Out of the three leading groupset manufacturers, Italian brand Campagnolo is the smallest but also certainly the most storied. It accounts for a volume of sales inversely proportional to the number of mechanics with its logo tattooed somewhere about their body and its products inspire unusual levels of devotion.

Campagnolo has always been a high-end manufacturer and while it has dabbled at the budget end of things, it has long since ceded the entry-level and mid-market to its rivals. Its groupsets have a reputation for durability, aesthetics and premium pricing, and the brand largely concentrates on racing products plus its Ekar gravel range.

With such a focused range, many technologies appear across multiple groupsets in the company’s lineup. Campagnolo currently produces a small range of electronic groupsets, including the expensive Super Record 13 and the lower priced Record 13, both available as 2x and 1x options, and a cluster of legacy 2×12-speed options. Below this sit the 2×12-speed legacy mechanical options of Super Record, Record and Chorus.

Campagnolo has also made its mark on gravel with the 13-speed single-ring Ekar groupset and Ekar GT, a lower priced option which in addition offers a wider range than standard Ekar. Both Super Record and Record include 1×13-speed wireless electronic options too, as well as 2×13-speed clutched all-road configurations.

You can find a breakdown of each groupset’s key features and how it compares to its rivals below.

The Campagnolo groupset range Road groupsets

• Super Record 13 13-speed – read our full review
• Record 13 13-speed
• Super Record Wireless 12-speed (legacy) – read our full review
• Super Record S Wireless 12-speed
• Super Record EPS 12-speed (legacy)
• Super Record mechanical disc/rim brake 12-speed
• Record disc/rim brake 12-speed (legacy)
• Chorus disc/rim brake 12-speed

Gravel groupsets

• Super Record X 13-speed – full review coming soon
• Record X 13-speed
• Ekar 13-speed – read our full review
• Ekar GT 13-speed – read our full review

What’s the difference?

Campagnolo’s more expensive groupsets have greater numbers of gears, lower weights and electronic shifting. That said, shared technology means key areas like braking power are often standardised across several tiers.

Campagnolo is known for its use of materials like titanium and carbon fibre, and the look and feel of the groupsets change as you spend more. Always a company to go its own way, it’s worth noting that while Campagnolo groupsets will work on any bike and with most wheels, you will probably need to swap the freehub on your rear wheel to accommodate the brand’s uniquely shaped cassettes.

Below you’ll find a quick explanation of each of the major Campagnolo groupsets, along with a list of its key features and variants.

Campagnolo Super Record 13 13-speed

Outrageously light, very expensive, and with its integrated batteries clunkier-looking than Shimano or SRAM. Still the choice for well-heeled Campagnolo fans.

• RRP: £3,900
• Cassette: 13-speed
• Largest sprocket: 36t
• Shifting: Electronic only
• Brakes: Hydraulic disc
• Overall weight: 2,445g (claimed)

Campagnolo's Super Record 13 groupset offers wireless electronic shifting and has added a 13th sprocket to the cassette. Unlike its predecessor 12-speed wireless groupset, which was considerably more expensive, its price is close to that of Shimano Dura-Ace R9200 and SRAM Red AXS, although you can restore the premium and save 81g by fitting the €990 Ultra upgrade kit.

While Campagnolo abandoned the thumb shifter on the 12-speed Super Record Wireless, it's back again on Super Record 13, although redesigned. You can also for the first time add satellite shifters.

Campagnolo has also added a power meter to its Super Record repertoire. The HPPM power meter adds 16 strain gauges to the crankset spider, which is claimed to lead to a +/-1% power reading accuracy. It runs on a rechargeable internal battery with a run-time of over five weeks on a charge. It too is pricey, adding a further £1,000 to the groupset's cost.

Aimed very much at going fast, Super Record 13 still offers some concessions to those yet to win themselves a pro contract. The new groupset has a 10-tooth smallest sprocket in the cassette and heads out to 36 teeth across the four cassettes on offer. Paired with seven different chainring combinations, that gives the option of gear ratios well below 1:1 if you want to be able to spin up the hills.

While SRAM's wireless AXS groupsets let you swap batteries if you find that your rear derailleur has given up mid-ride, that's not an option here, as Super Record 13 has different shaped batteries front and rear. As well as off-bike charging, there is charging in situ though, with a magnetic coupler to the charger.

Super Record has gone disc brake-only, further breaking with the traditionalists who see an Italian rim brake groupset as the only option on an Italian bike frame. It's diversified with single chainring, time trial and 2x all-road options, all with a clutched derailleur and there's also a gravel version, Super Record X (see below).

• Read our full Campagnolo Super Record 13 groupset review
• Read more: Campagnolo Super Record 13 vs Shimano Dura-Ace vs SRAM Red

Campagnolo Record 13 13-speed Campagnolo

Trickle-down from Super Record 13 with the same configuration options, just less expensive materials, a 300g-ish weight increase and a £1,500 lower price.

• RRP: £2,340
• Cassette: 13-speed
• Largest sprocket: 36t
• Shifting: Electronic only
• Brakes: Hydraulic disc
• Overall weight: 2,783g (claimed)

Campagnolo has trickled down the tech from Super Record 13 to Record 13. It's swapped some materials, for example using a steel bottom bracket spindle instead of titanium and solid rather than hollow carbon crank arms, resulting in a groupset weight that's claimed to be between 208g and 342g greater.

Other parts, such as the electronics, disc brakes and the batteries, are shared with Super Record 13 and the shift speed is identical. Shifter ergonomics are the same as Super Record 13 too, as is the range of cassette and chainring sizes and there's the same range of configuration options: 2x and 1x road, 1x clutched road and 2x clutched all-road. There's a Record HPPM power meter available too, which simplifies the electronics and decreases claimed power measurement accuracy from +/-1% to +/-2%, but almost halves the price.

If you want Campagnolo and can handle the extra weight, Record looks to be the sensible, affordable alternative to Super record.

• Read more: Campagnolo Record 13 launch story with configurations, weights and prices

Campagnolo Super Record S Wireless 12-speed Campagnolo

A lower priced version of the legacy 12-speed Super Record groupset, the S version adds around 150g to the weight and new gearing options.

• RRP: £3,525
• Cassette: 12-speed
• Largest sprocket: 32t
• Shifting: Electronic only
• Brakes: Hydraulic disc
• Overall weight: 2,700g (estimated)

Billed as a special edition of 12-speed Super Record Wireless, adding an S cut around £1,000 from the price, putting the groupset in the same league as Shimano Dura-Ace and SRAM Red AXS. The Super Record S Wireless groupset is distinguished by its matt black finish; it also uses fewer fancy materials than the original, which Campagnolo claims adds around 150g to the groupset's weight.

Campagnolo offers standard 50/34t, 52/36t, 53/39t and 54/39t chainring combinations and a new 11-32t cassette, so there are more gearing options with S. There's also a matt black power meter to complete your groupset.

Campagnolo Super Record 12-speed

A stunning mechanical groupset if you can stomach the price.

• RRP: £2,857
• Cassette: 12-speed
• Largest sprocket: 34t
• Shifting: Mechanical (plus legacy EPS wired electronic)
• Brakes: Hydraulic disc or conventional caliper
• Overall Weight: 2,050g approx (disc version)

For the moment, you can still buy the Super Record mechanical groupset, Campagnolo’s top-end mechanical option. Super Record mechanical is lighter than Super Record Wireless and can accommodate cassettes with sprockets as large as 34t, although starting with 11, not 10 teeth. This means ordinary riders can take on slopes normally reserved for the most sadistic stages of the Giro d'Italia.

Mechanical Super Record also accommodates disc or rim brake options, with the timeless look of the main components nicely complementing either version. While you might have to rely on your digits rather than a pair of servo motors to do the shifting, Super Record offers crisp, satisfying shifting.

In addition, the multi-shift functionality allows you to drop down the cassette three cogs or up five via a single push of the corresponding lever – this is more than on any other mechanical groupset. Equally lovely is the operation of the crankset. It's made of hollow carbon fibre bonded to a titanium axle and it’s ridiculously light. The crank runs on Cult ceramic bearings and its design epitomises the company's approach to small details.

• Read our Campagnolo Super Record review

Campagnolo Chorus 12-speed

An attractive and good value mechanical alternative to Shimano with outstanding durability.

• RRP: £1,699
• Cassette: 12-speed
• Largest sprocket: 34t
• Shifting: Mechanical
• Brakes: Hydraulic disc or conventional caliper
• Overall weight: 2,580g approx

Is Chorus the Campagnolo groupset for the rest of us? Previously pitched as a competitor to Shimano’s Ultegra range, the decision to make that groupset electronic-only leaves Chorus without an obvious rival.

However, as Shimano is heading towards offering mechanical shifting as an entry to mid-level only product, we can see a lot more bikes switching to this groupset. For one thing, you get twelve sprockets at the back.

You also get a healthy serving of carbon fibre goodness across the groupset with the crank arms and rear derailleur body making use of it, while other parts are aluminium or steel.

Taken as a whole, Chorus is no heavyweight. With an eye on both the gravel and sportive market, it also offers a wide range of ways to spread out its 2×12-speed gearing.

These include a sub-compact 48/32t crankset, along with the ability to accommodate a 34t largest cassette sprocket that should mean you never have to resort to walking up a climb. Most of the components are explicitly made for the groupset but the brakes and rotors carry over from Campagnolo’s higher tiers.

• Read our full Campagnolo Chorus review

Campagnolo gravel bike groupsets compared Campagnolo Super Record X 13-speed

Campagnolo's first electronic gravel groupset builds on its Ekar mechanical 13-speed design.

• RRP: £2,999
• Cassette: 13-speed
• Largest sprocket: 48t
• Shifting: Electronic
• Brakes: Hydraulic disc
• Overall weight: 2,435g

Super Record X, for the first time, brings electronic shifting to Campagnolo's gravel groupset line-up. As with Ekar, which preceded it, it's 1x13-speed and offers two similar cassette ranges: 9-42t and 10-48t, although these are different from the Ekar versions. The derailleur is built to be more robust, the 16-tooth lower pulley wheel is larger than on Super Record road derailleurs and the motor more powerful, although Campagnolo claims a similar 750km range between charges.

All the cranksets have aero chainrings, with sizes from 38t to 52t available and Campagnolo offers an HPPM power meter as an option. Since there's only one derailleur to work, Super Record X is sold with a brake-only left lever with similar ergonomics to the standard Super Record brake/shift lever used on the right hand side.

• Read the full details on Campagnolo Super Record X

Campagnolo Record X 13-speed Campagnolo

As with the road groupsets, Record X shares tech and configurations with Super Record, just with lower priced materials.

• RRP: £2,400
• Cassette: 13-speed
• Largest sprocket: 48t
• Shifting: Electronic
• Brakes: Hydraulic disc
• Overall weight: 2,777g

As with its road-going Record 13 groupset, Campagnolo has borrowed extensively from Super Record X for its lower priced electronic gravel groupset. There are the same 9-42t and 10-48t cassette options and a similar wireless derailleur, with shared electronics and on-derailleur battery. They again share disc brake tech and there's a 1x Record 13 power meter available. Campagnolo offers eight aero chainrings to fit.

You're adding around 300g to the groupset weight, but saving £500 on the price.

Campagnolo Ekar 13-speed

A fantastic wide-ratio 13-speed mechanical gravel groupset.

• RRP: £1,449
• Cassette: 13-speed
• Largest sprocket: 44t
• Shifting: Mechanical
• Brakes: Hydraulic disc
• Overall weight: 2,385g approx

With Campagnolo so tied up with road racing culture, the forward-thinking Ekar gravel groupset took many by surprise. This 13-speed single-chainring mechanical system has a vast range of clever features. Billed as the world’s lightest gravel groupset, perhaps the biggest headline is its thirteen sequential gears which are linked up to a single chainring. However, it’s not just the number of gears on offer but the range that sets Ekar apart.

Its 'gravel race' cassette option goes from a tiny nine teeth up to a vast 42t, and there are 9-36t and 10-44t options too. Ekar offers a similar range to a typical twin-chainring setup and small jumps between the first few cogs mean shifts made when pedalling at high-speed won’t unsettle riders.

• Read more: Gravel bike gearing: Everything you need to know
• Read more: Gravel groupsets reviewed: Shimano vs SRAM vs Campagnolo

To accommodate this colossal range, Campagnolo has created a new N3W freehub standard. Now, while most people won’t rejoice at the introduction of another standard, this one does at least accomplish something worthwhile, plus it’s retrofittable to some existing wheels. Other parts are also pretty special, like the rear derailleur with a clutch function to retain the chain and the incredibly light but tough carbon crankset.

With just one side doing the shifting, Ekar’s Ergopower lever uses the same downshift (for easier gears) paddle ergonomics as Campagnolo’s road levers and can shift through up to three sprockets at a time. However, the unique thumb lever is stepped to allow you to upshift easily from both the hoods and the drops.

Ekar’s disc brake calipers are similar feeling to those on other Campagnolo groups but ever so slightly more powerful.

• Read our Campagnolo Ekar review

Campagnolo Ekar GT 13-speed Matthew Loveridge

Ekar tech at a lower price and with more gearing options.

• RRP: £1,211
• Cassette: 13-speed
• Largest sprocket: 48t
• Shifting: Mechanical
• Brakes: Hydraulic disc
• Overall weight: 2,700g approx

The Campagnolo Ekar GT groupset shaves some cost off the original Ekar by swapping from carbon fibre to aluminium in the crankset and the derailleur. It also increases available gearing options, by including a 10-48 tooth cassette and a 36 tooth chainring among its available configurations.

Other changes include larger jockey wheels, designed to be easier to clean and a redesigned hood shape that mirrors that of Super Record Wireless, although the different shaped thumb shifter of 'old' Ekar is retained. The crankset's stance width has also been increased.

Ekar GT also has a less flashy cassette assembly, with five single sprockets, while Ekar has all its sprockets clustered.

The net effect is a slight weight gain to a claimed 2,700g from Ekar's 2,385g and a price drop of around £250. 

• Read our Campagnolo Ekar GT groupset review

Not sure whether to damage your bank balance or go conservative when choosing your next groupset? To help you decide, we’ve listed the main differences between each groupset and its nearest neighbour in the Campagnolo hierarchy. Here’s how they match up.

Campagnolo Super Record 13 vs Record 13

If you want wireless electronic shifting and the flexibility that goes with it, you've got a second choice from Campagnolo with the more affordable Record 13. With both Super Record 13 and Record 13, you're getting the wider gear spread from smaller cassettes and chainrings that goes with this, a wide range of gearing options and a power meter as an upgrade.

If you want the tippity-top of groupsets and Campagnolo's traditional thumb shifters, Super Record 13 is for you, but Record 13 does the same thing for a lot less cash.

Campagnolo Record 13 vs Super Record S Wireless

You're getting more than just an extra sprocket with Record 13, you're also on a newer platform that Campagnolo claims will be the basis for its new groupset generation. There's compatibility with Super Record 13 components if you want to go premium and that's likely to trickle down to any lower priced groupset that Campagnolo may launch in future. You get a thumb shifter with Record 13 rather than Super Record S Wireless's stacked shifters.

List prices for Record 13 and Super Record S Wireless are similar too, although you may be more likely to find a discounted bargain on the latter.

Campagnolo Super Record S Wireless vs Super Record mechanical

If you're looking for electronic shifting at a similar price to Shimano Dura-Ace and standard chainring ratios, Super Record S Wireless is the one for you. You need to be a disc brake convert and willing to add 250g or so to your bike's weight though.

If, on the other hand, you're a traditionalist, who thinks that a shifter without a thumb lever is sacrilege, Super Record mechanical is for you. Ditto if you like rim brakes. At least you're saving some weight and a bit of cash.

Campagnolo Super Record vs Chorus

Campagnolo is keeping Chorus in its range for now, offering a lower priced option in its mechanical groupsets, making it attractive for anyone who doesn't want to go electronic or pay the premium for Super Record mechanical. For one thing, you get the same 12 speeds. It also shares the same excellent disc brakes as the rest of Campagnolo’s higher tiers.

Chorus is certainly more of an everyman groupset than Super Record, and you also get additional gearing options like the useful sub-compact 48/32t crankset.

The operation of the groupset is still very much the same, and you still get flashy carbon cranks. Of course, there are some trade-offs and overall weight is around five hundred grams more than its posher sibling. All this makes Chorus arguably the best value Campagnolo groupset for the traditionalist looking for an Italian groupset to finish off their Italian bike, particularly if rim brakes are needed.