The 'Un-Official' Campagnolo Ekar thread

[Gibran]

I just built up an Open WI.DE with Ekar and it works flawlessly. Having built many Campy bikes in the past I can also report that the Ekar group installation is extremely simple and it took very little tuning to get all 13 gears to run smoothly. I’m also pretty impressed with the Carbon Shamals. I own many other Campy wheel sets and the quality seems to be on par with some of their best (IMHO Bora Ultra 35s).

[SpeedyChix]

Originally Posted by Gibran

I just built up an Open WI.DE with Ekar and it works flawlessly. Having built many Campy bikes in the past I can also report that the Ekar group installation is extremely simple and it took very little tuning to get all 13 gears to run smoothly. I’m also pretty impressed with the Carbon Shamals. I own many other Campy wheel sets and the quality seems to be on par with some of their best (IMHO Bora Ultra 35s).

Would love to see a pic. Is it your first gravel/27.5 wide tire bike?
And welcome to the forum.

[Velocipede]

Originally Posted by biciklanto

This is what I'll be keeping an eye out for: narrow-wide rings for Ekar.I have an Ekar-equipped 3t Exploro Race coming and I'm looking forward to it.

That being said, I have a 5-arm Quarq DUB power meter that I'd love to use on the bike, so it just comes down to when there are 110bcd chainrings that are compatible with Ekar.

Has anyone heard any word on that?

I haven't. I wouldn't be surprised if Wolf Tooth or someone else will make a ring to fit. BUT, the Ekar isn't a super defined narrow-wide like what SRAM has. It's very subtle. Pics attached

[yinzerniner]

Originally Posted by Velocipede

I haven't. I wouldn't be surprised if Wolf Tooth or someone else will make a ring to fit. BUT, the Ekar isn't a super defined narrow-wide like what SRAM has. It's very subtle. Pics attached

Also while the chain widths are similar between Ekar and AXS, their construction is different. AXS looks to use thinner plates but standard width rollers, while Ekar seems to have narrower rollers - maybe someone like Dave will roll the dice again and do some mad experimentation like he did with AXS and C12 chainrings, cassettes and chains.

See post here for interesting info on the different Wolf Tooth options:
https://www.wolftoothcomponents.com/...-tooth-profile

[Gibran]

Originally Posted by SpeedyChix

Would love to see a pic. Is it your first gravel/27.5 wide tire bike?
And welcome to the forum.

Yes, this was my first gravel build. I don’t have any sexy pictures of it out in the wild yet but here it is right after it was built. IMG_4366.jpg

[SpeedyChix]

Originally Posted by Gibran

Yes, this was my first gravel build. I don’t have any sexy pictures of it out in the wild yet but here it is right after it was built.

Thanks! Looks like it will be a fun bike to ride.

[Gibran]

Originally Posted by gpl916

Thanks! Yes, Shamals were all that were available.

I love Campy wheels but I was originally going with Enve. Coincidently just after I ordered the bike, Campy announced the Ekar group. I called Merlin right away and told them I wanted to be the first one with the group on a Merlin.

I think I will splurge on a set of G23's (when they become available) for the hard core gravel and run Bon Jon Pass' on the Shamals for street/ light use.

I got the couplers as I am hoping to do some rides like the Italy Divide or Tuscany Trail.

G

I too was looking at the G23s, spoke with Enve and it appears that Mavic is close to producing an ID360 N3W freehub (Enve uses the ID360 freehub in their hubs). Mavic’s website shows it as an option but there is not a part number attached to it yet so hopefully they are close. Based on that and also that I found a pair of Enve G23s with Enve hubs (w/Shimano freehub) available on-line, I pulled the trigger and bought them. Their availability is so limited that you may want to do the same if you can find a pair otherwise you could be waiting 10 weeks or probably more since Enve will first need to get the new hubs with the N3W freehub and then put them into their build schedule so who knows how long that will take. I’m hoping I can speed that up by buying the N3W freehub body when it’s available and swap out the Shimano one.

[oldpotatoe]

Originally Posted by R3awak3n

thank you OP. I actually crashed that bike a while ago and it was right on the shifter and the shifter body broke so I bought a new one and ported the lever to it.

I have bodies too...

[oldpotatoe]

Originally Posted by morrisond

Will the 2015+ button work on EKAR? Have you had the chance to look yet?

Have not, waiting for some generous person to send me an Ekar lever and let me take it apart..

[Velocipede]

Originally Posted by oldpotatoe

Have not, waiting for some generous person to send me an Ekar lever and let me take it apart..

You'll be waiting for a few more months. Things are still a bit on the rare side of the meat cooked index.

[Dave]

It looks like the wolftooth company has invested a lot of time into special tooth profiles for the chain rings. I'd trust their analysis. I'll never own a 1X bike. So far, the force axs12 chain meets all of my 2X needs. It's cheap and seems to wear slowly.

The only drawback to the Ekar chain might be pricey quick links. I'd think that a gravel chain would get dirty quickly and need frequent cleaning.

I measure chain width with a micrometer placed over the holes in the inner plates. A force axs chain measures around 0.130 inch and a Campy 12 is 0.136 inch. That's too wide for an axs quick link, but a sram eagle 12 chain measures 0.136, which means that the quick link will work with a Campy 12 chain.

For an axs quick link to be used with an Ekar 13 chain, it needs to measure close to 0.130 across the inner plates.

[vespasianus]

Originally Posted by Gibran

Yes, this was my first gravel build. I don’t have any sexy pictures of it out in the wild yet but here it is right after it was built. Attachment 1698016436

Honestly, that is pretty damn sexy!

[mistermo]

Originally Posted by Velocipede

I haven't. I wouldn't be surprised if Wolf Tooth or someone else will make a ring to fit. BUT, the Ekar isn't a super defined narrow-wide like what SRAM has. It's very subtle.

How necessary is a narrow-wide ring if one is using a clutch rear derailleur? Is a 12s regular ring (non narrow-wide) doable, just not ideal?

[Velocipede]

Originally Posted by mistermo

How necessary is a narrow-wide ring if one is using a clutch rear derailleur? Is a 12s regular ring (non narrow-wide) doable, just not ideal?

It's not as critical as having the chainline correct but it's important. The clutch keeps it taught enough but on hard roads, you could have it bounce off under pressure and shifting. Never know. NOW, K-Edge makes a really nice 1x guide that clamps on the frame and would keep it there. I put one on a bike I did for Velonews who used it at Grinduro and came in 8th overall. He had a SRAM 1x with narrow-wide but it was a nice peace of mind.

[joevers]

Originally Posted by mistermo

How necessary is a narrow-wide ring if one is using a clutch rear derailleur? Is a 12s regular ring (non narrow-wide) doable, just not ideal?

Depends on your tolerance. Doable but not ideal sounds about right. You're for sure more likely to drop it at the extreme ends of the cassette, especially if you've got a short chainstay bike. I'd rather ride with a clutch but no NW than the other way around if that means anything. NW with a clutch makes chain drop effectively 0.