Campagnolo has just introduced their second electronic group, Athena EPS, a mere nine months after introducing Record and Super Record EPS (but about 20 years after first dreaming up battery powered shifting).
By using aluminum parts rather than carbon, the Athena EPS group brings the price of Italian electric shifting down a few pegs, putting it in reach of more cyclists. Functionality is the same, meaning you can shift one or more (or all) gears with a single button depression by merely holding the shifter longer. It keeps the “Ride Back Home” crash protection, letting you put it in a reasonable gear manually should you wreck and the system becomes disabled.
UPDATE: Athena EPS will start shipping in Spring 2013, and pricing will be announced at Eurobike.
More on the 11-speed power group below…
The front derailleur uses a “special aluminum alloy” rather than carbon. It has the same auto-trim feature to keep the chain from rubbing you the wrong way.
Ergonomics on the shifter levers are the same as Record/Super Record EPS, which means button shape and angle is slightly different than the mechanical groups. We’ve ridden the Super Record EPS group extensively this summer and have been pretty impressed with its ability to discern a proper (intentional) shift versus and accidental bump when shifting hand position.
It’ll use the same DTI battery as the higher end groups.
Updated Weights:
We’re waiting to hear back on pricing and availability and will update as soon as we get it. There are also some new wheels we’ll post shortly…
