components: Test: Campagnolo disc brake H11 – Can Campa also disc?

Test: It's finally here! After a long wait, Campagnolo has now presented the final version of its own disc brake. Lots of clever detailed solutions should make it the best disc for road cyclists. We were able to see for ourselves and admit: the wait was worth it.

Campagnolo and the disc brake. It's always been a bit like a complicated love affair. We found each other interesting and kept making tentative advances, but the spark never really jumped. Until now. A few weeks ago, the Italians presented their first disc brake, which will be called Campagnolo H11 and should be available in stores in the next few days. We had the opportunity to take a close look at the braking system ourselves on the Canary Islands and of course to test it extensively on some long descents.

Almost exactly a year ago, Campagnolo presented the first drafts of its own disc brake. At that time, however, it was emphasized that the market launch would be delayed until the system had been tested and approved by the professionals under racing conditions. Just a few weeks later, theCause Ventoso' and the UCI stopped the test run for disc brakes. That threw the plans made in Vicenza upside down for the time being and delayed further development. However, test and training bikes were made available to the professionals under contract and the laboratory tests were intensified in order to further advance the disc brake project. Now, in early summer, the time has actually come and expectations could hardly be higher. Lorenzo Taxis, Head of Marketing at Campagnolo, promises full-bodied: "We may be the last - but also the best!"

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Developing a hydraulic disc brake was a mammoth project for Campagnolo. A traditional company that is dedicated to road cycling and has always relied on mechanical rim brakes. It was therefore also clear to the Campa developers that they were lagging behind in terms of disc know-how and experience compared to their competitors Shimano and SRAM, who are also active in the MTB sector. For this reason, the decision was made to cooperate with another traditional company - the German disc brake pioneer Magura. The new Campagnolo disc brake was developed with the Swabian manufacturer. Magura's wealth of experience in the field of disc brakes and Campagnolo's know-how in the field of racing bikes were brought into harmony and formed the basis for the new brake.

Campagnolo disc brake H11: Two variants

The result was two disc brake variants: The Campagnolo Potenza Disc for the entry-level sector and the Campagnolo H11, which is intended to cover all groups from Chorus to Super Record, mechanically and electronically. There are various reasons why we decided not to give each group its own brake. On the one hand, the in-house portfolio is kept a little clearer and customers can quickly find their way around. On the other hand, this decision is undoubtedly also an economic one; development costs are lower, production, service and spare parts inventory are cheaper.

The Campagnolo disc groupset consists of four components: the Ergopower levers, the brake calipers, the discs and a special disc brake crank, which we will come to in detail in a moment. The two variants Campagnolo Potenza Disc and Campagnolo H11 share the brake calipers, but of course differ in the crank and also the Ergopowers. The latter house a different mechanic in the Potenza version and were therefore also developed independently of the other groups.

Campagnolo disc brake H11: Ergopower challenge – hood with hat

Probably the biggest challenge during development was the development of the Ergopower lever - under no circumstances did you want to compromise on ergonomics, but at the same time you had to accommodate a lot more technology inside, especially the pressure transmitter and the expansion tank caused a lot of headaches. After countless prototypes, it was finally decided to install the master piston together with the container upright - this placement offers several advantages: The connection for filling and venting is located directly on the top of the hood, is easily accessible and may be in the system Air rises straight up, making venting much easier. Mineral oil is used as brake fluid. Venting should be very easy and, above all, clean: special valves are screwed onto both the lever and the brake caliper, which can be easily opened and closed. However, the system remains closed to the outside and no oil can escape to the outside.

But back to the Ergopowers: The additional internals and the greater space requirement almost inevitably lead to a slightly larger construction. Compared to their mechanical rim brake counterparts, the H11 Ergopowers are 8mm higher, but the construction is in a range that does not affect ergonomics. At first glance, the look takes some getting used to, because at the same time the brake lever itself is a lot shorter. It looks a little like the hoods are wearing a hat; unconventional look, yes, but the new shape should also offer a new grip position: the hoods can also be gripped comfortably at the top.

It is certainly no secret that Vicenza is particularly proud of the ergonomics of its own system. We were all the more excited when we were promised "Next Level Ergonomics" for the H11 Ergopowers. The term hides new functions to adapt the ergonomics to individual needs and wishes. The brake lever and the shift lever behind it can now be changed in their starting position with an Allen key - people with particularly large or small hands in particular should be pleased to note this. In addition, the brakes come with a pressure point adjustment called AMS, which not only changes the free travel, but also the braking behavior and can also be varied with an Allen key. Here you have the choice between short free travel and crisp braking behavior and a slightly later, softer and more forgiving pressure point.

A lot is new, but at least as much is proven and known: the two separate levers for shifting up and down remain the same and the general ergonomics have hardly changed. The aim was to make the switch as easy as possible for those switching and to reduce the adjustment period to a minimum. Many will now also ask themselves where the new H11 levers are to be classified - Record, Super Record or even Chorus? Campa didn't want to let their cards be looked at here, but one can assume - finish and technical data suggest - that the H11 group is somewhere between the two Record groups.

Campagnolo disc brake H11: The brake caliper – strength lies in calmness

Now that we have ticked off one side of the brake system, we walk a few centimeters along the brake line to the other end: the brake caliper. Two things were particularly important here during development. Of course, the new brakes should offer enough power, be easy to dose and not give up on long descents, of course. But a low background noise was also at the top of the list of priorities. While occasional grinding or squeaking on the mountain bike is quickly lost in the background noise of the trail, a "pfft, pfft, pfft", no matter how quiet, can quickly turn a nice ride on the racing bike into a test of patience.

The brake caliper is made of forged aluminum and looks rather simple, but makes a massive and well-made impression. While the saddle for the rear will be available in variants for 140 or 160mm discs, only 160mm is intended for the front - of course everything in the flat mount standard. If you ask yourself "But surely there are adapters?" - no, there aren't! Campagnolo deliberately decided against adapter solutions. Even if these have been used on mountain bikes and racing bikes for many years without any problems, Campagnolo fears possible problems and does not want to subject the frames and forks to the higher leverage forces. The assembly is done with two screws, which will be available in different lengths for different frames.

Inside the saddle are two 22mm phenolic pistons. The plastic polymer is stable and should also prevent the heat from being transferred from the disc or the pads to the brake fluid. There is no bracket for the rubbers, instead a system of magnets is used to hold the rubbers in position. This means that the clip cannot wear out and it also simplifies installation and removal. There is also a really wide air gap between the pads, which gives the disc more than enough space - even if the wheel twists a bit or the disc has a slight bump.

For the pads themselves, an organic mixture is used, which is said to represent a good compromise between fading resistance and brake bite and only loses very little braking power in the wet. A lot has also been thought of for the pad carrier: at Campagnolo, this is made of steel and also has a special coating on the back, which is also used on racing cars in the motorsport sector. This small buffer is intended to reduce vibrations and thus also noise, without having a negative effect on the pressure point and the braking feel.

Campagnolo disc brake H11: The brake discs - a well-rounded thing

The counterpart of the brake pads, of course, plays an equally important role and has been the subject of heated discussions countless times in recent months. The brake disc is perhaps the furthest away from the prototype shown a year ago and is now taking a completely different approach. The new Campagnolo discs are available in 140 and 160mm and only in the Centerlock standard. In addition, a two-part design with a steel spider is now used, which is intended to prevent possible warping at high temperatures.

Of course, the topic of risk minimization has also been addressed and numerous tests have been carried out for this purpose. On synthetic "meat substitutes" they tested their own prototypes and discs from the competition and tried to design the disc edge in such a way that it cannot pose a danger, even in the event of a fall. And I have to say - I've never held such a "round" disc in my hand as the Campagnolo Disc. Cuts are definitely ruled out with it.

Campagnolo Disc Brake H11: A Disc Brake Specific Crank – Makes Sense?

Surprisingly, Campagnolo also presented matching and specially developed cranks as part of the two new disc groups. Surely many will now be wondering what a crank has to do with the braking system. The answer? First of all, nothing. The fact that Campagnolo's decision still makes sense is due to a development in the corresponding bicycle frames that went hand in hand with the introduction of disc brakes. Due to the wider thru-axle hubs, which are used in almost all disc brakes, and the new hub geometry, which from now on also has to accommodate brake discs, the chain line has also changed.

This slightly modified chain line worsens the shifting behavior in combination with conventional cranks - not decisively, but noticeably. Campagnolo does not want to make this compromise and therefore offers cranks with an adapted chain line for both the H11 group and the disc version of the Potenza - but the Q-factor remains the same.

Campagnolo disc brake H11: First riding impressions

After so many technical details, we don't want to withhold some first driving impressions from you. On Gran Canaria we were able to chase some Campagnolo test bikes with the H11 group over the countless hairpin bends and steep descents. Even before the trip, everyone present curiously inspected the installed system; The really large air gap between the pads is particularly noticeable here, which gives the disc plenty of space and should effectively prevent any grinding.

The ergonomics of the cockpit have changed a little for our taste, even if this certainly depends a little on personal preferences and grip position. However, this should not necessarily be understood as criticism, because the higher hoods also open up the possibility of gripping something differently. We tried it out again and again during the trip and could well imagine that it could be a welcome change and relief in the long run.

The braking feel of the new Campagnolo disc brakes is excellent. The operating forces are low, the onset of braking is noticeable, but not too extreme. Here we switched between the short and long AMS settings a few times in order to feel the two different pressure points while driving. The short setting conveys a quite digital feeling with a crisp pressure point and rapid braking power - a lot of fun for experienced disc brake drivers, but we could imagine that newcomers in particular are a little overwhelmed with the available power - the system also gambles in this setting one of its big advantages compared to conventional rim brakes, namely the significantly better controllability. But this comes into its own in the long AMS setting: the pressure point is a bit softer, and the overall braking behavior is much more forgiving. You can approach the blocking point with ease and really scrape the last bit out of the curves.

The background noise was as promised by Campagnolo for almost the entire duration of the ride – namely non-existent. A few times the brakes acknowledged a maneuver with a soft squeak, but that was the absolute exception. We couldn't find any loops at any time.

The discs and pads also did their job really well - we were particularly interested in the fading resistance. On the test bike, I was running 160mm front and rear, which easily brought my 80kg to a halt even on fast, long descents with many curves. Here, however - as with the rim brake - attention must be paid to the appropriate braking technique. Anyone who descends several hundred meters of altitude with constant braking will sooner or later inevitably push the system to its limits.

Overall, I really have to say that the wait was worth it. I also had the opportunity some time ago to try Shimano's new Test Dura Ace disc brake and even if a meaningful comparison is only possible to a limited extent due to the time difference, I would say that the two systems are on an equal footing and only differ in nuances. This is all the more remarkable since Campagnolo seems to have caught up the development deficit.

The new H11 and the Potenza DB components should be available in stores in the coming weeks. Next year we should also see quite a few complete bikes with Campagnolo's new disc.

Campagnolo disc brake H11: weights and prices

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