First 13-speed groupset: Campagnolo Super Record 13 on test

When Campagnolo invited selected journalists to its headquarters in Vicenza at the end of May, the company enticed them with superlatives. Against the backdrop of the Giro d'Italia, which was taking place in the immediate vicinity, they were invited to attend a very special event. The bicycle component manufacturer wanted to open no less than a completely new chapter in the company's history and fundamentally reorganise the future of the traditional brand. Big words from a company that not only the brand's loyal fans have been worried about in recent years: Not too much is left of the monument-like fame of the former industry leader, the inventor of the quick release and the parallelogram rear derailleur, which helped shape the technical development of the road bike for decades. The Italians no longer play a significant role as a supplier of new racing bikes. The competition from Japan and the USA has long since overtaken them and is more or less dividing the market between them. Road cyclists who have only taken up the sport in recent years are often no longer familiar with the once illustrious name. As a supplier of road bike components, the brand was in danger of slipping into insignificance. A new start is therefore urgently needed.

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Turnaround in corporate policy?

Now has Campa with the Super Record 13 presented a completely newly developed, wireless and electronically shifting road bike groupset. Many a guest who had travelled from afar might have been a little disappointed, as the drivetrain had already been raced a week earlier at the Giro start in Albania and had long since been discussed on all the relevant digital platforms with pictures and text. And isn't a new drivetrain the order of the day for a component manufacturer? If you believe the words of boss and founder's son Valentino Campagnolo at the official presentation, there is actually more to it than "just" a new, slightly refined product. The group is only the first building block of a new company policy. The system is intended to represent a milestone for the tradition-steeped company in several respects.

First 13-speed gearstick on the market

First of all, it is the first and so far only 13-speed groupset for road bikes. In this context, the image of a new chapter in the company's history fits very well, as the Italians have always been the first to introduce an eighth, ninth, tenth, eleventh and twelfth sprocket on the rear wheel in recent decades, thereby launching new generations of drivetrain technology. The debate as to whether or not the additional sprocket was needed was always reignited in specialist circles and at regulars' tables and became redundant at the latest when the competition followed suit; we don't want to get into it here either. It can be assumed that an additional sprocket always makes sense because it simply allows more riding situations to be covered with a suitable gear ratio; it can also be assumed that the developers, who are extremely experienced with the mechanics, have the whole thing technically under control.

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At least during the test ride in the hills around Vicenza and a test phase lasting several days in the editorial office, the gearing gave no indication that the number of sprockets could become a problem. On the contrary, we were regularly happy to be able to use the very fine gradation or to have another uphill gear that you wouldn't have with a similarly graded twelve-speed cassette. The gearing of the Super Record 13 can also be customised to suit your needs - and to an extent that no other manufacturer offers. There is a choice of three cassettes; the smallest (10-29) carries nine sprockets in a row with just one tooth between them, while the largest (11-36) still carries six. There are also a total of seven (!) different chainring combinations from 45/29 to 53/39.

Everything from gravel bikes to aero racers can be customised with it. The positive impression also includes the fact that the drive runs extremely quietly. A new type of chrome coating, which makes the chain and sprockets appear in dark grey instead of shiny silver, should contribute to this. It should also make the wearing parts more durable and reduce friction. Whether this measure is actually effective, or whether the meticulous adjustment and lubrication of the gears ex works allowed our test bike to shift quietly and smoothly, remains to be seen in more intensive tests. The front derailleur works with a relatively loud motor noise; our initial impression is that the front derailleurs of the Shimano Ultegra Di2 and SRAM Red AXS 2024 also a little faster. The new, extremely delicately designed Campa rear derailleur is supposed to change gears much faster than before, but this is hardly noticeable and certainly not decisive for the race.

From a technical point of view, a second feature should qualify the Super Record 13 as a milestone: Despite more gear ratios, it is said to be the lightest groupset on the market. With the extensive use of carbon and titanium screws wherever possible, the developers have saved gram after gram. Campagnolo states a weight of 2,445 grams, but does not specify which exact specification this applies to. Our test group weighs slightly more, at just over 2,600 grams it would be slightly behind the competitors from Shimano and SRAM. However, it has a power meter; the crank without power measurement should be significantly lighter. The weights of the drivetrain components are also not directly comparable, as we only weighed smaller cassettes (28 and 30 teeth instead of 10-33) for SRAM and Shimano. In a comparable set-up, the weight should therefore be closer to that of the competitors. At this level, however, the ranking is ultimately irrelevant because details such as the length of the cables and the gear ratios determine whether a groupset weighs slightly more or less than the competition. The fact that the new Super Record reaches the weight level of the competition despite having one more sprocket can definitely be seen as a success in Vicenza.

Return to the thumb switch

The operation of the gears and brakes is likely to be discussed more intensively than the weight, especially the return of the thumb shifter. The button on the inside of the grip humps was once a unique selling point of the mechanical Campa groupsets and contributed significantly to their unmistakable character. With the last electronic wireless groupset, however, this became two buttons on the outside of the brake lever, one on top of the other - which earned Campagnolo a lot of criticism. The return to the tried and tested concept should please many users. The new shift button is located relatively far back and can be easily operated from the lower handlebar grip. Unlike the last EPS thumb button, however, it sits too close to the handlebars to be reached comfortably with the thumb from the brake lever position - you would have to twist your hands a little to reach it and can no longer pull hard on the brake levers at the same time. Medium-sized hands can also reach it from the underside with the middle finger, which, for us at least, proves to be the more comfortable option for relaxed cruising, but even then you lose control of the brake lever.

Super operating concept

For hectic racing situations, we would also put the shift function on the small buttons on the inside of the grip humps. They are also new and, without exaggeration, by far the best of their kind. They are raised and therefore easy to feel, provide excellent feedback - unlike with SRAM and Shimano - and the thumb is in the same place most of the time anyway. Alternatively, the buttons can also be assigned to other functions using the corresponding app, for example to control the bike computer.

The newly shaped brake levers also deserve praise, as they leave plenty of room for large hands, but are also easy to reach with short fingers. The grip bodies are slightly slimmer and flatter on the upper side, while the brake lever has a very ergonomic support surface for the fingers when braking hard. Apart from the slip-up on the previous model, great ergonomics have always been one of the Italians' strengths. This has been improved even further on the Super Record 13. The brakes remained unchanged, although the Italians were not lagging behind in this discipline. Although the new SRAM AXS brakes are currently considered by many to be the ultimate, the Campa stoppers were previously exemplary and are still competitive.

Need to catch up with the app

The app, on the other hand, has some catching up to do, as its range of functions does not yet go beyond the basics such as button assignment and battery charge level display. Campa had previously announced that it would soon introduce new functions, but this never materialised. On the other hand, the now discontinued group was only on the market for a short time. In order to round off the product and keep pace with the competition, the shift setting should at least be integrated. Campa has already taken a step in the right direction in terms of pricing: at 4300 euros (without power measurement), the Super Record 13 is around 900 euros below the previous price. This means that the drivetrain is still very expensive, but perhaps not quite as expensive as before.

However, that alone will not be enough to get back on a par with the competition in the short term. The team from Vicenza still has a lot of work to do to achieve this goal. New products have been announced, which, in addition to the precious items for the well-heeled, will once again form a broadly diversified product portfolio for all road cyclists: Cheaper versions are under discussion, as are gravel bike offshoots with 13 sprockets and a chainring. If these announcements are followed by action, there is a good chance that Campagnolo will gain some momentum and more attention in the world of road bikes and cycling. The past decades have shown that the products from Vicenza have what it takes to be as inspiring as they are competitive. Groups such as Chorus, Athena or Potenza were technically top class. It would be desirable for the Italians - for the sake of brand diversity and so that a few more chapters can be added to the company's glorious history.

The weights in comparison

The total weight of the components we weighed was slightly above the manufacturer's specification of 2,445 grams. However, the Campagnolo test group had an integrated power meter and a larger cassette than the comparable parts from Shimano and SRAM. In a comparable configuration, the weights should stabilise at a similar level.