The 'Un-Official' Campagnolo Ekar thread

[untarded]

It's been a loooong time since I've been excited about a campy groupset.

How much are kidneys fetching these days?

[jpw]

Originally Posted by untarded

It's been a loooong time since I've been excited about a campy groupset.

How much are kidneys fetching these days?

I'll broker it for you. I can get a good price for two.

[jpw]

I haven't used Campagnolo for years.


Does anyone find that the gear change lever on the side of the hood (the right hood for this new equipment) gets in the way of a natural hand position for the thumb when not changing gear?

[nighthawk]

Originally Posted by jpw

I haven't used Campagnolo for years.


Does anyone find that the gear change lever on the side of the hood (the right hood for this new equipment) gets in the way of a natural hand position for the thumb when not changing gear?

If you are asking about the new thumb shifter for ekar, I don’t think you’ll find many who have had the opportunity to try it yet.

If you mean Campagnolo downshifting in general, I find it the most natural and comfortable shifting, and the thumb shifter is not something i notice or think about when not shifting. My experience anyways.

[laupsi]

Originally Posted by nighthawk

If you mean Campagnolo downshifting in general, I find it the most natural and comfortable shifting, and the thumb shifter is not something i notice or think about when not shifting. My experience anyways.

second on this

[laupsi]

haven't read through the entire thread so forgive any redundancy, there's a lot of info/terminology for gravel w/this groupset. does it also have a niche w/mountain biking?

[Mark McM]

Originally Posted by laupsi

haven't read through the entire thread so forgive any redundancy, there's a lot of info/terminology for gravel w/this groupset. does it also have a niche w/mountain biking?

Not really. Ekar doesn't have a flat bar shifter, the smallest chainring is 38 teeth, and the narrow Q factor crank limits tire width. So, the it would really only work with the niche category of narrow tire drop bar MTBs - or in other words, gravel bikes

[Mark McM]

Maybe I missed this earlier, but apparently Ekar uses Power-Shift rather than Ultra-Shift (so it shifts to smaller sprockets only one at a time), which Campagnolo usually uses on its lower spec. groups. How do we feel about that?

[R3awak3n]

Originally Posted by Mark McM

Maybe I missed this earlier, but apparently Ekar uses Power-Shift rather than Ultra-Shift (so it shifts to smaller sprockets only one at a time), which Campagnolo usually uses on its lower spec. groups. How do we feel about that?

It kind of sucks and not because 1 click at a time but just because ultra shift feels so much better. But they had to save some money somewhere.

[FlashUNC]

Originally Posted by Mark McM

Maybe I missed this earlier, but apparently Ekar uses Power-Shift rather than Ultra-Shift (so it shifts to smaller sprockets only one at a time), which Campagnolo usually uses on its lower spec. groups. How do we feel about that?

Who wants a downshift lever that can ratchet through multiple gears on gravel? It seems like a recipe for people shifting multiple gears accidentally when bouncing over the rough stuff. One gear at a time makes way more sense, especially for a 1x group.

[bicycletricycle]

Originally Posted by FlashUNC

Who wants a downshift lever that can ratchet through multiple gears on gravel? It seems like a recipe for people shifting multiple gears accidentally when bouncing over the rough stuff. One gear at a time makes way more sense, especially for a 1x group.

All types of riding benefit from being able to grab more than one gear at a time, for bicycles designed to ride over dynamic terrain this is even more important. One gear at a time is an inferior solution for any bike but more so for a gravel bike.

[charliedid]

I have no idea how sound the bike parts company is but I wouldn't conflate the real estate assets with the health of the bike parts company.

[sjbraun]

Originally Posted by bicycletricycle

All types of riding benefit from being able to grab more than one gear at a time, for bicycles designed to ride over dynamic terrain this is even more important. One gear at a time is an inferior solution for any bike but more so for a gravel bike.

Bullocks- I don't understand why people obsess over the ability to shift multiple cogs with a single throw of the lever. Sure it's fun to dump gears on a road bike when cresting a hill, but as quickly as modern shifters move the rear derailleur, there's really no appreciable limit to single cog shifting.

Exactly how do all riders benefit from being able to shift more than one gear at a time?

[bicycletricycle]

It isn't really a performance issue in my opinion. It is true that rapidly moving your finger to select multiple gears works pretty darn well and is in no way limiting your performance and may in fact be helping it in some way. I just don't think that is the only issue to be considered when designing a product for people.

I would benefit from selecting multiple gears at one time because I would like to be able to do it. That is really the beginning and end of the story. I could try and detail specific arguments about why I think it is a benefit but then you could do the same on the other side. The truth is, we can like different things and that is fine. I am glad you find this type of gear selection preferable, I have tried this type of shifter internals before from Camapagnolo and I didn't like it as much but perhaps this one will be great. I certainly look forward to trying this group out.

Originally Posted by sjbraun

Bullocks- I don't understand why people obsess over the ability to shift multiple cogs with a single throw of the lever. Sure it's fun to dump gears on a road bike when cresting a hill, but as quickly as modern shifters move the rear derailleur, there's really no appreciable limit to single cog shifting.

Exactly how do all riders benefit from being able to shift more than one gear at a time?

[thirdgenbird]

I’m guessing most of my multiple up shifts are directly tied to accommodating a front shift. This is out of the equation with 1x. I don’t recall a lot of cassette dumping with my old 1x10 record setup.

Multiple downshifts were more valuable. Coming to a stop, the ground turning soft/sandy quickly, or a quick incline.

I am also speculating it was a design choice or trade off with the new thumb lever and not tied to cost. This is me running with the assumption it’s actually an ultrashift internal mech that was limited to 1 shift. I am guessing it shifts on the lever push, not on the lever release. (Pretty sure powershift shifts when you release the lever)