SRAM’s DB8 Mineral Oil Brake - Budget Bike Brakes
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- čas přidán 10. 02. 2024
- #loamwolf #mountainbike
SRAM quietly dropped the DB8 brakeset last year, and we’ve seen them pop up on mid-level builds on both mountain bikes and eMTBs across the board. Essentially a budget version of their CODE brakes, the SRAM DB8 share some similar looking calipers and the same pads, but with a different lever shape, and most notably, Mineral Oil brake fluid instead of their typical DOT fluid. We’ve had these on a couple of test bikes now, most recently the Nukeproof Mega, so figured we’d share our experiences in case you’re wondering how they perform.
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People saying these brakes are bad, well that's up for DB8.
Omg!! You win the comment section! Hahaha
Almost thought its gonna be r/wooosh
Cheap = bad in some elitists brains
German here, I dont get it ?
They are right, shimano wins brakes competition.
I have always used SLX brakes but got a new bike that came with the DB8 and they seem to be just fine.
I had to stop on the trail to adjust the reach on the front DB8 lever on my new bike as had forgotten to do this out of the box and my high quality allen key, which was fully inserted, rounded off the bolt-head. I coudn't believe it, gutted. I managed to carry on the ride albeit peed off about this snag and my hand over-reaching. I managed to use a torque head back at home to adjust it but surely SRAM need to use high density steel like Shimano do on the Deore M6100 lever. Just little things like this does make a difference in what brake system I would upgrade to, I'm still a Shimano fan and prefer the SLX levers on my other bike but modulation and stopping power I haven't got an issue with.
Like how these brakes feel, set levers for one finger braking. Two finger braking felt odd and back of lever kept snagging my gloves.
The lever could be better but they will be staying on the bike.
People are underapprecianting these brakes wildly, brand new or almost brand new sets(/pairs) can be found for 70-110€ because people are not even giving these a chance. I would say these are excellent value on second hand market.
I bought them new for 175$ in Canadian dollars, new, they came with resin pads I had code ceramic pads but I buy them for 14$ a pair usually.
I paid 450$ CDN for the codes RSC it's a huge difference, I've had issues with the bleed port screw leaking and needed to bleed the rear twice after heavy use but apart from that they are powerful enough and a bit faster to respond than the codes.
Been running these for around 1000km on my Orbea Wild, swapped the OG levers out for Deore ones after the 3rd ride and went for HS2 discs. Runs really well without any hints of stopping to do so, requires a bit more power but insane modulation and always enough stopping power. Hopefully SRAM makes RSC style levers for them at some point in the future.
Great to hear your experience, thanks for sharing.
Almost 2k on mine, some looong descents in hot weather, and I can only agree. The ease of modulating the braking power is amazing.
It's great that you also test and present things like this.
I have the DB8 on my Mondraker Crafty R. I find the performance OK, but not exhilarating. I bought some "Power" brake pads from TrickStuff. The performance should be much better with these.
Hey Mike... have you had time to test you new "power" brake pads ? if so, did you feel a difference ? Cheers
I have them on my Canyon Spectral and so far I'm happy with them. I'm a beginner rider so I don't have a lot of experience with different brakes but they did stop me anytime I needed them to and didn't lose performance on long or steep descents. I recommend changing the stock pads. I got EBC pads and they really made the brakes perform better.
Thanks for sharing
These DB8’s came with my new Fuel EXE. My intention was to install some MT7’s soon, but after 5 rides I’m liking these. Everything you said about these brakes makes sense and mimick’s what I’m feeling. But I’m only 165lbs…I’m keeping these.
Btw. Does Sram provide their own type of mineral oil? I have Shimano (red) and Royal Blood (blue).
Thanks for sharing and glad they're working for you.
SRAM only warranties the DB8's if you use the Maxima mineral oil they were designed to work with.
I used them a bit since last August the bleed screw are leaking if you don't change the green oring and are bleeding them often...filled it with rtv the oring are impossible to find.
After they get heavy use they will need to be bled often I noticed.
Thanks for sharing your experience.
Been running these for about a year now, very consistant very low maintenance. I like them a lot.
Edit : Not sure if its specific to their design but the levers of mine started squeeking really quickly
Thanks for sharing. Might be worth trying to get some form of lubricant (silicone spray etc) on the lever bushing. Be very careful not to contaminate the discs/pads or get any on the lever blade though!
@@TheLoamWolf yeye for sure but you know how it is, lazyness and stuff.
Some adjustments would be perfect!
Would be nice to see for sure.
Would it be possible to know if the DB8 lever pivot is the same size as the regular Code RSC? The DB8 lever feel may just feel better with a bearing upgrade.
You're dreaming
Running to these on spectral,powerful,small room for modulation
Feel kinda racey?shitty levers (bent one from bike fallin on the curb but it unbended)
Will swap for code ult later
Thanks for sharing. Hope the Codes treat you well.
I'd definitely give these a go over the code R's on my trek Remedy but for the money I'd also like to try the Clarks CRS C4 brakes.
Those Clarks brakes do look good, we'll try get hold of a set to test soon.
I've been riding a set of these brakes since last summer, but I recently swapped them out. I wasn't a big fan of the ergonomics and lack of adjustment. I also wasn't willing to pop for another bleed kit.
Fair enough and thanks for sharing! Valid points.
thanks for the great video, bought a set of these brand new on FB Marketplace for £90 because of this. Cant argue with a bargain and will be a sure upgrade to the MT-201s on my Roscoe, planning to share the love and throw them on my buddies bike still with cable disc.
Right on! Hope they treat you welll, and hope your buddy appreciates his upgrade too!
The problem is DB8 is its too spongy for a mineral oil. With the Code RSC i have, when I changed to 5.1 low viscosity oil, the sponginess almost disappear. You cant do that with mineral oil. Something feels weird about the ergonomic of the DB8 when i tried it out. I think SLX is much better choice. IMO, most 4 piston brakes can handle any type riding given that it has the right pads and rotor. Thr feel of the brake and producing less arm pump is best advise.
What 5.1 oil did you use that was low viscosity?
if its spongy then you probably have air in the system. Not that I have ever used them, its just a typical symptom.
I’ve got them and I’ve had Sram, Magura, Shimano and weighing 100kg they stop me as well as anything I’ve used. If you see them for a good price might as well get them
Thanks for sharing!
I'm curious how the lever pivot is, how long before it wears out, does it use bearings or bushings?
Uses a bushing. Ours stayed tight so far.
@@TheLoamWolf Which type? On Formula Cura 4 bushings wore in less than 400km.🤦
does it still have the issue where the levers get stuck when the brakelevers are under the heat of the sun for a long time? (issue of old sram brakeset)
We haven't experienced this on a SRAM brake for many years.
ohh maybe it's because i live in a tropical country. we just replace the plastic piston rod with an aluminum one. if you have the chance maybe you could test if the levers would get stuck when subjected to heat
These came on a bike I recently bought, I read some iffy comments online and replaced them with TRP dh-r evos before the first ride-glad I did. Moved the DB8s over to my commuter bike. Certainly better than cable actuated brakes I had on previously, but I would buy Deore brakes before these (cheaper and more powerful). Maybe I over pressurized the system or they still haven’t bed in? My commuter can only accommodate 160 rotors, so that comes into play too.
Fair enough, hard to beat those entry level Shimano brakes though!!
Wonder if we will see any sramanos sram and shimano combos
We've had a couple of commenters say they have done this. Could be a good fix in a pinch, but we'd recommend against it for warranty and potential safety issues.
Even with Maxima oil , they are leaving a bit to be desired according to a lady I sponsor . Motorex have a good mineral oil though .
i have those on new trek,while riding bike from store to home i was wtf is this,to much gap till they grab disc and really need to press them,i will go to test them on trails and will see but thinking to buy SLX,well il give them a chance who knows maybe i fall in love
Make sure the pads are properly bedded in first, and you can try to advance the pads (google it) to reduce the gap until they hit the disc. If that fails, you may need to bleed them.
DB8 are great but the fact the banjo angle is not adjustable is a deal breaker for me.
You meant where the lines connect to the calipers?!
It could lead to some funky cable routing, but it's also one less potential failure point.
The only thing that let's them down is they look cheap , the design of the levers look horrendous. 4 piston G2's can be found online for £40 front or rear right now , they look better and perform well
Thanks for sharing.
I want someone to try db8 calipers with shimano levers.
Sramano!! Actually, we like shimram better. Coming right up. Haha
@@TheLoamWolf pretty sure someone has already but they barely said anything about it.
Had these on my bike as stock but had to remove them for a better option in less than 400 miles wouldn't recommend them
They are so loud squeak every time, like you said you need 2 fingers to get the best out of them which doesn't suit my riding style and power wise is only OK
The squeaking sounds like contamination or a potential setup issue unless you're only riding in very wet conditions. They do require a little more lever force than some though, for sure.
My new bike came with a set of these and I really don’t like them compared to the Hope’s that I’ve always run.
Factor in the price to the equation and the DB8 brakes make a lot more sense. We’d rather the Hope brakes for sure.
They are very weak with the factory set of pads, which is kid of the case for most budget brakes, but once you switch to something a bit more grabby, they are alright, though as mentioned, surprised at the amount of modulation, less than Shimano even 🤷
They have an interesting feeling for sure.
I'm impressed. You must have had a very hard time not saying "Shimano" even once in this review. Must have been Sram sponsored. Otherwise, why didn't you compare the DB8 to other mineral oil brakes?
This was not sponsored at all. Sorry we didn't get that comparison in there. Not much to tell in power between these and an SLX 4-pot, a slightly higher maximum stopping force on the DB8 but you have to squeeze harder to get there.
Idk man, I'm 235 pounds on a 62 pound yt decoy, I better stick with codes.
With some big chunky rotors!
shimano lever + db8 caliper/metal pads. Thank later.
HOPE M4 breaks use DOT 5 they are hands down the greatest brakes ever made. If you want crap get SRAM. New subject!
We like the Hope Tech 4 V4's a lot, but there is a significant price difference that may put them out of the budget range of people interested in the SRAM DB8's.
@@TheLoamWolf Right. I got DB8 on sale for $110 for a pair. My V4 costs $400 a pair on sale. Not even in the same category. And DB8 is far from crap
Wild comment lmfao, those are 2 different categories of brake.
@ezraleon6846 You know about it, so you say stuff about it. I have a dog...
Doesn’t make any sense. The brake with mineral oil will need bleeding more often as mineral oil degrades faster than dot fluid. There’s absolutely no way I’d get two years out of a mineral brake, usually they feel like they desperately need a full bleed after 6 months. Dot fluid just lasts so much longer, the only benefit to mineral oil is it’s less corrosive.
Thanks for sharing your opinion on them. When’s the last time you rode a mineral oil brakes and what model were they?
This is very different from my experience with Shimano (mineral oil) brakes. I have them on multiple bikes and other than a seal that went bad on one lever assembly, I haven’t had to bleed them for a couple years so far.
@@ryanmichels2981 that’s insane. That Shimano fluid is going to look like Guinness next time you flush it out. I’ve got Shimano brakes on two of my bikes. I’ll do a lever bleed every ten or so rides and a full bleed every 6 months or whenever I fit new pads. If I don’t do this make brakes feel like utter shit. With my sram brakes I only bleed them when they feel like they need bleeding and I never bleed for pad changes. Mineral oil just can’t take as high temperatures and if you get them hot enough you will have to bleed them. I last bled my codes two years ago and my guides in 2019. They won’t get a bleed until they start overheating or feeling like they need a bleed.
Also, DOT fluid cleans up with just water...cleaning mineral oil is royal PITA.
@@TheNotoriousMIC well, i will have to take a look now out of curiosity. Been working great/fine, but hey, I’m open to ideas and input.
Sram is garbage. Three different bleed kits for codes, this trash and their nonsense dropper. I wish my codes only needed to be bled once a year. Just get shimano
Exactly, im using only shimano brakes, deore and higher.
@@danielstormy3660 I just got rid of the codes on my enduro and put on some trp dhr evo stoppers and wow!!!!!
Hate to think how crap these will be considering how bad guide and code r brakes are .total shit