Wickedly expensive, two pistons - and yet top braking performance. The Fahrwerker F-Vision overturns the laws of brake construction. Will the Swabian company's debut product become a benchmark in the MTB segment? Our comparison test of nine high-end disc brakes provides the answers.
Conclusion on the Fahrwerker F-Vision
A newcomer brake "Made in Germany" that pursues a completely independent development approach and immediately challenges the established top dogs - chapeau. The workmanship still exudes a prototype feeling here and there, and the price is too high for a fairly simple brake. - Max Fuchs, BIKE Editor
Even if most people are not familiar with Fahrwerker, everyone has probably recognised the label at least indirectly. The manufacturer from Metzingen equips Deutsche Post's cargo bikes with hydraulic braking systems. In order to safely decelerate the heavily loaded two and three-wheelers day after day, durability and ease of maintenance are at the top of the specifications in addition to uncompromising braking power. Exactly what you would want from your stoppers on a mountain bike, some of you may be thinking. The Swabians took the same idea and adapted their cargo bike expertise for their first MTB brake: the F-Vision.
Technical data: Chassis F-Vision
| Price | 1500 Euro (only available as a set, without disc and accessories) |
| Weight per piece | 411 g (incl. 800 mm cable + pads) |
| Slices / thickness | 180 mm / 2.00 mm |
| Brake pads | Organic |
| Braking medium | Mineral oil |
| Pressure point adjustment | No |
| Lever width adjustment | Yes, tool-free |
| Special features | Magnetic coverings, removable from the outside |
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Double trouble: Back to the two-piston brake
Four-piston brakes are as synonymous with braking power as Gucci is with expensive handbags. Fahrwerker contradicts this dogma and designs the F-Vision around a monstrous two-piston brake calliper. The practical advantages are obvious: fewer piston sealing rings, fewer moving parts and also fewer problems with unevenly extending pistons and rubbing pads. Usability bonus: The magnetic pads can be easily pulled out of the caliper.
But what about the braking power? Does the debut brake sacrifice its power in favour of the carefree character of a two-piston brake calliper? Quite the opposite. The F-Vision outshines all four-piston models in our test. The newcomer even scored top marks for braking force.
Powerful thanks to monstrous pistons
The inner workings of the suspension explain the braking power miracle: two huge stainless steel pistons with a diameter of 28 millimetres in the brake calliper give the F-Vision over 20 % more piston surface area than, for example, the Sram Maven with four 18-millimetre pistons. Together with the generous pads and the oversized friction ring of the stainless steel disc, this creates an enormous contact surface when applied. As long as the surface area ratios are correct, the number of pistons in the caliper only plays a subordinate role in the braking force. In keeping with the brute power, the solid armature is indestructible in the hand and remains firm even under full braking.
The big but? Being overweight!
The suspension is criticised for its somewhat digital pressure point: the long lever has hardly any free travel, the pads contact the discs abruptly and there is no pressure point adjustment. Together with the enormous power, the brake requires a delicate hand on the lever on slippery surfaces. In addition, the adjustment range of the lever is too small - neither particularly small nor very large hands will hit the sweet spot. With the opulent lever and the massive pliers, the suspension engineers also secure the highest value in the weight ranking. The slippery surface of the slick lever also attracted the negative attention of one tester.
The BIKE rating
| Price (without disc and accessories) | 1500 € (only available as a set) |
| Braking power (50%) | 0,9 |
| Wet braking (10%) | 2 |
| Dry braking (40%) | 0,5 |
| Practice (50%) | 1 |
| Modulation (30%) | 3 |
| Usability / Handling (10%) | 3 |
| Weight (10%) | 4 |
| BIKE NOTE (100%) | 2,1 |
How BIKE tests disc brakes
Our impressions of the character, modulation and handling come from practical tests. We determined the maximum braking power and thermal stability in accordance with the DIN standard on the roller test bench of the brake manufacturer Magura.
- Braking force test in the laboratory: To ensure that the brakes can deliver their maximum performance on the test bench, the test standard prescribes a defined braking procedure. All models must maintain a constant braking force of 200 newtons over 20 braking intervals in order to come up to temperature and rule out pad fading during the brake force test. Only then does the actual test of strength begin. It consists of three brake applications per force applied to the lever. It starts with 40 newtons of manual force. The test stand increases the force on the lever in 20 Newton increments until the brake reaches its maximum lever travel. Each brake undergoes this procedure twice: once in the dry and once in the wet. During wet running, the disc is continuously wetted throughout the entire measurement. For optimum comparison, all models run with 180 mm discs. The pad compounds always correspond to the standard equipment. The manufacturers were allowed to select the discs themselves - if several options are available in their own range - in favour of braking performance. For uniform comparative values, we carry out the braking force test and the heat resistance test with a fresh pair of pads and a new brake disc. For the evaluation of braking performance in the laboratory, we only use the results at 80 N manual force. In this range, all models still deliver practice-relevant values below the 600 N threshold, especially during dry braking. Above this level, there is a risk of rollover under ideal grip conditions.
- Heat resistance: As a second hurdle in the laboratory, all brakes have to pass a standardised heat resistance test twice. After all, the candidates should decelerate reliably even under high thermal loads. The programme includes three endurance braking sessions of five minutes each. Shortly after each interval, an abrupt control brake application follows, which shows whether the brakes still decelerate perfectly despite the heat. Finally, the test bench calls up the required minimum braking force three times. All brakes passed this test.
- Practical test: No test bench can measure how a brake develops its power off-road, how it reacts to low manual forces, how finely it can be metered and how it feels in the hand. This is where experience counts. And our testers have plenty of it: over 100 complete bikes go through our test procedure every year. Our editors therefore know most of the brakes inside out. In addition, two testers rode all the brakes in this test in direct comparison on standardised bikes with identical setups.
Max Fuchs
Editor
