Shimano MT200 brakes: change the pads, line up the caliper and bleed with mineral oil

How to confirm you have MT200 brakes

The MT200 brake is made up of the BR-MT200 caliper and the BL-MT200 lever. They are separate parts with separate model numbers, so check both ends.

Two things set the MT200 apart from other Shimano calipers you might confuse it with:

• Split pin pads. The pads are held in by a bent split pin. Shimano calls this the "split pin 3 type".
• Bleed screw with a cap. The caliper bleeds through a bleed boss with a small cap and a 3 mm hex bleed screw, not a bleed nipple. The lever's top bleed screw takes a 2 mm hex key. On the BL-MT400 it is 2.5 mm, which is a quick way to tell those two levers apart.

The BR-MT200 and BL-MT200 use Shimano Hydraulic Mineral Oil. They do not use Shimano's low viscosity oil, and the two oils must never be mixed. Shimano's bleed procedure for the MT200 is shared with the BL-MT201, BR-MT400, BL-MT400, BR-MT420 and the BL-MT401, BL-MT401-3A and BL-MT402-3A levers.

Some e-bikes pair a BL-MT200 lever with a Bosch ABS system on the front. That setup has its own required hose, pad and rotor (see specifications). Do not change parts on an ABS front brake without following Shimano's ABS manual.

Specifications and wear limits

Torque figures

The hose connecting bolt figure is from Shimano's general hose section, not a page written only for the MT200. On a carbon handlebar, check the lever clamp torque with the bar maker as well.

Replace the brake pads

Replace the pads when the pad material is 0.5 mm thick or less, when the pad presser spring starts touching the rotor, or as soon as they get oil on them. A scraping noise when you brake often means the pads are at the limit. Let the brake cool before you check them.

Before you start: keep oil and grease off the pads and rotor. Pads that have touched oil cannot be cleaned and must be replaced.

1. Remove the wheel.

2. Straighten the bent end of the split pin with pliers and pull it out. Take out both pads and the pad spring.

3. Clean the pistons and the area around them with soapy water and a dry cloth. Do not use spray brake cleaner, which can damage the seals.

4. Push the pistons straight back into the caliper as far as they go, using a flat tool such as a plastic tire lever. Do not twist them, and never use anything sharp. The caliper moves the pistons out as the pads wear, so they have to go back in to make room for new pads. If they will not go back, Shimano says you can take out the lever bleed screw, but have a rag ready because oil may come out of the reservoir.

5. Fit the pad spring between the new pads. The spring is marked L and R, so check it is the right way round.

6. Slide the pads into the caliper. Fit a new split pin and bend its end open so it cannot back out. Fit the red pad spacer between the pads.

7. Squeeze the brake lever several times until it feels firm.

8. Take out the pad spacer and refit the wheel. Spin it and check the rotor does not rub. If it rubs, center the caliper.

9. Bed in the new pads and do the brake test before riding.

   From DM-MBBR001, Replacing the brake pads, p. 42–44

Whenever the wheel is out, put the pad spacer in and do not pull the lever. If the pistons have been pushed out, press them back carefully with a flat tool. More on pad changes is on the disc brake pad page.

Bed in new pads

New pads and new rotors do not brake at full strength straight away. Braking force builds as they bed in. Resin pads, like the B05S-RX, take longer to bed in than metal pads.

1. Find a flat, safe area away from traffic. Shift to the largest rear sprocket and smallest chainring so it is easy to pedal. On an e-bike, turn the assist off.

2. Ride while holding one brake lever just hard enough that you can still pedal against it. Hold it for 20 m, then let go.

3. Repeat at least 10 times. Then do the same with the other brake. Bed in the front and rear separately.

   From UM-8VR0A, Warm-up operation

Center the caliper

Do this after fitting a caliper, after a pad change if the rotor rubs, or after a bleed.

Before you start: you need a torque wrench for the caliper bolts. Loose caliper bolts can let the caliper move under braking.

1. If the yellow bleed spacer is still in the caliper from the factory or a bleed, take it out. Fit the wheel with its rotor.

2. Check the pads are in, with the spring the right way round (L and R marks) and the split pin bent open.

3. For a 180 mm rotor, fit the SM-MA-F180P/P2 mount adapter to the frame or fork with its mark facing up. Tighten it to 6–8 N·m.

4. Fit the caliper with its fixing bolts just loose enough that the caliper can slide from side to side.

5. Pull and hold the brake lever so the pads clamp the rotor. This pulls the caliper into line.

6. While holding the lever, tighten both caliper fixing bolts to 6–8 N·m with a torque wrench.

7. Fit the bolt caps or wire that stop the bolts working loose. Spin the wheel and check for rub. If it rubs, loosen the bolts and repeat from step 4.

   From DM-GN0001, Installation of the calipers, p. 105–107, and DM-MBBR001, Mount adapter, p. 12

Big rotors flex more, so a 180 mm or 203 mm rotor may rub lightly where a 160 mm would not. A frame or fork whose brake mount is not square to the wheel can also cause rub that centering will not fix.

Fit and position the lever

You set where the lever sits by sliding it along the bar and rotating it before you tighten the clamp.

1. Slide the lever onto the bar. Some setups need the shifter on the bar first, so check the lever and shifter do not get in each other's way.

2. Slide the lever along the bar and rotate it until you can reach the blade comfortably from your riding position.

3. Tighten the clamp bolt (4 or 5 mm hex) to 4–6 N·m with a torque wrench. On a carbon bar, check the torque with the bar maker.

   From DM-GN0001, Installation of the brake lever, p. 87

Bleed with Shimano mineral oil

Bleed the MT200 when the lever feels soft and pumping it does not fix it, when the lever travel gets longer on long descents, or after any hose work. The method uses an oil funnel on the lever and a syringe at the caliper: you push fresh oil up from the bottom, let it drain by gravity, then pump the lever to chase the last air up into the funnel.

Before you start: use Shimano mineral oil only, from a freshly opened container. Never use DOT fluid, never mix it with Shimano low viscosity oil, and never reuse oil you drained out. Take the pads out first. If oil gets on the pads they must be replaced.

1. Take out the pads and fit the yellow bleed spacer in the caliper. Put the bike in a stand.

2. Turn the lever on the bar so the reservoir is level. Remove the lever's top bleed screw and O-ring with a 2 mm hex key. Thread in the oil funnel. Leave the oil stopper out for now.

3. Take off the cap on the caliper bleed boss. Fill a syringe with Shimano mineral oil and push its tube onto the bleed boss. Put a 3 mm hex key in the bleed screw and open it 1/8 turn.

4. Push oil in from the syringe until the oil coming up into the funnel has no air bubbles in it. Clip the caliper and tube so the tube cannot pop off. Do not pull the brake lever during this step. If you did, drain all the oil and start again.

5. Close the bleed screw for now. Pull the syringe off, holding a rag over its end.

6. Fit a tube with a bag on the end to the bleed boss and hold the bag on with rubber bands. With the 3 mm hex key in place, open the bleed screw and let oil and air run out by gravity. Tapping the hose, reservoir or caliper gently, or moving the caliper around, helps the bubbles out.

7. Keep the funnel topped up the whole time so no air gets drawn back in.

8. When no more bubbles come out of the caliper, close the bleed screw.

9. Pull and hold the brake lever. Quickly open and close the bleed screw, about half a second each way, to push out air trapped in the caliper. Do this 2 or 3 times. Then tighten the bleed screw to 4–6 N·m with a torque wrench.

10. Pump the lever. Bubbles will rise into the funnel. When they stop, pull the lever all the way. It should feel stiff. If it does not, go back to step 6.

11. Rotate the lever 30 degrees one way on the bar and pump again until no more bubbles come up. Then 30 degrees the other way and repeat. Return the lever to level.

12. Push the oil stopper into the funnel, O-ring side down. Lift the funnel out with the stopper still in it.

13. Fit the O-ring on the lever bleed screw. Thread it in while oil is still overflowing so no air stays in the reservoir, and tighten it to 0.5–1 N·m. Do not touch the brake lever while you do this.

14. Wipe up all spilled oil. Clean the hose with isopropyl alcohol, not brake cleaner. Refit the bleed boss cap.

15. Take out the bleed spacer. Fit the pads and the red pad spacer, squeeze the lever several times, and check it works normally and nothing leaks. Then center the caliper.

    From DM-MBBR001, Adding mineral oil and bleeding air, p. 18 and p. 29–34

The general method for all Shimano mineral oil brakes is on the mineral oil bleed page.

Test the brake before riding

Before you start: do not ride until the lever is firm and the brake stops the wheel.

1. Check the caliper fixing bolts are at 6–8 N·m and secured, the split pin is bent open, both bleed screws are tight and the bleed boss cap is on.

2. Squeeze the lever hard several times. It should feel firm and stop at the same point each time, well before the bar.

3. Look for oil at the lever, the hose ends and the caliper. Check the rotor and pads are clean and dry.

4. Spin the wheel and check for rub.

5. Push the bike forward and pull the brake. The wheel should lock or stop firmly. Then do a slow test ride on flat ground and bed in any new pads.

If the lever still feels soft after a bleed, have a qualified mechanic check it before you ride.

Parts and consumables

Tools

• Oil funnel and oil stopper (Shimano SM-DISC, or the TL-BR003 funnel unit, Y13000100)
• Syringe with tube, plus a second tube and a bag held on with rubber bands
• 2 mm hex key (lever bleed screw), 3 mm hex key (caliper bleed screw)
• 4 or 5 mm hex key (lever clamp)
• Torque wrench and a low-range torque driver for the 0.5–1 N·m lever bleed screw
• Pliers for the split pin
• Plastic tire lever or other flat tool to push the pistons back
• Rotor tools: TL-FC36 (Y13098000), TL-LR11 (Y8PW04100) or TL-LR10 for lock rings
• Hose work: 8 mm open-end wrench, TL-BH61 (Y8H198030), utility knife
• Isopropyl alcohol, clean rags, nitrile gloves

Troubleshooting by symptom

Scraping noise when braking

The pads may be worn to the limit. Let the brake cool, take the pads out and measure them. Replace at 0.5 mm. See pad replacement.

Lever feels soft after the bike was upside down or on its side

Air from the reservoir has moved down to the caliper. Pump the lever a few times before riding. If it is still soft, set the lever level and pump gently so the bubbles rise. If that does not fix it, top up through the reservoir or do a full bleed.

Lever travel suddenly gets longer on a long descent

Water or air in the oil heats up and forms vapor. Bleed the brake with fresh Shimano mineral oil from a newly opened container.

Brake barely slows the bike after a bleed

Oil has probably reached the pads or rotor. Replace the pads.

Rotor rubs after centering

Large rotors flex more. A frame or fork brake mount that is not square to the wheel can also cause rub. Re-center the caliper as in Center the caliper.

Pistons came out with the wheel removed

The lever was pulled with no rotor in place. Push the pistons back with a flat tool, carefully, and fit the pad spacer whenever the wheel is out.

Pad spring touches the rotor

The pads are worn out. Replace them.

Clean the brake with soapy water and a dry cloth. Do not use spray brake cleaners or brake silencers, which can damage the seals.

Related: Bleed mineral oil brakes, Replace disc brake pads, Shimano XT M8100 brakes, Shimano Deore M6100, Shimano CUES