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Campagnolo (finally) releases Direct Mount brake calipers Campagnolo (finally) releases Direct Mount brake calipers Campagnolo (finally) releases Direct Mount brake calipers
Campagnolo (finally) releases Direct Mount brake calipers

Campagnolo (finally) releases Direct Mount brake calipers

Campagnolo has joined Shimano in offering a Direct Mount brake caliper for 2016
by David Arthur @davearthur
Fri, Sep 04, 2015 12:22
11

Campagnolo has joined Shimano in offering a Direct Mount brake caliper for 2016.

Shimano developed the Direct Mount brake caliper standard a couple of years ago, and made it an open standard. Neither Campagnolo or SRAM rushed out to offer a Direct Mount brake though, leaving anybody building a modern road bike designed to utilise the new brakes with few options other than to use Shimano, or an aftermarket brake.

“This completely new braking system from Campagnolo allows for a completely symmetric and efficient brake application thanks to its self-balancing design,” says Campagnolo.

There have been a lot of new bikes in the past couple of years designed to use the new Direct Mount standard. Originally they were popular on aero road bikes, as one of the claimed benefits of Direct Mount was better aerodynamics from the smaller packaging of the brake caliper which sits closer to the frame and fork. However, they’re now spreading to regular road bikes and do seem to be slowly replacing conventional dual pivot brakes for a lot of bike brands.

Why though? Well as well as supposedly improving aerodynamics, Shimano reckons Direct Mount brake calipers, which attach to frame or fork with two bolts, rather than a single centre bolt, provide increased modulation and superior braking performance with less flex. Well they would say that wouldn’t they? But actually, the bikes we’ve ridden with Shimano Direct Mount brakes have been very good indeed.

However, a problem arises with any bikes not specced with a Shimano groupset. When we tested the new Colnago V1-r to pick one example, the bike was built up with a Campagnolo drivetrain and, because the Italian company didn’t at the time produce a compatible brake, the TRP aftermarket brakes weren’t of the same high standard as Shimano’s Dura-Ace.

We're not alone. We spotted Shimano Dura-Ace brakes on some of the Movistar Canyon Aeroad bikes (which utilises Direct Mount brakes) with the logos removed, so as not to annoy sponsor Campagnolo. Such issues on Campagnolo specced bikes should be a problem of the past now.

The new Campagnolo Direct Mount brakes appear to be non-series, so they should work well with Chorus right up to Super Record builds.

We’ve no word on pricing or availability at this stage. www.campagnolo.com

direct mount brakes
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David Arthur @davearthur

David worked on the road.cc tech team from 2012-2020. Previously he was editor of Bikemagic.com and before that staff writer at RCUK. He's a seasoned cyclist of all disciplines, from road to mountain biking, touring to cyclo-cross, he only wishes he had time to ride them all. He's mildly competitive, though he'll never admit it, and is a frequent road racer but is too lazy to do really well. He currently resides in the Cotswolds, and you can now find him over on his own YouTube channel David Arthur - Just Ride Bikes. 

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11 comments

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WolfieSmith | 9 years ago
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Agreed. I started many years ago with Campag bought UT as soon as they came out and wouldn't want to change. I love the constant sneering at Campag as clueless Italians without foresight. They ran internal cabling from the levers long before Shimano and their one button one action system is still the best. And trade marked which is why Shimano had to cobble their own less elegant and less intuitive system together.

The reason that Campag don't keep offering new innovations like Shimano, SRAM etc is because they don't need to. If it ain't broke...

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Nick T | 9 years ago
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The only thing wrong with square taper cranks is that they aren't sexy and fashionable. Give me ST over BB30 on any given day of the week.

UT cranks are among the best currently on the market, I don't get why anyone would suggest otherwise, or that they were "barmy" in any way. Extremely elegant engineering, single bolt mounting and very easy to maintain.

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surly_by_name | 9 years ago
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Love the Italian fingers in the ears approach to product development: "This completely new braking system from Campagnolo ...". Completely new FOR Campag, not from Campag.

I don't understand how they think in Vicenza. They clung onto a square taper BB/crank interface well past the point where the rest of the market had moved to an external BB and a two (vs three) piece crankset. (Then they introduced the totally-barmy-place-to-put-a-hirth-joint Ultra torque crankset, but that's another story.) FSA happily filled the gap (very few people wanted to mix a Shimano crankset with an otherwise Campag equipped bike but FSA was acceptable). Kerrrrrazy!

Mind you, a delay in introducing direct mount brakes will pale into insignificance if they don't come out with a disc brake solution in the near future.

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700c replied to surly_by_name | 9 years ago
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surly_by_name wrote:

(Then they introduced the totally-barmy-place-to-put-a-hirth-joint Ultra torque crankset, but that's another story.) FSA happily filled the gap

Don't knock it till you've tried it - I've used that system on Campag / Fulcrum cranks for years and it's been great. Reliable, easy to maintain and adjust, stiff..

I agree, however, their business decisions for product development and launch don't seem to be profit- driven!

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700c replied to surly_by_name | 9 years ago
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35

surly_by_name wrote:

Love the Italian fingers in the ears approach to product development...

They clung onto a square taper BB/crank interface...

FSA happily filled the gap

I thought FSA were Italian?!

Besides which UT cranks gave been around for ages.. It wasn't too long before that point, that Campag were the leaders in development and shimano the young upstarts.

Shimano have been far more effective in marketing and promotion, and more aggressive in capturing new market segments, sponsoring the pros and getting their innovations to market sooner. They've every right to succeed but I still think there's a place for the Italians!

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Lungsofa74yearold | 9 years ago
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Presume as it's campagnolo at least one or more 'special tools' costing more than the brake itself will be required?... 4

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bikeandy61 | 9 years ago
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You wouldn't want to use an adapter - it would take away any benefit that the Direct Mount system introduces. Stick to One Bolt if that's the frame you have. I'd be surprised to see the big three ONLY offering DM in the near future. There may well come a time when the main mid/high end gruppos only offer DM but I suspect there would also be a "non-series" single bolt brake available for quite some time.

But what do I know. Pure speculation. Depends really on the BIG brand bike companies.

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Toxmarz | 9 years ago
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I bet when we have word about pricing and availability, we will also learn they aren't non-series. That would strange for Campy and their profit margins.

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Simmo72 | 9 years ago
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so what do you need? An adapter or a DM compatible bike/fork?

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David Arthur @d... replied to Simmo72 | 9 years ago
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Simmo72 wrote:

so what do you need? An adapter or a DM compatible bike/fork?

They're intended to be used with the growing number of new frames that are designed with direct mount drillings. They're not intended to be an upgrade over regular brake calipers

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Poptart242 | 9 years ago
0 likes

Not the brake news many are looking for from Campag, but I like it! DM brakes look great.

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