Campagnolo has today announced a long-awaited update to its top-tier Super Record groupset, with the launch of a wireless, disc-brake-only groupset that it's calling Super Record Wireless. Most surprisingly of all, it has done away with the thumb shifter.
When the brand announced the prior iteration, Super Record EPS in 2018, it was ahead of the curve as the first of the 'big three' to jump to 12-speed cassettes. Fast forward five years, however, and both of its closest competitors SRAM and Shimano have caught up, overtaken, and far surpassed the Italian brand in the technological arms race.
Plenty of rumour and hearsay - as well as a leaked patent document - had already told us that Campagnolo was about to fight back, and had even given some clues as to what the new product might look like, but today we finally have the details.
Super Record Wireless represents the first wireless groupset for the soon-to-be-90-year-old company. However, we're told that the newfound wireless know-how will almost certainly trickle down to Record, and perhaps Chorus too.
Davide Campagnolo, grandson of founder Tullio, says the product marks a commitment from the brand to a category he calls 'sports luxury,' and the price is certainly reflective of that. At £4,499.00 ($5,399.00 / €5,200.00) without a power meter, it's clear that Campagnolo isn't interested in trying to win a war on price.
The groupset is made entirely in Italy at the brand's Vicenza headquarters, and it's set to be the start — or at least the continuation, after Hyperon — of an avalanche of launches, an avalaunch if you will, from the brand over the next 12 months.
Full wireless
When Shimano launched Dura-Ace in summer 2021, much was said of the brand's 'semi-wireless' approach that saw two derailleurs connected via a centralised battery. Campagnolo has gone the other way, following in SRAM's footsteps, albeit carefully, on a road that Valentino Campagnolo - Tullio's son; Davide's father - describes as "paved with patents".
This means Super Record Wireless sees separate batteries mounted onto both derailleurs, each of which removable and chargeable via a magnetic cable not dissimilar to the one you'll use for an Apple MacBook. Notably, the batteries cannot be switched between the front and rear derailleur - SRAM owns that patent - so the two batteries are unique.
Campagnolo says the batteries will fully charge in under an hour, with a non-linear charge that sees 20% battery in just 10 minutes, and 90% in 45 minutes. This should be fit for somewhere in the region of 750km to 1000km of riding, depending on use.
Four LEDs on the outer face of each derailleur provide battery status, checkable with the push of a small sliding button. You'll need to remember to do this though, as unlike the status light on the shifter for those batteries, the derailleurs won't warn you when they're getting low. Battery status will also be displayed in the MyCampy app.
Rim brakes no more
In a surprising move for a brand regularly associated with traditionalism, the new groupset will not be available with rim brakes. It will only come as a disc brake option. The outgoing Super Record EPS will still remain manufactured for the foreseeable in its rim brake guise, but today's launch marks yet another nail in the rim brake coffin.
The brakes themselves are a minimally refined version of the ones found on the outgoing Super Record and Record groupsets. The rotors remain unchanged, meaning the same patented 'semi-floating' rotor designed to transfer heat away from the braking surface. The caliper gets an aesthetic update, while the brake pad backing plates switch to a lighter-weight alloy.
They use the same Campagnolo mineral oil and bleed process as Ekar, with no proprietary tools required.
Gearing
Campagnolo has also followed in SRAM's footsteps with its approach to gearing, albeit with a slight difference. The big headline here is that all cassette options start with the 10T cassette sprocket, and the brand has paired this approach with three smaller-than-expected chainring configurations up front: 50/34, 48/32 and 45/29.
However, where Campagnolo differs from SRAM is in the available ratio of the cassette options, offering three fairly tight cassettes by today's standards: 10-25, 10-27, and 10-29.
Campagnolo says its motivations for this were to maintain a smaller and therefore lighter cassette, while increasing the overall gear range without losing the smooth ride feel offered by one-tooth jumps between gears at higher speeds.
Much was said about the efficiency losses from the increased friction and chain articulation of switching to a 10T cassette sprocket when SRAM launched Red eTap AXS in 2019, yet Campagnolo believes it has managed to make the switch without losing efficiency compared to the outgoing 11-tooth starting sprocket. We're yet to see the data on this though.
No more thumb lever
Another surprise, one that will no doubt cause uproar among the die-hard Campagnolo tifosi, is that Super Record Wireless has done away with the thumb shifter.
"People either love it or hate it," was the claim from the brand, and that's apparently not a position it wants to be in. Marmite would undoubtedly disagree with the approach, but ultimately in Campagnolo's eyes, the thumb shifter is something that "segments us from the market." In other words, it could potentially be offputting to customers considering making the switch from one of the competitors.
Instead, two shift buttons sit behind each brake lever blade, one above the other, similar to FSA K-Force WE, albeit each button is independent rather than on a rocker switch.
Campagnolo calls it 'one button, one action,' and by default, the shift buttons use the left lever for the front derailleur and the right lever for the rear. The lower buttons will shift to a smaller sprocket or chainring, and the upper buttons shift back up again. This is all fully customisable, however.
Interestingly, where the thumb lever would have been on each lever is a duo of small 'hidden' buttons, not unlike the ones on Shimano's Di2 hoods. One is a power button, allowing you to switch the lever off completely for flights or long journeys, and the other is a 'Mode' button. The Mode button is currently programmed to connect with the best bike computers via Bluetooth or ANT+ to control your display, but Campagnolo did say that it "could" adjust the firmware to make it also work as a shifter. Whether they will is unconfirmed.
Next to those hidden buttons is a status LED, which will flash to confirm a connection has been found, light up on shifting, and flash red when the shifter's CR2032 battery is getting low, albeit this shouldn't happen until after around 18-24 months of use.
The other reason for the thumb lever's exclusion relates to ergonomics. Campagnolo says those with larger hands struggled to reach the lever having to contort their hand to press it. Now, Campagnolo believes the fit is better for all, with lever reach adjustment helping those with smaller hands.
On a related note, the hood itself has changed shape too. Despite the additional internal tech, Campagnolo has done a good job of cramming it all into a small space, and the overall height of the new lever is in fact lower than the outgoing Super Record EPS. The hood itself, however, is a couple of millimetres bulkier.
Currently, there are no satellite shifters for climbing or sprinting, but Campagnolo says they will follow "in time."
"Something innovative, a gamechanger"
At the moment, Campagnolo says that Super Record Wireless doesn't come with, nor have available a power meter. However, just looking at that picture above, it's pretty clear that the groupset is designed to accommodate a strain gauge. The inner face of each crank arm features what appears to be a cut-out of some sort, but we're not being told exactly what lies inside, if indeed there is anything at all.
Speaking to Cyclingnews, Campagnolo's product marketing manager confirmed that a power meter is indeed coming, but intriguingly said it will be "something innovative, a game-changer."
We'll have to watch this space.
Some specifics and specifications
The Super Record's chainset maintains the same carbon construction and finish as the outgoing model, but with a slight change to the BCD (Bolt Circle Diameter) of the four bolts that hold the three available chainring configurations. These include 50/34, 48/32, and 45/29. Just as SRAM found, its pro riders aren't a fan of small chainrings, so larger 'pro only' options will also be made available. The cranks are available in four lengths: 165mm, 170mm, 172.5mm and 175mm.
At the rear, the cassette is available in three configurations (10-25, 10-27 and 10-29). Campagnolo says the 10-29 cassette is 56g lighter than its closest predecessor (11-29). They are each made from "steel, and another material we don't declare" with the smallest three sprockets machined from a single block, four individual sprockets at the centre, with the largest five sprockets also joined. They are only compatible with N3W freehub bodies.
Despite the relative similarity, Campagnolo doesn't recommend mixing the older Super Record cassettes with the new groupset. It might technically work, but as the arc of the derailleur is different, it won't offer the same level of performance.
The whole groupset is IP69K waterproof rated, meaning it can withstand being pressure washed. The shifter features reach adjustment, accessed with a 2mm hex key through the lowest of the three holes on the front of the lever. There is no adjustment of lever free-throw.
The rear derailleur features a B-tension screw, as well as a high-limit screw only. The low limit is set electronically via the app, and subsequent setup is performed automatically, simply use the app to tell the derailleur what size cassette you're using for optimal shifting.
New MyCampy 3.0 app
Talking of the app, there is a revamped version of the MyCampy app, which will be where all adjustment, diagnostics, firmware and reporting takes place. For example, if you wanted to adjust what shift button does what, swap left and right or up and down, you can. You could even switch to a more SRAM-style shift, using the upper two buttons for the rear derailleur.
In the app, you can also see the full battery status for each of your components, and you can adjust derailleur trim, too.
Weight, pricing and availability
At launch, the new Super Record groupset will be made available in a series of handpicked flagship stores "where the store's image is coherent with the image of the brand," as well as via selected manufacturers.
With a 50/34T chainset and 10-25T cassette, the Super Record Wireless groupset will weigh 2,520g and will be priced at £4,499.00 / $5,399.00 / €5,200.00. At launch, there is no detailed breakdown available for pricing or weight of individual components.
There will not be a time trial variant available right away, but with Campagnolo affirming it will continue to sponsor at least one WorldTour team in 2024, it will need to create something for them.
