The 'Un-Official' Campagnolo Ekar thread

[saab2000]

Originally Posted by oldpotatoe

Their mechanical shifting, disc brake offerings are seen as the best of the bunch.....

BTW, where IS DA 12s??

So.....

I'm looking forward to seeing DA 12S, especially if it's available in mechanical, which I'm guessing it still will be, with rim brakes, at least for the next generation. I certainly hope so. I say that solely because I have frames for rim brakes, not because I'm dogmatic on the topic.

As to Campagnolo's home runs, I'd agree though my experience is at this point dated. I bought in early on Campagnolo Record 10-speed. It was tremendous stuff and I enjoyed its function and beauty for a long time. But honestly, that was 20 years ago almost. I got some Centaur 10-speed shifters in the more modern shape and while they worked fine, something about the experience degraded over time. I used both Ultrashift and Powershift levers. The Ultrashift were superior. I finally started to migrate to Shimano and have had no reason to look back, until now.

I'm intrigued by Campagnolo's 12-speed stuff, both Super Record because it's lovely and Chorus because of its wide range options. But I'd also like to ride them to judge the shifting action with my own fingers. I can't deny it, I like my Shimano action - light and precise. Snick-snick-snick through the gears. I've had Campagnolo also be super precise and I'm actually completely agnostic on the various levers and buttons on the two brands. I can operate both totally comfortably.

I think the 1x13 is interesting to me because it finally gets close to covering a full range of gears without the overlapping gears that necessarily exist on a 2xXX system. I like that singularity of purpose. Also, it's a good looking groupset and I'm OK with mechanical only as I'm uneasy with the idea of an electrical glitch or forgetting to charge ruining a ride. The idea that a bike has an app or needs to ever be plugged in still bugs me at some level.

If I had a bike for this groupset I'd probably be an early adopter, as I was with Record 10-speed, which as mentioned served me extremely well for years. This groupset looks to have the same potential.

[spinarelli]

Is there word on how soon the hub technology will trickle down to aftermarket hubs like white industries or CK? Don’t get me wrong, the shamals look great, and have a soft spot for shamals. But I’d like to build something in 650b and the fulcrum wheels don’t really interest me. I’d love to see a zipp 303 work with ekar.

[CNY rider]

Originally Posted by spinarelli

Is there word on how soon the hub technology will trickle down to aftermarket hubs like white industries or CK? Don’t get me wrong, the shamals look great, and have a soft spot for shamals. But I’d like to build something in 650b and the fulcrum wheels don’t really interest me. I’d love to see a zipp 303 work with ekar.

I emailed White this week. Have not heard anything back from them yet.

[vespasianus]

Originally Posted by saab2000

I'm looking forward to seeing DA 12S, especially if it's available in mechanical, which I'm guessing it still will be, with rim brakes, at least for the next generation. I certainly hope so. I say that solely because I have frames for rim brakes, not because I'm dogmatic on the topic.

As to Campagnolo's home runs, I'd agree though my experience is at this point dated. I bought in early on Campagnolo Record 10-speed. It was tremendous stuff and I enjoyed its function and beauty for a long time. But honestly, that was 20 years ago almost. I got some Centaur 10-speed shifters in the more modern shape and while they worked fine, something about the experience degraded over time.
I.

Personally, I find the difference between Campagnolo's entry groupsets and their higher end stuff to be dramatic.

[madsciencenow]

Originally Posted by CNY rider

I emailed White this week. Have not heard anything back from them yet.

I emailed white a couple weeks ago and they just responded and indicated next month or two. They are waiting for Campy to approve their spec.


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[CNY rider]

Originally Posted by madsciencenow

I emailed white a couple weeks ago and they just responded and indicated next month or two. They are waiting for Campy to approve their spec.


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Good to know, thank you.

[spinarelli]

Thanks for the update about WI.

Originally Posted by madsciencenow

I emailed white a couple weeks ago and they just responded and indicated next month or two. They are waiting for Campy to approve their spec.


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[oldpotatoe]

Originally Posted by spinarelli

Is there word on how soon the hub technology will trickle down to aftermarket hubs like white industries or CK? Don’t get me wrong, the shamals look great, and have a soft spot for shamals. But I’d like to build something in 650b and the fulcrum wheels don’t really interest me. I’d love to see a zipp 303 work with ekar.

Velocipede can probably answer this better than me BUT..I doubt CK will go there at all..they have abandoned Campagnolo FHB all together. I don't expect they will do anything for 13s. No great loss, IMHO. They should stick to headsets altho CaneCreek would be my choice if I were building a new bike.
CK bottom brackets, yawn...

I think WI, DT, and some other hub makers see a fairly big market for 9-12s+13s Campagnolo hubs, since the design is 'open', so anybody can copy it.

[madsciencenow]

Originally Posted by oldpotatoe

Velocipede can probably answer this better than me BUT..I doubt CK will go there at all..they have abandoned Campagnolo FHB all together. I don't expect they will do anything for 13s. No great loss, IMHO. They should stick to headsets altho CaneCreek would be my choice if I were building a new bike.
CK bottom brackets, yawn...

I think WI, DT, and some other hub makers see a fairly big market for 9-12s+13s Campagnolo hubs, since the design is 'open', so anybody can copy it.

No inside info but completely agree. CK is sexy to me (love the colors) but I’ve given up on their hubs. Never had issues when riding them but they seem like more of a pain to maintain and no campy support for latest 12-speed is a non-starter for me.


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[Velocipede]

Originally Posted by spinarelli

Is there word on how soon the hub technology will trickle down to aftermarket hubs like white industries or CK? Don’t get me wrong, the shamals look great, and have a soft spot for shamals. But I’d like to build something in 650b and the fulcrum wheels don’t really interest me. I’d love to see a zipp 303 work with ekar.

It really comes down to the companies making the N3W freehub bodies. All that had to be done was fill out and submit the open license agreement. And then make the bodies. They needed to submit one to Campy for approval but it's an open license. Anyone could do it. One of the companies I work with did it in about a week. They have freehub bodies in machining and anodizing right now. WI, DT and everyone else, not sure. I did hear DT was putting the first batches on complete wheels, then offering them for aftermarket and for hub sales. Not sure when the AM and hub selling will start. Aivee should be the next couple weeks. As soon as they have them I will get them here. I already have some orders for them.

Regarding the CK question... that's on them. CK has long disliked the Campy freehub body. And yes, they phased it out last year. Campy has spoken to them about N3W and they haven't said yes or no to it. It makes sense for them to at least make a small run of them. They already have the designs. WOuldn't be hard to do. But it's all on them. EKAR is taking off huge. If they were smart, they'd do it. But personally, I've never been a fan of their hubs so it doesn't affect me either way.

[oldpotatoe]

Originally Posted by Velocipede

It really comes down to the companies making the N3W freehub bodies. All that had to be done was fill out and submit the open license agreement. And then make the bodies. They needed to submit one to Campy for approval but it's an open license. Anyone could do it. One of the companies I work with did it in about a week. They have freehub bodies in machining and anodizing right now. WI, DT and everyone else, not sure. I did hear DT was putting the first batches on complete wheels, then offering them for aftermarket and for hub sales. Not sure when the AM and hub selling will start. Aivee should be the next couple weeks. As soon as they have them I will get them here. I already have some orders for them.

Regarding the CK question... that's on them. CK has long disliked the Campy freehub body. And yes, they phased it out last year. Campy has spoken to them about N3W and they haven't said yes or no to it. It makes sense for them to at least make a small run of them. They already have the designs. WOuldn't be hard to do. But it's all on them. EKAR is taking off huge. If they were smart, they'd do it. But personally, I've never been a fan of their hubs so it doesn't affect me either way.

What he said..... well, at least they have colors and are WAY expensive..

[Velocipede]

Originally Posted by oldpotatoe

What he said..... well, at least they have colors and are WAY expensive..

I love that they offer colors. But so do other companies. And of course they do them cheaper and without the need of special tools.

[saab2000]

Originally Posted by Velocipede

I love that they offer colors. But so do other companies. And of course they do them cheaper and without the need of special tools.

They require special tools but at least they're incredibly and obnoxiously noisy. How that much noise can emanate from something so small is beyond me. Just say no to CK hubs.

[Velocipede]

Originally Posted by saab2000

They require special tools but at least they're incredibly and obnoxiously noisy. How that much noise can emanate from something so small is beyond me. Just say no to CK hubs.

I had a pair on some Enve 3.4s with the textured brake track. I was slowing down on a group ride and people were looking at me asking what was wrong with my bike. I told them it's ****ty hubs and rims. They all laughed till we stopped and they looked at them. They literally sounded like a turbine winding down when braking. HATED those wheels!

[sleepyfelix]

So, other than the Shamals and Fulcrum options, has any other company mentioned a N3W wheel available out of the box yet? I saw Hunt Wheels are listing their gravel wheels with an N3W option but not available until Jan 21 (in the UK at least)