Expertise needed - Disappointing shimano XTR hydraulic brakes vs my old Hayes - lever travel and power

I just got an '04 Stumperjumper anniversary... sweet bike, but the XTR
hydraulic brakes sure do have a lot of lever travel, and they're really not
very strong either.

Compared to my 01' enduro's hayes hydraulics, which are VERY strong and have
nice short lever travel before they engage, these high dollar shimanos are a
disappointment so far.

I've carefully bled them, and while they don't feel mushy, the lever goes
halfway to the bar before they engage, and while they feel firm at that
point, the're still not very strong.

Does anyone have any experience with these brakes that might help me improve
them?

Thanks!

tkillinger- I just got an '04 Stumperjumper anniversary... sweet bike, but
the XTR
hydraulic brakes sure do have a lot of lever travel, and they're really not
very strong either. BRBR


Yikes, heaven forbid that I would wander into this area BUT. We had a set of
these in the shop, friend of the other wrench(otherwise we wouldn't touch
discs), COULD NOT bleed them adequately. had the same results as you. Sent them
to the 'disc brake guys' at another shop, they said and we saw the results, the
ONLY way to bleed these things(and XT as well) is to use a 'power bleeder',
that is something that puts pressure on the system to get the air out. Be sure
ya have lots of 'special shimano disc mineral oil' also. Hard to find, needed
for shimano discs and ya loose quite a bit when you use a pressurized bleed
system.

Peter Chisholm
Vecchio's Bicicletteria
1833 Pearl St.
Boulder, CO, 80302
(303)440-3535
http://www.vecchios.com
"Ruote convenzionali costruite eccezionalmente bene"

tkillinger- I just got an '04 Stumperjumper anniversary... sweet bike, but
the XTR
hydraulic brakes sure do have a lot of lever travel, and they're really not
very strong either. BRBR


Yikes, heaven forbid that I would wander into this area BUT. We had a set of
these in the shop, friend of the other wrench(otherwise we wouldn't touch
discs), COULD NOT bleed them adequately. had the same results as you. Sent them
to the 'disc brake guys' at another shop, they said and we saw the results, the
ONLY way to bleed these things(and XT as well) is to use a 'power bleeder',
that is something that puts pressure on the system to get the air out. Be sure
ya have lots of 'special shimano disc mineral oil' also. Hard to find, needed
for shimano discs and ya loose quite a bit when you use a pressurized bleed
system.

Peter Chisholm
Vecchio's Bicicletteria
1833 Pearl St.
Boulder, CO, 80302
(303)440-3535
http://www.vecchios.com
"Ruote convenzionali costruite eccezionalmente bene"