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MechanicalAt your house

Hydraulic & Mechanical Brake Service

E-bike brake service covers hydraulic bleeds, pad and rotor replacement, caliper alignment, and brake cut-off sensor checks — done to e-bike loads, not analog-bike loads, because a 65-pound e-bike at 28 mph asks far more of a brake than a 22-pound road bike ever will.

Starting at
$59
Typical time
30 min–1.5 hr
Warranty
90 days on labor

$59 per caliper bled. Pads from $45 per wheel plus parts.

Brakes are the part people wait too long on. An e-bike is heavier than a regular bike and holds its speed longer, so pads wear faster, rotors run hotter, and fluid ages sooner — on a bike ridden daily, it's worth looking at the pads every month or two rather than waiting for a noise.

I carry both DOT fluid and mineral oil. Shimano, Tektro, Magura and SRAM's newer Maven, Motive and DB brakes use mineral oil; Hope, Hayes and SRAM's Code, Level, Guide, G2 and road brakes use DOT — and the wrong one destroys the seals. I bleed with the proper kit and funnel per system, not a syringe-and-hope approach.

If your rotors are heat-glazed, if the lever pulls to the bar, if there's a grinding sound, or if the bike pulls to one side when you brake, don't ride it down Avenida Pico or any other long, steep descent until it's looked at. That's a genuinely dangerous failure mode on a heavy bike on a steep grade.

A hydraulic disc brake caliper and rotor on a bike's rear wheel

Trip fee for this visit

  • Zone 1 — San Clemente +FREE
  • Zone 2 — Ladera Ranch +$35
  • Zone 3 — Irvine +$65
Check your zone

Symptom → cause

What the bike is doing, and what it usually means

Symptoms and their likely causes for Hydraulic & Mechanical Brake Service
What you noticeWhat it usually is
Lever pulls close to the barAir in the system, or pads at the wear limit
Grinding or scrapingPads worn to backing plate — stop riding, this destroys rotors
Squeal that won't go awayContaminated pads or glazed rotor
Brakes fade on long descentsOld fluid, or underspec'd pads for e-bike weight
Rubbing sound every wheel rotationCaliper alignment or a bent rotor

Prices

Brakes

Brakes price list
Hydraulic brake bleedPer caliper. $99 for both.$59
Brake pad replacementPer wheel, + pads$45
Rotor true$35
Rotor replacement+ rotor$35
Caliper alignment only$25
Mechanical disc / rim brake adjustPer wheel$35
Every other price

Book service

Need brakes?

Takes a minute. You'll hear back within 30 minutes during business hours — and if it's faster to just call, call.

  • Free quote before any work starts
  • No trip fee in San Clemente, Dana Point or San Juan Cap
  • 90 days on all labor
  • Nothing gets added to the bill without a call first

I'll text first unless you'd rather I call.

Tells me your zone and trip fee.

The more specific, the more likely I can quote it before I show up.

No spam, no list, no reselling your info — see the privacy note. Prefer to skip the form? Text me a photo at (949) 891-5278.

FAQ

Before you book

Do you actually work on batteries, motors, and controllers — or just the mechanical stuff?

All of it. This is the main reason to call me instead of a general mobile bike mechanic. Most mobile bike services in Orange County explicitly decline battery, motor, throttle, and controller work, which means a bike with an electrical fault has nowhere local to go. I diagnose and repair charge ports, battery management systems, controllers, displays, throttles, cadence and torque sensors, brake cut-off switches, wiring harnesses, and hub and mid-drive motors — plus everything mechanical.

What brands do you work on?

Every brand. That includes direct-to-consumer bikes with no local dealer — Rad Power, Aventon, Lectric, Ride1Up, Velotric, Heybike, Himiway, Juiced, Super73, Segway — and dealer brands like Specialized Turbo, Trek, Giant, Cannondale, Electra, Gazelle, Tern, Pedego, Blix, Magnum, and Riese & Müller. On the motor side I work on Bosch, Shimano STEPS, Brose, Yamaha, Bafang, Fazua, Mahle, and generic hub systems. One honest caveat: Bosch and some Shimano systems lock firmware and certain diagnostics to authorized dealers. I can do every mechanical and electrical repair on those bikes and I'll tell you upfront on the rare occasion something has to go through a dealer.

My range dropped a lot. Do I need a new battery?

Probably not, and this is the most expensive assumption in e-bike ownership. Lost range has at least five common causes and only one of them is a worn battery: low tire pressure, a dragging brake rotor, a worn or dry chain, colder weather, corroded battery mount contacts, and actual capacity fade all produce the identical symptom. A $59 battery health test measures capacity against the pack's rated watt-hours and checks balance across cell groups, which tells you definitively which it is. That fee is waived if you have me do the repair. A new pack is $400 to $1,200 — it's worth $59 to find out whether you need one.

Is there a warranty on the work?

90 days on all labor. If something I worked on isn't right afterward, I come back and fix it — no trip fee, no argument, in any zone. Parts carry whatever warranty the manufacturer provides and I'll handle the claim paperwork with the brand for you.

What can't you do at my house?

Three things go to the bench rather than the driveway: cell-level battery pack repair (opening a lithium pack in a customer's garage isn't something a careful technician does), full wheel rebuilds and rim replacement, and internal motor rebuilds that need a press. For all three I pick the part or the bike up and bring it back, usually within two to four days. Everything else — including motor removal and reinstall, controller and display replacement, harness repair, brake bleeds, and full tune-ups — happens where your bike is.

Do you need power or water at my house?

No. The van carries its own power, lighting, compressed air, and water. All I need is a flat spot roughly the size of a parking space, within reason of where the bike is. Driveway, street, garage, courtyard, parking lot, or a turnout on a Laguna hillside all work fine.

Do I need to be home the whole time?

Only at the start and the end. I need five minutes with you at the beginning to understand what the bike is doing and to confirm the quote, and five minutes at the end to hand it back and show you what changed. In between you can go to work, take a call, or leave entirely.

My display is showing an error code. What does it mean?

It depends on the system, because every maker numbers its own faults: 21 is a speed sensor fault on a Bafang display but abnormal current on a Rad, and Shimano's codes start with W or E. The free error code lookup has the makers' own tables for Bafang, Bosch, Shimano STEPS, Rad Power Bikes, KT and Segway-Ninebot, with the maker's first step for each. If a code points at the battery or charger, stop charging and riding until it's checked.

Something not answered here? Just ask — I’d rather talk it through than have you guess.

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