Reach & Free Stroke Adjustment - Shimano Hydraulic Disc Brake Levers - Road Bike Maintenance

Reach & Free Stroke Adjustment - Shimano Hydraulic Disc Brake Levers

The two most common problems riders have with levers are:
1. How far away they are, and
2. How much travel the brake lever has
In this video, we’re going to look at both problems, and how they affect each other.
When the lever is too far from the bar, you may struggle with braking, when you’re on the drops.
And when there is too much travel, the lever can touch the bar before the brake is fully applied.

The good news is, with some Shimano levers, you can easily resolve these problems, with simple adjustments.
Most modern Shimano levers have what is known as a Reach Adjustment, and the higher end levers also have an additional adjustment called stroke.
Most riders know about reach adjustment, but not so many are aware of Stroke, or more importantly, how to correctly set it.

Reach Adjustment:
We use reach adjustment to either increase or decrease the distance between the bar and the brake lever. You may want to adjust this if you have smaller hands.
The great news is the vast majority of modern Shimano drop bar shifters have this feature, from Claris to Dura Ace, and the gravel shifters too.
I’ve included a link below to Shimano’s website, that lists all levers with this function.


Free Stroke Adjustment:
Free Stroke Adjustment differs to Reach Adjustment, because its changing what the brake lever does, rather than where it is.
Because this is a more advanced setting, it is only found on Dura Ace, Ultegra, and some GRX800 levers.


Shimano Links To Compatible Levers

Shimano Reach Adjustment Link:
https://bike.shimano.com/en-EU/techno...

Shimano Free Stroke Adjustment Link:
https://bike.shimano.com/en-EU/techno...


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Website Links, Affiliate links, and or products/tools in this video
Some product links are affiliate links, which means if you buy something, I’ll receive a small commission.
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⏰ Timecodes ⏰
00:00 - Intro
01:26 - Reach Adjustment
03:57 - Free Stroke Adjustment
09:16 - Things To Look Out For