AustinBike Posted July 14, 2022 Share Posted July 14, 2022 Been struggling for more than 2 weeks with what I thought was a bad bleed. I hung my urban bike the other day and this morning the grip had fluid on it, so clearly my lever is leaking. Watched a video on YouTube and the repair looks to be a little more involved than I care to be. New levers are $55. Does any shop handle Shimano lever service or rebuilds? Knowing how cheap it is to replace that seems like an easy path but I'd rather not fill the earth with old parts if it makes sense to service it. What does the bike mind say? Pitch it or is there someone who can bring it back to life for a reasonable price. (Swapped the brakes from my hardtail so I am back in business but do need this addressed before the fall.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mack_turtle Posted July 14, 2022 Share Posted July 14, 2022 Shimano absolutely does not make spare parts available to rebuild their levers. I checked and I had a friend who has access to the information that Shimano only makes available to bike shops: master cylinder rebuilds and stuff like that is not a thing. I have successfully disassembled and reassembled a pair of SLX levers, mostly because I was told it could not be done. It did not make them any better because you can't buy rebuild kits. however, if somehow you could find exactly the right seals size for them, that would help. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AustinBike Posted July 14, 2022 Author Share Posted July 14, 2022 That is the best way to tell me to buy a new lever. I don't need the hassle. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AntonioGG Posted July 14, 2022 Share Posted July 14, 2022 Hopefully right-to-repair and circular economy legislation push changes this nonsense. If I can buy a peripheral cylinder rebuild kit for the brakes on a 1950's truck, I should be able to buy the same for a 2010 set of brakes. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mack_turtle Posted July 15, 2022 Share Posted July 15, 2022 I feel like it could totally be done if Shimano would just tell us what kind of seals to buy. I'd be very surprised a replacement seal is not available from some industrial source. I wish things like this would fall under incoming "right to repair" mentality. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mack_turtle Posted July 15, 2022 Share Posted July 15, 2022 1 minute ago, AntonioGG said: Hopefully right-to-repair and circular economy legislation push changes this nonsense. If I can buy a peripheral cylinder rebuild kit for the brakes on a 1950's truck, I should be able to buy the same for a 2010 set of brakes. ha! I typed my reply at the same time that you typed this. great minds, right? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AntonioGG Posted July 15, 2022 Share Posted July 15, 2022 What kind or rubber is needed for mineral oil seals? I hope the future is not just to be able to get parts shipped, but to buy the right to build a part locally using some kind of SLA or 3D printing technology. That's the future. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AustinBike Posted July 15, 2022 Author Share Posted July 15, 2022 Bullshit. Plastics! The future is plastics. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bart Posted July 15, 2022 Share Posted July 15, 2022 I find that about 75% of the time I break or have a defective product, I find out where the product warranty item is and box it and ship it back with a note and it's amazing how many times they send me a new one back. I've done it with Smith glasses, Sram shifter, several Makita products, and I'm about to send this Wahoo Element back that wont reset, even though Wahoo's online help/warranty link is worthless...I mean what am I gonna do with a broken $350 Wahoo? 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AntonioGG Posted July 15, 2022 Share Posted July 15, 2022 My son's Xbox lasted 18 months. So we watched YouTube videos on repair, and I picked up 2 broken Xboxes on ebay to see if from 3 we can make 1. He's pretty excited at the prospect of fixing it and if he learns from it, may try to make it a business. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AustinBike Posted July 16, 2022 Author Share Posted July 16, 2022 I did that with Tivos back in the day. Typically it was the power supply and you could buy a replacement model on eBay cheap just to get the PS. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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