Savage 96 SB8125L $7 + $5.95 s&h   (Wendy has four on her Camaro.)

I've wondered about these things. So is the idea the check ball keeps air from being sucked in while you pump the brake lever?

Seems like you'd still be going through the close-open-close-open-close procedure at the end as you check to see whether there are air bubbles and the lever/pedal travel is firm.

Running around town with air in your brakes can make YOU into the speed bleeder !!!

     

Doing it on purpose for years and years due to a simple "no maintenance" mindset, that sets an especially bad example for our new members to follow .....

              and how do you adjust them valves again, Bill?

Bleeding your brakes for a brand new person totally unused to bike mechanical work takes on the order of a half hour of time, with 1 helper required during the last little bit when you are manipulating the bleed valve while under pressure.

Or get yourselves one of the speed bleeders as shown above, then you can do it all by yourself in the same amount of time.

or, if you are Yoda-ish Jedi mindset ....       that means dirt cheap to you youngsters who ain't been around long

Paladin, do you stick a piece of clear tubing on the end of your bleeder valve nipple so you can clearly see your air bubbles stopping and starting and you can clearly see when you fluid becomes all nice and clean and new?

I find that a couple of feet of clear tubing, once it becomes full of fluid, it also acts as a check valve for the return stroke.   I pump down by myself (spending my attention up top keeping the reservoir nice and full) and when I see a clear fluid stream in the tube (and no air bubbles) I finger tighen the valve until it will just barely pass fluid and give it a resistance squeeze or two at the lever and on the last one I clinch the bleeder valve off in mid stroke with my foot to make durn sure no air can get in on the return stroke.
(cause there ain't one, it got pinched off while still pushing)

So, using some clear tubing to act as your "check valve" can allow you to do it by yourself with complete assurance you have no air in your system.

Actually, there aren't any air leaks doing it this way.

When you have the bleeder valve open and are pumping under pressure to move the old brake fluid on out quickly, brake fluid goes into the threads.  You can promote this by blocking off the clear tubing with your thumb and giving the lever a squeeze against resistance, this also allows you to see just how "fluid mobile" your threads really are wilst getting the air out and filling them up with solid fluid.

(Squeeze hard enough and you can pop that clear tubing off the nipple end, you can)    

Now, when you finger tighten the shutoff valve for resistance on your last strokes, your threads and any internal gaps are already full of fluid and no air can run down the tiny long curling gap between the threads because it is actually a long long way to go from outside air to the inside going around and around and around and around the fine threads that would have to move the fluid out of themselves first to allow any air to get inside.

But, for the cautious among us, there is teflon tape and that thick yellow pipe sealant compound that could be used on the threads of the shut off valve to make it a sealed system during pump down.

Messy and unnecessary to my way of thinking though.

Same thing, a one-way valve.  Better if you have one built in the bleeder on each, or if you can FIND the external valve.

sbaugz wrote on 02/28/11 at 04:21:57:

Anyone?