Campagnolo Super Record vs Shimano Dura Ace vs SRAM RED AXS road disc brake

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survivor
Posts: 557
Joined: Tue Apr 28, 2015 5:08 pm

by survivor

I'm interested to hear feedback from users who have used Campagnolo or Shimano or SRAM road disc brake on how they compare and perform, specifically their respective top of the line groupset Super Record, Dura Ace and RED AXS. Many reviews I read stated that Campagnolo disc brake performed head and sholder above Shimano and SRAM, especially on the modulation and brake rub occurance under heavy braking load. Having said that those reviews are mainly in comparison with the last generation 9170 Dura Ace. With the improvements done on the latest 9200 Dura Ace groupset disc brake, did Shimano finally manage to close the performance gaps with Campagnolo?

andy4g63
Posts: 199
Joined: Wed Mar 18, 2020 7:02 pm

by andy4g63

I had Shimano Ultegra disc and now I have Sram AXS road disc on the same bike.

The Axs is with newest 2 piece calipers...

In terms of power and modulation they are both great... The lever feel is a tad softer on Shimano.
The downside, is they both eat brake pads fast...
Even if not fully worn, replacing with new pads, gives you a piece of mind and great brake feel...

But similarities end here.
Shimano rotors are terrible, that sandwich construction is too soft, they are prone to cracking/ see Peak Torque vid on YouTube/.
They warp constantly and not able to absorb a lot of heat without rubbing or pinging.
The pistons on Shimano have no clearance and don't retract well.

On SRAM AXS I don't have any of the problems described above, they are a tad more noisy on initial rotor contact, but after that are quiet. They have ton of clearance and didn't rub once in more than a year.

Rode both in a rain...
Both stop well, but Shimano was very noisy, SRAM too, but not as much and the noise was reduced at the end and somewhat manageable.

With the Axs I thought I had to bring the bike to LBS for brake bleed,. cause my levers we're going way down and need it to pump them a few times...

It appears I am a moron, the brake pads were completely worn. After new pads install levers are nice and tight.

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survivor
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by survivor

Thanks for the feedback. Would be interested to hear some feedback about Campagnolo disc brake as well.

bikeboy1tr
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Location: Southern Ontario Canada

by bikeboy1tr

I have 12sp Campy Record disc but the rotors are DA and I also have Sram Red 22 disc. The CR is a little tighter for setup than the Red but the modulation between the two is very close with the Campy edgeing out the Red by only a little maybe cause its newer Idk. The CR is flat mount and the Red is post but they stop equaly well. The only reason I am running DA rotors is because I just built the bike and with Covid no Campy rotors were widely available online. I am hoping to purchase the Galfer rotors but the DA have been okay with no warping or pinging but that being said I live in an area where a typical ride gains maybe 300 meters in 60km. I do occaisionally ride the escarpment where I will gain 1200meters in 120km and the CR brakes work well and no issues with DA rotors.
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Gazelleer
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by Gazelleer

Campa H11 on the road bike and Ultegra on the gravel. Campa offers better modulation and no squealing or pinging. Clearance is tight on both but it seems the Campagnolo rotors stay more true.

rudye9mr
Posts: 498
Joined: Wed May 01, 2019 12:01 pm

by rudye9mr

Only used record 12 disc...no issues wrt disc brakes...stays true

Mechanical shifting is smooth

Sram uses DOT fluid so be careful with paint.

Shimano 12 spd electronic is mighty tempting especially as it is the latest on the market...but that campy carbon finish and reliable discs may sway me if i ever upgrade from mech to electronic

gorkypl
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Location: Poland

by gorkypl

I had Ultegra Di2, now have Record on the same bike. Both are good, and I would not base groupset choice on braking feel. Philosophy and ergonomics behind all three is so much more important and different, that once you decide on other things, you will be able to adapt to the brakes.

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shotgun1
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by shotgun1

I've use/used:

Campy H11
Dura Ace 9100
AXS Red

All using their branded rotors and pads. If I needed to force rank them, I'd say they're all pretty close, but H11 edges just a bit on modulation. Braking power, I'd say they're prerry even and I'd eho what gorkypl said, I adjust each time a ride a different bike. Ergonomic wise, H11 wins as well.

I've now steared clear of Shimano, due to design issues of splitting crankarms. it's happened twice for me.
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survivor
Posts: 557
Joined: Tue Apr 28, 2015 5:08 pm

by survivor

gorkypl wrote:
Mon Nov 29, 2021 1:46 pm
I had Ultegra Di2, now have Record on the same bike. Both are good, and I would not base groupset choice on braking feel. Philosophy and ergonomics behind all three is so much more important and different, that once you decide on other things, you will be able to adapt to the brakes.
Thanks for the feedback. Lucky enough to find myself a set of the new Shimano Dura Ace 9200 groupset. Can't wait to test out their new system.
shotgun1 wrote:
Mon Nov 29, 2021 3:15 pm
I've use/used:

Campy H11
Dura Ace 9100
AXS Red

All using their branded rotors and pads. If I needed to force rank them, I'd say they're all pretty close, but H11 edges just a bit on modulation. Braking power, I'd say they're prerry even and I'd eho what gorkypl said, I adjust each time a ride a different bike. Ergonomic wise, H11 wins as well.

I've now steared clear of Shimano, due to design issues of splitting crankarms. it's happened twice for me.
I don't use Shimano crank so I guess I'm good there. I've been pairing my existing Shimano groupset with SRM Origin PM crank and so far so good.

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Alexbn921
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by Alexbn921

I've only been on Campy for a short loop and the brakes seemed fine.

Shimano has servowave and it produces a less linear feel with increased power. For this reason it's not as smooth as Sram. On my mountain bikes I would never run Sram.

I bought AXS for my road bike because of the better feel and increased modulation. Stock rotors and pads are good, but not great. Switching to Trickstuff pads was a huge increase in feel and power but added quite a bit of noise. Upgrading to XTR rotors added even more feel, power and ran virtually silent. This combo is the best of the best right now and I have never ridden another road bike with better brakes. Pad clearance is good. If you true your rotors they will never rub.

Small pads on all these systems don’t last long. The Sram levers don’t seem to self-adjust as well as others and develop more free stoke unless you reset the pads.

FYI I'm on a 61cm frame and ride steep mountains.
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Yoln
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by Yoln

They are all pretty equal I would say.

But campy (H11 and SR12) have a slightly better modulation, and I also enjoy their silence. The real deal to me is the ergonomics (hoods design, reach adjustment and levers shape) which makes them feel better for my hands
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survivor
Posts: 557
Joined: Tue Apr 28, 2015 5:08 pm

by survivor

Yoln wrote:
Tue Nov 30, 2021 12:31 am
They are all pretty equal I would say.

But campy (H11 and SR12) have a slightly better modulation, and I also enjoy their silence. The real deal to me is the ergonomics (hoods design, reach adjustment and levers shape) which makes them feel better for my hands
Thanks for the feedback. Would like to see whether Shimano with their disc brake improvement done in the new 9200 series closes the gaps with Campy.

Vespasianus
Posts: 283
Joined: Thu Jun 11, 2020 10:15 pm

by Vespasianus

I currently run Campag H11 on my road bike and ride a gravel bike with Ultegra. The overall braking power is similar but the Campag has a nicer more controllable feel. I have run SRAM brakes in the past on my mountain bike and have never liked them, so I won’t even think about SRAM for the road.
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NMK
Posts: 45
Joined: Tue Nov 10, 2020 10:22 pm

by NMK

survivor wrote:
Sat Nov 27, 2021 10:01 pm
Thanks for the feedback. Would be interested to hear some feedback about Campagnolo disc brake as well.
I have the Campag SR EPS 12.

What I love about it.
- Love the ergonomics of the hoods and the thumb shifter is also nice but from time to time when in the drops, it can get a bit hard to reach.
- Love the brakes. I had SRAM Rival and the brakes would sing and squeal at any chance. Perhaps this is just because the Rival is the entry level set up? But the Campag brakes are incredible. Easy to modulate, powerful and quiet. The only thing is sometimes when you first pull on the lever, you might hear a small "click" sound from the brakes because of the "floating" rotor.
- Love the looks. All that carbon...

What I'm not big on...
- From time to time, changing even 1 cog on the cassette can induce a big "clunk" from the drive train.
- When in the 11 tooth, if RPM get's up there and suddenly stop pedaling, sometimes you will get a chain slap which makes it sound like you dropped a chain.
- Hard to get service as where I am, it's mostly Shimano and SRAM but that said, in current shortage situation, getting parts is definitely easier than the other 2 brands.

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raggedtrousers
Posts: 416
Joined: Wed Dec 09, 2020 9:29 pm

by raggedtrousers

I have used AXS disc and have the new Ultegra 12 speed.

TLDR - there is no comparison: the Ultegra is far better and easier to live with.

The longer version: the AXS brakes had great stopping power, but I had no end of issues with them. They rubbed regularly, needed frequent re-bleeds, and squealed badly in the rain. The Ultegra brakes have equal power, but haven't rubbed at all, and stay very quiet in the wet. I'm very much a reluctant disc brake convert but the Ultegra ones have largely convinced me.

I've never used Campag discs so can't compare unfortunately.

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