Campagnolo confirm they are working on hydraulic disc brakes for road bikes

another point to think about, a set of Ergo/STi/Double taps, depending on which which you get range from expensive to insane. producing a disc version is going to bump the price even further. All the talk is about the EPS/Di2 version, how many riders are going to going to go with the electronic groupsets in the foreseeable future, how many are going to stay on mechanical groupsets? So what choice is there with discs? Cable operated, more weight for how much gain???

Not being anti on this, I am just one of those people who doesn't really see the market being as big as some seem to think it is. Commuters/off road road bikes maybe, but sunday best summer road bikes?

Having electronic levers is a HUGE advantage. SRAM discs might work great but they are ugly

Don't get me wrong, I'm a campagnoloite, but no doubt this will involve the need to have a specialist tool that costs £300 for installing or adjusting.....just look at their bottom brackets and 11 speed chains.

Get ready for lost fingers in peleton crashes, disk brakes are coming.

I understood that Campag were making disc brakes for motorbikes as long ago as 1972.

Every one seems to mention the engineering difficulties of disk brake on road bike. Strange how many manufacturers are adopting discs without any major concerns.
On another note related. I have yet to read a mention of ceramic rotors, they're used on top performance cars so why not a bike version. It may solve a few issues, weight/heat!
However the pro roadies might not want to cope with burns to limbs as well as road rash.

Campagnolo have outsourced in the past but in many cases have later bought the design and manufacturing back in-house.

The Colnago example is a slight red herring in that Campagnolo had nothing to do with the design of any of the Formula parts - they only advised on which pins needed to have their connections closed by a switch in the EPS wiring loom to produce the desired shift.

There are several issues still to be resolved around how disc brakes will be executed on road bikes so that a degree of standardisation exists, which will be a significant factor in pro racing where new technologies are showcased and tested.

Speaking to riders and colleagues there is also a degree of cynicism and reluctance around disc brake adoption - the technical arguments about why it might be a good idea / bad idea are well rehearsed but there are commercial barriers as well as commercial advantages that also need to be considered ...

There is also a lot of conservatism in the pro peloton both amongst riders and team staff - and that will not be without it's effects on adoption, either.

So a softly, softly, see-which-way-the-wind-is-blowing approach may yet bring significant dividends.

When the UCI has Shimano as a technical partner though, and when Shimano have already sunk millions of Euro into R and D for road bike disc brake systems, one thing is for sure - it'll happen unless Brian Cookson and his rejuvenated staff see the nonsense of the UCI aligning itself that closely with any major supplier in the industry.

*Pedant alert* It's a master cylinder at the lever. The slave cylinder is in the caliper.

Makes sense for Campag to hold off. Wait until industry standards settle down (assuming it isn't a passing fad) and go to market with something relatively future proof.

The thought of Campag working with someone like Brembo is quite exciting.

Rob