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EB13: Shimano Hydraulic Road Bike Disc Brakes – Tech Details & First Ride Impressions

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2014 Shimano Hydraulic Road Disc Brakes ride preview and tech details

Shimano gave us a short ride opportunity to test out their new hydraulic road brakes on the latest 11-speed Ultegra Di2 group. On the ride, we had access to Dave Lawrence, their road product manager, and questions and braking were done hard and fast. Here’s what we learned:

First off, our bikes were using preproduction units, so take all this with that minor caveat. They were quite polished and probably look exactly like what you’ll see at the end of the year when parts start shipping.

The calipers are based on XT mountain bike brakes. As in, they basically are XT mountain bike calipers. This let them get a group on the road without starting from scratch, and it let them take advantage of the finned IceTech pads and trickle down Freeza rotor design to maximize cooling. They’re so confident in the combination’s ability to shed heat that they’re spec’ing 140mm rotors for all. As long as you use both the finned pads and Freeza rotors, there’s no rider weight limit.

2014 Shimano Hydraulic Road Disc Brakes ride preview and tech details

They used their older brake hose that has a bit more flex, so it’s intentionally mushier than the current XT-level MTB hoses. So the on/off of the full engagement is less severe. That means you’re less likely to lock up the wheels unintentionally because it’s purposely lacking the bite of their trail brakes.

Because these are just the initial offering, it’s likely higher end units in the future could see a sleeker design with the hose running to the inside of the caliper.

2014 Shimano Hydraulic Road Disc Brakes ride preview and tech details

Like their mountain bike brakes, it’s a one-way full bleed. Push fluid in from the caliper and out the top of the shifter. It’s all lined up so gravity and rising air works in your favor. Just below the bleed port is the reach adjust, and below that you can see the silver ServoWave rollers. Unlike on mountain bikes where ServoWave changes the rate of pad movement, it’s used here to simply provide a consistent lever feel throughout the stroke.

All of these adjustments are accessed by removing the silver top cap.

2014 Shimano Hydraulic Road Disc Brakes ride preview and tech details

Free stroke adjustment is under the hiod on the inside and controls how much lever pull you have before the pads make contact with the rotor. Back the bolt out and the pads will make contact quicker. This could be the key adjustment to getting the direct braking feel most riders will likely want.

2014 Shimano Hydraulic Road Disc Brakes ride preview and tech details

RIDE IMPRESSIONS

First, the good: Hood ergonomics are every bit as comfortable and sleek as the normal mechanical parts. Lever feel is super smooth, and modulation of braking power was pretty good.

I say *pretty* good because there were some potential issues with these preproduction units that resulted in a lack of full, confident braking power.

The rear brake lever in particular moved through a lot of space -about 60% of its throw- before making pad contact, then needed plenty more pull before it started feeling powerful.

Shimano’s tech rep felt it and thought the hydro fluid might be a little low, hence the amount of pull before rear braking really kicked in. A fresh bleed might fix it. He said these units just came in and they were building up the bikes quickly in order to have them ready for us.

The next initial concern was a bit of prolonged retraction on the front. At the start of the ride we had a few fast descents into corners, which required hard and/or consistent braking. That, coupled with the 100° desert heat, might have built up enough heat to keep the pads slightly close to the rotor for a few seconds. When I let go of the lever, I could still hear the pad making contact, and the noise faded away as the pad retracted over the next 1-2 seconds.

Given Shimano’s confidence in the thermal management properties of the equipment, the more likely cause was simply that the new seals inside the caliper needed to break in so they’ll retract faster. That means the issue would disappear as the brakes wear in a bit. They say this happens in mountain bike brakes, too, you’re just less likely to hear it.

About the power: I was hoping for more. I’d sprint then grab as much brake as I could without skidding, and it took a little too long to reign in the speed or come to a complete stop. A lot of the possible issues and fixes mentioned above would probably remedy this, but personally, I think I’d prefer the power and feel of a 160mm rotor, at least on the front. I rode a 140mm rotor on the rear of my mountain bike for years before switching to a 160mm, and the difference in power/feel I experienced there is what I believe was needed here, too. Keep in mind, I’m 6’2″ and about 190lbs kitted up.

So, at the moment I’d err on the side of trusting Shimano’s experience in making some of the best mountain bike brakes available and say these issues will be resolved on production parts. Several other editors on the ride said they really liked them, so it could have just been my setup. But that raises some very important concerns about making sure the factory or bike shop also has to set things up properly.

I’ll finish with this: I’m very much looking forward to testing a production set on my own bike. With a 160mm rotor.

A few notes on integration of the hydraulic brakes into an existing Di2 system:

You can put these new Di2 hydro levers and brakes on an otherwise 10-speed Di2 e-tube setup. The rear derailleur communicates to the shifters to tell them how to function. You would just need to update the software in the battery to make it all play nice together.

You can also mix and match 11 speed Dura-Ace and Ultegra, which would let you add a wider range cassette to an otherwise DA system or just upgrade a few parts at a time.

2014 Shimano Hydraulic Road Disc Brakes ride preview and tech details

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47 Comments
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Allan
Allan
10 years ago

I’m looking forward my set arriving for my cross bike – although it looks like the additional Di2 thermals are missing from the lever bodies for Di2 remote shifters.

wheelz
wheelz
10 years ago

Too bad Shimano didn’t have more time to set things up better, but these look promising. On Satruday I descended from 10,500′ to 6,000′ on 8% grades in pounding rain. This was the first time I wish I had road disk brakes. I could brake ok, but not nearly as confidently as I can on my mountain bike with XTR brakes.

Nick
Nick
10 years ago

Personally can’t wait for these. Would love a hydro-Di2 setup, and wouldn’t mind setting one up on a bike at the shop on the stand. Win-Win!

jay
jay
10 years ago

Regarding integration, they also work with Alfine 11 Di2.

dwiz
dwiz
10 years ago

oh my goodness those hoods are disgusting!!!!!!! who would ever ride with those!!!!!
(I joke b/c some turd will comment on how odd they look compared to sram)…blah blah blah blah…quit complaining you “too hard to impress” segment of the cycling community… just ride the bike and enjoy it, turkeys!

Mindless
Mindless
10 years ago

This bike needs through axles.

jim
jim
10 years ago

I rode these very briefly on flat ground and if anything thought they had more grab and power than I wanted – at least for 23cs on damp road and not sure but I think 160mm rotors. Anyway, great feel, hoods / levers look + feel good.

Why the need for thru-axles though? Not sure I see the point on a road bike. Forward-slot on the fork is there by the look of it.

Eyal
Eyal
10 years ago

I’ve descended so many mountains on carbon tubular rims, never felt that I need better brakes. This hyrdo stuff is also heavy. The marketing message is so much stronger than the need. I guess this another way to make people buy new bikes!

David
David
10 years ago

@dwiz,
LMAO, I have never seen a proactive complaint about complainers.

ChrisC
ChrisC
10 years ago

ALL HAIL LORD EYAL!!

O HE WHO CAN DESCEND CONFIDENTLY ON CARBON RIMS!!

O HE WHO NEVER NEEDS NEW TECHNOLOGY!!

O HE WHO SEES THE REAL TRUTH(tm) OF BICYCLE MARKETING!!

O HE WHO KNOWS WHAT IS BEST IN LIFE FOR US ALL!!

ALL HAIL LORD EYAL!!

Jack
Jack
10 years ago

Why, if shimano are bringing in journo’s to test their latest brake offering would they not bother to bleed/set up the brakes properly? Regardless of time constraints- i could understand the bar tape being scrappy or gears being a bit clunky with indexing, but when you’re show casing a new element of the group it should be working perfectly. A lot of people look to eb13/ib13 for info on new tech and saying the units have sticky calliper seals/ poor lever feel doesn’t inspire confidence. It won’t be the first time shimano brakes have had problems with faulty calliper seals- either leaking or sticky- but I reckon this sort of issue is going to be a lot scarier on a roady than an MTB.

PBJoe
PBJoe
10 years ago

The complaints about weight were the same ones when disk brakes were launched for MTBs in the late 90s. I know I was there.

Ultimately the UCI has a minimum weight that brands have consistently complained that they can beat safely so the weight can be pulled from somewhere else. As for the common guy not buying a 14 pound race rig, well, yes they will be slightly heavier than a rim brake deal and more costly too.

I know this though. I don’t ride my MTB with rim brakes like I do the one with disks. I have a lot more faith in the disks despite the high quality rim brakes I have on the other MTB.

Eyal
Eyal
10 years ago

Thanks @ChrisC someone has recognized my wisdom!

Riley
Riley
10 years ago

Hey dwiz, how about you stop telling me how to live my life? If I want to complain I will. If I want to ride I will.

Ryan
Ryan
10 years ago

How long did Shimano say it would be until these are recalled?

MikeC
MikeC
10 years ago

@Ryan: I think you’re thinking about Avid/SRAM brakes…?

Ilikeicedtea
Ilikeicedtea
10 years ago

@Ryan – The day after you make a useful post here, is what I heard.

Engineer
Engineer
10 years ago

I completely agree with Jack. Your showcasing brakes that don’t even work. It takes hardly any time to do a bleed, and make sure they are in top shape before you give it to a tester that will write reviews.

off-roadie
off-roadie
10 years ago

Nothing brings out the clowns like hydrolick disk breaks. Well, maybe 650b…

PDXFixed
10 years ago

Hoods look like Iron Man/Daft Punk

lonefrontranger
lonefrontranger
10 years ago

hmm. I have to say I have one of the new Specialized Crux running SRAM Hydro-R disc brakes, and in the month I’ve been riding it, it’s night and day better than my prior generation Specialized ‘cross bike running TRP Euro-Mag cantis. It’s nice to be able to nuke it into a loose corner and not lock up and slide. I’ve run the old (bad) Avid first-gen taperbore brakes on my MTB – they made noise and had bleed / sticky piston problems, and the Hydro-R at least for now seem worlds better. In fact the whole bike is so much nicer to ride than my road bike that it’s been left hanging in the garage for weeks and I may just sell it altogether.

Hope Shimano can get the bugs worked out of this system as I’d definitely like to see this become a road standard sooner than later. I do a lot of road riding in steep terrain on dodgy surfaces and the modulation and security of the disc system is a game changer.

Topmounter
Topmounter
10 years ago

Funny how they couldn’t say “Give us another hour to get these dialed in…thanks”. I blame pushy journalists! Besides the Internet told me not so long ago that disc brakes weren’t going to work for road bikes anyway.

Jack
Jack
10 years ago

Come on, we all know this is just a marketing ploy. New ideas are being pushed on us (and recalled) at an ever increasing rate. A great sale to the “I need a reason to buy a new bike market”. Discs have their place but a road bike is not it.

heatwave23
heatwave23
10 years ago

The sad part is that as much as I would like to blame the bike industry for inventing solutions to nonexistent problems I can’t. They are in the business of moving product and as long as consumers keep buying into their marketing hype without question they will flood the market with whatever sells. Whether is the ugly ass aero road bikes/helmets, 11 Speed, electronic shifting, hydro road brakes, BB standards or whatever other crap they have come out with lately. Even if you add up all the benefit of everything listed the gains for the vast majority of cyclist buying into it wouldn’t even be measurable on any ride they do.

Engineer
Engineer
10 years ago

@Jack

Dont forget how much lighter rims can be made when they dont have to withstand the compressive forces of road brakes. It makes sense, it might not be for everyone, but Im sure people said the same thing about disc brakes when they came out for mtb.

Jason K
Jason K
10 years ago

Tyler, you wrote about how it “took a little too long to reign in the speed.” A reign is a king’s or queen’s rule, as in “long may he reign.” I think you meant “rein in,” which is how one slows down a horse—with the reins.

It’s a small point. Anyway, thanks for posting this piece.

Chainwhipped
Chainwhipped
10 years ago

Yep. Rim brakes are fine.

sort of the way steel rims were fine, steel forks were fine, solid tires were fine . . . we could all go back to walking and eliminate any and all changes in technology, but if that’s your goal then why the hell are you reading this site?

Seriously. It’s one thing to stick to something because it offers true superiority in enough categories to list, but it’s quite another to resist a new standard just because you’re used to the old stuff and the maintenance headache that comes with it.

Nobody should have to replace their wheels because wear from braking. I’m glad to see Shimano and Sram offer this solution to a very existent problem with road and ‘cross bikes.

DAmmann84
10 years ago

@chainwhipped. well said sir.

Canti we all just get along?
Canti we all just get along?
10 years ago

Even though I have no personal love for CX, ‘crossers everywhere must be rejoicing — cantilever brakes are horrible.

I’m also guessing most who are hating on road disc are not also MTB riders. The benefits of disc in terms of modulation have been clear in MTB for years. This — not power — is the huge coup for road disc. I understand that most think there’s no problem with road calipers modulation — I wouldn’t either if I didn’t ride MTB discs. Hell, even the linear pull mini-V style brakes on my current aero road frame have ruined me on road caliper brakes. I never knew how herky-jerky my road calipers felt until I rode something different.

Open your minds, and don’t knock it till you’ve tried it….

RM
RM
10 years ago

Probably a fair call by Ryan regarding recalls, even if a bit cheeky. Some Shimano mechanical disc brake calipers have been recalled recently – https://bikerumor.com/2013/08/26/shimano-recalls-select-mechanical-disc-brake-calipers/

SlackBoy
SlackBoy
10 years ago

@Ryan and @RM ahh yes, But Sram/rockshox/avid NEVER EVER needs recalls, cos their products are always perfect… …. Or they just make like an ostrich and chuck their heads in the sand.

Parker
Parker
10 years ago

Brakes just slow you down.

Ralphy
Ralphy
10 years ago

@Parker

That’s a good thing, most cyclists on the internet will tell you they are already too fast as it is.

Also, I don’t see how recent advances in cycling tech have made anything worse. You can still get retrogrouch stuff pretty easily if you want, unless you split the difference and want new tech Campy 7-speed shifters or something like that.

Also also, for the last X years, I have never heard any road disc supporter say ‘It’s because I need more power’. Yet someone always comes out of the woodwork to complain ‘Whaddaya need more power for?’

fleche
fleche
10 years ago

just wondering, but why the hose need to run on the inside of the caliper for a road bike. Its covered by the chain stay back there and makes that banjo bolt way easier to set up in tight chainstays.

in other news, what can you tell me about those shimano branded wheels on that colnago whip?

Ryan
Ryan
10 years ago

Wow, struck a soft spot there lol

My Shimano Mechanicals have been nothing but poor in the performance department on my roubaix and their customer service on the replacement/recall has been shit. They are usually great, but they dropped the ball on this one.

quickgeezer
quickgeezer
10 years ago

Sheesh, what a bunch of grouches. I love my ’82 Bridgestone MB1, but I’m putting these brakes on it TOMORROW!

NZrider
NZrider
10 years ago

Reppin’ those Keywins

Ben
Ben
10 years ago

Shimano needs to put more focus on internal hubs. If they focused the amount of attention on that as they do on normal components, internal hubs would be the shit..

james
james
10 years ago

Sitting on the fence re: carbon wheels. Discs solve the rim-braking problem. Can’t wait till these descend from the esoterica/”and-up” firmament to the “popularly priced” categories.

Don’t want hydros on your bike? Don’t have them. Simple.

Maxx
Maxx
10 years ago

If it takes anything to convince people who are fervently against the idea of hydraulic disc brakes on road bikes, just ride a MTB with quality V-brakes such as an XTR and another with quality hydro discs such as XTR. In the wet as well as in the dry.

Just takes 5km of technical trials. Its not about the absolute braking power available anymore. Its about the absolute control and modulation of speed you get out of the system.

You’ll think doubly hard about picking up that V-brake MTB for a ride again. Especially when the conditions are wet. It will be a very similar situation with road bikes once it gets to the masses.

Remember some years back there were those guys who questioned why did we need dual-pivot brakes on road bikes ?? What happened there after ??

Jscriv
Jscriv
10 years ago

Does anyone know if these are backwards compatible with Ultegra Di2 10sp?

Veloruche
Veloruche
10 years ago

I got to ride these this week also, and I was really happy with them even surprised they stopped as well as they did. And compared to the new Hydro SRAM’s or mechanical disc they are far superior. I should have a bike late November and share the details.

Veloruche
Veloruche
10 years ago

“Jscriv – 09/21/13 – 10:41am
Does anyone know if these are backwards compatible with Ultegra Di2 10sp?”

Yes, talked with the tech and will work with all Di2 except dura ace 7970, basically anything with new e-tube. Derailleur dictates 10 or 11 speed not shifter, but you have to update system software.

Andrew
Andrew
10 years ago

These will turn out to be amazing, a few generations down the road when all the bugs are thoroughly worked out. Is it a good reason to buy a new bike? probably not unless you were in the market anyway. Interesting point that some people complain about the additional weight…. climbing on a 13lb bike is awesome, descending on 13lb bike (with cork pads and carbon tubulars) not so much. climbing on a 14lb bike still pretty awesome, descending on a 14lb bike with hydraulic discs, think about it!

RoadNoob
RoadNoob
10 years ago

Can the brake be use on Sram shifter?

Vasile Teoca
Vasile Teoca
9 years ago

I’m planing to invest some money on a low maintenance road bike for daily usage from home to work and other places and I think that the Alfine 11 with a Di2 system, hydraulic disk breaks and a belt transmission would be the perfect fit that money can buy for city traffic bicycle. What do you think about this idea ? I know that for the same amount of money I could buy a very good bicycle and I was wandering if it’s worth it.

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