Rumors Next Generation Campagnolo Road?

[rollinslow]

FWIW, I've heard there are no plans for going 2x13 within the new couple of years. I haven't heard about any other updates.

Surely they must be going eps with Ekar.. just to cope with all the fully internally routed bikes?

It would definitely make sense to have Ekar EPS.

[gwerziou]

There will be no further new EPS products; Campy has stated this unequivocally (is what I have read). The next gen electronic platform has been in development for a while. I wonder if it is wireless? I imagine they'll launch it for new versions of Ekar and road group(s) at the same time, or with only a brief delay.

[Bobbyc123]

Electronic shifting > Mechanical

That's v subjective. Riding both, the feedback you get from campag mechanical is incredible, I think it has a much better feel and the mechanical ergos are much more comfortable.

[Lina]

Electronic shifting > Mechanical

That's v subjective. Riding both, the feedback you get from campag mechanical is incredible, I think it has a much better feel and the mechanical ergos are much more comfortable.

This very much. I don't know why anyone would even want electronic Ekar, or any 1x from Campy if the option is mechanical Campy. The rear shifting is immaculate. FD, fully integrated bikes, and TT/Triathlon bikes make a use case for electronic. But seeing as at least not yet most gravel bikes aren't fully integrated there's absolutely no reason for electronic Ekar.

I've tried many shifting systems, both electronic and mechanical. Given a free choice of any groupset available to the market now, or even the new DA that's not even released yet, I'd take mechanical SR. You don't have to worry about charging batteries and the shifting is just as good as any other groupset available. For me the ergos are the best available. The downside is occasionally having to replace cables and fully integrated framesets. Given that I think full integration on road bikes is dumb I'm not losing much.

[neeb]

Hmm, I like both mechanical and electronic, but the shifting will always be different because with mechanical you always have to counteract the force of the rear derailleur parallelogram springs when shifting to larger sprockets. However much it is a tiny force and doesn't require much effort, you still need to press harder to shift in that direction, and if you are shifting several gears at the same time you also need to move your fingers considerably more, which in some hand positions can slightly affect the way you grip the bars. For many that will be a valid reason for choosing electronic over mechanical, while for others these "disadvantages" will actually be advantages because of the more positive, involving feel of mechanical shifting.

[bikewithnoname]

In case I missed something we're not actually expecting any changes to the 12Spd mech groups in the coming months other than an updated disc caliper design?

[Butcher]

I think when people say EPS Ekar, they are just talking about an electric shift. What platform they will use is not the question.

[usr]

There will be no further new EPS products; Campy has stated this unequivocally (is what I have read). The next gen electronic platform has been in development for a while. I wonder if it is wireless? I imagine they'll launch it for new versions of Ekar and road group(s) at the same time, or with only a brief delay.

Doesn't change the fact that "future EPS" is a far more practical term than "next generation of Campagnolo motor shifting that's rumored to do away with the EPS brand". Most likely the next generation will be just Super Record/Record/Chorus (or whatever words they'll choose this time) without any qualifier for an electronic version because there won't be another one. There simply aren't enough current frame lines left supporting mechanical to bother. Hopefully they'll at least keep the supply of current generation mechanical spares flowing, not just old stock until eventually running out.

[Butcher]

What he said. ^

How about 'The Groupset Formally Known as EPS'

[usr]

Obviously, TGFKAEPS must be spelled out as "the gruppo [FKAEPS]", not as "the groupset [FKAEPS]"

[rollinslow]

If Campy goes electronic only then the company is toast. They will never compete with Shimano and SRAM in that space. Campy should own mech IMO to be able to differentiate itself.

[Butcher]

Who said only electric?

Campagnolo only has to march to it's drum but I do not think that is the music they are playing. One fortunate thing about being family own, they can do whatever they wish. If they wish to close their doors, then I admire that. Shimano or Sram could not do that.

[gwerziou]

From what I've read (not too hard to find) Campy is committed to mechanical shifting, including further refinement and development. The patent applications for new derailleur designs and small changes to the shifter mechanism continue to come... On a slight tangent, I sure hope to see the Ekar 'C' shifter paddles made available to add to my SR shifters!

[usr]

They are a two hours ride from Favero which is an even smaller company and look how they are holding up in their market vs giants like Shimano. Bike electronics isn't something only a company the size of Apple could do, it's hardly more than dropping a few hundred lines of custom C++ on a controller available for cents and wiring it up with a servo motor.

In the Campagnolo price range, there isn't much market left for mechanical and it will continue to collapse the more "fully integrated cables" become the norm. Early "fully integrated" bent over backwards to offer integrated mechanical, but lately manufacturers have gone the way road of offering integrated only for electronic/hydro and maybe, perhaps keep a non-integrated option for mechanical. Which will certainly disappear as soon as electronic becomes available in all relevant price ranges. Completely owning old frame rebuilds and a subset of tailored frames would hardly count as a viable business option. I'm in absolutely no hurry to go electronic (and disc), I'm far more impressed with what groupsets can achieve in a purely mechanical way, but the ten years stalemate between electronic and mechanical is over, because lfully integrated" is so difficult to pull off well with bowden wires. In a way, mechanical shifting is a causality of the disc brake takeover, because if wired braking was still the norm nobody would mind shift cables. I'll be very happy if Campagnolo keeps making mechanical, perhaps even modernizing occasionally, but electronic will become the default version, I have no doubts about that.

Look for example at the builds offered of the Diamante SV: four group options, all electronic, and a Chorus "available August 2021". Do you think they'll suddenly add a mechanical frame variant? If they'd consider that they'd surly already sell it. Mechanical Chorus availability is surely no worse than for all the other groups.

[Butcher]

I do understand that electrical is here to stay but I cannot believe [in my lifetime] that mechanical will no longer be made. My crystal ball is about as good as anyone elses.

The reason I have electric is the lack of maintenance that is needed to keep it shifting correctly. As far as I'm concerned, there is none. I cannot say that about the SR11 I had for the couple years that I did.

The only settings I have to change is when I swap my climbing wheels or semi-compact crankset but that would apply to mechanical as well. As for battery issues, if your battery goes dead, that is not Campagnolo's fault. I cannot see my indicator lights [hidden] and I've never had an issue since it first came out in 2011 .

I can also believe the more speeds they have, cables will no longer be able to work that precisely. I'm surprised to see the Ekar working so well, especially in the environment that they are suppose to live in.