brake bleeder, but ebayed it, thinking I would never have a need for it, so hanging the bike from a tree looks like my next move. I'm in Farnham, Surrey in England. Farnham is about 35 miles South West of London. Thanks for the info. Robin

Thanks for the reply Glenn. I've added some DOT4 fluid, and tried to bleed the brakes. The front one is ok from the second pull onwards, but the back one is non-existent. I took the rear caliper off and checked that both pistons move. What baffles me is that the rear master cylinder takes the fluid upwards and then down into the pipe to the rear brake. I can't see how it is possible to get all the air out of this, as one would expect the air to collect at the highest point. Short of laying the bike on its right hand side and bleeding with the caliper nipple as the highest point, I find it hard to believe all the air would come out. I did try slackening the 13mm union nut at the top of the rear master cylinder to bleed air out of it as I pressed the brake pedal, but this didn't seem to help. Any other thoughts? Thanks, Robin

Hi, I've just bought a Fantic 243 with Grimeca disc brakes front & rear. Its the type with a cable going from the handlebars to the front master cylinder behind the competition number position on the front forks. I bought the bike knowing it needed work and both brakes have problems at the moment. The rear one appears to have the master cylinder stuck at the top of its stroke, and the front one just doesn't work, possibly due to a lack of fluid. My question is, what type of fluid should these Grimeca brakes use? I found a scan of the original manual for the bike which only says use 'Castrol Disc Brake Fluid'. Presumably this is a DOT 4 type? Has any one else had problems with these Grimeca brakes and/or got tips on servicing/overhauling them? Any advice is much appreciated. Thanks, Robin