Bleeding my SRAM brakes without the kit actually worked with a syringe from the pharmacy

I had a spongy rear brake on my mountain bike after a crash in Sedona last spring and couldn't find my bleed kit anywhere. A 10ml syringe from CVS and some tubing from an old fish tank let me push fluid up from the caliper like a pro. Anyone else made their own brake bleed setup with random stuff from around the house?

2 comments

2 Comments

finley_smith12d ago

Honestly, it's wild how often random household stuff solves bike problems better than the real tools.

garcia.cameron12d ago

Ha, dude, I feel you so hard on this one. Ngl, my whole bike toolkit is basically whatever falls out of my junk drawer when I'm desperate. I once fixed a squeaky derailleur with a Q-tip and some olive oil because I was too lazy to walk to the store. Honestly, the only thing I've used the actual bike grease for is probably getting it all over my favorite t-shirt. Tbh, I think the real pros just have nicer stuff, but we're out here proving that necessity is the mother of invention and a bent butter knife.