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Hands on: Campagnolo Super Record, Record 12-speed road drivetrain in depth

Campagnolo Super Record 12-speed Movement 12 mechanical shift hydraulic disc brake carbon road bike groupset Cannondale Synapse new twelve-speed drivetrain
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This morning Campagnolo unveiled the first production ready 12-speed road bike drivetrain, built on a wide-range, tightly-spaced cassette fitting in existing 11-speed spacing. But there are more updates to the two top-level Super Record & Record gruppos from all new derailleurs to cranksets, even series branded disc brakes. And we have all the tech details.

Campagnolo Super Record & Record 12-speed in detail

Campagnolo took the opportunity to tweak the design of their cranksets, unifying disc and rim bike versions into one. The rear derailleur gets a full overhaul to shift across that larger cluster, and the front derailleur geometry gets tweaked for faster shifts & easier setup. Of course you are going to need a new set of Ergopower lever to actuate those 12-speed shifts, and it also allowed Campagnolo to improve the feel of the rim brake levers. Rim brakes get updated too for more modern functionality. And lastly, the disc brake Ergopowers get updated internals.

Super Record & Record cranksets

The new cranksets get a smoother, more aero look that highlights the overall angular aesthetic that will probably be a love or hate thing. Super Record is probably the most divisive with its new carbon brace that is said to reinforce the outer chainring at its highest point of torque input for more precise power transmission & shifting. The Super Record crank gets hollow carbon construction, and a titanium spindle, in addition to CULT ceramic bearings.

The Record crank without the carbon chainring brace uses a solid carbon construction, a steel bottom bracket spindle, and USB ceramic bearings. Both cranks retain Campy’s narrow 145.5mm Q-factor and still use a Ultra Torque spindle bolt, although now shifted to the non-driveside. The 4-bolt design retains the same separate 112mm & 145mm BCD for each ring as the previous generation of cranks, but does have its own new rings with a new two-stage hard anodizing treatment and new symmetrical teeth on the inner ring for lower friction while cross chaining.

Both new cranks will be available in 165, 170, 172.5 & 175mm arm lengths. And both can be spec’ed with 50/34, 52/36 or 53/39 rings using the same crankset (no different standard vs. compact cranks arms.)

Also Campagnolo has moved with the new cranksets to a new chainring position that somewhat splits the difference between H11 disc brake specific (or rather 135/142mm spacing-specific) and 11-speed rim brake specific (130mm rear end spacing-specific) cranksets. No more separate cranks depending on your brakes or rear end spacing. Just one happy medium crankset for both.

Super Record & Record rear derailleur

The new rear derailleurs get equally striking aesthetics. They both feature a new upper body with long strand carbon fibers reinforcing their molded engineered polymer (fancy reinforced plastic).  The derailleurs have a completely new layout to their linkages to optimize movement across the larger 11-29 & 11-32 cassettes, while keeping the upper pulley farther forward to maximize chain wrap around the cogs.

Both Super Record & Record will be available in a single medium cage only design with large 12T pulley wheels to work with the two cassettes available (and even with a possible future smaller cassette.) Pulley wheels get longer teeth up top, chamfered & shorter down below for low friction running – and red CULT ceramic pulley bearings for Super Record & USB bearings for Record.

With the move to 12 speeds, Campy also designed thinner internal cage to keep the new derailleurs even further from the spokes. Super Record gets a carbon outer cage with an alloy inner, while Record uses two alloy cages.

Most interesting about the new derailleurs is the new direct mount hanger option with a single derailleur design. The upper link is simply removable from behind the upper knuckle and the derailleur can be bolted to a frame with a direct mount for more precise shifting.

Super Record & Record front derailleur

While not 12-speed specific in its updates the Super Record & Record front derailleurs get an all new design as well, while retaining Campy trim functionality. Both spec levels are essentially the same outside of the more shaped carbon outer cage of Super Record, with both featuring thinner cage designs to allow more extreme chain angles.

Both use the new design that Campagnolo says separates the traditional upper/outer lever arm of the front derailleur into two individual and lower profile elements. Now with a lower external rod and an upper semi-rod lever attached to the cable, Campy claims a smoother, faster movement of the derailleur. We’re not entirely clear why this arrangement would speed shifts, but paired with the updated shift levers, there is a noticeably more immediate movement of the derailleur when you throw the shift lever.

More importantly is probably that the front mechs allow for the cable to be clamped to either side of the upper arm thanks to a reversible clamp. This should help provide more tire clearance on some bikes with short chainstays/large volume tires, or just allow for the most efficient cable routing possible on a wider range of frames.

Super Record & Record rim brake Ergopower shift/brake levers

courtesy Campagnolo, photo by Pablo Moreno

The rim brake Ergopower shift/brake levers get a pretty significant update with improved ergonomics. Campagnolo has reshaped a new outward curve to the double bend brake lever, that is a bit wider, a bit curvier, and more closely resembles the updates that H11 got last year. The rim brake Ergopowers also now get both larger, more curved up and down shift levers for easier shifting, with the upshift lever tucked more tightly against the back of the brake lever.

The pivot point of the brake lever also moves down slightly to better align with the bar top for a more comfortable motion. Above that pivot, Campagnolo has reworked their standard brake cable quick release button to include a third position for a more customizable fit for riders with small hands.

The levers now have: open, long reach, and short reach positions that allow full brake lever function.

Internals of course get updated to 12-speed, but still keep the same ‘one lever, one action’ for intuitive shifting and the same UltraShift tech for up to five combined downshifts at once or up to three upshifts.

Campy also seems pretty excited about new smoother, lower friction cables & housing. They apparently use a teflon coating, but it is much longer lasting than before, not degrading noticeably with regular use.

Super Record & Record aero rim brake calipers

Both groups also get overhaul rim brake calipers to compliment the new Ergopowers. Gone is the open Skeleton design, in favor of a more aerodynamic shape. The Skeleton shaping continues internally to keep things light but now with a sleek outer profile. Both Super Record & Record get their own branded traditional single bolt brakes now with room for at least 28mm tires.

A new direct mount set of rim brake calipers have also been developed, but get generic non-series Campagnolo branding to work with either groupset. The big improvement in the direct mount calipers is a new integrated brake brace that stiffens the brakes for improved performance without transmitting braking force into spreading the bike’s stays. They also get more tire clearance for at least 30mm tires.

All of the new caliper brakes upgrade from the previous generation’s bushings to new bearing pivots, and include a new light brake shoe design with a tool free pad release.

Super Record & Record disc brake Ergopower shift/brake levers

The disc brake Ergopower shift/brake levers are functionally the same as the current H11 Ergopowers with respect to braking. That certainly isn’t a bad thing as we have found them to deliver among the best hydraulic road disc braking on the market. They still use the same universal H11 master cylinder for reliable, performance braking and interchangeability, the same adjustable reach, the same adjustable leverage ratio, and the same overall hood ergonomics.

The key improvement here is that like the cranks, each group gets its own branded levers. Super Record gets hollowed out carbon brake levers, while Record gets just the single hole to access their adjustment screw.

Inside they get new 12-speed UltraShift internals to control the new rear  derailleur, and also less free stroke in both shift levers before an upshift movement starts to move. That partly works to deliver excellent fast shifting due to the improved, longer lasting teflon coated mechanical shift cables that Campy has developed and spec’ed.

Super Record & Record disc brake calipers

The hydraulic brake calipers and rotors themselves remain unchanged as well. Here the stay without branding to keep things simple with no difference between Super Record & Record (or to 11-speed Super Record, Record, Chorus, or even Potenza for that matter.) They stick with the same organic resin brake pads, and industry leading 0.4mm guaranteed pad retraction thanks to the magic of magnets.

12-speed cassettes & chains

Campagnolo Super Record 12-speed Movement 12 mechanical shift hydraulic disc brake road bike groupset new twelve-speed drivetrain rear end

We’ve already detailed what’s new in the cassette and chain department, since those are the real core of what sets these new group sets apart. To get into the details of the all-new steel cassettes available in 11-29 & 11-32 gearing, or the new 5.08mm wide R12 chain, check out our first Campy 12-speed article.

New 12-speed wheel options?

Campagnolo Bora WTO carbon tubeless aerodynamic wind tunnel optimized aero wheels Bora 60 WTO Wilier

OK, so you don’t really need new 12-speed wheels. Remember that the new cassette maintains the same overall width as 11-speed, so all of your current Campagnolo wheels are still compatible. But that hasn’t stopped Campy from developing more and more wheels, especially with the growth of aero profiles and disc brakes. Today Campagnolo also unveiled their most aero wheels yet – the rim brake tubeless carbon Bora WTO series for your aero road race bike.

They also have a new clincher version of their deeper carbon disc brake Bora One 50 DB wheelset like we saw last spring in 35mm or 50mm in tubular only. Then there will be a new tubeless-ready aluminum Scirocco DB 2WF clincher wheelset, and a budget friendly aluminum reworking of the rim brake Khamsin clinchers. All of those use Campy’s wider C17 & C19 (17 &19mm internal) rim profiles and will be available June/July 2018. The promising looking tubeless-ready aluminum Shamal Ultra 2WF clinchers are expected to also hit the market finally this summer.

Why is there no 12-speed EPS?

Maybe the better question is when is 12-speed EPS coming? Campagnolo has decided to put its focus in getting mechanical Record and Super Record groupsets out to customers first this summer. Announcing Record & Super Record at the same time, in both rim & disc brake variants, there are already four groupsets to manage here. As we have seen with Campy’s big Japanese groupset competitor, it is very difficult to mage the logistics of such an introduction, resulting in delayed deliveries of a year or more. Campy did pretty well of offering even limited groupset availability of their new H11 components last summer/fall, so it looks like they are trying to not get in over their heads.

Campagnolo has confirmed that an electronic 12-speed gruppo is in fact in development. And it will hopefully be announced by the end of 2018. Campy’s pro teams demand the fast & reliable performance of EPS for competition, so we’ll likely spot them on a Super Record EPS version of the 12-speed drivetrain first, possibly even through the summer racing season.

Groupset Pricing & Availability

Campagnolo has said that all of the new 12-speed components should be available by mid summer. 12-speed mechanical Super Record with rim brakes should come first in late May 2018 at a complete group price of $3195/2915€ and at 2041g total.  Record with rim brakes will be next sometime in June 2018 at $2175/1960€ and 2213g.

12-speed mechanical Super Record with hydraulic disc  brakes should come next in late June/early July 2018 at a complete group price of $3600/3199€ and a total weight of 2323g. Record 12 with disc brakes will be the last available later in July 2018 at $2750/2395€ and 2453g. (All EU pricing including VAT.)

Campagnolo OEM bikes

Besides individual groupsets, big news is that Campagnolo has secured OEM distribution deals with many premier bike makers, lured by the first 12-speed road bike drivetrains to hit the market. We’ve seen rim brake bikes built up with Campy 12 from Basso, BH, Bianchi, Cannondale, Canyon, Cervelo, Cipollini, Colnago, De Rosa, Orbea, Ridley & Wilier.

And we’ve also seen (and at some points ridden) disc brake bikes built up with Campy 12 from Basso, BH, Bianchi, Cannondale, Canyon, Cervelo, Colnago, De Rosa, Orbea, Ridley & Wilier.

These may be your first opportunity to get ahold of a 12-speed road bike groupset…

Campagnolo.com

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Volsung
Volsung
6 years ago

That SR crankset is beautiful and I will fight anyone who disagrees with me.

Also it’s cool that it’s not the same as the Record and Chorus with a more expensive sticker slapped on.

David Milner
6 years ago
Reply to  Volsung

I wasn’t that keen on the new design myself until I saw that Wilier above – absolutely gorgeous. (OK, it’s Record, not SR, but still – beautiful…)

blah blah blah
blah blah blah
6 years ago
Reply to  Volsung

it better be beautiful because you’ll never be able to remove it and i bet Campagnolo have come up with a better system in which once they are fitted to your bike, all the cranks on your other bikes will no longer be removable regardless of brand!. And also wtf with the pedal insert on the record crank dodgy asf

Dominic
Dominic
6 years ago
Reply to  blah blah blah

Dodgy? That’ll be the grease, unless suddenly their crank factory fell off a truck. Never be able to remove it? Are you talking about Powertorque cranks? Ya, super ill advised design. But the Ultratorque cranks are a doddle to install, remove, maintain.

Crash Bandicoot
Crash Bandicoot
6 years ago

Very excited this announcement was made after the Dura-Ace, Ultegra, and 105 updates as my 6800 drivetrain will still be serviceable for the next few years.

MilesV
MilesV
6 years ago

I understand that Super Record and Record are aimed at the race crowd, but with 12 speeds, why stop at a 32-tooth cog? There’s a whole world of gravel/adventure/not-just-for racing bikes out there, now, along with a lot of actual riders who would appreciate lower gearing. I know… I should just ride more, lose weight, not be old and lame, etc. If that’s your attitude, good for you. You are clearly superior in all ways. But I (and a bunch of other folks) would still like a high quality, readily-available, not cobbled together option for everyday, all day, anywhere riding. A crankset that will accept a 30 tooth inner ring and a 44 or 46 outer. A 36, or even a 40, cog on the back. Campy had a chance to crack open the market. Instead, they gave us an extra gear, and no more available range than we already have.

Brad Comis (@BradComis)
Reply to  MilesV

Maybe that’ll be in the update to Potenza or Chorus. Record on a gravel bike might be a bit overkill.

MilesV
MilesV
6 years ago

Perhaps. I love Campy and have had more than a few Campy-equipped bikes, over the years, but they are chasing an increasingly narrow slice of the market.

Shimano has released a clutch-equipped derailleur for Ultregra (RX), so maybe there’s more in the works, from them (low range crank, pretty please). I was hoping that the new 105 would expand the range, but it mirrors the Ultregra offerings. Another missed opportunity, if you ask me.

BNystrom
BNystrom
6 years ago
Reply to  MilesV

While I can live with the 32t max and really don’t need it for the road, I would really like to see cassettes that start with a more practical and useful 12T cog instead of an 11. Perhaps we’ll see that when Chorus gets upgraded.

I agree that a sub-compact crank would be great, but Campy’s focus seems to be too much on racing and not enough on us ageing Baby Boomers who can actually afford to buy their products. They seem to be rather oblivious to the direction of the broader market, which is definitely toward “all-road / gravel” bikes. I guess I’ll have to stick with my 10-speed gear for a while longer and wait to see if they figure it out eventually.

Salva
Salva
6 years ago
Reply to  BNystrom

I think you can thank the 32t if you climb the Angliru peak

lop
lop
6 years ago

The smartest thing Campy did here was hold off on EPS. By the time they got their first and second generation electronic shifting out to the market, it was nearly obsolete. Meanwhile, the multi-group rollout has really hamstrung Shimano. Smarter to take a wait-and-see approach, giving you time to incorporate some of your competitors’ ideas and build a decent inventory.

lop
lop
6 years ago
Reply to  lop

Oh, and securing OEM deals.

Tom
Tom
6 years ago

campy just copies shimano. they made the crank arm thick like current shimano. the stiffener is a response to the asym bolt circle shimano uses (to concentrate strength at area of most stress). i’m surprised campy didn’t do the asym bolt circle but shimano prolly has a patent on that.

so they beat shimano to 12sp. BFD.

JBikes
JBikes
6 years ago
Reply to  Tom

So your argument for copying Shimano is based on a single component? Can you state what else Campy has copied Shimano on?

Shafty
Shafty
6 years ago
Reply to  JBikes

The derailleur revisions look to be heavily influenced by Shimano’s current designs. The linkage driven FD, and the RD similar to Shadow with the extra link.

Get ready for road direct mount hangers!

JBikes
JBikes
6 years ago
Reply to  Shafty

I’d say almost all bike related things could be said to be “heavily influenced” by a preceding product.
Its a bike. There aren’t millions of ways to design components.
As for copying…what wrong with it. What if a competitor has a great design? Should you a) realize it and use it or b) use an inferior design.
Its impossible for every single company to have different yet equally superior designs in all things.

Volsung
Volsung
6 years ago
Reply to  Tom

The Shimano 7,8,9000 series cranks are campy clones from the 2015 release.

But they were probably all being developed at the same time and there’s only a few ways a crank can functionally evolve.

JBikes
JBikes
6 years ago

Some of these comments are almost like some would prefer one manufacturer to beat our all others with the end result a monopoly.

Everyone should be ecstatic that they have 3 viable, high performing component manufacturers with which to choose from (and benefit from their competition). Competition is great for the consumer and the product.

And people seem to take personal ownership on stuff they don’t make. “Tom” above for example. I’m assuming Tom isn’t heir to SRAM or Shimano throne or didn’t design it with his sweat and blood, so the rabid take on Campagnolo coming out with a new evolution of road gear is really, really strange. It seems like Campy especially is doomed regardless of what they do. Do nothing – “they don’t innovate!” Produce something new – “they just copy! shame.”

Kernel Flickitov
Kernel Flickitov
6 years ago
Reply to  JBikes

I agree with you, but this is the BR comment section after all. There is no ‘check your flame bait at the door’ policy here. The trolls can post anything they want and as far removed from fact as it can be, as long as the language is tolerable.

mike
mike
6 years ago
Reply to  JBikes

Madness eh, I have one bike on Sram Rival/Force, one bike on Shimano 105, and if I get a bonus this year I’ll be building up a steel disc frame with Campag Potenza, can’t wait!

Tom in MN
Tom in MN
6 years ago

I’d be interested to see that front derailleur in action as Shimano had to completely dump the long arm design, while Champy seems to have kept it somehow. The long arm sticking straight up generates almost no leverage at first and makes for a very hard initial lever action.

Francisco
Francisco
6 years ago
Reply to  Tom in MN

Very hard!? Have you tried it? It is actually smooth and light.

Steve
Steve
6 years ago
Reply to  Francisco

I agree with Tom. It’s a smooth action overall, especially with the polymer cables, but it can sometimes be difficult to get it moving. Depending on the exact travel of the cable from frame up to the derailleur, the cable sometimes passes almost directly over the pivot of the long arm, providing very little leverage at first.

mud+rock
mud+rock
6 years ago

So, what about the test ride?

ed
ed
6 years ago

I don’t begin to believe for a second that mechanical 12 isn’t going to be a maintenance nightmare. the slightest bit of dirt will cause chainrub noise. I am so not going there. I have really fallen out of sync with the industry, everything non standard, 1x’s, 12 rear ends… I am going to stop buying new stuff, stock up on normal bikes so they last me till I’m too old to ride.

Morten Reippuert
Morten Reippuert
6 years ago
Reply to  ed

was said about 9 speed, 10 speed and 11 speed – yet the 11 speed chains from campy and Wipperman are the longest lasting, most silent and least prone to fail out there. narrower is actually better.

Threeringcircus
Threeringcircus
6 years ago

“narrower is actually better”…agreed. IMO, that’s the gem of the progression from 9 to 10 to 11. Jury is out on 12 and going further may become finicky, but with the narrower spacing you can run a cog or two less than spec (e.g. right now I have 9 cogs from an 11 speed cassette) and really improve chainline on a 130 rear end. I don’t have any need for additional cogs, especially if range isn’t expanded, but the narrower spacing has been welcome.

John
John
6 years ago

That rear derailleur design with all the cages around the jockey wheels is going to be a royal b**** to clean.

iiwas
6 years ago

The detail photo of the new rear derailleur shows a bike with typical Cannondale green, but there’s no complete Cannondale bike pic in the gallery, even though Cannondale is listed as an OEM. Could this be their upcoming aero bike, which BR isn’t allowed to show yet?

Dylan
Dylan
6 years ago
Reply to  iiwas

The Cannondale is the very first bike pictured in the article, just below the headline. It’s not a new aero model.

BNystrom
BNystrom
6 years ago
Reply to  Dylan

It appears to be a SuperSix Evo Disc.

Bill
Bill
6 years ago

I loved campy for years, but the 11 speed groups inability to stay adjusted if they get sneezed at made it impractical for racing. I can’t imagine what 12 will be like. Switched to Shimano years ago and haven’t looked back.

David Jones
David Jones
6 years ago
Reply to  Bill

“I loved campy for years, but the 11 speed groups inability to stay adjusted if they get sneezed at made it impractical for racing.”
Yea, Nibali won the TDF of 11-speed Campy mechanical a few years back. Impractical indeed. lol

Collin S
Collin S
6 years ago

The unidirectional carbon fiber is kind of ugly. I love the look of the previous generation campy stuff. I actually just pulled the trigger last week on a Chorus groupset. I just hope that when the other brands go to (the very un-necessary) 12 speed, the spacing is the same between the three brands. 11 speed is nice that they are all the same spacing so you don’t have to change out every cassette and freehub body in your collection.

Mac
Mac
6 years ago

Pretty cool stuff. But I find their disc calipers somewhat comical. Compared to everything else, the finish and graphics are about as low rent as possible. They may perform well but IMO they say “We don’t care about these and you shouldn’t either. Use rim brakes”.

RobertW
RobertW
6 years ago

I don’t want 12 cogs on my road bike.

MaraudingWalrus
6 years ago
Reply to  RobertW

Nobody is making you buy it; so that works out nicely, then.

Threeringcircus
Threeringcircus
6 years ago
Reply to  RobertW

Me either. I didn’t see a need for 11. But I like the narrower spacing. If you drop a cog or two from an 11 speed cassette, space it outboard and adjust the lower limit screw on the RD you get a 9 or 10 cog setup with improved chainline. Don’t see why you couldn’t do the same with 12 speed.

Robin
Robin
6 years ago

When is the BikeRumor Campy 12 Spd Gruppo giveaway?

MaxG.
MaxG.
6 years ago

The 12s narrower chain will most defiantly be the end of 10/11s chainsets (as it fit between the chainrings).
Bad news for people with powermeters, especially those who use longer or shorter cranks.
The newest 11sp left shifter already has to short throw for older cranks. Progress I guess.

Must say that Campa really start to spread thin, what are there now 4-5 Record versions?
Sparepart nightmare, but who cares about spareparts when you can buy new stuff.
Otherwise a 11-32 12s would be useful.

JBikes
JBikes
6 years ago
Reply to  MaxG.

As someone that just bought an H11 Record set ($50 more than Chorus) it’s annoying yeah. But all component oem’s make money by selling new stuff. I’d suspect I’d be out of spare parts very quickly if Campy’s main business model was to keep me going on my old 10 spd daytona (bulletproof btw)…and that’s because they’d be out of business.

People with powermeters…I’m assuming they will be able to find replacement cassettes and chains in 10/11spd for at least a decade.

EPS.Owner
EPS.Owner
6 years ago

I don’t see why Campagnolo cannot offer a firmware update for those with H11 EPS shifters, V3 DTI and V3 EPU to get them compatible with 12 speed. Then it’s just RD, FD and cassette to go 12 speed.

EPS.Owner
EPS.Owner
6 years ago
Reply to  EPS.Owner

Oh, and crank. Big deal. The shifters are ridiculously expensive on H11 and can’t see 12 speed being any cheaper. It’s just programming, not lever function that has any changes.

John Tharp
John Tharp
6 years ago

I just had the Super Record groupset delivered for a lugged steel frame I built, and I can confirm that it is gorgeous. Technical details aside, I can’t stop looking at the stuff, and at least for me, a pretty bike is the kind I want to ride most. I’m excited to try it for the first time this weekend.

Trevor
Trevor
6 years ago
Reply to  John Tharp

What are your thoughts on the group!

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