The ducks quack indignantly as Jakob Lauhoff (22) rams the syringe into the pond near Pforzheim with a mischievous grin. Quack! Quack! Quack! But Lauhoff doesn't seem to hear it. Concentrating, he pulls the plunger upwards and holds the filled tip up to the sunlight to check it. "Clean enough! Fits!" he shouts and grabs the photographer's bike, who is now feeling a little queasy. Lauhoff seriously wants to fill the brakes of his test bike with pond water. "Don't panic, soda would work too," Lauhoff reassures him.
It's an absurd scene. But it is the ultimate proof. Although it is written in black and white on the data sheet, it is difficult to believe what is printed. It sounds too absurd: neither oil nor brake fluid flows through the lines of the new H²0 from Brake Force One, but water.
Joking question from the reporter: with sparkling water or without?
Lauhoff: without sparkling water. Simply any kind of water that you would drink. Sparkling water would also work in theory. The brake has a closed system.
Reporter, slightly irritated: I was joking about the lemonade, wasn't I?
LauhoffNo, soda generally works. But over time the brake would naturally stick because of the sugar.
Since the first information about the "water brake" trickled onto the internet at the beginning of August, Lauhoff has been under constant stress. The first photos had barely been uploaded to Facebook when the storm broke out. Endless likes, heated discussions, but also malicious comments about the supposed PR stunt. At Eurobike a few weeks ago, the trade fair stand was virtually flooded with onlookers. Press people called from all over the world. Hardly anyone could believe that this was really true. A disc brake that can be filled with tap water.
Reporter: Do the brakes freeze up in winter?
Lauhoff: Normally it would freeze over. That's why we add twenty per cent glycantin. This is an antifreeze agent that is also used in cars.
Reporter: What about heat?
Lauhoff: The heat capacity of water is twice as high as that of oil.
Reporter: So why hasn't anyone else come up with the idea yet?
Lauhoff: I only discovered it by chance.
The ducks have calmed down again and glide half-asleep across the pond. Lauhoff removes the filling syringe from the brake calliper. Seal screw in. That's it. "I hope the tadpoles in the pipes don't get sick on the trail," jokes Lauhoff and gives the signal to set off. The photographer already seems nauseous. It's a strange feeling, entrusting your life to a puddle of pond water. But he has to get through it now.
It's a crazy story. Not just that of the water brake. But also that of the company Brake Force One. Jakob Lauhoff was thirteen when he scribbled a spontaneous idea on a piece of paper on a French beach. A brake booster for disc brakes. Little did he know how much this flash of inspiration would shape his life. Years after his holiday in France, he met the producer of the Kapt'n-Blaubär TV series, Frank Stollenmaier. He was so enthusiastic about the now 18-year-old schoolboy's invention that he immediately founded the company Brake Force One with him. He did so in the basement of his splendid detached house in Tübingen, which soon mutated into a mini-factory. At some point, ten employees were scurrying around to satisfy the demand for the BFO1, the world's first bike brake with stepped pistons and brake booster.
Any wife would have fled in annoyance. Not so the friendly Mrs Stollenmaier. It was just the oil splashes everywhere that really got on her nerves. Frank Stollenmaier, a pithy, chummy moody canon with a short grey hairstyle, retracts his head theatrically when he talks about it: "It really annoys my wife when oil splashes around and maybe someone else slips in. It gives her the itch. I had to think of something so that I didn't get a red card," he chats. A little later, when Lauhoff spontaneously filled a brake with water and cycled through Tübingen with it, Stollenmaier was electrified. Was that the solution? Water instead of oil? "Of course, there were still a few problems to solve," Stollenmaier clarifies. Erm, how now? That's the story? A chance hit that was developed to series maturity thanks to the wife's obsession with cleanliness? "Basically, yes," grins Stollenmaier.
Of course, that's not the whole story. Anyone entering the new production hall in Mühlacker will realise that there is something bigger behind it. Brake Force One is no longer a basement factory, but now cooperates with several car manufacturers. "No names," asks Stollenmaier. Just this much: the car industry is focussing on e-mobility and has discovered the bicycle as a way of rounding off its portfolio. Which is why BFO developed the first disc brake with electronic ABS. The car companies are keen, says Stollenmaier. The contracts are currently being negotiated. The BFO hall is spy-proof. Opaque windows. Access codes. As required by the standards of the automotive industry. Millions are at stake. The water brake is part of a gigantic project. But it is far more than just a marketing gimmick with an eco-touch, asserts Lauhoff. In addition to its comparatively high heat capacity, water is also said to have the advantage of conducting heat five times better than oil, which prevents heat collapse at the brake caliper.
Now let's get going. The trail from the pond down into the Würmtal makes the freewheel screech. Pedalling is not necessary. It goes along at a brisk pace. Reporter and photographer carousel over the ensemble of stones, steps and roots on nappy-soft enduro bikes. There, a bend! A quick twitch of the index finger. The speed vanishes instantly. What crazy braking power!
Delivery is scheduled to begin at the end of October. Lauhoff repeatedly had doubts as to whether the schedule could be met. It quickly became clear that replacing oil with water was not enough. Water is thinner and causes corrosion. The brake had to be absolutely leak-proof and made of materials that do not react with water. The task almost drove Lauhoff mad. It was constantly dripping out somewhere. But eventually it was done. The brake worked. "So, how does it brake with pond water?" Lauhoff asks the photographer when the group stops in front of a restaurant after two hours of testing. The photographer gives him the thumbs up. Then he hastily finishes his passion fruit spritzer. Not that Lauhoff will pour the well-earned refreshment into his brake lines.
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The technology of the BFO H2O
The H²O harbours high-tech: a two-stage piston turns it into a hydroelectric power station.
Water has a higher heat capacity than oil, a lower thermal expansion and therefore a higher thermal stability. This is the basic idea behind the H²O. But the real highlight is the two-stage piston (1). As soon as the brake pads come into contact with the disc, the transmission ratio changes and the H²O grips mercilessly. In contrast to the previous model, however, the booster is no longer integrated into the brake calliper, but screwed on from the outside (2). Another highlight are the cables, which can be easily connected and disconnected without tools using a hose coupling - as often as required.
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Driving test BFO H2O: Heating with water
Journalists have been ringing BFO's doorbell for weeks. Everyone wants to ride the H²O. BIKE was the first magazine in the world to take the brakes out on the trails.
It's a horror festival in my head cinema right now. What if the liquid in the pipes boils up like pasta water? What if the whole thing isn't so mature after all? What if I smash into the bark of a spruce tree without braking? Too late. The speed is already mashing the tree lanes into a pulp of colour. I've already driven hundreds of kilometres with the BFO brake. But the fact that there is water in the H²O lines makes me a little nervous. The brake feels excellent. The pressure point is easy to feel. The biggest difference to the previous brake: the change from brake stage one to brake stage two is no longer as radical. As with the BFO1, the brake pads initially adjust gently to the discs and then - thanks to the two-stage pistons - apply them brutally. Everything now blends together smoothly. The brake no longer suddenly becomes a beast. The maximum braking force is still outstanding. The H²O was convincing in the first ride test. However, the laboratory test is still pending.
Weight188 grams/front brake with two-finger lever and without brake disc; 180 grams/rear brake with one-finger lever and without brake disc (180s: 130 grams, 160s: 100 grams)
Price 594 euros per set or 297 euros per piece, each without brake discs (unit price: 32.90 euros)
Tuning option Cover for brake calliper and lever (one-finger lever or two-finger lever) optionally available in green, blue, red or black.
Info www.brakeforceone.de
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