While the big trend this week at Eurobike has been been ditching shifter wires via SRAM’s Red eTAP, FSA’s Metron, and Rotor’s Uno Hydraulic, Campagnolo has taken wireless in a different direction. New wireless connectivity by wall of an updated EPS Interface/control unit opens up a number of communication opportunities, and makes setup and customization easier for the top two tiers of the electronic line.
Shift on over the break for more details, pics, and an updated battery…
Up until now if you wanted any of the EPS groups a frameset with a charging port needed to be sourced or you had to resort to getting creative with drilling a hole in the bike frame. Now that is about to change for Record and Super Record EPS. The two groups are generally unchanged for model year 2016, but do get a new EPS Interface that takes on a slightly larger, but lower-profile form factor. The change comes about as a result of adding a wireless antenna to communicate via ANT+ and Bluetooth, and the addition of a new charging port that will for most riders be right under them stem.
The controller will now communicate gearing and shift data to cycling computer head units and smartphones while riding and will synchronize with the MyCampy app coming later this fall. The data collection can be used by EPS riders to track both actual gear ratios on specific segments of a ride, and to anticipate battery usage and drivetrain wear. One of the biggest benefits will also be that firmware upgrades, shift performance, and shift tuning will now be possible wirelessly, by way of either a smart phone or pc.
The other update is a new slim internal battery that was designed to fit in aero framesets that have previously had insufficient space for the current market version. Both interface/controller and battery are backwards compatible with the current Record and Super Record EPS groups, so users will only need to replace that piece for the full improved functionality. Unfortunately Chorus EPS uses a different connector system, so it can’t be upgraded at this time.
