Avid DB3 brakes – Persevere or Bin?

These came on my On-One Fatty. The pistons don’t retract properly after about 6 rides so probably need a bleed and some attention. Before I bother, are these brakes just junk or has anyone had long term success with them?

All my other bikes have Shimano brakes which haven’t exactly been trouble free but at least are easy to bleed and keep running. If I bin the DB3s I’d probably just stick Deores on.

they’re basically new. As clean and well-assembled as they’ll ever be, and they’re not working properly.

they won’t improve with age/use.

Yeah that’s my thought. That said, the old Hayes HFX 9s could be an absolute pain in the ass when new but once you got them bled well they would work for a long time.

Avid factory bleeds are known for being poor so worth giving them a bleed first and then see how they play.

> they’re basically new. As clean and well-assembled as they’ll ever be, and they’re not working properly.

> Avid factory bleeds are known for being poor so worth giving them a bleed first and then see how they play.

Conflicting info here.

If they were mine I would re-bleed myself before binning them.

My Elixirs use to drag the disks with new pads until I bled them, but I did also remove the pistons and re grease the o-rings as they were 2nd hand.

they’re basically new. As clean and well-assembled as they’ll ever be, and they’re not working properly.

they won’t improve with age/use.

My front has got better with age. Its had no attention other than new pads and forcing the pistons all the way in periodically (this gets them out of the way and lubricates the seal)

I posted asking about them and was told to dismantle and grease the pistons. I’m sure this is good advice and I will follow it some day

I have some Elixir 1s which gave me lots of problems. This has helped more than anything else:

http://www.pinkbike.com/news/tech-spotlight-5-minute-bubble-bleed-2014.html

I got my Fatty in November and have just changed the front pads after about 1100 miles.
Despite what I have heard and read, I have had no issues whatsoever, so far…
I regularly clean my bike and it stays indoors.