SRAM Ultimate Piston Press - Making Brake Maintenance Easy

 Words by: Trevor Mejia

Brake Bleeding just got that much easier 

What's new? 

SRAM has released a new unique tool to market that serves a few different purposes involving maintenance for hydraulic brake calipers, the Ultimate Piston Press. When replacing brake pads, typically one would use a plastic tire lever to push brake pistons back into a caliper, but sometimes they are stubborn and go in sideways or not at all.  Their new ultimate piston press fixes this with a wedge shaped design and machined aluminum construction to push caliper pistons back in evenly and safely. The ultimate piston press works on 2 and 4 pistons brake calipers almost universally. They will not work on a caliper designs such as Maven or Magura MT7 that use a bridge construction covering the opening from the top side. Additionally, the tool works as a “universal” bleed block which proves to be very handy when performing a bleed as it saves two steps. 

Who is this tool for? 

The obvious answer is a busy bike shop that bleeds and maintains brakes everyday, but I would argue that this tool is great for the at home mechanic as well. It works for the vast majority of brakes and because it serves two purposes at once, giving a lot of value. Sometimes when pushing pistons back into the caliper, the opposing side will normally want to push back out at the same time. This tool really solves this problem and makes brake maintenance at home a breeze. The tool itself expensive yes but you are paying for a quality machined tool that will last a lifetime, surely a great investment.

How it works: 

When it is time to replace brake pads, it is imperative to push pistons back in place to allow room for the new pads but to also have a consistent lever feel. It is also important to clean the pistons before they are pushed back. The piston press has a hole in the center of the tool that the brake pad retaining pin goes through, giving the tool a place to stay and leverage from when in use. The keyed tooless dial (also a 5mm) at the top of the press is turned in to drive the wedge down and push the pistons back in the caliper at an even rate. The tool can now be used as a bleed block with the pistons fully extended back into the caliper. 

Here is a little video of the tool in action 

DISLAIMER: It is good practice when pushing pistons back to open the system at the brake lever using a bleed cup or syringe. This eliminates building pressure in the system or bursting the bladder at the master cylinder from an improper fluid level to begin with. 

Long Term Use: 

As the head mechanic at the shop, I am constantly bleeding and adjusting brakes. This tool makes maintaining them a pleasure. Sometimes brake pistons can be difficult to press back into the caliper and they also tend to be a bit fragile. An important step in making sure a brake is feeling as good as possible is to ensure the pistons are clean and lubed with little friction. The keyed 5mm driver at the top of the tool allows stubborn pistons to still go back into the caliper. The quality of the tool itself is second to none and has held up exceptionally well being used so often. Advancing pistons to clean and now push them back evenly creates a better end product when doing a bleed or even just installing new pads. This tool has allowed me to work more efficiently and effectively.