Campagnolo has just made it a bit easier on cyclists losing sleep over whether to go with a compact or standard crankset.
Their new 52/36 EVO chainring options will be available only for their 11-speed groups: Super Record, Record Chorus and the carbon Athena in all four lengths (165, 170, 172.5 and 175). It’s an option for their 2013 groups, and they’re EPS compatible. Claimed weights for the cranksets with the new rings are 663g for Athena Carbon, 690g for Chorus, 650g less for Record, and 607g for Super Record.
They use Campy’s proprietary compact 110BCD, and the rings are called mid-compact and are retrofittable to any of these four Campy compact cranksets. Since 2011, Campy has stiffened up their chainrings in anticipation of their EPS group. Jerry Ott, Campy’s US Customer Service Manager, says the EPS front derailleur puts out 70% more force than their mechanical ones, so everything had to be made stiffer. Despite the gap, they says they’re designed to shift just as smoothly as the rest.
Still need more gearing? Shift through the break…
There used to be triple cranksets in all of the groups until the early 2000’s, then doubles took over by offering the same gear-inch range with wider range cassettes and standard and double cranksets.
Ott says there’s still a huge demand for triples, so they’re introducing a new cassette and new line of triple cranksets. A 12-30 cassette is now on offer and requires a long-cage rear derailleur. What’s impressive is that these new triples, which are available in Athena, Centaur and Veloce in 52/39/30 combos, have some 11-speed compatibility. Yes, this means you can now run a 1:1 gear ratio using the 30 chainring shifted to the 30T cog.
Campy also says these new triples have “the best U and Q factors” in their class, but no technical specs have been released yet. Shifting speed and precision is said to be on par with their doubles. They’ll require a new front derailleur, but will work with existing 10- or 11-speed chains and rear derailleurs.
Another new tidbit buried in their PR is this: They’re introducing their first ultralight hollow alloy crank arms with these new triples. Until now, Campy has offered hollow carbon (Record, Super Record) and solid carbon (Athena, Chorus) and solid alloy (others). Ott says going from their solid alloy cranks to their carbon ones, you could drop half to one full pound. Now, that weight difference is being minimized while offering consumers a more affordable option.
Two new Centaur cassettes have been given a complete redesign. The cogs get new machined tooth profiles and the cog synchronization (relative tooth position between cogs) now mirrors their top end groups. Campy says combined with the Teflon coated Centaur chain and special surface hardening treatment on the cassette, the new sprockets are quieter and more durable.
Options are:
12-27: 12-13-14-15-17-19-21-23-25-27 (268g)
12-30: 12-13-14-15-17-19-21-24-27-30 (300g)
