Wireless shifting, a 10t cassette sprocket and new chainring sizes for Campagnolo’s leaked Super Record WRL groupset

Is this Campagnolo’s new flagship road groupset?

By Oscar Huckle

Published: Wednesday, 15 March 2023 at 12:00 am

Campagnolo looks set to go fully wireless with its new 12-speed electronic groupset, dubbed Super Record WRL, while also ditching the brand’s iconic thumb shifter, according to an FCC licence filed by Campag and product leaks seen on retailer websites.

It’s no secret that a Campagnolo road groupset update is overdue, given the brand hasn’t updated any of its line-up since 2019.

Now Campagnolo appears to be following SRAM in going full wireless and that appears, from this leak at least, to mean a whole new shifter design.

The new groupset also appears to use a 10-tooth starting sprocket on the cassette, new chainring sizes, Campagnolo’s ProTech bottom bracket and new disc brake rotors.

While all of this points to a revamped electronic groupset, the future of Campagnolo’s mechanical groupsets is unclear and it remains to be seen if Campagnolo will produce a rim brake variant of the new groupset.

Here’s what we know so far.

A new shifter arrangement

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The new shifters retain the angular and sculpted design.
Campagnolo

The current generation of Campagnolo Super Record EPS, introduced in 2019, is the only electronic groupset of ‘the big three’ (Shimano, SRAM and Campagnolo) to run wires from the shifters to the derailleurs.

SRAM’s eTap AXS ecosystem is fully wireless and Shimano’s 12-speed Di2 road groupsets are semi-wireless (the shifters communicate wireless but the derailleurs are wired to a central battery).

The FCC (Federal Communications Commission) is an American body that regulates communications through cable, radio, wires, satellite and television. As well as being wireless, Campagnolo’s filings, first reported by road.cc, show a different shifter arrangement to what we’re used to, with the brand’s trademark thumb shifter seemingly consigned to history.

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Both shift functions are now integrated into one paddle.
Campagnolo

Instead, the shifter paddle features two separate buttons – one for up-shifts and the other for down-shifts. The brake lever continues to only be used for braking.

This shifting arrangement is similar to FSA’s K-Force WE, although it’s important to note the buttons don’t appear to be shared on one rocker paddle.

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CR2032 batteries are pretty commonplace.
Campagnolo

The shifters are powered by a CR2032 coin battery, which is stored on the side of the shifter.

This can be replaced by peeling the rubber hood cover back.

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The details are in plain sight under the hoods.
Campagnolo

The shifter body is given the product code ‘EP23-SRD12XXX’. Breaking this down:

  • EP stands for Ergopower (Campagnolo’s term for its controls)
  • 23 for the year of release
  • SR for Super-Record
  • D for Disc
  • 12 for 12-speed

We’re not sure what the ‘XXX’ in the product code stands for at this stage.

This appears to confirm the system is 12-speed.

It has been suggested Campagnolo may move to 13-speed for its road groupsets, following its 1x-specific Ekar gravel groupset.

Revised hood shape

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There’s less height to this new lever.
Campagnolo

Elsewhere, the hood shape looks to be a little shorter in height than the existing shifters.

The current Super Record EPS disc brake shifter is 8mm taller than the rim brake shifter.

However, the distance between the top of the brake lever and the top of the hood looks shorter on these new shifters.

The hood cover itself also looks to have been redesigned, with some added texturing and contouring.

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The current generation Super Record EPS shifters are a thing of beauty.
Oscar Huckle / Our Media

The shifter shown in the images accompanying the FCC application appears to be fairly rough, so we expect this a pre-production sample.

No details on the front or rear derailleurs feature in the FCC application.

Moving away from the shifters…

Further details of the groupset have leaked on several retailer websites.

It looks like the new groupset will be called Campagnolo Super Record WRL.

The listings further confirm the system is 12-speed, with all of the components featuring a 12 at some point in their name.

10t cassette sprockets

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The Super Record cassettes will now start with a smaller 10t cog, according to this retailer spec.
Northwest Bicycle

There are three cassette sizes listed – 10-25t, 10-27t and 10-29t.

Like SRAM, Campagnolo appears to be moving to a 10t starting sprocket for Super Record WRL.

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The N3W freehub is a shortened version of Campagnolo’s existing road design. It was introduced with the Ekar gravel groupset.
Matthew Loveridge / Immediate Media

When Campagnolo announced its Ekar groupset, it introduced a new freehub standard called N3W (Next Three Ways), allowing the use of a 9t starting cog.

Campagnolo might be opting to start this new groupset with a 10t cog, rather an 9t, to reduce the impact on drivetrain efficiency – smaller cogs are less efficient and, as we expect this will be a 2x setup, the wide range offered by a 9t cog isn’t required (Ekar is a 1x drivetrain).

New chainring sizes

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52/36t and 53/39t cranksets appear to be no more.
Northwest Bicycle

Given the smaller starting sprocket will give a harder low gear than an 11t cog, Campagnolo also looks to have revised the chainring options available for the groupset.

The listings suggest three options – 50/34t, 48/32t and 45/29t.

This may appear small compared to traditional crankset sizes, but the increased range offered by the 10t cog means most riders should find sufficient range with chainring options outlined so far.

However, pro riders are known to prefer larger chainrings. SRAM, for example, had to bring a pro-only range of chainrings (52/39t, 54/41t and 56/43t) to suit the demands of more powerful riders.

We wouldn’t be surprised to see the brand offer larger chainring options for its pro teams, especially given Super Record WRL will be the groupset of choice for most Campagnolo-sponsored teams.

Shimano, meanwhile, has steadfastly stuck with the 11t starting sprocket and has retained more traditional 54/40t, 52/36t and 50/34t chainring options for Dura-Ace R9200.

SRAM, on the other hand, rewrote the chainring rule book when it introduced a 10t cassette sprocket, opting for 50/37t, 48/35t and 46/33t chainring options for consumers for Red (SRAM also offers 1x chainring options).

Campagnolo looks to be positioning itself somewhere between its competitors. The brand previously only offered a 48/32t crankset on its Chorus 12 groupset, with the 45/29t a new option.

ProTech bottom brackets

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ProTech was also introduced on Campagnolo’s Ekar groupset.

The listings suggest the cranksets will use Campagnolo’s ProTech bottom brackets.

Campagnolo introduced its ProTech bottom bracket system on its Ekar gravel groupset.

These feature additional sealing and a sleeve connecting the cups to further protect against dirt.

When Ekar launched, Campagnolo said it planned to adopt this standard for all new products, so it doesn’t come as a surprise to see it here.

Will the EPS name remain?

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Will the EPS name live on?

While EPS (Electronic Power Shift, the name of Campagnolo’s existing electronic drivetrain) doesn’t appear to feature in the product name, it doesn’t appear to be the end of the line for the moniker.

The front derailleur confirms the component as having ‘EPS cable pull’ and the rear derailleur has an ‘EPS spring type’.

The FCC documents strongly suggest the front and rear derailleurs are wireless as they refer to the derailleurs as having a battery.

New disc brake rotors

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New disc brake rotors appear to be on the horizon, too.
Northwest Bicycle

It also looks like there’ll be new disc brake rotors as ‘Campagnolo Super Record WRL 140mm center lock’ and ‘Campagnolo Super Record WRL 160mm center lock’ rotors are listed on the retailer specs we seen.

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Campagnolo’s road groupsets have previously shared the same disc rotor, pictured here.
Robin Wilmott / Immediate Media

Campagnolo currently has one disc brake rotor for its road bike groupsets called the ‘AFS Disc Rotor’, shared across Centaur, Chorus, Record and Super-Record.

Ekar features its own specific stainless steel rotor made from stainless steel for improved durability.

When will Campagnolo Super Record WRL be released?

Brands submit products for review by the FCC when they are near, or close, to the production stage.

This filing indicates Campagnolo is nearly ready to bring Super Record WRL to market, though it gives no indication as to when we’ll actually see the groupset specced on bikes.

For example, we spotted an FCC filing for what appears to be a new SRAM Apex AXS groupset back in December 2022, but we’re yet to see anything official from the brand.

Given how long it has been since Campagnolo last released a new road groupset, we expect the brand will want to make a splash with the launch of Super Record WRL.

With that in mind, Campagnolo may align the launch of the groupset with either the Giro de Italia or Tour de France, most likely teased on the bikes of AG2R-Citroen – the one remaining WorldTour team that still uses Campagnolo groupsets.

Ultimately, however, Campagnolo is tight-lipped on a new road groupset, so watch this space. When we know more, you’ll know more.