Super Record Wireless groupset

Campagnolo’s Super Record Wireless groupset goes wireless, sticks with 12 -speed and ditches its thumb-shifter.

It’s here, the Campagnolo Super Record Wireless groupset. With a £4,499.00 ($5,399.00 / €5,200.00) price tag, you can see why Davide Campagnolo – grandson of Tullio – puts it in the sports luxury category! So what do you get for that eye-watering price?

Campagnolo have chosen to go fully wireless with their flagship gruppo, no cables here. The levers and derailleurs communicate via Bluetooth, which means simple installation: no need to thread cables, or hide batteries. The levers have CR2032 coin-cell batteries hidden under the hoods, which should be good for around a year of normal use and are easy to source and change.

Derailleurs

The derailleurs have taken a similar approach to SRAM, with each having its own battery. However, unlike SRAM, these batteries aren’t interchangeable. This is due to SRAM having the patent for swappable batteries. That’s a shame as being able to swap a failing battery with a charged one mid-ride, is a useful feature. Both front and rear derailleur have an IP69K waterproof rating, which means you can use a power-washer on them. There is only one rear derailleur in the groupset, which is designed to handle Campagnolo’s 10-25, 10-27 and 10-29 cassettes.

LED battery status indicators let you keep an eye on how much charge you have. You can also check the status of your battery via the MyCampy app. Campagnolo say that you will get 750km out of a single charge. And when you do need to recharge them it will take an hour to get 100%. Charging is done via a cable with magnetic attachments. There is also an UnLock System on the rear, this allows you to manually move the derailleur in case of what Campagnolo call an “anomaly”! The use of carbon fibre and technopolymer brings the weight in at a claimed 295g.

Levers

Ok let’s look at for what many Campy fans is the biggest change: the thumb-shifter. Or rather the lack of one. The Campagnolo thumb-shifter always felt and looked a little clunky to me, but it definitely set their shifters apart. The new Super Record Wireless shifter use two paddles behind the brake lever. These are set one above the other, unlike Shimano’s, which are paired close together. These can be set up to shift in the manner to which you prefer via the Campy App.

The shape of the levers has changed slightly to give riders a better feel on longer rides and when braking. An unusual feature of the levers is the inclusion of “off” switch. This is accessed via a switch under the hoods, could be useful for riders who worry about battery life.

Cranks

The Super Record Wireless cranks only come with double chain-rings: no 1x set-up here. With a 10-tooth cog on all their cassettes, Campagnolo have shrunk the chain-rings. You get a choice of 50/34, 48/32 and 45/29: apparently there will be “pro-only” options available as well: but not for the general-public! The hollow crank arms are made from uni-directional carbon attached to a titanium axle with ceramic bearings. The two halves are joined with Campagnolo’s Ultra Torque system. This uses a Hirth Joint pulled together by a titanium bolt. And they are available in 165, 170, 172.5 and 175 mm lengths and a 172.5 set with 45/29 rings weighs 585g.

Although there is no power meter at the moment, there is a recess on the inside of both cranks. The obvious answer is that they will house strain gauges. When questioned by Cyclingnews, Campy’s product marketing manager said that while a power meter would be coming, it would be “something innovative, a game-changer.” 

Brakes

Sorry to say, but if you’re a fan of rim brakes, then the Super Record Wireless groupset is not for you. Braking is disc only from now on for Super Record Wireless: are we looking at the end of high-end rim brake groupsets? While the rotors are the same semi-floating design from the older Super Record and Record groupsets, the callipers have had a visual update. One change are lighter brake pads, this comes from using a lighter alloy backing plate.

The brakes are flat-mount only and you will need an adaptor if you want to run anything bigger than a 140mm rotor. If you’re a home-mechanic then you will need to use Campagnolo’s own red mineral oil, just like their Ekar gravel gruppo. And you can ride safely in the knowledge that the rotors have been designed with your safety in mind. The patented rounded shape is designed not only to regulate temperature during braking, but also reduce the risk of rotor injury. Campagnolo experimented with fake skin when developing the rotors: that’s attention to detail!

Chain and Cassette

And finally, some details on the Cinderella parts of the groupset! As we said there are only three cassettes available and these are all fairly tight, compared with recent options. Campagnolo say this keeps the weight down and means they can keep the jumps between cogs small, mostly only one tooth and three at the maximum. This is thanks to the use of a 10-tooth small cog, no 9-tooth like Ekar here.

The chain is another departure for Campagnolo road chains in that it uses a split-link to connect rather than their usual joining-pin. interestingly there’s no clutch mechanism on the Super Record Wireless rear mech, so you’ll have to watch those cobbles. The cassettes run on Campagnolo’s N3W (Next Three Ways) freehub which is compatible with Campagnolo’s previous 10, 11 and 12-speed cassettes

Availability and future developments for Super Record Wireless

Initially only available from flagship stores “where the store’s image is coherent with the image of the brand”, so no need to rush out an buy one. Some manufacturers will have the new groupset on their bikes, so keep your eyes peeled. With only one WorldTour team running Campagnolo – AG2R-Citroen – they will probably need to produce a time-trial version soon. As is usual, what you see here will start to trickle down to Campagnolo’s other groupsets

Campagnolo Super Record Wireless