Campagnolo takes the fight to Shimano and SRAM with a new groupset that looks Super but can be had for Ultegra money

It’s fair to say it felt like Campagnolo had lost its way for a while, with its groupset strategy. Trouble started when it dropped the thumb-shifter and whacked prices up, with the release of the Super Record Wireless groupset. Very few could justify it against higher performing Japanese and American alternatives.

With the most recent Super Record 13 speed wireless launch, Campagnolo sought to right those wrongs. And right them it did. The groupset looked great, was lightning fast at shifting, and pricing found parity with the competition again.

The latest version of Super Record came with incredibly fast shifting, and a price that meant it could once again, go head-to-head with SRAM and Shimano's pro-racing gear. It had remembered that people come to the Italians for their trademark flair, and in the latest version of their highest spec road-racing groupset, that was once again evident. The groupset looked great whilst being rapid and precise.

The one thing that was so clearly missing, was a more reasonable entry point for that new look, and latest tech.

With the launch of Record, the name given to Campagnolo's second-tier groupset, it's sorted that problem, by producing a well-priced groupset, that means it can now target Shimano Ultegra and SRAM Force level customers again.

Prices start at €2,129 (UK and US pricing to come, we'll update this article when we receive them), and with five variants across road and gravel the accessibility grows further. In simple terms, Campagnolo is back in the business of selling competitively priced groupsets again.

The concept of ‘trickle down technology’ is perhaps most keenly felt in groupsets. The advancements that are introduced with the top-tier offerings eventually find their way into the cheaper offerings, allowing cyclists to enjoy a shared functionality and performance, with often only a small weight penalty the difference between the sets.

This does raise the question of why anyone who actually pays for their cycling gear would opt for the range-topper, regardless of manufacturer, and it’s likely one that will be asked again with the release of Record 13.

So how close to the Super is Record? Well, Campagnolo says that the new Record shares “geometry, architecture and functionality” with its more expensive sibling. The result, the brand explains, is not just the same shifting speed across the two platforms but full component compatibility. Once again then the only differences appear to be cosmetic, with different materials and finishes resulting, and some additional weight; Campagnolo says the gains from Super Record 13 to Record 13 range between 208g to 342g depending on the groupset, which is less than a half full bidon.

Each of the five configurations are manufactured in-house in Italy. While this is likely music to the ears of any cyclist wanting to ensure that their new Colnago build doesn’t stray from the path of righteousness, Campagnolo says it's more strategy than statement, allowing it to remain at the wheel for the entire production process, which it says helps to keep the quality high and the pricing competitive.

Pricing has been a thorny issue for the brand in the case of launches which predated the latest Super Record drop, and it's one of the reasons that its slice of the pie got smaller as Shimano and SRAM continued to release effective and more affordable offerings, that meant riders could buy WorldTour level performance without dropping a fortune for the privilege.

So it’s not without fanfare that Record 13 pricing starts at €2,129 for a full 1x13 wireless groupset. That brings it right into line with both Shimano and SRAM's second-tier offer.

Yes, it’s still a considerable amount of money but it is over €1,000 less than the cheapest Super Record 13 offering. That's important. If you simply have to go Italian, or have always dreamed of it, its now in reach for a heck of a lot more customers.

So what are the five groupsets on offer?

For the road, there are three available options. The 2x13 groupset is the most traditional and has a claimed weight of 2,783g. There’s also a 1x13 Road, which features a Nano Clutch rear mech and a 36t cassette and is the lightest set at 2,656g, and a 1x13 Road X, which has the clutch mech and a 42 or 48t cassette. Next up is an All-Road offering, which is 2x13, with a clutch mech and a 36t cassette, and finally the gravel bike specific gruppo, which again uses the Nano Clutch rear derailleur and cassette options up to a 48t. The claimed weight here is 2,777g.

The difference between the two derailleurs is as you’d might imagine. The regular mech features a carbon fibre-reinforced polyamide body with an internal steel cage and 14-tooth narrow-wide pulleys and works with both the 10-33 and 11-36 cassettes. The Nano Clutch option used on the X gruppos uses a longer cage to work with the wide range cassettes, including the 10-48; here the pulley configuration is 12t and 16t. Both mechs are compatible with Super Record 13 cassettes.

As for the crankset options there are seven 2x combinations - 5/29, 48/32, 50/34, 52/36, 53/39, 54/39, 55/39, and eight ‘aero’ 1x models ranging from 38t to 52t. Like Super Record 13, the chainrings are made from carbon fiber but the axle is stainless steel rather than titanium. Structurally the crank arms differ, with Record using a low-density technopolymer in the less stressed areas rather than the hollowed out approach taken in Super Record. Crank arms lengths are 165, 170, and 172.5 mm and there is an option for a power meter across all of the five groupsets; Campagnolo says the Record PWM has an accuracy of ±2% and features the same architecture used on the Super Record version.

Another similarity between the two is found in the Ergopower shifters. They share the same functionality, with the internal Thumb Shifter, Shift Lever, Mode Button, Smart Button, and status LED the same as those found on Super Record. The ergonomics are identical too as is the hydraulic system. So again, the differences here are essentially found in finish and materials.

Anyone familiar with Super Record 13 will be glad to see that the battery used to power the wireless shifting is another component that remains the same as Super Record. This means 750km of range and charging via a standard USB-c cable - no dedicated chargers required here!