The 'Un-Official' Campagnolo Ekar thread

[yinzerniner]

Originally Posted by Mark McM

Another feature of Power-shift (and STI for that matter) is that not only can you shift only one sprocket at a time when moving to smaller sprockets, but that the shifts in this direction are delayed. The shift doesn't happen when you press the lever, it only happens after you release the lever. A minor thing, but one more thing to make me prefer Ultra-shift.

Honestly if that's the case then the actuation is a bigger negative vs the number of gears shifted. Going from an active shift to a passive shift makes the shifting feel / manners completely different.

Is there any confirmation of the Ekar upshift actuation?

[Velocipede]

Originally Posted by 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.

The bike parts company is very sound. They aren't going anywhere anytime soon. Campagnolo IS Bike Parts. Them closing or selling the bike division would be like Yozo Shimano selling his families bike division. Shozaburo Shimano and Tullio Campagnolo would roll over in their graves if that ever happened. I would suspect even worse for Campy as it's still family owned and run. A family trust controls it and all their holdings. Shimano is publicly traded. The family won't sell or get rid of Campy. They don't need to.

[rain dogs]

Originally Posted by jtbadge

Classic paceline campy homerism, this groupset hasn't even made it on to anyone's bike yet and it's already the leader?

Right on, bud.

Cyclingtips, GCN and Gravel cyclist have all tested the groupset and have said that it is the class leader for mechanical gravel.

[nighthawk]

Campagnolo site copy:

The internal Ultra-Shift™ mechanism controls the 13-speed rear derailleur, enabling you to up-shift by up to 3 sprockets in a single movement. The security of single downshifts is ideally suited to gravel riding on slippery, undulating and unpredictable surfaces.

I always confuse the terms, and might still be, but isn’t upshifting moving to smaller cogs? So you could dump 3 with a hard click if you were upshifting for a descent, but if downshifting to ramp up for a climb you’d click through one cog at a time.

EDIT: Confirms how Campagnolo defines up/downshift; up = shift to bigger cog, down = shift to smaller cog

https://youtu.be/pIN1qY56Nx8

[Velocipede]

Originally Posted by nighthawk

Campagnolo site copy:



I always confuse the terms, and might still be, but isn’t upshifting moving to smaller cogs? So you could dump 3 with a hard click if you were upshifting for a descent, but if downshifting to ramp up for a climb you’d click through one cog at a time.

You have it backwards. 3 up to the larger/easier if it gets steep quick. 1 down to the smaller/harder so you don't accidentally drop too many at a time.

[Velocipede]

Originally Posted by rain dogs

Right on, bud.

Cyclingtips, GCN and Gravel cyclist have all tested the groupset and have said that it is the class leader for mechanical gravel.

Numerous sites/press people have tired it and called it a class leader. They did it right. While there are a coupe things I would like to see like a dropper post option lever just cause someone will ask, I think it's perfect. Innovative. Lightweight. Plenty of gearing options. Great looks with minimal Campy branding as a ton of people hate Campy and think it's snooty. So they refuse to use it no matter how good it is. An almost stand alone kit is a great thing.

Yes, I'm a Campy fan but they knocked it out of the park for sure.

[Mark McM]

Originally Posted by Velocipede

You have it backwards. 3 up to the larger/easier if it gets steep quick. 1 down to the smaller/harder so you don't accidentally drop too many at a time.

Upshift? Downshift?

There seem to be two common but opposite usages of these terms. Some say "upshifting" is moving "up" the cassette to bigger sprockets, and "downshiftiing" is moving "down" the cassette to smaller sprockets. Others say that "upshifting" is moving "up" to bigger gear ratios (smaller sprockets), and "downshifting" is moving "down" to a smaller gear ratio (bigger sprockets).

Personally, I tend to think in terms of end results, so for me an "upshift" is which ever direction makes the gear ratio bigger and "downshift" is which ever direction makes the gear ratio smaller. I think the rest of the world thinks like this, too. For example, in a car, the the "bottom" gear has the lowest ratio (and the lowest gear number) and the "top" gear has the highest ratio (and the highest gear number). You "upshift" as you go faster, and you "downshift" when you go slower.

[oldpotatoe]

Originally Posted by Velocipede

The bike parts company is very sound. They aren't going anywhere anytime soon. Campagnolo IS Bike Parts. Them closing or selling the bike division would be like Yozo Shimano selling his families bike division. Shozaburo Shimano and Tullio Campagnolo would roll over in their graves if that ever happened. I would suspect even worse for Campy as it's still family owned and run. A family trust controls it and all their holdings. Shimano is publicly traded. The family won't sell or get rid of Campy. They don't need to.

A little personal knowledge goes a long way. For those who think Campagnolo is on the ropes, do some research, don’t listen to the bike shop lizard, who can’t even spell ‘Campagnolo’..

The whole Ekar package shows not only that Campagnolo doesn’t introduce something until it’s ‘right’(EPS, wet disc brakes, Ekar, also 9s, 10s, 11s, 12s)...
But they have the $ to make the investment.

I guess it’s wrong to mention shimano’s fishing division or sram’s too many to count.

[nighthawk]

Originally Posted by Velocipede

You have it backwards. 3 up to the larger/easier if it gets steep quick. 1 down to the smaller/harder so you don't accidentally drop too many at a time.

That makes more sense to me, but is just the opposite of how those terms (up/downshift) are often used. I can't keep it straight so definitely not pointing fingers at Campy’s copy writers.

[buddybikes]

Big question remains - can they spec on anything other than custom

[Miller76]

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[dzxc]

Originally Posted by CNY rider

Above Category did a build and here is their review:

https://abovecategorycycling.com/blo...ogIkNQR0xFVSJ9

Very tempting. Only negative I see is only shifts one gear at a time down the cassette. And of course I don't know if I'm ready for 1X yet.

Forgive me if someone has mentioned it, but that Mosaic GT-1 is 🔥. I've been in the market for a Moots Routt for a while contemplating just purchasing new from Moots, enjoying the anodized Moots logos, but this GT-1 in the article is stunning. I wasn't into it at first, but by the end of the AC review of the Ektar, I was hooked on that bike.

[yinzerniner]

Originally Posted by oldpotatoe

For those who think Campagnolo is on the ropes, do some research, don’t listen to the bike shop lizard, who can’t even spell ‘Campagnolo’..

I guess you better look behind you for some scales and slime, cause the calls are coming from inside YOUR OWN HOUSE!!!!
Untitled-1.jpg
https://cyclingtips.libsyn.com/13-sp...-froome-debate
(55:35 "I will go on record now and say if this is a complete failure Campagnolo is DONE")

[weiwentg]

Originally Posted by weiwentg

Also! The YT vid didn't show it, but Huang's written article said that



This is excellent. Here, I have to say that Campy has been relatively late at catching up with SRAM, then Shimano at lever adjustability. After going from Campy 10 to current Ultegra, I would not consider a groupset whose levers weren't adjustable at all. It's a relatively small thing, but when the other two manufacturers offer it, and there are a lot of small female riders who really need this, it was always a major negative in my mind.

Anyway, I haven't seen anything more specific than that.

AND!! The clutch lock function. It's slick. Watch Huang's YT vid. Sure, I can get my rear wheel in and out without one, but I like the concept.

Regarding the dumping gears thing, I agree that it was nice to be able to upshift a bunch of gears when I had a Campy Chorus shifter, but I don't really miss it on Shimano on the road. I can't recall when I really needed to dump a bunch of cogs on my gravel bike (which has Di2). I bet I'd get used to it on Ekar (if I ever get a group, anyway - and I'd need Aivee to make a N3W freehub first).

Regarding terms, I am using upshift like most people do, but I'm pretty sure Campy's literature has always said upshift means going up the cassette, i.e. they're the reverse of everyone else. It's probably more in keeping with what new cyclists say. It's no matter.

[R3awak3n]

Bicycling article on Ekar actually is pretty great.

I few things I agree (even though I have not ridden Ekar but have had campy hydro and its the same system).


"When I put the slicks on the bike and took to the road, I did find the jumps at the low end of the cassette still a bit big for maintaining a consistent cadence, but notably better than any other 1x system, and not too far off a wide-range 2x system. Truthfully, I think the 1x Holy Grail of both range and pleasant jumps won’t happen until someone makes a 15- or 16-speed cassette, but we’re probably several years away from that."

I think campy 13 1x is the best 1x groupset right now. I normally don't think 1 extra speed does much (11 speed to 12 speed, meh I could do wihtout), however when it comes to 1x, it helps A LOT. I had 11 speed 1x and to me just did not work, I am sure 13 would be a LOT better... However I agree that until 15 or 16 speed 1x, 2x still is king if you ride a lot of pavement. I will stick with 2x until then but will totally give 1x a try again because there is a lot of good stuff about it that I liked.

Another thing I agree

"The Ekar brakes are outstanding—Campy makes the best drop bar disc brakes. Modulation is exceptional, power is controlled and intuitive, and they’re extremely smooth and very quiet. The superior control they offer is even more evident on dirt than pavement."

100%. Campy hydro brakes are amazing. I have tried shimano and sram and campy is just the best. They feel incredible. I have sram hydro right now and miss my cheap potenza hydros because they just felt incredible when braking.