There is a whole lot to say about the new Campagnolo Super Record Wireless. We took a look at the leaked FCC filings and filtered through numerous patents to find a groupset that was fundamentally different from anything Campagnolo has done before. After an invite to Campagnolo HQ to ride the new groupset, we have even more to discuss.
Campagnolo was quick to mention two things: that Super Record Wireless drivetrain is about as forward-thinking as they could make it, and that they wanted to make the group as easy to use as they could. Completely new shifting logic, gearing options, a future power meter, and what they promise to be an intuitive app is a clean break from their history.
Super Record Wireless is a massive leap forward in simplicity compared to Campagnolo EPS and a performance upgrade as well. However, Super Record’s release is just as exciting because of what lies ahead for the Italian company as it applies its new technologies outside of the narrow scope of its newest groupset.
Campagnolo Super Record Wireless details
Campagnolo is proud to share that they’ve filed over 120 plus new patents with the release of their Wireless group. Part of that may largely be to how litigious Shimano and SRAM have been, however. I’ll have to get into my thinking why, but in the meantime, Campagnolo has had to approach their groupset a bit differently than the competition.
Here are the big headlines you should know:
- Super Record is now wireless with an individual battery for each derailleur and shifter.
- Drivetrains are based on 12-speed gearing. Super Record is optimized for 2x gearing above else.
- There are three new cassettes and two new chainring gearing options. Each cassette features a 10t cog and utilizes their N3W freehub to do so. The smallest chainring option is a 45/29t option.
- The shifters are completely overhauled with buttons that can be customized via a new MyCampy app.
- Claimed groupset weight is 2,520 grams with a 45/29T chainring combo and a 10-25t cassette, which likely makes it the lightest wireless 2x groupset available.
- Campagnolo says that Super Record Wireless is available right on announcement day from select dealers.
Perhaps the most obvious way this manifests is by looking at the shifter. The thumb shifter for upshifts has always been a love-hate proposition. In mechanical form, it allowed for multiple upshifts with one button throw, but its placement meant folks with bigger hands often had to move their hands to shift on the tops and folks with smaller hands had to move their hands to shift from the drops.
Replacing that is a pair of buttons just behind the blade of each brake lever. These buttons can be customized however you want and in any pattern, the rider prefers through a new app. Campagnolo says this was done with an eye toward accessibility.
Placed on the inner-facing side of the lever is a single button on each side, though they are essentially flush with the hood rather than sticking out as previous EPS levers did. These buttons can be programmed to control your cycling computer, or press and hold them down to micro-adjust your derailleurs while you’re riding along. Campagnolo also noted that possible capacity could be added to make these buttons available to shift gears too, though from launch that is not possible.
The hood lever shape itself is an evolution of what the brand has largely stuck to since its introduction of 11-speed. The tops slope is more gradual in slope than before. Further, the hoods are flatter overall and just a slight bit longer than current Campagnolo levers. As for the hood material itself, they have a texture that feels familiar, with just the right amount of tackiness to grip the levers with sweaty palms.
Campagnolo’s new drivetrain uses wireless front and rear derailleurs, which should be a major step up from EPS solely for how it simplifies drivetrain setup. That said, EPS was perhaps the most finicky of the big electronic drivetrain options requiring a patient eye and a careful hand to prevent wires from being pinched and gears from shifting perfectly.
There are a few pros and cons to the work Campagnolo has done here. The batteries can charge up quickly: zero to 20 percent in 10 minutes, zero to 90 percent in 45 minutes, and a full charge in under an hour. Campagnolo claims 1000 km (~620 miles) of riding between charges, which interestingly enough, is about the same as Shimano claims for their Di2 groups, and is a fair bit more than SRAM AXS.
Further, the batteries can be charged both on the bike and off with a magnetized charge plug.
As for a negative, there seems to be just one: the batteries aren’t hot-swappable. SRAM owns the patent for swappable batteries on a bike, so the batteries are different shapes.
The rear derailleur seems physically big, though I suspect I’d have to see the new Wireless derailleur side by side with the likes of SRAM and Shimano. Part of that visual bulk is because the rear derailleur battery is tucked inside of the rear derailleur, so when shifted into a high gear (and a smaller cog), the derailleur seems to stick out a bit more than before.
The front derailleur isn’t all that big and about the same size as an AXS front derailleur. There isn’t much to say here, though the cage profile in general has been revised for faster shifts between chainrings. Its cage is also optimized for the overall-smaller chainrings of Super Record.
Let’s talk gearing questions
Campagnolo may still use 12-speed gearing with the new Super Record group, but there are plenty of changes here. To my eyes, much of the story is based around the three new cassettes, with 10-25t, 10-27t, and 10-29t options. Other groupsets now feature wider gear ratios that are largely celebrated for easier climbing, so why does Super Record not have a cassette that has a 30t cog as its lowest gear?
In a word, cadence.
Rather than adding cogs to make the gearing range wider, Campagnolo has added cogs to make the jump between each cog small so you can maintain your optimal pedaling speed. Most of the ratios in each of these cassettes feature 1 tooth jumps to fine-tune your cadence. The 10-25t cassette – which looks like an old-school corn-cob cassette compared to SRAM Eagle – has six one-tooth jumps, two two-tooth jumps, and three three-tooth jumps between each gear. They’ve called this philosophy ‘the perfect ratio.’
While Campagnolo zigged with their cassettes while others zagged, they’ve gone with smaller chainrings ala SRAM. The new largest chainring combo one can get is a 50/34T chainring combo, but there’s also now a 48/32T as well as an even smaller 45/29T. Pairing that smallest chainring combo with a 10-29t cassette provides a top-end gearing similar to a 50T-11t and a 34T-34t one might expect from Shimano.
When pressed, however, Campagnolo says the smaller cassette gears physically mean less weight, to the tune of 50 to 60 grams lighter than the previous Super Record cassette. Unlike Ekar, this Super Record cassette is a three-piece affair.
The other side of the gearing question is the crankset. While it looks to be a similar design to the previous Super Record, the new crank is said to be completely overhauled. It still uses a Hirth joint axle, though new ProTech bearings – first seen on Ekar – are pressed onto the crank axles rather than the previous Super Record. Not that I’m complaining; the old Super Record cranks were truly striking and the carbon fiber here is still special-feeling.
What I’m most interested in are the caps on the inside of both crank arms. Campagnolo says this design is for a power meter option down the line, which we noticed in earlier patents they’ve filed. There’s no date as to when this will be available, but they’re promising their power meter cranks to be “a real game-changer.”
Braking stays the same, and that’s a good thing
Campagnolo is very proud of its hydraulic braking performance, and I agree. The Italian brand says they’re no longer a design shared with Magura, nor have they been. The latest group features adjustable reach at the brake lever but does without the adjustable lever throw that EPS had, as it was a feature unused by consumers according to Campagnolo.
The brake calipers use standard adaptors rather than the brake calipers that were designed to work specifically with a 140 or 160 mm rotor. Graphics are refreshed here too, and the brake pads are 30 percent lighter than before thanks to aluminum pad backing.
Sorry to the tens of rim brake fans willing to spend this much money on a groupset (we see you, we hear you), but there are no current plans for rim brakes for Super Record.
Campagnolo Super Record Wireless first ride: lots of good, some questions
My first ride on Super Record came in the hills just outside of Vicenza where Campagnolo’s main factory is based, and where the entire Super Record groupset is made. Gearing was with a 48/32T chainring combo and a 10-29t cassette.
The new hood shape may not be the familiar Campagnolo shape we’ve come to expect, but it is still quite comfortable overall. Additionally, the shift buttons have a positive, mechanical click, one that feels more substantial and positive than anything else electronic I’ve tried.
As for the new button ergonomics? I found myself regularly shifting the wrong way and pressing the wrong button to go in the wrong direction. Good thing that the MyCampy app has received a major overhaul, as I would likely want to completely change what button shifts what.
In my hands, these brakes are the best in the business. That same smooth, progressive hydraulic brake feel from other Campagnolo groups is found here, with no characteristic pinging or rotor noise after long, high-speed descents. That’s nothing new here.
Shifts are quick and feel faster than EPS, full stop. Further, shifts feel smoother under light and moderate-load shifts. But pour on the power in the higher gears and shifts have a thunk that is characteristically Campagnolo: a loud but decisive-sounding shift rather than the quiet smoothness of Shimano. It isn’t a bad thing by any means, but folks coming from Shimano might think of this as unrefined.
Front derailleur shifting is a bit more of a mixed bag. Like the rear derailleur, shifts happened quickly under light and medium loads, but again, it was noticeably louder shifting under load. There were never any missed shifts here, but because of how often the terrain demanded swapping between chainrings the sound was unavoidable.
Conclusion
All told the first ride was very positive. In my eyes, Super Record Wireless is a massive step forward for Campagnolo and it feels every bit as advanced as the likes of SRAM and Shimano. There’s just one caveat: the price of $5399 USD.
At that price, Super Record absolutely has to be as good if not better than everyone else. At the very least, I would hope there would be 1x capability or even wider gear ranges. It should probably make other people think I’m motor doping with how fast I am, or even surprise me by doing something like vacuuming my house at that price.
Campagnolo has to be aware of the eye-watering price point, which is why they reinforced the idea is that Super Record is their price-is-no-object offering. It isn’t supposed to be the end-all, be-all solution for everyone, but a focused road group that shows what they’re capable of. The best ‘sport-luxury possible,’ as said by Davide Campagnolo himself.
We’ve requested a groupset to test to find out just how good Super Record is in the long term. Stay tuned.
Price: $5399 / € 5200 / £4,499
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