In a move that surprised nobody, Campagnolo has developed a 12-speed version of its electronic EPS groupset, following the introduction of mechanical 12-speed Record and Super Record last year. Here are some nice photos of Lotto–Soudal’s Ridley Noah Fast equipped with the Super Record EPS 12-speed.
This bike belongs to Belgian pro Jelle Wallays. He has been riding for Lotto-Soudal since 2016 and according to his Wikipedia page, forms part of the sprint train that will this year be aiming to deliver Caleb Ewan to multiple victories.
- Review: Campagnolo Record 12-speed Disc groupset
Because the new Super Record 12-speed EPS groupset it yet to be officially launched, we don’t have any details on it yet. We can hazard a guess at it having the exact same ratio configuration as the mechanical Record we tested last year which centres around using the extra sprocket to provide a smoother shifting progression, with the first seven sprockets providing one-tooth gaps, compared to six with the previous 11-speed. We’ll assume there’ll be a Record level EPS 12-speed groupset as well as the Super Record pictured here so it'll be slightly more affordable.
- Video: Do you need Campagnolo 12-speed?
Lotto-Soudal also takes sponsorship from Campagnolo for wheels, with 50mm Bora Ultra carbon fibre tubular wheels shod with Vittoria Corsa tyres. Continuing the aero theme, the bike is finished with Deda’s Alanera one-piece aerodynamic handlebar with internal cable routing for clean lines and minimising drag. The junction box is bolted to the bottom of the stem rather than being tucked inside the handlebar or frame.
And here’s the same groupset on Thomas de Gendt’s Ridley Helium SLX, the Belgian bike company’s lightweight all-rounder race bike. It’s equipped with conventional Deda handlebars and stem, with a matching seatpost.
With Campagnolo first to market with a 12-speed groupset with mechanical and electronic versions, it remains to be seen whether Shimano and SRAM will respond this year.
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Should've skipped straight to 13 speed then 1x would make even more sense
The superstitious pros would only accept that if the cassette was mounted upside-down.
Any idea if you can buy the Helium frameset in that colourway? Can't seem to locate it on the Ridley site.
Weeelllll - they're not both actually to market yet and, to be fair, SRAM have had 12-speed mechanical for a comparatively long time now and been running 1x 12-speed eTap in off-road competition since last the before the middle of 2018, and 2x towards the end of last year on the road.
Edit : Also agree those Campagnolo-Ridleys look gorgeous..
Campy Lab 12-Speed EPS equiped bikes were showing up late autumn of last year, then sent to the World Tour teams at the end of 2018 for this season (road.cc have spectacularly failed to grasp this unlike the rest of the cycling press).
https://rouleur.cc/editorial/this-one-goes-to-12-qa-campagnolo-lorenzo-t...
Absolutely, I was just pointing out that it's not available on the market as yet and that there has already been a 'response' - albeit one that pre-dates the appearance of EPS 12-speed.
Not really sure what you mean by "spectacularly failed to grasp this unlike the rest of the cycling press"? We didn't say this is the first time it has been spotted, it's just simply a "here it is and it's being raced this season" article. Also, while it undoubtedly was delivered to teams at the end of 2018, we have no pictures of this, and I can certainly find no mention of it with a quick google search to other coverage. I also can't see how your link backs up your snide comment?
Sorry Dave, but road.cc posting articles like 'Campagnolo 12-speed EPS exclusive - it's a thing!' (or something like that) weeks after online sites like Bike Radar/Cycling News have been reporting it just makes this website look lazy, ot just not up to speed. Even GCN featured it back at the end of August last year when Maxime Monfort was using the Test Lab proto at the Vuelta (7 mins 30 in) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YCkItZRYAMQ
Sigh. Don't you have anything better to worry about than who is first to report on some new bit of bike tech? I'm not sure we ever claimed to be first or exclusive? Reporting on new equipment is interesting because often it comes down to attending races where products might get tested, and we don't attend all the races, for example we're not at the TDU where quite a bit of new stuff is being seen for the first time. So often we can only report on new stuff when we get pictures we can share
The Ridley's are some of the best looking bikes in the peleton this year, that looks a weapon.