SRAM vs. Shimano Brake Buyer's Guide: The Ultimate Comparison [Video]

Words by: Liam Woods

Overview:

Year after year, the SRAM vs Shimano brake rivalry continues and becomes even more divided. A few years ago we did a comparison of these two brakes, but since then both brands have come out with new and updated brakes, addressing the previous complaints and always trying to improve. The arguments go one of two ways: either SRAM brakes feel soft and spongy and I have a harder time bleeding them OR Shimano brakes lock up too fast, I can't modulate how much brake I pull and after a few rides my Shimano brakes are pulling to the bar and I have to bleed them often. 

Both arguments come up often, and a lot of this comes down to rider preference and your own or your local mechanic’s skills. I have personally been working on both brakes for the better part eight years, so I know most of the tricks. I'll get into my thoughts and personal tips for bleeding each brake later. At the end of the day, there is a reason both of these brake brands are seen as the top two brands to choose from. Both options are amazing and have great brakes to help you slow down regardless of what kind of terrain you ride. From SRAM Code or Shimano Saint brakes for your downhill bike, SRAM G2 or Shimano XTR/XT four piston brakes for your trail bike, and SRAM Level or Shimano XTR/XT two piston brakes for your cross country bike, each brand makes something for everything.

Feel and Modulation:

I would say that this is pretty much the biggest part of the argument right here, how each brake feels and performs on the trail. One brand is known to have a snappy feeling but less “feel”, by which we mean how easily you can put on a little bit of braking power to scrub speed versus pulling the brake and instantly locking up the rear wheel. The other brand is known to have a little more feel and modulation, making it easier to control the amount of braking power you want, although seemingly lacking some of the initial bite the other brand offers. Let’s brake it down... (see what I did there?)

SRAM:

SRAM brakes are known to have more feel and modulation, no matter which category of brake we're talking about. The lever feel is smooth, and you can slowly apply the amount of brake pressure you want in any given situation. Over the years SRAM has got much better at feeling sharp without losing their key feature of modulation. Each new model that comes out gets better and better and more and more consistent. Oftentimes riders who have not ridden any newly updated SRAM brakes are blown away by the improvements, the amount of modulation they can achieve and just the overall power, especially the Code brakes made for downhill bikes.

Shimano:

Shimano is the brand most commonly put on the pedestal for staying snappy over a long period of time. This has to do with a technology they use called ServoWave, which creates a bit more effort to pull the brake lever at the beginning of the lever stroke and then gets easier after that. This allows you to get a good snap on the lever and pull lots of braking power. That leads to the snappy feeling as well as the feeling of lots of immediate power from the brake. But that also has its drawbacks, as it can provide too much power, more than a rider might have wanted at first. This gets better once you are used to them and learn to put on the amount of power you need, but it does take some time. Over the past few years, Shimano has actually made it a point to make the ServoWave be a bit less and improve on the modulation as well. So basically, both brake brands are trying to get closer to what the other brand is good at.

Both brakes have a specific feel and it often just comes down to what you want as a rider. We will get more into personal preference further down, but thoe are the basics of what each brake offers.

Models Per Riding Discipline:

This is where things get a bit crazy and hard to understand. We will break this down into the easiest methods. The two brands use different ways to categorize their brakes for different disciplines. SRAM uses one model name for different categories and within that model there are different levels of high end down to entry level. Shimano on the other hand, has model names for the level of high end to entry levels and within those models are the category discipline. Hopefully, this will make sense a bit further down. 

There are going to be three main categories for mountain bike disc brakes: cross country, trail/enduro, and enduro/downhill. Just like any other mountain bike category, there is a bunch of cross over and you can run a more powerful brake on a smaller bike as many do, or a less powerful brake on a bigger bike, not that many do but you can. Cross country brakes will be the lightest version of disc brakes and typically feature only a two piston caliper. External tool free adjustments are removed for weight and the size and fluid capacity have been shrunk down to be as light as possible while providing just the right amount of braking power needed. Trail/enduro brakes usually move to a four piston caliper and you typically get some tool free adjustments. The fluid capacity on these brakes is also increased. The trail/enduro brakes are what you will see spec’d on most bikes and are very common. They provide adequate braking power and can be found on a huge range of bikes from 120mm light trail bikes to 160mm enduro bikes. Rotor size comes into play big time with these styles of brakes, and we will cover that in just a second. The last category of disc brakes are enduro/downhill brakes, made for downhill bikes but many fast enduro riders use these brakes on their bikes to get the most stopping power possible. These also have four piston calipers and have the most amount of fluid packed into the brake to reduce any overheating that may occur. 

The last bit to cover is rotor sizes. Yes, size does matter with rotors. The smaller the rotor, the less leverage and therefore stopping power you can get with any given brake. Typically you will see 160-180mm rotors on a cross country bike paired with a two piston caliper. For trail and enduro bikes, 180mm is most commonly used and bumping up to a 200mm or 203m rotor is also a common thing to see to get a touch more stopping power out of a trail style brake.

Downhill and big enduro bikes will use 200 front and rear and now some brands are making some 220mm or 223mm rotors to get even more stopping power for those fast riders out there. If you have a brake and want to get some more stopping power without buying new brakes, I would suggest going with a larger rotor. It’s cheaper than a new brake system and you might be surprised by how much more power you can get when upgrading to a 20mm larger rotor in the front or the rear. Along with that, you either see the same size rotor front and rear, or a larger rotor in the front than the rear. This is because lots of your stopping power comes from the front and getting a larger rotor in the front increases the ability to stop even faster. It also doesn’t add that much weight to your bike, so a bigger rotor is always the way I go. 

Shimano Models: 

Starting from the highest end and down: XTR, XT, and SLX for cross country and trail use, with Saint and Zee being their downhill options. Within the XTR, XT and SLX models you have both a two piston option for cross country and a four piston option for trail/enduro. The Saint and Zee only have one option and are four piston and are made for downhill use. XTR brakes will be the lightest version and most high end option from Shimano with XT coming in just behind. Shimano XT brakes are often said to be the standard for how mountain bike disc brakes should perform for the power and price they are offered at. 

SRAM Models: 

SRAM’s brake lineup is a little easier to follow in my opinion. You have three brake names, one for cross country, trail, and downhill. Within those are the levels from high end and down. Starting with SRAM Level brakes, these are SRAM’s cross country option that will be lightweight without tool free adjustments and two piston calipers. In the Level brake category you have four models, starting with the high end Level Ultimate, then the Level TLM, the Level TL and finally the Level T. The trail brakes follow a similar naming convention but are the SRAM G2 brakes with a four piston caliper, and within the G2 model there is G2 Ultimate, G2 RSC, G2 RS and G2 R brakes. The G2 Ultimate and RSC feature a few more adjustments than the latter, with a tool free contact adjust that actually works, and it works great! Lastly for SRAM is their downhill brakes, the SRAM Code with two models to choose from: the Code RSC and the Code R. These will be the burliest brakes SRAM makes and they have a large four piston caliper and a huge master cylinder. The RSC model also features the tool free contact adjust like the G2 Ultimate and RSC brakes. 

Cross Country / Light Trail

Shimano XTR Two Piston - $306.99

The Shimano XTR two piston brake (BR-9100) will be the lightest and highest end cross country model from Shimano. 

• 2 piston mono block caliper
• Carbon lever blade
• Tool reach adjust
• Titanium hardware
• 312g

SRAM Level Ultimate - $265

The SRAM Level Ultimate will be the highest end and lightest cross country brake model from SRAM, featuring just what you need and nothing you don’t.

• Two piston, two piece caliper
• Carbon lever blade
• Tool reach adjust
• Titanium hardware
• Bleeding Edge tool
• 214g

Shimano XT Two Piston - $154.99

The Shimano XT two piston brakes (BR-8100) are the most common brakes on the market, working on bikes from your cross country race rig to mid travel bikes. Often referred to as the standard for disc brake performance. 

• Two piston caliper
• Alloy lever blade
• Tool-free reach adjust
• 392g

SRAM Level TLM - $170

The SRAM Level TLM is just a step down from the Level Ultimate, still remaining lightweight but forgoing the carbon and titanium bits. The Level TLM will be slightly more of the workhorse on the Level series.

• Two piston caliper
• Alloy lever blade
• Tool reach adjust
• Bleeding Edge tool
• 356g

Shimano SLX Two Piston - $129.99

The Shimano SLX two piston brakes (BR-7100) will be the best bang for the buck out of the Shimano lineup. Offering reliable braking performance at a wallet friendly price. 

• Two piston caliper
• Alloy lever blade
• Tool-free reach adjust
• 425g

SRAM Level TL & T - $100 & $85

The SRAM Level TL and T will be the lower end of SRAM’s cross country brakes, but that doesn’t mean they offer low stopping power. Having ridden the SRAM Level TL for a bit I can tell you that they can still stop when you need and are extremely reliable for all types of riding.

• Two piston caliper
• Alloy lever blade
• Tool reach adjust
• Bleeding Edge tool
• 370g & 410g

Trail/Enduro

Shimano XTR Four Piston - $329.99

Made for modern trail and enduro bikes, the Shimano XTR four piston brakes (BR-9120) have a carbon lever blade, finned brake pads and are made to stop you in all conditions. With titanium hardware, the XTR four piston brakes are the top end for Shimano trail and enduro brakes. 

• Four piston mono block caliper
• Carbon lever blade
• Tool-free reach adjust
• Titanium hardware
• 385g

SRAM G2 Ultimate - $280

SRAM G2 Ultimate brakes deserve the nickname the “mini-Code” for how much power they pack into a small, compact trail brake. With a four piston caliper, the G2 Ultimate is the lightest four piston brake on the market. They are available in a few colors to match your bike. 

• Four piston two piece caliper
• Carbon lever blade
• Tool-free reach adjust
• Contact adjust
• Titanium hardware
• Bleeding Edge tool
• 242g

Shimano XT Four Piston - $209.99

Following in the path of the classic two piston Shimano XT brake, the Shimano XT four piston brake (BR-8120) offers some of the best performance to price on the market. Many riders swear by these brakes and the four piston option was a hit when it first came out. The workhorse of the disc brake world, you will see these XT four piston brakes on many different bikes. 

• Four piston mono block caliper
• Alloy lever blade
• Tool-free reach adjust
• 410g

SRAM G2 RSC - $180

The SRAM G2 RSC is the aggressive brother of the G2 Ultimate, without the carbon level blade and titanium hardware. The G2 RSC also has the mini-Code nickname and is one of our favorite SRAM trail brakes to ride. Much of this is from the contact adjust the brake features, allowing you to really move how much dead zone there is in the lever pull. 

• Four piston, two piece caliper
• Alloy lever blade
• Tool-free reach adjust
• Contact adjust
• Bleeding Edge tool
• 257g

Shimano SLX Four Piston - $174.99

Shimano’s entry level four piston brake, the Shimano SLX (BR-7120), can take a beating. For the price of this brake, the quality and stopping power is amazing! 

• Four piston mono block caliper
• Alloy lever blade
• Tool-free reach adjust
• 444g

SRAM G2 RS & R - $155 & $135

SRAM recently released the two G2 RS and R brakes to follow their higher end siblings. Offering the same four piston stopping power, the SRAM G2 RS and R go without the contact adjust to come in at a lower, more affordable price. 

• Four piston two piece caliper
• Alloy lever blade
• Tool-free reach adjust
• Bleeding Edge tool

Enduro/DH

Shimano Saint - $246.99

Shimano Saint brakes have been long seen as some of the best downhill brakes on the market. With too many downhill World Cup wins to count, you will see these brakes on most Shimano racers’ bikes. Consistency is the name with the Shimano Saints, and they deliver the power too. 

• Four piston caliper
• Alloy lever blade
• Tool-free reach adjust
• Ceramic pistons
• 594g

SRAM Code RSC - $245

SRAM Code RSC will be SRAM's most powerful brake, also having tons of downhill World Cup wins under its belt, the Code RSC can perform at the highest level. Featuring the contact adjust like the G2 Ultimate and RSC, the Code RSC feels great and has the power as well. 

• Four piston caliper
• Alloy lever blade
• Tool-free reach adjust
• Contact Adjust
• 294g

Shimano Zee - $184.99

Shimano Zee brakes are going to be the budget version of the Saints. Still meant for downhill and stopping fast, the Shimano Zee is a great value to performance from Shimano. 

• Four piston caliper
• Alloy lever blade
• Tool-free reach adjust
• 576g

SRAM Code R - $155

SRAM Code R brakes will be the affordable version of the RSC, very similar but without the contact adjust that the RSC has. Don't let the price fool you, the Code R is a great value and has the performance to prove it. 

• Four piston caliper
• Alloy lever blade
• Tool-free reach adjust

• 433g

Mechanic Friendliness:

Between the two brands there are some differences when working on them. Starting with Shimano, the bleed process is quite easy for the home mechanic and you can get a quick top off bleed done very easily without much skill required. I think Shimano brakes are easier to make feel good, and kept bled. SRAM brakes take a little more work and have the use of syringes. While it takes more skill to get down, once you learn it, I think it's easier to make a consistent bleed on SRAM than Shimano brakes. Using the syringes you can be sure that there is no air in the lines and the brake is as good as it can get. 

Adjusting the brakes is about the same now. In the past, SRAM pistons wouldn't align as easily as Shimano but there have been many updates since then. Also to note, on the higher end models there is a contact adjust on both brakes but they work very differently. For Shimano this is called a free-stroke adjustment, which has a few drawbacks. It uses a Phillips head screw on the lever that one, requires a tool to adjust, two it's a Phillips head screwdriver and I think that is not the best quality on a high end brake, and three, it really doesn't work at all. All the way out or all the way in you barely feel a difference and it's pretty pointless. For SRAM, they have a pad contact adjustment and it works great. You have lots of adjustment and you can really feel the difference with just a couple quarter turns. When I bleed the brakes I bleed them all the way out and then dial it in to feel. I'd say this is a huge benefit that SRAM has over Shimano. 

DOT Fluid vs Mineral Oil:

There is also the fact that these two brands use different hydraulic fluids in their brake systems, and both say that theirs is the best for A or B reasons. SRAM uses DOT fluid, and specifically new DOT5.1, but you can also use DOT4 in SRAM brakes. What you can't use is DOT5 fluid. Shimano uses mineral oil brake fluid, but their mineral oil isn't just mineral oil. It’s specific to Shimano and really only available through a bicycle retailer. There are so many specifics about the brake fluid and honestly, someone else covered these two fluids in depth so well that I am just going to link to their article. Epic Bleed Solutions has an entire blog on Mineral Oil VS Dot Brake fluid, so I suggest you check that out to get a full in-depth answer. I will list a few of their what’s good and what’s bad about each below. I will say at the end of their article there is a poll to let the readers decide what fluid is the best, and out of 10,421 votes at the time of this blog, mineral oil is winning 61% to DOT fluid’s 39%. 

Mineral Oil:

Pros:

• High boiling point
• Hydrophobic nature
• Long shelf life
• Non-corrosive
• It’s unregulated
• Easily cleaned Away

Cons:

• Expensive
• Hydrophobic nature
• Limited availability
• It’s unregulated

Dot Fluid:

Pros:

• High boiling point
• Hygroscopic nature
• It’s regulated
• Widely available
• Inexpensive
• Easily cleaned away

Cons:

• Corrosive
• Hygroscopic nature
• Poor shelf life

What Sucks and What’s good:

Both brands make some amazing brakes, having been at it for years now. Yet both still have some drawbacks compared to the other, and there are also positives from each brand that the other lacks. 

Shimano - What’s Good:

Shimano makes a very consistent brake. They've been making consistent brakes for years now and hold the benchmark for other brands to compare themselves to. Shimano is also pretty easy for the home mechanic. 

Shimano - What’s Bad:

For a brand to be at the brake game this long, it's a shame they haven’t figured out a pad adjustment that works yet. Their “free stroke” is all but basically useless and nobody even really knows why it’s there. Then we also have to wonder why some $300 brakes have a silver Phillips head on the rest of an amazing looking brake. 

SRAM What’s Good:

SRAM pad adjustment sets it above many brakes in that department. Their contact adjust on their Code RSC, G2 Ultimate and G2 RSC works really well. You can bleed the brake with it open, wind it in after the bleed and have some amazing and easy to adjust pad contact. Another cool feature is that their brake levers are dual sided, meaning you can carry one spare, or if a mate from down under comes to visit you can easily swap the brakes for the right front style if needed. 

SRAM What’s Bad:

SRAM brakes are inherently a bit harder for the home mechanic. You need a syringe bleed kit in order to properly bleed the brakes, and it takes a bit more trial and error to get the bleed down. 

Personal Preference:

The final bit, which do we prefer? Both Jeff and I lean towards the SRAM side and for a few reasons. I really like the lever feel, and I think it’s easier to slowly add on the power and scrub speed more controlled than Shimano brakes. Another reason is how well the pad contact adjustment works. When you start to wear the pad, if bled and set up right, you can dial in the contact adjust to keep the lever throw the same. This helps prolong the need to bleed the brakes to maintain feel. I also think that once you learn, SRAM brakes are also easier to get a consistent and good bleed on with the syringes. By using vacuum pulling you can be sure that all of the air is out of the system and you only have a tight bleed with brake fluid. Jeff and I are also on the lighter side of the common rider and I have many friends that are some solid, thick guys and many of them prefer Shimano. At the end of the day, they are both great brakes, and it really does come down to personal preference. I can get used to either, but SRAM is my preferred choice. 

This article was written / authored by Liam Woods. Liam has been in the bicycle industry for over 10 years as a racer, professional mechanic, service manager and as of late, media and content creator. Liam has ridden thousands of different bikes, ridden countless components, tested endless MTB apparel of all kinds and written reviews on it all. He's a key piece to the Worldwide Cyclery "All Things MTB" content creation puzzle. He also makes consistent appearances on the Worldwide Cyclery YouTube channel and Instagram.

 

If you're one strange human and would like to read the transcript of the video above, continue reading below!

Ladies and gentlemen about two years ago we filmed a video of SRAM vs. Shimano mountain bike brakes and a lot of people really liked that video. It got a ton of views but looking back at it one thing's clear my hair is still ridiculous and I still need a haircut. It was also a ramble on video in my opinion so we have the goal today to film a much more comprehensive video comparing SRAM & Shimano mountain bike brakes and include all sorts of good useful information for you. In this video, we are going to cover the feel and modulation of each brand, models per riding discipline, price and feature comparison between the two brands, mechanic friendliness, dot fluid versus mineral oil, what sucks and what's good about each brand, and my personal preference. The thing I talked about the most in the last video we made on this topic and probably what you've already heard a lot when you're comparing these two brakes does have to do with feel or what some people call modulation. There is a decent difference between the two brands- they both have a little bit of their own unique feel so typically the what you're gonna hear right there the general consensus is that SRAM has a little bit more modulation or sponginess to it. What that means is as you're pulling the lever once it actually finally contacts the amount of sort of given sponge right there before the break locks up that is quote-unquote modulation the lever throw that you can kind of modulate the brake before it completely locks up. Shimano has a little bit less, they're a bit snappier in feel so you have less room by the time you feel it contact there's sort of less distance in that lever you know and then the brake just locks the wheel up. Is one better than the other? I'm gonna definitely say no so it's kind of personal preference, and to be honest, you can kind of get used to either one. I've ridden both of them extensively over the history of my mountain bike career and you just kind of get used to it. It is different but you definitely get used to it. SRAM brakes have gotten a little bit more snappy and we're talking modern SRAM brakes are definitely more snappy and have a little bit less modulation than the older SRAM brakes do. Shimano's have kind of always been really snappy and they still remain that same but that's kind of the difference. what are you gonna like you yes not to him well it's kind of interesting I have seen customers walk into our shop that got a new set of SRAM brakes or they just wrote a demo bike that had SRAM brakes on it and they came in and they were glowing and they're like I absolutely love these brakes I'm not locking up the wheel by mistake I'm not accidentally skidding I get thrown over the bars on my bike by accident with my Shimano brakes these SRAM brakes have some form of modulation I love them so some people say that. I've heard that a dozen times I've also heard a dozen times I hate the SRAM brakes they're too spongy it's like too hard to lock the wheel up my Shimano ones are way snappy or way more predictable blah blah blah so there is no one winner. They just have a little bit different feel between them and it kind of is personal preference and what you like. So in a perfect world you'd be able to test both brakes back-to-back and see which one you kind of like and prefer but there's definitely no one winner. With that said, the consensus is that SRAM has a little bit more modulation sponginess and Shimano is a little bit more snappy and tight.

Both SRAM and Shimano make a ton of different models of brakes. I'm just going to talk about the most popular and kind of like the top three nicest ones in the mountain bike realm from each brand. I'm gonna break it down in cross country / light trail as one category, trail / enduro, and enduro / downhill. Disclaimer: you can obviously a fix any of these brakes across different disciplines so you might have a cross country bike that has 100 ml of travel and it's a super lightweight hardtail but you're a  really big dude so you put downhill brakes on it that is possible and vice versa but what they're intended for that's what I'm gonna go over. So each brand does it a little bit differently to preface this: do remember a four piston brake caliper is more powerful than a two piston brake caliper it's also a little bit heavier, also all of these brakes that I'm going to talk about you can put a bunch of different sized rotors on them smaller rotors have less leverage less braking power, larger rotors have more leverage more braking power. So to jump into it, Shimano cross country light trail they make XTR, XT and SLX. XTR being the most expensive then XT then SLX, that's their top three premium mountain bike models, two piston brake variants for those three models. SRAM has what's called the Level series so they have level ultimate, TLM, TL, T, and just level. So that's SRAM’s cross country light trail 2 piston caliper lightweight brake. Trail and enduro - so with Shimano again XTR, XT, SLX four piston. So four piston for each one of those models. SRAM has the G2’s, the nicest being G2 ultimate then RSC, RS, and R. Enduro / downhill riding- Shimano's got the Saint and the Zee. SRAM has the Code series: Code RSC and Code R. Again, it is possible to put what SRAM might consider a downhill brake like a Code on your cross country bike or Shimano might make their downhill break which is the Saint or Zee you could put it on a trail bike or a cross country bike they're all cross-compatible in terms of that or different personal preference. But what I just went over is the intended discipline for them, if you have any questions about what brakes you might need and what fits your bike and you as a rider your weight, your riding style, your terrain all that sort of stuff don't hesitate to reach out to us. A little disclaimer there, it's complicated, but what I just went over was the intended discipline from the brand for each one of those available models in the cross country / light trail category from the top-end model first Shimano XT are two piston vs. SRAM. The Shimano coming in at $299 per brake with tool required reach adjustment, no free stroke adjustment, and claimed weight of 312 grams per brake for lever, caliper, and hose. The SRAM coming in at $265 per brake, tool required reach adjust, no free stroke adjustment, and claimed weight of 255 grams per brake for lever, caliper, and hose. And now for the XT two piston versus the level TLM and the SLX 2-piston versus the level TL.

The trail / enduro category Shimano coming in with XTR four-piston vs. SRAM g2 Ultimates and now XT four piston versus G2 RSC, and now SLX four piston vs G2 RS. One time I put a firefly on my butthole to make my farts glow. And for the final category of enduro / downhill Shimano coming in with Saints vs. SRAM’s code RSC

And now Zee versus Code R. The way you bleed SRAM vs. Shimano is a little bit different so Shimano uses this sort of funnel system where SRAM uses a syringe system. They're both challenging to bleed and it is probably recommended that you have a professional do it or check out Park Tool’s YouTube channel if you really want to tackle it yourself. Make sure you have proper tools, proper bleed kit, eye protection, gloves, all that good stuff. I would say in my experience it's a little bit easier to get Shimano's to feel good in terms of just like if you're a quasi novice mechanic and you're at home working on them. SRAM takes a little bit more skill to get really dialed in and perfect but it's kind of more convenient and clean to bleed them with the syringe system so both are kind of similar there. In terms of adjusting the actual calipers, historically SRAM has not been the best at that. Their pistons didn't retract quite as good as Shimano, they have come a very very long way there with their caliper design and the piston material and the piston seals in modern-day in my opinion and I think, you know, a lot of people would agree with this if you've worked on them extensively. New stuff like in the last couple years the SRAM pistons retract amazingly well just like the Shimano's always have so they're just as easy to adjust and make sure that that rotor is not rubbing. A lot of people still have that old memory of older SRAM brakes where their pistons didn't retract as well, and it was back then it was really annoying you know six seven years ago SRAM / Avid brakes were a lot harder to dial in and get that rotor to not rub because the piston is just like no matter what you did just didn't seem to want to retract and Shimano's six seven years ago ten years ago the pistons always retracted really well and they still do but nowadays I think they're totally equal in that sense so that's a little touch on mechanic friendliness now let's talk about what's inside of these things. SRAM brakes all use dot fluid and all of Shimano's brakes use their proprietary mineral oil, which one is better? Really really tough to say, there's a lot of controversy over that topic over which fluid really is better. There's an article written by this company in Europe called epic bleed solutions (a link below to that in the video description) they wrote an extensive article all about dot fluid versus mineral oil which is really really well done, you can see a couple snippets of that article and pros and cons of each of the fluid right now. At the bottom of that article they don't really say which one is better because it's kind of hard to say which one really is better. They just both have their own pros and cons at the bottom of that article they do have a poll where you can vote on which one you think is better and at the time of filming that poll had ten thousand three hundred votes and sixty-one percent of people that voted said mineral oil was better so if you really want to get nerdy on that topic definitely check out the link below in the video description to epic bleed solutions their article is amazing when you're talking mineral oil versus dot fluid.

All the brakes from SRAM and Shimano work incredibly well. I mean there's a reason why these two brands are pretty much the dominant mountain bike brake brands in the entire mountain bike industry at least in North America. There's obviously a ton of other great brakes out there: TRP, Hope, Magura just to name a few. There's a bunch of other ones out there but these guys are kind of the two big gorillas in the ring because they make really great stuff and they get a lot of spec so what are some things that I still think are good and bad from each brand? One of my biggest gripes and you're probably heard this from a lot of people especially if you do some googling on Shimano brakes. They have their free stroke adjustment and that's supposed to be you know how far that lever pulls until it actually engages - a really really nice thing to be able to adjust. Shimano's requires a tool and the tool is a Phillips head screwdriver… a Phillips head screwdriver?! What the hell on a $300 brake? I don't know that always just seems stupid why isn't it an Allen wrench and why do you need a tool to adjust it it just looks like a way to me and the other thing is like it kind of doesn't really work I don't know anyone who rides Shimano brakes whoever actually really messes with that thing it doesn't really seem to do very much. Like it barely barely changes it and if you have the thing driven all the way out you have all these exposed threads and it looks super ugly so I don't know that to me is like been a gripe of mine about Shimano brakes for a long time because that's a really nice valuable adjustment to have that's part of what like put Avid prior before it was SRAM into the scene as they came out with a tool free free stroke adjustment that was really nice and actually worked and that's kind of what put them on the map. And then this was like Shimano's answer to it, this was years ago, still kind of sucks, stills not that good, still as a Phillips head screwdriver instead of an Allen, and you still need some kind of tool. SRAMs on the other hand they call it a contact point adjustment but same exact thing it's basically this little Rolly dial here and you can twist the thing around and it determines how far that lever pulls before it engages. It actually works and it works really really well between all the way on and all the way off or all the way one direction and the other it makes a huge difference in how for the lever actually pulls until it engages so you have a ton of adjustment there to dial in that on your break on the fly with no tool. It's awesome. When they first came out with this feature three to five years ago, they got locked up sometimes and they would get stuck and that was kind of annoying. Some of you guys may have had that problem but it doesn't really do it anymore. I haven't seen that happen in forever. Another thing I love about the SRAM brakes is you can flip-flop them they are the same either direction so if you're a moto guy or say your buddy comes over and you're an American and he's Australian and he wants his rear break on the left side and he's riding your spare bike you can just take your SRAM brakes and flip the levers really easy. Shimanos don't do that, they're directional, so that's kind of annoying. But yeah I mean Shimano makes a beautiful gorgeous brake that does work really well and has a great snappy feel so I don't know if that's so just like the rambling ons of you know what sucks and what's good on both of these things but at the end of the day both brands make amazing brakes which is why they're so popular in the industry. I prefer SRAM brakes I have for probably the last four years. I think SRAM brakes have come a really long way and to me I absolutely love that what Shimano calls free stroke and Stram calls contact point adjustment how far that lever pulls until it engages. I kind of mess with that a lot because I really like them to feel exactly the same and how far they pull all hydraulic brakes depending on you know how you bleed them and all these other little tiny variables inside you it's almost impossible to get them like perfectly even and then like your brain might not think they're even but having like on-the-fly tool free being able to adjust that contact how far that lever goes until it engages I love it. I really like SRAM brakes, that is my preference. This is my personal bike right here, g2 Ultimates with a little rainbow hardware carbon lever blades. I absolutely love these things. I've definitely been on the SRAM brake train for a long time and that was my preference. It's not to say that Shimano is bad in any way shape or form, I just prefer that I also like a little bit more modulation of the SRAM as well. Yeah I mean it's kind of it's split down the middle in terms of our shop I would say it's probably weighted more towards people who do prefer and like SRAM brakes but of course there's you know a percentage of people you know in our company that are diehard Shimano brake people and it's a tough one right because every year that goes by Shimano makes improvements to their brakes, SRAM makes improvements to their brakes things change things get different but you know they're neck-and-neck right now my preference is still SRAM I really enjoy the brakes.

Thank you guys very much for watching I really hope that that was a valuable and helpful video for you if you are comparing these two brake brands um definitely let us know down in the comments what brakes are you running super curious to hear your thoughts and your opinions and experiences with both brands or if you prefer another brand. Please subscribe to our YouTube channel for more epic mountain bike content like this and I'll see you guys in the next video.