Exclusive First Look: Campagnolo Athena EPS

The most hotly anticipated product release of the year is arguably Campagnolo's Athena EPS (Electric Power Shift) electronic groupset.

Taking the decision to skip Chorus, Campag they've trickled the EPS technology straight from Super Record to the more affordable Athena range. It's a clear move to compete at the "bikes most people can actually afford to buy" end of the market and as such, puts it in direct competition with Shimano's Ultegra Di2.

You can read more about the new Athena EPS groupset in our first look article. And Mat took a Super Record EPS groupset for a ride late last year.

The very first groupsets landed at distributor i-ride's East Sussex office earlier this week. They've recieved just eight groupsets so far, destined to be built onto De Rosa Merak bikes (more on that later). We dashed down there yesterday, camera and scales in hand, to give you the very first look at the new groupset. And here it is. Looks nice, doesn't it?

Claimed weight for the lot is is around 2,500g (similar to Ultegra Di2). We thought it would be interesting to weigh some of the key components and see how they look on the scales. Here we go...

Front derailleur
Price £341.99
Weight 152g

Rear derailleur
Price £374.99
Weight 228g

EPS interface
Price £102.99
Weight 20g

Power unit
Price £303.99
Weight 166g

Ergopower shifters
Price £210.99
Weight 285g

An Athena EPS groupset is going to cost you between £1,899 and £2,000. Unfortunately, for anyone hoping to mix some Athena parts with Record or Super Record, Campagnolo have reversed the polarity so they are not compatible.

Thanks to the guys at www.i-ride.co.uk for making me feel at home and letting me snap the new groupset.