The 'Un-Official' Campagnolo Ekar thread

[Likes2ridefar]

Day 1 of ekar I hated it. shifting was all over the place. it was setup incorrectly in every way possible from original purchase of the bike. it was so far off i couldn’t fix it easily on the street during the test ride, and didnt make it a mile before returning for my mountain bike to go ride trails instead.

Day 1 part 2; after setting things properly a 40 minute test ride in sweltering arizona heat and sun has me thinking ekar might just work.

Really like the ergonomics of the shifters, and while not in love with the thumb shifter at all it’ll work and maybe get more used to it over time.

The 9 42 cassette and 13s surprisingly makes a much smoother experience road riding at higher speeds with the single steps than the axs mullet 12s I had prior.

I basically got ekar for free including high spec parts in a new bike purchase. Glad it is working out!

[cgolvin]

Originally Posted by Likes2ridefar

The 9 42 cassette and 13s surprisingly makes a much smoother experience road riding at higher speeds with the single steps than the axs mullet 12s I had prior.

Which chainring are you using?
(Edit) My plan is 40 with 10-44 in order to have a really low bailout gear, but part of me thinks 9-42 might be a better choice.

[makoti]

Originally Posted by cgolvin

Which chainring are you using?
(Edit) My plan is 40 with 10-44 in order to have a really low bailout gear, but part of me thinks 9-42 might be a better choice.

This is what I have. I like it, but was thinking of slapping on a 38 until I figured out that got me 2" at the low end but lost about 7" at the top

[perdido]

I use 40x9-36 for a road wheelset and 40x9-42 for a 650bx47 gravel wheelset.
I'm really liking Ekar, but I have been using Campagnolo Record 10sp and 11sp for the past 18 years. I had Shimano Ultegra 11sp on another gravel bike. I can't fault that groupset, it shifted fine and was very smooth, but I prefer Campagnolo thumbshifter and how much feedback I get from the shifters. Just my preference.

For my user case/bicycle I find that shifting and disc alignment is affected by how tight the thru axle is. Also, I'm struggling to find a good b-screw setting for both cassettes/wheelsets. I do have to adjust the cable tension when changing wheels.
I'm using shims for the rotor to help center it on both wheelsets, and was thinking about using shims to space out the cassette on one of the wheels

My road wheels are Shamal Carbons, and my gravel wheels are HED Emporias.

Overall, really liking Ekar. Some good deals to be had locally as well. Thinking about buying a 10-44 cassette for bikepacking duties.

[Likes2ridefar]

I’ve a decent amount of miles on my ekar now and I’m used to the shifting but still prefer axs - it is just easier and more accurate. I’m also finding it more effort to keep it tuned precisely with two adjustments required already(I never had to touch my axs in 2 plus years).

Everyone raves about the brakes and they are good, better than axs, but I’m used to hope rx4 plus which they can’t compete with. Maybe they will continue to improve with more miles.

The shifters have a bump in the transition from the hood to bar, which I do not like and can’t completely eliminate no matter the position of the superergo ltd bar. Maybe it’s just bad luck with the combo the bike came with.

Anyone want to trade their axs?

[Likes2ridefar]

Not happy with the feel of the shifter when riding on the hoods. Apologies in advance for the hack bar wrap while I mess with position

Any suggestions for my shifter to bar setup for ekar shifters? As pictured is where I like the hoods on a 3t superergo ltd handlebar. Maybe the bar can be moved a bit?

There is a big hump from the shifter to the bar and I need to figure out a better solution. The cables run through the bar making it not so easy to swap..I’d normally use a zipp xplr bar.

[nalax]

Sorry, can't get images to show but I wrapped a Zipp XPLR with cork tape, using a very small piece of tape to fill in the gap and it's fairly straight.
https://ibb.co/LZZGqrx

[Likes2ridefar]

Originally Posted by nalax

Sorry, can't get images to show but I wrapped a Zipp XPLR with cork tape, using a very small piece of tape to fill in the gap and it's fairly straight.
https://ibb.co/LZZGqrx

Thanks, looks a lot smoother than mine. 2 hours today on the bike, and I really can’t stand the hoods as they are. Guess it’s to a different bar…thankfully I have a few xplr bars already.

[vespasianus]

I have never seen anyone wrap a bar like that.

[Likes2ridefar]

Originally Posted by vespasianus

I have never seen anyone wrap a bar like that.

You must have missed the comment apologizing for it as it is already trashed after adjusting about 5 times, but glad you found a new experience! The 3t tape is temporary while I try to make the bar and shifter work.

[Likes2ridefar]

After inspiring elitist no value comments I decided to add 3 layers of small pieces of the 3t tape and wrap over this with a proper figure 8. The bulge is mostly gone now and should be sufficient.

First time I’ve ever had to do that with any brand shifter or bar…

[Old School]

Originally Posted by Likes2ridefar

After inspiring elitist no value comments I decided to add 3 layers of small pieces of the 3t tape and wrap over this with a proper figure 8. The bulge is mostly gone now and should be sufficient.

First time I’ve ever had to do that with any brand shifter or bar…

On a different bike, with a similar situation, I used these Sram pads, which worked perfectly on Campagnolo.

https://www.jensonusa.com/sram-red-g...transition-Gel

I actually ended up trimming with scissors and stacking them.

[charliedid]

What if you rotate the bars up just a touch and the levers back down a bit....does that flatten the transition out?

[Likes2ridefar]

Originally Posted by charliedid

What if you rotate the bars up just a touch and the levers back down a bit....does that flatten the transition out?

I do think it would help reduce it some and will give it a go…my poor tape is not happy I maybe didn’t snap the photo level but the flatter top section is currently parallel with the ground which is how I thought it was intended to be setup.

[vespasianus]

Originally Posted by charliedid

What if you rotate the bars up just a touch and the levers back down a bit....does that flatten the transition out?

That is what I was thinking. Campag stuff is still a little old school in that regard - it has not caught up with the current placement of brifters.