How To Get The Air Out of Your Zoom Brakes 

Thanks for mentioning about the little washer. Doing friends brakes and it fell out un- noticed. Brakes went spongy again overnight. Luckily found the washer on floor.

The kind of video I was looking for

Been watching peeps redesign the wheel with brake bleeds all week - this vid is super informative and direct - nailed it thx!

Thanks so much for providing this alternative method of bleeding brakes. My Paselec GS9 eMTB came equipped with Zoom hydraulic brakes. After 600 miles of usage, the rear brakes suddenly went spongy, and eventually the brake lever bottomed out. This model of brake has the additional cable to signal the eBike to stop power to the motor, so that helped a bit; but I was completely dependent upon the front brakes. Zoom changed the size/threads of the oil fill hole in 2021, so mine is the larger for the eBike that I purchased new in September 2021. Your method worked for me on the first try. Due to obstruction by the shift lever assembly, I was unable to rotate the brake lever unit far enough to remain level, so I had to remove it from the handlebar before the bleeding process. Despite the need to hold the syringe upright while pumping/flicking the bubbles out of the line with the other hand, the process was successful. Neither of my local bike shops service Zoom brakes, and they both recommend replacing them due to so many reports of them being problematic. I tend to concur now, but your brake bleeding method allowed me to get back on the roads/trails until I get some Tektros or Shimanos. Thanks again! Who knows... you may have prevented a potential accident if my front brakes had also given out.

Perfect! Just what l needed (plus the bleed kit and oil) to fix the spongy brakes on my girlfriend’s new Ebike. Thanks!

Brilliant. Thank you so much. I'd been struggling along with only front brake working on my zero10x and even that was starting to fade. I bought one of the full bleed kits and had a go but was left frustrated with the result (plus it's tricky trying to do it by yourself). I added your method in just now and as a result I've got a rock solid rear brake now. I'll be doing exactly the same for the front (without the full bleed process) to get the fronts up to scratch. Thanks again.

This is the video I needed, I've been struggling for a month repeating the procedure as explained in some other videos, I just followed you instructions and your great tips solved my problem, thank you for sharing.

Great video. Just did an upgrade from Zoom hybrid brakes to full hydraulic on my Mantis. Started on the front as the original one failed totaly. Rubber boot split and lots of leaking with no clamping pressure at all! I had previously bought the full hydraulics from another scooter owner, who upgraded to Nutt brakes. I was trying to be clever and not let any fluid out, so i wouldn't have to bleed after, but discovered it's very hard to route the hydraulic line up the stem without fluid leaking out, so need to put more in the system and bleed brakes using your method.

Stumbled across one of your videos, now watching all Zero related ones, very good guides, thanks!

Hi again, Please ignore my previous comment. I found a Torx bit that worked perfectly. Thanks again for the procedure. It worked like a dream.

Great video. Thank you very much for posting it.

What a great tutorial! Thank you very much. I really appreciate your way to present and explain, it feels way more interesting and "grown up" for me then most other videos at YT do. Great job mate! 👍

Great video and brilliant points at the end regarding the incorrect ways it can't be done - another great informative video

Excellent instruction. Thank you!

A proper video. Thank you from BK!

Thank you for the amazing video! My rear brake wasnt working at all and i didnt know about bleeding air. Turns out mine was pretty much all air at this point, pumping it out like you showed worked but after 45minutes i simply resorted to unplugging the rear brake hose, filling the serynge with shimano brake fluids and simply dumping some until all that was coming out was a nice stream of brake fluid, it does waste alot of it but after doing that a quick 15minutes of bleedling and now my rear brake works wonder! (Outside the fact im due for new pads..) Funnily enough, for the fittings in the kit, mine worked as shown while the plastic one didnt fit. I also dont have any metal ring inside my fill port on both brake (first time opening the fill port). Anyway, really tankfull, i daily ride an electric bike until i get my own motorcycle and not having brake on something that easely reach 40km/h is well...not exactly stress free...

Very informative video 👍🏻

Yep great video,thank you for the heads up about the washer and orings,i did a complete oil change and used the flick lever method with the funnel still attached instead of syringe to finish off air bleed,worked a treat,for info the ezy mtb kit with copper had correct nipples.

What a fantastic video. Great. Thank you very much for perfect step by step clarity!

Hey Mark, just wanting to send a big thank you for this video. Been trying to bleed some hydraulic brakes unsuccessfully as recommended by others. Watched your video a "whala!". They're perfect. Thanks again. From Ben in Melbourne.

looking for this video for a long time thanks I think that’s the problem on my zero 11x love the video

Amazing! I'm going to try this on my vsett 10+

Thank you for great help

Thanks so much this was everything I needed to know

Great Video Thanks

Excellent video !!! Tooks me a 5m to fix my front brake. Thank you very much 😊

06:55 Shimano oil to use: Hydraulic mineral oil for disc brake Great video. Easy to understand. Thanks.

You Sir. Have saved me a lot of $. Thumbs UP!

ty!!!

My zoom brakes are different. The bleeder screw and hole are bigger than yours with a coarse thread. I had to use the biggest metal fitting in the kit. I did it just like you said and it worked great. Lots of air in a brand new Aventon Aventure. I now have the braking power that I should. Thanks !

Well done.

Thank you so much

great vid

Thanks a ton for this video. I used this on my Vsett 10+ and the brakes are firm again! Not sure if the vsett version of the zooms are different but mine had no washer and required a slighlty larger adapter but it all came in the kit so not a big deal.

If this works you are a legend !

Hi, Thanks for a very informative video. The best I've seen on the procedure. When I attempted to bleed my Zoom brakes I could not remove the screw to the fill port. It appears to be a 2.5mm hex screw but that hex key will not work. Do you recall which tool you used to remove this screw? It appears you are using a torx wrench/bit. Thanks in advance.

Thanks for this video, it was very easy to understand and I was able to fix the spongy brakes on my brand new Dualtron City in about 10 minutes. I did notice a few things were different as I went along. At first I was concerned that I wouldn't be able to follow the steps. 1. I bought a kit from the same manufacturer "Cycobyco" and it had Zoom brakes listed on the cover. However, there were NO instructions or connector diagrams for Zoom brakes. It only listed the other brands. 2. The black plastic connectors in your kit were yellow with black washers in my kit. (an improvement IMO). None of them was the same shape as the one you used. The kit does contain black plastic connectors, but they're all identical and they connect the syringes to the plastic hoses. I took the stopper (I forget the proper word) out of my brake master cylinder and tested the connectors one by one. I started with the (silver) metal ones and was able to find one that fit, it already had a washer on it. 3. When I removed the stopper from my brake I was careful to check for a washer. I found that it wasn't metal, it was a black rubber O ring which was hard to see at first and it stayed on the thread of the stopper. I put the stopper in a pill bottle so the washer wouldn't get lost. By the way, my brakes didn't need a Torx bit, they had sockets for standard Allen keys. 4. Those red clips on the hose are great to stop leaks but horrible to open. Next time I will use hemostat forceps. 5. At first I was worried while I was bleeding the brakes because I didn't see many bubbles, however the brakes lost their sponginess within a minute. I did "flick" the brake levers to bring up more air. 6. When I was finished and putting everything away, I left the hose connected to the metal connector I used for the brakes, so I'll know which one to use next time.

Awesome ! Thanks for sharing, it works great on Nutt brakes ✌️chears

My right Zoom brake lever didn't actually have the metal washer. I watched this video before hand and made sure to check for it as I was unscrewing, but there was only the rubber seal. Any ideas where I could even purchase one? For now I just doubled up on the rubber seals and am hoping it's enough. Thanks!

Hi Mark. I was wondering if you could give me advice: I have ordered 11 inch tires for my 10 inch Zero 10X. Will this work?. I heard that a 90/65-60 will work if I modify the mudguards.

I'm going to try this and I have a feeling it's going to work because I have been doing it wrong (watching the other videos).

Another great vid mate. Have you tried any other type of hyd brakes? Wondering if I should upgrade to some 4 pots at some point.

Hey thanks for the very informative videos. I was wondering if you know which type of brake pads those zoom brakes take?

Excellent video and thank you for confirming that Zoom hydraulic brakes utilizes brake mineral oil. That seems to be be a state secret with other videos and from Zoom as well. Quick question if I may? Once the air is properly purged from the lines does the oil in the syringe naturally fill the displacement without any need to depress the syringe plunger to fill the any gap displacements left in the lines?

I've tried everything like 10 times and my brakes will have great steady pressure for 30 or so lever pulls then it will get spongy. I don't know what to do it's not leaking fluid anywhere. I'm at a loss, I might just have to replace the whole system idk

Thank you for the video. My rear hydraulic brake barely operates and I tried to follow the instructions. The bubbles kept coming, so I decided to pull on the syringe to create negative pressure. There were many more bubbles coming out and I was continuing that for over an hour and they keep coming out. I believe, I might have an air leakage in the hydraulic system. What do you think?

Excellent video Mark. Trying to help my brother with his almost new e bike zoom brakes. He hasn’t had the bike a month and the rear brake is spongy already. Are there any theories out there why and how air gets in? Thanks Mark

Hi, sorry to say I can't help you there. You should try calling your local importer/distributor first. If that fails I would take the washer from your LH brake to a local engineering supplier/firm and see if they can match it. Good luck !

nice video, your in sac?

HI Dumb question- so using the first method where you squeeze the lever for 20 minutes. Do I leave the lower valve by the break calliper closed? Or do I need to drain it first ? Or do I leave it closed the whole time?

my zoom brakes dont have any weird hole like this one, just a round hole. the screw cap only have rubber seal and I hope I did not actually dropped any metal ring.

Hello I just recently got a new 10x and I’ve been dealing with my disc brakes ever so slightly rubbing not enough to create a performance resistance however enough that it is causing noise it’s a very light rubbing that’s creating a noise that becomes very annoying, wondering if you’ve dealt with this and or have any idea how to deal with it, I took it to the distributor they just told me it’s normal but clearly I don’t believe it is when I’ve had another one before this and I can’t recall every hearing it on my previous scooter, same model different brand. Ty

Can this gravity technique work even if the brake line doesn't always run vertically ? (rear brake)

Link for the kit? UK

Excellent. I'd just loosen the brake lever and make in parallel to the floor for a proper bleed.

Do you have a link for that kit man?

Thanks for the instruction, looks simple enough. Do you know if those Zoom brakes come with the reservoir pre primed with oil? i.e., if I replace one is the resevoir full of air?

Hello can i ask if your zoom hydraulics brake lever is wiggling ?

I’m having this issue myself, I tried this method but the fluid doesn’t appear to move inside the syringe. Could it be an issue with the master cylinder? Help please

Do you also get brake pads when buying

How do you fill with fresh oil? That is the question.....

Wow great video! Is Lever Bleeding suitable if one is replacing the entire Zoom caliper? The front caliper on my Apollo Pro (same brakes as your Zero 10X) is leaking around one of the pistons and has lost all the fluid. Wondering if I will need to do the full syringe-from-the-bottom type bleed. Thanks!

Hi mate, just wanna ask you on how to flush those zoom brakes, where can i suck out the oil, from the top or from the calipers?

I've seen others use the velcro strap to hold the lever compressed while unscrewing the syringe and I noticed you didn't do it. What difference does it make?

Mine keeps leaking oil on the bottom onto the caliper 😫

May I ask what is the purpose of the red plastic below the reservoir? Thanks

You know that tiny washer you said not to lose when you take out the break screw? Mine didn't even have one! I legit was so careful and as it was unscrewing all I saw was the rubber o ring and nothing inside the screw hole. Also I don't have 2 holes, it's one big hole. So, do you have any ideas wherever I could purchase a compatible washer?

i upgraded my brakes to hydraulic. when inserting oil via syringe, screw snatched off and got stuck inside brake lever. what im i supposed to do now? see pics: i.ibb.co/4Nvxg44/20210602-205236.jpg - i.ibb.co/WV4WQqf/20210602-205308.jpg

How can you tell if this process is needed, my zoom brakes are very grippy however I find that if I don’t squeeze the brake hard it slowly starts to get closer to the handgrip if I squeeze the brake gently it almost releases the brake and then grips again but the brake lever is closer to the handgrip. Is this a sign that it must be done?

I apologize if this is a dumb question as I'm completely new to all of this... But how do you get rid of the existing fluid in the brake lines? I want to completely remove the old fluid and replace it with new fluid. I saw a video where the person took out the calipers, and drained the fluid from the calipers with a syringe and then did what you showed in your video. Any suggestions would be helpful. Thank you!

Bleed both levers?

I have probably done wrong because it didn't work at all and I don't understand why... Moreover the plastic plug broke so I'll have to buy another, what a bad day for me 🤣😂

the more brakes wears out, the more brake lever is going towards handle, thats should be ok

Way too expensive a solution. I can buy a new set of these Zoom brakes for $41. Take the plunger out of a syringe and disconnect any hose that might be attached to it. Ram it in the hole, it fits and seals, pour some oil in the syringe and start pumping the lever. Done. Go buy some brakes instead of this kit.