Campagnolo Announces Three New Groups
New products are launched all the time, and honestly, many are launched for the sole purpose of getting you to part with some dollars, not because they offer any true innovation or improvement. This is something we are sensitive to here at Bicycle Blue Book since we fully understand the value bikes a few years old have. We aren’t talking just about the used bike value in dollars(although it’s substantial!), but the value a tried and true bike has to its rider on the road. Quality products, tested over years that have withstood everything you and the weather can throw at them have earned our trust in a way no brand new product every can, regardless of how shiny and bright it may be. Now, a few years and miles down that road, the new product might have earned it, but you just never know.
Because of this only a few brands can make us really sit up and take notice when they launch something new. Campagnolo is one of those brands. There are Campy components still in service that had tens of thousands of miles on them before Shimano ever turned a pedal. No brand is more trusted, so its recent announcement of three new groups caught our attention, to say the least.
Already seen on many pro bikes throughout the season, Campagnolo has gone public with its new mechanical groups for 2015. Super Record, Record and Chorus all receive significant overhauls – in some ways incremental, in others quite dramatic – but all three groups aim to maintain the intangible Campagnolo quality.
• Squadre Corsa 2014 – The new Campagnolo group’s changes were tested extensively through incremental updates brought to pro riders with the SC-14 project and Super Record RS.
• Front Derailleur – A longer arm, similar to Dura Ace 9000, now provides more leverage to move the cable, requiring less at the levers. Super Record gets a full carbon outer cage.
• Rear Derailleur – New movement keeps the chain closer to the cassette, which wraps more chain around the cogs, resulting in longer life for both chain and cassette. This also ensures shifting in the 25, 27 and 29 cogs is as fast and crisp as shifting into the 11 or 12 cog.
• Ergopower Levers – The levers retain the same ergonomics but should interface more closely with a larger spectrum of bar shapes. Hypoallergenic silicon with multiple densities is now used as hood material.
• New Front Lever Commands – Two clicks now downshift to the small chain ring, while a third shift is used for trim. Shifting into the big ring requires three clicks, but no need to trim. The intent is to eliminate chain drops and chain rub, how this functions on bike will be interesting to discover.
• Cranksets – The cranks use a four arm spider, again similar to new Shimano groups, and use the same bolt circle diameter for both compact and standard chain rings. The result is a stiffer spider and crank arm with hidden bolt heads.
Pricing and availability is yet to be released. As groups sets arrive peloton magazine will bring you a detailed look at the group and the results of a long term road test.
For more info go to campagnolo.com
Bicycle Blue Book is the web’s most trusted marketplace to buy and sell used bikes and the web’s only accurate valuation guide. Posted by pelotonmagazine.com.
