Originally Posted by
tankist
Contact point - how much the brake lever is moved until the brake pads touch the rotor. I like it to be high, meaning the lever does not move much and hits the brake sooner. With rim brakes it is trivial. With SRAM I need to do some dancing to adjust that. And with time the contact point increases and I have to adjust again. Maybe all this because SRAM hydraulics are crap compared to Shimano.
Ah, that. Yeah, on some Shimano levers (Ultegra level and above, IIRC), there's the Free Stroke adjustment - it's a screw under the hood cover - to adjust lever travel before engagement. I've never messed with it, never felt the need, but don't see why lever travel would/should change over time; the pistons should adjust as the pads wear, maintaining a consistent gap between the pads/rotor and the lever engagement point shouldn't wander (and hasn't, in my experience).
If I travel long distances with my bike, an air bubble can work out of the reservoir (in the hoods) and get in to the brake line (between the master cylinder and caliper), which will result in more lever travel and mushiness, but pumping the brakes, lever flicks, jiggling, etc, will usually take care of that by getting the bubble(s) back up and out of the line.