Campagnolo nerd here, who has run this groupset for 2 years. Just an FYI there is a 1.5mm adjustment screw on the shift paddle(you can see the passage for the allen key from the underside) that brings it toward the bar so it doesn't get stuck on the lever. This isn't a design flaw, but if you change the reach adjust you have to change this as well. Once you adjust you will have no issue with the shift lever catching on the brake. I love the brakes, I think they are the best out there, and the shifting has been on a whole reliable (though I would prefer if they just did this in electronic, then it would be perfect). I haven't missed my FD at all. Most people should just use one of the 2 's' brands(nothing against them, I run Eagle AXS on the MTB with shimano brakes), but if you are inclined to ride something different, this makes an excellent choice.
sram has the same thing on the mechanical version, once you have the brake lever adjusted you have to adjust the shift lever as well otherwise it will stuck behind the brake lever. I'm surprised Clint did not find this as he had in the past a CX bike with one by 11 sram force.
Same for me here. Had trouble with the lever and adjusted it - 'problem' solved. I love the thumb-shifter... after riding the Ekar for a year exclusively, I started wanting to thumb-shift on my etap group set 😅
This is so interesting and subjective because I love the shifting Campagnolo system precisely because is so different from Shimano. I have this group already and I have never ever had a single problem with the shift paddles in more than two years. I feel this review was made from the Shimano perspective and is not very neutral. I would never go back to Shimano.
Thanks for the review. I am very happy with Campy Ekar, using it now for almost two years. Recently the inner cable and the chain were replaced during maintenance. The reasen for the inner cablechange was that I had to adjust the cabletension quite often. For now it is running as new. Happy Campy biker!
With my road bikes, I have been a life-long Campy snob. I used to joke that Shimano invented DI2 so that they could get shifting that approached the perfection of Campy mechanical. But I agree with you that Shimano nailed it with the GRX gravel group. I've got GRX 2x11 on both of my gravel bikes and it will take something revolutionary to get me to switch. I don't think Ekar is it.
Really feels like we hit the diminishing returns of speeds here. There's part of me that would rather go back to 11 speed sometimes. I don't need to have a perfect 95 RPM cadence at every second of my ride.
Good vid‼️👍‼️I’ve had Ekar x last 2 yrs & really like the gruppo. I agree w/you about keeping consistent shift systems. I have a new DA 12-Di2 on a Ridley & it does take some effort getting used to the dbl blades on the shifters!!!
I've had the Ekar on my Obed Boundary for about 2 years. I chose it because i wanted a 1x due to the simplicity and at the time the Ekar had the lowest gear of any 1x. So far it has been incredibly reliable; no need to tune it up except after putting on new chains. I like the shifting and brake feel. I agree the jumps between gears are not too much. I never do group rides, so finding the right pace is never an issue for me. My major dislike, apart from cost of brake pads, etc., are the hoods. Try as i might, there is always a bump where they meet the bars that really gets annoying on long rides. Overall the hoods are ergonomical and comfortable apart from this.
I agree, that bump on the trailing edge of the hood takes a lot of placement trials to get it to feel OK. The rest of the hood is great. The brakes are super strong, I am thinking Clint did not have his fully bled. The rotor clearance could be better in the caliper, it took me awhile to get my rotors to run rub free. Also the rear derailleur is very sensitive to the b tension adjustment.
Thanks for the honest review. I think the next group on my gravel bike will be GRX 12 speed. Currently run 5800 series 105 and I gave it some live back with Jagwire cables.
I hear you. Many years ago as a die-hard roadie, Campy was my favourite groupset. Fast forward 30 years and a complete switch to mtb, I'm a Shimano fan. My last Campy equipped bike sold over a year ago and still I recall the funny hand rotation outwards to shift to harder gears from hand position on top of the bars. I hardly ever rode with my hands in the lower position. As I now 99% of the time ride flat bar bikes, Shimano wins my vote. I have one bike with Sram (std 1x12 mtb group) and three bikes with Shimano (also std 1×12 mtb group). Shimano shifting is definitely slower than Sram, but I really miss being able to shift to harder gears with my fore-finger using Sram. I like changing hand positions to rest the muscles in my hands a bit, and Sram limits me to a full grip on the bars at all times for shifting. I'm really old school and use stubby bar ends and enjoy the additional hand positions these enable and Shimano just works so well with them. My opinion for the stats 😊.
Great review thanks. That Campy lever shift setup is terrible as s--. Loving my 12s 1x GRX mechanical group w/ integrated dropper post control on the left lever.
I have always wanted to try the Campy shifters out of curiosity, but no one I know has them. For me Shimano GRX 810 (48-31) with a 11-30 cassette offers the perfect ratios for me; and, when used with Jagwire Pro cables, the shifting is excellent. Plus Shimano is far cheaper than Campy.
I agree. That inner lever is too far back. Not exactly ergonomically designed. I've used Campy chorus and record groups in the past on my road bikes and that inner lever which was a button was mounted forward which felt very natural to reach.
Interesting comments on preferring Shimano shifting to Campagnolo. Shimano's swinging brake lever annoyed me when I've used it before, sometimes I'd end up braking when trying to find an easier gear. I'm about to put EKAR on a new gravel build having been familiar with Campag thumb shifting for over a decade. No doubt it takes some getting used to however, if you've been on Shimano for ever. I'm sure this isn't perfect but hoping the advantages of 13s 1x outweigh the possible fiddly set up/ adjustments that some people are reporting. I can't see 1x11 as a superior offer. (Di2 GRX 1x12 on the other hand could be good but still not here and likely mega bucks). SRAM 1X12 etap has it's own issues for my set up.
Hi Clint , thanks for the review . I have been riding this group for more than 2 years. Otherwise , all my bikes are on Shimano . If there was Shimano 1 x 12 available at the time I was buying the bike I would go for that . But it was not. I can agree with you about the mushy break feeling but if you really need to stop quickly and you press the lever hard it can block the wheel pretty fast . You made a point about the shifting lever getting stuck - I think this is just because it was not adjusted properly - there is a screw that can be used to move the lever further away from the break lever so, there is no issue then. Shifting is very precise . I sometime wonder whether actually adjusting the cable make any sense because I played with that for the reason I would explain next but it has always been shifting well. Not sure how Campy do that :) . The reason I played with the adjustment was - and that was something I wanted to hear in your review but it was not mentioned ( either you do not think it was important or you had no problem with that ). The problem is the noise that cassette or whatever, makes on the last 3 - 4 top sprockets . When I clean the cassette , grease it ,the noise is off for a while but after some time it comes back . And believe me, I keep the chain and system clean. I tried everything , more grease, removing the spacer , replacing the spacer and so on but it is still there. And that is the only very annoying thing about Ekar . I think the cassette is light but not stiff enough or maybe there is not enough of engagement teeth for that size. Anybody know what to do ? Any help welcomed . Thanks
Does our cassette have black spacers or grey spacers between the cogs? The black was the first release and noisy. The grey spacer cassettes are quiet (updated relelase to address the noise issue with the black spacer cassettes).
It originally came with the black spacer but Campy sent me the grey one when I complained. However , it did not solve the problem. Noise is still there.
I've got this and have had years of Shimano. The Campy brakes are easily the best i've ever had. disagree strongly there. Also the thumb lever is just different and avoids the 2-way folding brake lever. Preference here is subjective. Shifting is ace and very mechanical and direct. Shimano is smoother, quieter but vague in comparison. Campy looks better though.
The ergonomics of that shifter are shockingly bad. Shimano may never be first to market with an innovation but you know what you're getting with them. GRX has been flawless for me as well.
This guy’s an ass clown Shimano fanboy. I came from SRAM to my EKAR, which I’ve been riding for 2 years, and absolutely love this group set. I read all the negative reviews before purchasing the EKAR, and I’m so glad I ignored them. Took me about 2 shifts to get used to the “weird” shifter - love it! And the hard shifting into the different cogs was weird at first but that’s the design. Wish I had this years ago!
L TWOO HAS BEEN MAKING 13 SPEED ONE BY GROUPSETS FOR OVER TWO YEARS, AND THEY ARE NOT THE ONLY CHINESE COMPANY THATS MAKES THEM. We already have a programmable 13 speed electronic derailleur for under 400 bucks in the aftermarket THAT IS A SERIOUS PIECE OF TECH. iF ANYONE THINKS Shimano, Sram and Campagnolo are the only available options on the market then you got some serious studying to do. Great review, but i just had to do my usual thing Clint.
