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BUYER'S GUIDE
12 of the best Campagnolo-equipped road bikes Sept 202112 of the best Campagnolo-equipped road bikes — get some Italian in your life
Italian cycling component maker Campagnolo has enjoyed a loyal following since it was established back in 1933, but its components are increasingly rare on road bikes as many big bike brands commonly favour Shimano and SRAM when speccing new bikes. Nevertheless, Campagnolo's reputation for durability and style makes a Campagnolo-equipped bike well worth a look.
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The company with the richest heritage in cycling, Campagnolo introduced the quick release skewer, the modern parallelogram rear derailleur, the groupset and a host of other innovations from its long-standing base in Vicenza, Italy
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Campagnolo has long been in the vanguard of the move to increase the number of gears on our bikes; its Super Record, Record and Chorus groupsets include the only 12-speed mechanical shifting available
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Campagnolo components haven't been common on mass-produced bikes for many years, but many bike makers equip a handful of super-prestige models with the top Campagnolo groupsets
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From most to least expensive Campagnolo groupsets go: Super Record, Record, Chorus (all 12-speed), Ekar, Potenza, Centaur (both 11-speed), and Veloce (10-speed). Super Record and Record are available with EPS electronic shifting
12 of the best Campagnolo-equipped road bikes for 2021
- Tifosi Cavazzo Campagnolo Ekar — £2,999
- Specialized Diverge Pro Carbon Campagnolo LTD 2021 — £7,250
- Orro Terra C Ekar 2022 — £3,599.99
- Bianchi Specialissima Super Record 12 EPS 2022 — £11,999
- Cinelli Superstar Potenza 11 — £2,199.99
- Van Rysel Ultra CF Potenza — £1,999.99
- Pinarello Dogma F Super Record EPS — £12,400
- Wilier GTR Team Chorus — £2,430
- De Rosa Idol Disc Chorus — £4,250
- Condor Cycles Italia RC — from £3,363.94
- Canyon Aeroad CFR Disc EPS — £9,749
- Colnago C64 Campagnolo Super Record EPS — £12,762
It’s still possible to cut through the Shimano domination and find bikes that are equipped with Campagnolo, but such bikes are getting harder to find. So we’ve done the search for you and rounded up a nice selection of road bikes built around the Italian groupsets covering a wide band of price points.
>>Read more: Your complete guide to Campagnolo road bike groupsets
The Campagnolo option
For many people, there is no brand more synonymous with the heritage and prestige of cycle racing than Campagnolo, the company founded by a man who invented the quick release skewer. Campagnolo has long been an innovative company bringing some of the lightest and advanced components to market, and Campagnolo also invented the rear derailleur as we know it today.
>>Read more: Campagnolo Super Record Road Groupset review
Over the years Campagnolo is increasingly found more on very expensive showstopper road bikes, with Shimano cleaning up at the more cost-conscious price points. This is down to the Japanese company offering a wider range of competitively priced groupsets and the economies of scale working in its favour, it’s able to provide good deals for large bike companies selling bikes in huge numbers.
To try and combat the decline of Campagnolo support the company launched the Potenza groupset, aimed at the mid-range market dominated by Shimano’s Ultegra, but it did look like you were still paying a premium to have Campagnolo on your bike.
In the next stage of the fightback, Campagnolo launched the Centaur groupset, aimed at the riders who currently use Shimano 105. Campagnolo components are still not what you'd call common, but with Potenza and Centaur there are a few more Campagnolo-equipped models on offer than a few years ago. Even though Campagnolo quietly dropped Potenza from the range last year you can still find bikes with it on sale.
A short while ago Campagnolo roared into the gravel bike sector with the 13-speed Ekar groupset which boasts a big gear range combined with single-chainring simplicity and has properly stood the dirt-road community on its ear. It's a very impressive achievement.
Bike manufacturers have been quick to offer Ekar-equipped bikes so we've kicked off with a few of them.
Tifosi Cavazzo Campagnolo Ekar — £2,999
One of the cheapest bikes you can buy with Campagnolo's 1x13 Ekar groupset, the Cavazzo boasts a carbon-fibre frame in a configuration that's halfway between endurance road bike and fast gravel bike.
Read our review of the Tifosi Cavazzo
Find a Tifosi dealer
Specialized Diverge Pro Carbon Campagnolo LTD 2021 — £7,250
Specialized introduced a whole raft of improvements to their Diverge gravel bike platform for 2021 so it's only fitting they should offer a version with the Ekar groupset. You get the 9-42 cassette for the widest gear range available from a non-electronic 1X bike, and Specialized's own Roval carbon fibre wheels.
Orro Terra C Ekar 2022 — £3,599.99
At a slightly less stratospheric price, here's UK company Orro Bikes' Ekar-equipped rig, the Terra C Ekar. It gets the Rapid Red 3 wheels from Campagnolo sister brand Fulcrum, 38mm tyres from Vredestein and Deda's flared gravel bike handlebar.
Read our review of the Orro Terra C
Bianchi Specialissima Super Record 12 EPS 2022 — £11,999
If money is no object, and it really needs to be for this bike, the Specialissima is Bianchi’s flagship full carbon race bike and is outfitted here with the top-of-the-range electronic Super Record 12-speed groupset. This latest version of the Specialissima has internally-routed cables and disc brakes (there's no rim-braked complete bike, though you can still buy a rim-brake-compatible bare frame); it's a dramatic modernisation of a previously very conservative bike.
Read our review of the Bianchi Specialissima
Cinelli Superstar Potenza 11 — £2,199.99
One of Italy's most famous bike brands, Cinelli is known for striking design, though the Superstar here really only nods to that with its colourful stripes. We suspect that painting the Toray 700 carbon fibre frame in a riot of colours might have looked a bit odd with the black Potenza components.
Van Rysel Ultra CF Potenza — £1,999.99
Sport megastore chain Decathlon is known for great-value midrange bikes but it's maybe not the place you'd expect to find a Campagnolo-equipped bike. The Van Rysel Ultra CF Potenza confounds expectations with an excellent carbon fibre frame and full Potenza groupset including the chainset which many brands swap out for a cheaper model. The wheels are Campagnolo Zondas and it rolls on Hutchinson Fusion 5 Performance tyres. It's a very tidy package for the money.
Pinarello Dogma F Super Record EPS — £12,400
The latest version of the legendary Dogma with Campagnolo's top electronic groupset, and the renowned Shamal wheels. You don't really need both kidneys.
Wilier GTR Team Chorus — £2,430
The GTR Team is Wilier's all-rounder frame, suitable for racing or just for long days exploring the lanes. It's clad here in a Chorus groupset and Campagnolo Calima wheels. Wilier offers a substantial range of Campagnolo-equipped bikes, as you might expect from a company whose very name celebrates Italian liberation.
De Rosa Idol Disc Chorus — £4,250
The De Rosa Idol is a quick and energetic gran fondo/sportive bike that rides a lot like a full-on race bike. If you're after a lively performer, it's well worth a look. The Idol is available in various builds including one with a Campagnolo Potenza groupset and Fulcrum wheels.
Read our review of the De Rosa Idol
Find a De Rosa dealer
Condor Cycles Italia RC — from £3,363.94
London-based Condor Cycles lets you spec any Campagnolo groupset, and using their bike builder we picked an Italia RC aluminium frame with a Campagnolo Chorus 12-speed groupset and topped it off with Bora One 35 Clincher carbon wheels plus a selection of other mostly Italian goodies.
Read our review of the Campagnolo Chorus groupset
Canyon Aeroad CFR Disc EPS — £9,749
The Aeroad CFR is German company Canyon’s lightest aero frame and is available in a wide range of builds, including this full Campagnolo Super Record EPS version. It's not exactly cheap, but at a claimed 7.32kg it's light for a disc-braked aero bike. If weight's your entire priority, check out the Ultimate CFR Disc EPS at a claimed 6.29kg.
Read more: Canyon unveils 2021 Aeroad 065 road bike
Colnago C64 Campagnolo Super Record EPS — £12,762
Colnago’s C64 is a custom build option so you can build it with any parts you like. We got stuck into the bike builder at Bespoke Cycling to put together this dream build with Bora Ultra wheels, Enve bars and stem and a full Super Record EPS groupset, but with mechanical Super Record and more modest components you could knock four grand off that and still have an amazing bike.
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John has been writing about bikes and cycling for over 30 years since discovering that people were mug enough to pay him for it rather than expecting him to do an honest day's work.
He was heavily involved in the mountain bike boom of the late 1980s as a racer, team manager and race promoter, and that led to writing for Mountain Biking UK magazine shortly after its inception. He got the gig by phoning up the editor and telling him the magazine was rubbish and he could do better. Rather than telling him to get lost, MBUK editor Tym Manley called John’s bluff and the rest is history.
Since then he has worked on MTB Pro magazine and was editor of Maximum Mountain Bike and Australian Mountain Bike magazines, before switching to the web in 2000 to work for CyclingNews.com. Along with road.cc founder Tony Farrelly, John was on the launch team for BikeRadar.com and subsequently became editor in chief of Future Publishing’s group of cycling magazines and websites, including Cycling Plus, MBUK, What Mountain Bike and Procycling.
John has also written for Cyclist magazine, edited the BikeMagic website and was founding editor of TotalWomensCycling.com before handing over to someone far more representative of the site's main audience.
He joined road.cc in 2013. He lives in Cambridge where the lack of hills is more than made up for by the headwinds.
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29 comments
So many out-of-date bits in the intro to this article.
Err... I think all three major manufacturers now have 12 speeds.
Ekar is 13-speed, Veloce has not been available for several years. Potenza is discontinued.
It's nice to see a bit of love for Campag, but please make sure these articles are updated when they're regurgitated.
Nice piece but slightly out of date, here and there.
Super Record only for 12s EPS - there's no Record (RE) option although the RE crankset and (rim) brakes can be used to draw down the pricing, if required.
12s mechanical line up is Chorus (CH), Record (RE) and Super Record (SR).
All 12s groups come in rim or disc brake options.
11s only has Centaur11 now, Potenza ceased production at the beginning of this model year. Rim brake only.
10s still have Veloce derailleurs and levers, no other dedicated 10s parts.
13s Ekar, as you might expect, disc brake only.
Preamble to this guide (paricularly on 12x & 13x) is well out-of-date!..
Plus, flagship bike products (framesets, groupsets, wheelsets) are lighter/stiffer carbon for good reason, so you'd expect a big shout-out for campagnolo's all-carbon groupsets (not a major rival's pretend alloy-painted-black); but the carbon advantage isn't credited anywhere in this guide (although you do it for the wheelsets and framesets)?
I had a look at that Ekar-equipped Orro in a shop last weekend. It's a lot of bike for the money. Very nice.
All these people dissing on the mighty Campagnolo obviously haven't owned a Campag groupset. C is still the best groupset company. There is no equal.
Long may this be the case.
Why? Wouldn't it be a good thing if someone brought out something that was better than the current best?
Not if you ride a MTB, they're not.
Nor any good for fishing: https://fish.shimano-eu.com
I'm deeply saddened that the new Sprint doesn't come in a Campag flavour. Would be such a great combo.
Campagnolo is hands down the best mechanical shifting - ultrashift. I daresay EPS is the best electric but no one has ever tried it due to the price. Come on Campag, blow the competition out the water with an electric Veloce.
This year you can't get many Bianchis with Campag. I have been looking to replace my Infinito CV/Potenza with the disk version and there is no Campag option. If you look at the 2020 range the only Campag options are Super Record on the Oltre and Speciallisima. Does anyone know why Bianchi are not speccing their bikes with Campag?
Because Bianchi is not Italian. Its same swedish shop that owns numerous other brands and all production is in china.
Bianchi moved production out of italy in the 90's - except from their reparto corsa handbuild shop. That closed down +10y ago.
Yep, I think the bikes are made by Merida. They had the same fork recall that Merida had.
Still they do trade on being the oldest "Italian" brand and up until last year there was a lot of Campag options on their bikes.
Ah, that explains why the quality of the Bianchi I ended up with is head and shoulders above the (two!) Pinarellos I returned due to 1) awful paint and 2) seatpost failing to fit into seat tube!
I'm waiting to find the time to screw together an Infinito CV/H11 build. Had to buy frameset and components. Old school.
Try Epic Cycles, they usually have good Bianchi options with Campag.
https://epic-cycles.co.uk/bianchi
I've ridden on my last bike with Campag parts on it. After 2 frustrating years with Chorus 11spd, I swapped to Ultegra R8000 on my summer bike; the difference was like night and day. Smooth shifting in all hand positions is just a joy. You can say it's soulless, I'll go for efficient any day of the week.
I'm currently sorting the winter bike out with Ultegra too, it's got me smitten.
Disclosure: I'm a Campag fanboi. But your Chorus must have been installed and tuned by an ape.
How are those single cog gear shifts on a 'second tier groupset' working out for you?
You'll have to prise campag ultrashift from my cold dead fingers.
Almost certainly bad installation.
Chorus 11s is absolutely bomb-proof, shifts well and consistently.
I'm Campag's head mechanic in the UK, so I accept I'm bound to stand up for the product but if you have had problems with any but the very earliest iteration (and I'm talking the 1st two months post launch in 2009), it'll be down to something other than the kit.
I have the corkscrew, it make me smile every time I use it, or maybe thats the wine.
The corkscrew is really good. I don't have one but I have a friend who does. I can tell you it's a very satisfying way to open a wine bottle.
New Canyon Ultimate Team Movistar...12 speed Record EPS disc and Bora One 50 wheels for £7249 is really expensive, but a really expensive bargain.
Anyone else find the German Canyon with Italian Campag groupset looks rather odd
? A bit like a BMW with Alfa Romeo alloys on it or vice versa...
Strikes me as a winning combo personally! I’ve ridden various Campag Super Record EPS Canyons - the Aeroad, and a pretty special Movistar team Ultimate (currently on eBay, sob). Fantastic bikes, and for me Campagnolo is still right up there with the best. Wouldn’t buy their corkscrew, mind...
I can somehow justify Super Record and wheel that cost as much as two sets of Zipp....but, cant justify the cost of the cork screw....(besides, I guess smart people who love the earth get their wine in a box or some such crap)
I like Campagnolo groupsets. I’m lucky enough to have many bikes adorned with them. I also like wine (who doesn’t). So an original Campagnolo corkscrew was a no brainer. Tulio invented this style of opener back in the mid 60’s which has now been copied and produced in the billions (probably). Sure you can get a cheap copy, but some of us want the OG version that’s been pretty much unchanged since its invention. I know a guy who’s had his for decades (he’s happy to boast about it) and it’s still going strong! They’re also made from offcuts and old chain ring bolts – so they’re eco-friendly (probably).
I like Campagnolo groupsets. I’m lucky enough to have many bikes adorned with them. I also like wine (who doesn’t)
Well, you're wrong on at least one count.
Nah, not really.
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Nor me. 6.5kg of climbing perfection
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