Leak all but confirms wireless Campagnolo Super Record groupset is coming with prices quoted

Rumours about Campagnolo's latest and greatest top-tier wireless groupset have been flooding in... and now thanks to a boutique retailer specialising in Italian bikes, we've spotted a potential price as well! Would you choose this unreleased groupset over Shimano Dura-Ace or SRAM Red AXS? Are your pockets deep enough? Here's everything we know so far...

It's almost definitely going to be wireless

Back in March, we revealed patents filed by the Italian brand suggesting that the long-anticipated Super Record was going to receive an upgrade. The patents suggested that the new groupset would not only be going wireless but also ditch the thumb shifters in favour of two buttons located behind the brake lever, similar to what we see on Shimano Dura-Ace Di2.

The fact that Campagnolo applied for a licence to use a wireless system in the US, from the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), as well as having to provide images clearly showing space for a CR2032 coin cell battery in the shifter means we're confident that the new groupset will be wireless.

> Campagnolo is definitely going wireless and ditching thumb levers… and these pictures prove it 

We didn't have to wait long to find out that the new Super Record appears to be going fully wireless, akin to the Sram Red AXS groupset with a battery on both mechs.

Each derailleur will have its own “electric power supply unit which may be attached and detached in an easy and quick manner”, i.e. a SRAM-style clip-on battery rather than a Shimano-esque central battery to power both. This will likely make mechanics rejoice as there's no need to route fiddly cables through the frame. 

> New Campagnolo patent applications reveal wireless derailleurs

If the imminent launch of a wireless Campagnolo Super Record gruppo was 99% certain a couple of months ago, we'll push that up to 99.5% with this latest leak from NNK Racing, a UK-based independent retailer specialising in high-end Italian bikes. NNK says it has started accepting orders for "the new Campagnolo Super Record Wireless groupset", which would tally with what we've dug up from the various patents mentioned above. 

The thumb shifters are no more (kind of)

According to the patent we’ve seen, Campagnolo could be completely altering the way you change gear. Ok, that might be a bit of an exaggeration, but expect a different button layout to the outgoing Super Record EPS groupset. Patents show an upper control lever for upshifts and a lower control lever for downshifts – although we’d bet good money that’s customisable in the accompanying app.

Campagnolo also said in its patent that it intends for you to use your forefinger for the upper lever and your middle finger for the lower one. As you can see from the pictures, they’ve left a small gap between the levers so you’re less likely to hit the wrong one or push them both at the same time.

It would also appear that the inner surfaces of the shifters (where your thumbs rest when riding on the hoods) feature additional buttons which could help Campagnolo to convert its loyal thumb-shifting fans. Are you sad to see the thumb shifters go if that's wha is happening? Let us know in the comments section below.

Is 12-speed enough in 2023?

A listing for the CCT EVO Factory SR road bike on Corratec’s website quickly dispelled any final doubt that the new groupset isn't imminent, and also gave us a few more clues as to what to expect.

The chainset is given as Super Record ProT. That could be short for ProTech, the bottom bracket tech that Campag already uses for its Ekar gravel groupset.

More interestingly, the cassette is described as 12-speed and 10-29t. All but confirming that the new groupset won't be going 13-speed like the Ekar gravel groupset and following SRAM down the path of using tiny sprockets at the back. Super Record groupsets currently start with an 11t sprocket although Ekar uses 9t, so it looks like Campag is splitting the difference here and going with a 10t smallest cog on the new Super Record cassettes.

How much!?

One thing that we had been left in the dark on up until now was the small matter of price. When launched, the current generation Super Record EPS was the most expensive off-the-shelf groupset in the world. What with recent events, we can't imagine this one is going to be cheap either.

The image above from NNK Racing's website is the best clue yet regarding the price for the new wireless (WRL) groupset, quoting an RRP of €4,499 and a sale price of €3,899 (can you put something on sale before it exists? That's what they're saying anyway).  

Sram Red eTap AXS has an RRP of £3,999.99 and the latest 12-speed Dura-Ace an RRP of £3,579.00. Given how prices of bike components usually convert from euros to pounds, it is likely then that Super Record will remain the most expensive of the three, but perhaps by less than we anticipated.

When will it actually be launched?

Soon! Like, really soon! We think... 

It's simply impossible that we know this much information without the launch being imminent. Our previous best guess was a launch coinciding with the Tour de France (which starts on 1 July 2023) but we would now be surprised if we even have to wait that long.

It's likely that Campagnolo-sponsored pro riders such as those from AG2R Citroen will want to put some miles in ahead of the biggest race on their calendar if they're going to use it for this year's Tour, so we're hoping to get some shots of it at the Dauphine next week. This race has a history for being the Tour de France testing ground.

Irrespective of how deep your pockets are... has Campagnolo done enough to take the fight to Shimano and SRAM? Let us know your thoughts below...