Professional racer Karl Platt is not the only one who can tell you how important a functioning disc brake is in everyday biking life. Platt still remembers the sixth stage of the Craft BIKE-Transalp from Meran to Kaltern in 2004 very clearly. On the last steep descent down to Bolzano, his right index finger unexpectedly came to nothing. The brake was gone, the rear brake pipe was burnt. In addition to horribly dilated pupils and one more unforgettable experience, Platt got out of the misery without crashing. A miracle, given the average gradient of almost 20 per cent on this route. With a slim weight of less than 70 kilos and skilful handling of the brakes, he was by no means the only one with problems of this kind on the stage.
Reason enough for us to use this challenging section from Jenesien down to Bozen with a difference in altitude of 700 metres as a test route for the third time. In our luggage: nine new disc brake models, each in two disc sizes between 229 and 309 euros.
In the tough test conditions, we often expect the brakes to fail, because we simulate extreme situations that are not common in everyday biking life but can still occur.
Even our experienced editors and engineers were surprised that this time it was the top dog Shimano with its Ice-Tec disc technology. After all, Shimano is usually a guarantee for mature and stable products.
What exactly happened? Editor Peter Nilges gets to the bottom of the brake failure in our new video.
You can find the test results of these disc brakes in the PDF download below:
Avid Code
Avid X.O.
Formula The One FCS
Hope Tech V2
KCNC DB X7
Magura Marta FR
Shimano XTR XC
Shimano XTR Trail
Trickstuff Cleg 2
