Campagnolo today announced a long-awaited update to its top-tier Super Record group, with the release of a disc brake-only wireless group called the Super Record Wireless. Even more surprising is that it got rid of the thumb shifter.
When the brand announced its previous iteration, the Super Record EPS in 2018, it was ahead of the curve as the first of the “big three” to jump to 12-speed cassettes. However, fast-forward five years, and both its closest competitors SRAM and Shimano have caught up, overtaken, and far surpassed the Italian brand in the technological arms race.
Lots of rumors and gossip – in addition to a Leaked patent document — we’ve already told you that Campagnolo was about to respond, and he’s given some clues about what the new product might look like, but today we finally have the details.
Super Record Wireless marks the company’s soon-to-be-90-year-old’s first wireless suite. However, we’re told that our newfound wireless knowledge will almost certainly carry over to Record, and possibly Choir as well.
Davide Campagnolo, grandson of Tullio’s founder, says the product represents a commitment from the brand to a category he calls “sporting luxury,” and the price certainly reflects that. At £4,499.00 ($5,399.00 / €5,200.00) without a power meter, Campagnolo is clearly not interested in trying to win a war over price.
The collection is made entirely in Italy at the brand’s Vicenza headquarters, and is set to be the start – or at least the continuation, post-Hyperon – of a series of launches, if you will, from the brand over the next 12 months.
Complete wireless
When Shimano launched the Dura-Ace in the summer of 2021, much was said about the brand’s ‘semi-wireless’ approach that saw two busses connected via a central battery. Campagnolo went the other way, following in SRAM’s footsteps, albeit carefully, down the path that was Valentino Campagnolo—son of Tulio; David’s father – describes as “patent-studded”.
This means that Super Record Wireless sees separate batteries mounted on both hubs, each removable and charging via a magnetic cable not unlike the one you’d use in an Apple MacBook. Notably, the batteries cannot be swapped between the front and rear derailleur—SRAM owns that patent—so the two batteries are unique.
Campagnolo says the batteries will fully charge in less than an hour, with a non-linear charge that sees 20% battery in just 10 minutes, and 90% in 45 minutes. This should fit somewhere in the region of 750km to 1000km of riding, depending on use.
Four LEDs on the outside face of each track provide battery status, and can be checked with the push of a small sliding button. You’ll need to remember to do this, as unlike the status light on the transmission for those batteries, drivers won’t warn you when they’re running low. Battery status will also be displayed in the MyCampy app.
Frame brake no more
In a surprising move for a brand regularly associated with traditionals, the new group will not be available with rim brakes. It will only come as a disc brake option. The outgoing Super Record EPS will still be the manufacturer of what to expect in a rim brake guise, but today’s launch marks another nail in the brake’s coffin.
The brakes themselves are a minimally modified version of those found on the released Super Record and Record sets. The rotors remain unchanged, which means the same patented “semi-floating” rotor is designed to transfer heat away from the braking surface. The caliper gets an aesthetic update, while the brake support plates switch to a lighter weight alloy.
They use the same Campagnolo mineral oil and bleeding process as Ekar, without the need for proprietary tools.
Preparing
Campagnolo has also followed in SRAM’s footsteps with its approach to boost, albeit with a slight variation. The headline here is that all cassette options start with the 10T cassette sprocket, and the brand has paired that approach with three smaller-than-expected chainring configurations up front: 50/34, 48/32 and 45/29.
Where Campagnolo differs from SRAM, however, is in the available ratio of cassette options, offering three fairly narrow cassettes by today’s standards: 10-25, 10-27 and 10-29.
Campagnolo says his motivation for this was to keep the cassette smaller and therefore lighter, while increasing the overall gear range without losing the smooth feel that single-tooth jumps between gears provide at higher speeds.
Much was said about the efficiency losses from the increased friction and chain articulation of the switch to a 10TB cassette sprocket when SRAM launched the Red eTap AXS in 2019, yet Campagnolo thinks it managed to make the switch without losing efficiency compared to the outgoing 11-tooth. Sprocket starting. But we haven’t yet been able to see the data for this.
No more thumbsticks
Another surprise, and one that’s sure to cause a stir among die-hard Campagnolo tifosi, is that Super Record Wireless has done away with the thumb drive.
“People either love it or hate it,” was Brand’s claim, and that’s apparently not a situation you want to be in. No doubt Marmite will disagree with the approach, but ultimately in Campagnolo’s eyes, the thumb vector is something that “slices us out of the market.” In other words, it’s potentially a slog for customers considering switching from a competitor.
Instead, there are two shift buttons behind each brake lever blade, one above the other, similar to the FSA K-Force WE, although each button is independent rather than a rocker switch.
Campagnolo calls it “one button, one action,” and by default, the shift buttons use the left lever for the forward gear and the right lever for the rear. The lower studs will convert to a smaller sprocket or chain, and the upper studs will convert back. This is all fully customizable, though.
Interestingly, as it would have been the thumb lever on each lever is a duo of small “hidden” buttons, not unlike the ones on Shimano’s Di2 cranksets. One is the power button, which allows you to turn off the jack completely for flights or long trips, and the other is the “Mode” button. The mode button is currently programmed to communicate with a file The best cycling computers via Bluetooth or ANT+ to control your screen, but Campagnolo said so “could” Adjust the firmware to make it also work as a switch. whether they are will Uncertain.
Next to those hidden buttons is a status LED, which will blink to confirm a connection has been found, light up when toggled on, and blink red when the CR2032 battery of the switch is running low, though this won’t happen until after about 18-24 months of use.
The other reason for excluding the thumb lever has to do with ergonomics. Campagnolo says those with larger hands struggled to reach the lever and had to bend their hands to squeeze it. Now, Campagnolo thinks the fit is better for everyone, with lever adjustments to help those with smaller hands.
On a related note, the hood itself has also changed shape. Despite the additional internal technology, Campagnolo has done a good job of cramming it all into a small footprint, and the overall height of the new lever is actually lower than the outgoing Super Record EPS. However, the hood itself is a few millimeters larger.
Right now, there are no satellite treadmills for climbing or sprinting, but Campagnolo says they will follow “in time.”
“Something innovative and a game changer”
For now, Campagnolo says the Super Record Wireless does not come with a power meter nor is it available. However, just by looking at that photo above, it’s pretty clear that the kit is designed to accommodate a pressure gauge. The inner face of each crank arm features what appears to be a cutout of some sort, but we are not told exactly what lies inside, if there really is any at all.
Talking to cycling newsCampagnolo’s director of product marketing confirmed that the power meter was indeed coming, but curiously said it would be “something innovative, a game-changer.”
We’ll have to watch this space.
Some details and specifications
The Super Record chainset maintains the same carbon construction and finish as the previous model, but with a slight change in the BCD (bolt circle diameter) of the four bolts that have the three chain configurations available. These include 50/34, 48/32, and 45/29. Just as SRAM has found, pro racers aren’t fans of small chainrings, so larger “pro” options will also be available. The cranks are available in four lengths: 165mm, 170mm, 172.5mm and 175mm.
In the rear, the tray is available in three configurations (10-25, 10-27 and 10-29). Campagnolo says the 10-29 cassette is 56 grams lighter than its closest predecessor (11-29). Each is made of “steel, and other material not declared” with the smallest three sprockets being machined from a single block, four individual sprockets in the centre, with the largest five sprockets also attached. They are only compatible with N3W freehubs.
Despite the relative similarity, Campagnolo does not recommend mixing older Super Record tapes with the new set. It might technically work, but because the derailleur’s arc is different, it won’t deliver the same level of performance.
The entire set is rated IP69K water resistance, which means it can withstand pressure during the wash. 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 for the free throw lever.
The rear derailleur features a B-tension screw, as well as a high-reduction screw only. The lower limit is set electronically via the app, and post setting is done automatically, just use the app to tell the derailleur what size cassette to use for optimal shifting.
The new MyCampy 3.0 app
Speaking of the app, there is a revamped version of the MyCampy app, which will be where all the tuning, diagnostics, firmware and reporting takes place. For example, if you want to modify what the move button does, switch left and right or up and down, you can. You can even switch to SRAM style shifting, using the two top 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 the derailleur trim as well.
Weight, pricing and availability
At launch, the new Super Record collection will be available in a series of carefully selected flagship stores “where the store image is consistent with the brand image”, as well as across selected manufacturers.
With a 50/34T chainring and 10-25T cassette, the Super Record Wireless kit will weigh 2520g and will be priced at £4,499.00 / $5,399.00 / €5,200. At launch, there is no breakdown available of pricing or weight of individual components.
There won’t be a time trial variant available right away, but with Campagnolo confirming it will continue to sponsor at least one WorldTour team in 2024, you’ll need to create something for them.
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