Based out of Taupо̄ in New Zealand, Neutron Components first hit the market in 2020 with its clever Oh Sh!t Kit that stows a whole range of nifty tools inside the end of your handlebars. That was followed up with the Ultralight First Aid Kit, which we’ve featured on Flow before. Here we have the third and latest product to come from Neutron Components; the Emergency Bleed Kit.
Neutron Components Emergency Bleed Kit
- Weight: 19g (confirmed)
- Price: $45 AUD
The Neutron Components Emergency Bleed Kit is designed to be a lightweight and portable brake bleeding tool. It’s small enough to fit in your gear bag, making it a useful option to take along on epic backcountry trail rides, multi-day bikepacking missions and even overseas riding holidays.
Made from CNC machined 6061-T6 alloy, the Emergency Bleed Kit holds up to 10ml of brake fluid, which is enough to fill two brake levers. It weighs just 19g on its own, and up to 28g when full of oil.
There’s a big threaded cap at the top, and a threaded plug at the bottom, both of which feature specialty o-rings that are compatible with either DOT fluid or mineral oil. The threaded plug is compatible with the bleed port on most SRAM and Shimano brake levers, with the latest SRAM DB8 brake being one of the few exceptions.
How to use the Emergency Bleed Kit
The idea is to fill the Emergency Bleed Kit with the oil needed for your brakes and keep it stowed away in your gear bag or tool kit to have it ready to perform a bleed whenever needed. When that need arises, you simply remove the smaller plug from the bottom and then thread it into bleed port on your brake lever. Once snug you can open the main cap and pull on the lever blade several times to help evacuate any air bubbles from the master cylinder.
It’s very easy to do, and the process is much the same as using a Shimano Brake Funnel tool. Neutron Components even includes a set of instructions in the box to help guide you through.
Following the bleeding procedure you then thread the main cap back onto the tool, and unthread the plug from the brake lever. Because the main cap forms an air-tight seal, no fluid will spill out when you remove the tool from the brake lever. You’ll still need a rag to clean up any residue oil that spills out of the brake lever itself when refitting the bleed plug, but otherwise it’s a pretty clean process.
Flow’s Take
As well as being easy to use, the Neutron Components Emergency Bleed Kit is just a really well-made tool that’s quickly earned a permanent space in our home workshop. We’ve been using it exclusively for SRAM brakes, and it’s amazing how a quick lever bleed can often remedy a spongy-feeling brake without having to perform a full dual-syringe bleed. Obviously that’s still the ticket when you need to perform a more comprehensive bleed, but for sharpening up your brakes while away on a multi-day riding trip or at an event, this is an awesome little tool.
