Brake bleed fixed the issue. Despite what the shop initially told her, no way should there be that much travel in those brake levers.
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Did you do the brake bleed yourself? If so, did you remove the caliper such that the hose leaving it exited vertically upwards (caliper hanging down)?
I have the new 2020 Trek Checkpoint with the 105 hydraulic disc brakes and have the same issue. The front brake especially needs to be squeezed quite close to the handlebars on a steep descent which bites into my other fingers. I just dropped off the bike today at the LBS for the free first tune-up and the mechanic said that is how they are designed with a generous allowance between the rotor and the pads (meaning more travel) to avoid any rubbing of the brake rotor on the pads if the alignment is slightly off (or the rotor is slightly warped). He didn’t seem hopefully that the amount of travel could be reduced. I’ll see what the outcome is when I pick up the bike at the end of the week.
Since the bike was new she took it back to the shop and this time insisted that they bleed the brakes. They did and the lever pull is now how you’d expect any drop bar brake lever to pull.
This is what one of the mechanics initially her. Actually he said “you’ll get used to it” Turns out this is not true at all because a brake bleed made them perform totally normal.
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So it was NBD for me yesterday (online purchase), and the front brake needs to travel almost to the bar before biting.
Is this a case of it needing to be bled? A bit annoying if so, particularly as the rear works as expected.
Most likely a brake bleed will solve your issue.
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I bled mine with almost no change in lever travel. I suspect it will only get worse as the pads wear.
I used a brake block that pushed the pistons into a fully retracted position. I am wondering if bleeding with a a millimeter or two thinner block in place, allowing the piston to extend slightly and allowing a small amount more of oil in the system would help.
Just pull the wheel and pump the brakes once/twice (you’ll have to experiment) and it’ll push the pads out a bit and adjust the lever travel. It should then auto-adjust and stay the same.
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- That ignores the reality of an open brake system with a fluid reservoir that self-adjusts the fluid level in the line whenever the lever is release.
- This again assumes a closed system, which is not what is present in these brakes. It would not work as suggested.
The likely issue with this suggestion is that the pads will be closer to the rotor, leading to more chance for pads rubbing the rotor. Worth a test, I guess, but it is not something I expect to work well.
He’s got almost a whole lever stroke ‘spare’ before the pads get near the rotor, this will just correct the play. It should work like that even with the wheel in, but rarely does IME. Maybe in some systems even a full lever pull would be too much, in which case you’ll have to find the sweet spot of how much lever pull takes up how much travel.
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Damn. Glad I didn’t waste time on trying it.
Thanks.
Air in the line means the contents of the brake line should be able to be compressed. The low amount of force needed to move the brake pads to touch the rotor means that you’ll should be able to see that happen as you squeeze the brakes. On a properly bled system there won’t be much more travel left to the brake lever as the fluid won’t compress. If there is air there will still be easy ability to squeeze more as the air gets compressed
Pumping the brakes should slowly push out the brake pads using fluid from the reservoir. Keeping the pads from touching the rotor when brakes aren’t squeezed is a function of the rubber gasket around the pistons
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Ugh – more expense 
Yeah, that’s what I’m saying (I think!) - if it was air in the system the lever would feel mushy when the brake was on, if it travels too far then feels relatively solid the pads have likely been pressed back too far and haven’t auto-adjusted, you just need to take up the extra play. Pumping the lever when the wheel is out allows the pads to move past where the disc would be, then they (should) retract to ‘just not touching’ which will give a nice solid lever feel.
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Don’t pump the brakes with the wheel not there. Pump them with the the rotor between the pads (i.e. the wheel on) you want them to auto adjust around the rotor.
Each brake pad is independent with the way it self adjusts so may not push out the exact same amount and in the end you want them centered around the rotor
In case anyone else still looking for a solve this worked for me. Remove the wheels and pump the breaks 5-10 times and travel was reduced.
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Wow, almost like I was talking from experience or something!
It may be a clue that your seals are sticky, possibly worth giving them a clean at some point.
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I bled by brakes this week and noticed my brake levers have different amount of travel. I could pull my left lever 3-4 mm further almost touching the bars. I tried the tip of pumping the brakes without the rotor, I don’t think this is the right solution because it effectively decreases the space between the rotor and the pads. It makes it very difficult to center the brakes properly after this without rubbing.
In my case this was the actual solution to my R7020 having different travel was adjusting the reach. I had no idea there was a reach adjustment screw on the levers until I saw this video.
