You can get new brakes a whole lot cheaper than a new bike, and depending on your shop's labor rates it probably wouldn't be too much cheaper than what a brake bleed would cost.

What specifically is wrong with your brakes that they "barely work anymore?"  Do they squeal, not grab, not do anything?

100% Shimano SLX or XT

I'm sure your current brakes could be made to work again, but the amount of time it would take vs. the cost to just buy some new basic brakes makes it a wash in the end. Depends on how you value your time I guess. I generally prefer to rebuild, as I enjoy taking stuff apart, but there are cases where a replacement/upgrade is called for. 

Look into some basic Shimano hydraulics (M396, M445, M447, M506, Deore, SLX, XT...all comes down to your budget) Anything Deore and below will function almost exactly the same, and you would be hard pressed to tell any difference in a blind test. Once you reach SLX level you get the servowave linkage in the lever which makes the lever feel snappy, which is nice. At that point, they are worth rebuilding and keeping in service IMO. 

I recently bought some used SLXs on here and did a full strip down and rebuild of master cylinders, lever linkages, and calipers. They work like new now. FWIW, I have ridden bikes with M396, M506, Deore, SLX and XT... I have also ridden Avid Elixir3s-crap, and currently ride w/ Sram Guide R-great. Shimanos are solid, and you can get some great deals right now on previous year models. 

Mineral oil brakes have an easier bleed process, and it is not corossive like DOT fluid, so just simpler to work with overall.  You will likely need to trim the lines for a clean install, but they usually ship with an extra olive to account for this. All you would need is some mineral oil and a basic Shimano bleed kit, or a friend/shop who will do install for you. 

Depending on the condition of your current rotors, you could either clean then up with some fine emery cloth and/or medium scotch brite to ensure the pads bed in properly, or if they are past their minimum thickness, just replace outright.

I recently got a new set of brakes cheaper than it was gonna cost me for bleeding and new pads.........just say'n.

front foot stops the front,,,Endo,,,back foot gives ya gluide.....just butta it...Just Sayin'

slayemf wrote on 10/20/16 at 11:11pm:

Impaler 58 wrote on 10/23/16 at 8:41pm:


That is very funny. +1 on BB7s