Individual test 2018: Road bike disc brakes from Campagnolo - Hydraulic disc brakes from Campagnolo put to the test

When a traditional Italian manufacturer of road bike components and a German specialist in hydraulic brakes come together to develop a road bike disc brake, the result should be good. The expectations for Campagnolo's first disc brake, in whose development the Swabian company Magura played a major role, are correspondingly high. After several years of development and testing, the system is now available on the market.

As the H11, it is assigned to the mechanical and electronic versions of the Chorus, Record and Super Record groupsets; for the more affordable groupsets, there will be a cheaper version whose essential parts - brake calliper, disc, pads and the inner workings of the levers - are identical. Only the shift brake levers differ in terms of the materials used and the shifting technology: the brake levers of the cheaper Potenza groupset are made of aluminium instead of carbon; the mechanism known as "Power Shift" enables step-by-step shifting to smaller sprockets, while the more expensive H11 can shift up to six gears with a single lever press.

Apart from that, the grip shape is identical and is based on the previous components. Those who previously appreciated the comfortable hand rests of the Campagnolo levers will also feel right at home on the disc versions. In order to accommodate the hydraulic cylinders, the humps are around eight millimetres higher than those of the rim brakes, which is hardly noticeable visually, but in our opinion feels even better: The grip hump provides an additional grip position where you can get a good grip. The reach of the levers is now infinitely adjustable - as is already standard with Shimano; this option has not yet been available on the levers for rim brakes. Remarkable new feature from the Italians: While with Shimano and SRAM you have to accept the respective character of the brake, the response behaviour of the Campa brake can be varied. Either a hard pressure point with short lever travel or better modulation with longer lever travel. Both variants are pleasant to use, and we didn't find either setting to be a mistake. Which one you choose is more a matter of taste.

Powerful and quiet

The first few kilometres leave an excellent impression. The spring tension in the free travel of the levers lies between the Shimano levers, which are very smooth but sometimes rattle on rough sections, and the SRAM levers, which are somewhat more difficult to operate. The braking force is soft, then the Campa stoppers feel snappy, but are always very easy to control. No ringing, scratching or squeaking disturbs the ride. Rubberised pads on the rear are designed to dampen vibrations, which obviously works well. The good initial riding impression is also confirmed by our measurements on the brake test bench, where the H11 performs well: At a moderate 50 newtons of hand force, it builds up 270 newtons of braking force, which is roughly equivalent to the performance of current SRAM disc brakes (and the best rim brakes available). The latest Shimano generation achieves 320 newtons at the disc in this way, but is somewhat more difficult to modulate. One of the Campa brakes' strengths lies in continuous braking: So-called fading, i.e. a drop in braking force when the pads get hot, is hardly an issue for the H11. The power loss is a maximum of 15 per cent and is hardly noticeable in practice; the brake also recovers quickly, even if you continue to brake hard. The competition has to struggle more with this problem: with Shimano and SRAM, you have to reckon with up to 40 per cent less power with new pads in an emergency if the pads outgas due to the heat generated and start to "float" on the brake disc.

So far, so good. However, further tests show that the Campagnolo system has a problem with the brake heat elsewhere. Even after the fading test on the TOUR test bench, which in itself is not a major challenge, the brake disc is slightly warped and has to be realigned. The problem also occurs during a test ride in practice:

At the end of a 300 metre long, 12 percent steep downhill section with normal braking to control the speed, the new brake disc wobbles and rubs against the pads. The disc can be straightened again with a straightening tool. Not so after our obligatory endurance test in the Inn Valley. The test represents an extreme, but not unrealistic scenario: With a system weight of 100 kilograms (rider including wheel), we ride down a two-kilometre-long, steep and winding descent with a final emergency stop - using only the front brake, which, according to the laws of physics, has to do most of the work anyway. The Campa brakes manage this, we come to a safe stop and they continue to brake afterwards. But the brake disc is ready for the scrap heap: bent in the shape of a disc, it runs several millimetres off track, making it almost impossible to turn the wheel through the brake calliper. A ride would be over at this point. This is all the more astonishing because even Campagnolo's carbon rims remain unimpressed by this test.

Our conclusion: Campagnolo's first disc brake can do some things better than the competition, but it is not free of teething troubles either. The Italians definitely need to improve the heat resistance of the discs.