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Sram Red vs Campagnolo Super Record Wireless Groupset
Apr 8, 2025
How does the Campagnolo's Super Record groupset stand next to theSram's RED AXS eTap groupset? Sam Gupta has been hands-on with both groupsets and has judged them both across ten categories. These include: weight, practicality, braking performance, shifting quality, aesthetics, ergonomics, features, gearing options, power meter and price.
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Campagnolo recently dropped the update to its flagship groupset, Super Record Wireless
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In the words of none other than son of the founder, Valentino Campagnolo
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the pathway of development was paved with patents. It's not out of the question to assume that many of those pre-existing patents
0:17
will have stopped Campagnolo from creating the groupset that it really wanted to
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This may play into the reason why the groupset generally received a rather lukewarm response at launch
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So since this groupset does seem to share quite a few similarities with the SRAM Red groupset
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I'm going to play a little game of top trumps to see how these two really stack up against each other on paper
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First off, we're going to start with a pretty easy category and one which lands in a bit of a tie
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That being weight. The claim weights are remarkably similar. Super Record Wireless comes in at a claimed 2,520 grams, while Red comes in at 2,518 grams
1:07
just two grams of difference. The only caveat to make in the case of Red is that in the power
1:13
meter version of the group set, it will weigh an extra 36 grams. Of course, these are just
1:19
claimed weights, and the Cycling Weekly Scales of Truth may tell a different story. But until
1:25
that day comes, comparing claimed weights has resulted in an early tie. Up next is the
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practicality of owning and using each group set. Happily, charging on both group sets is very easy
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The batteries can be removed and charged within the home. And with Super Record, you also have
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the option to charge the batteries in situ without removal. Charge times also look to be pretty
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similar. Both claim to be able to reach a full charge in an hour when connected to an AC power
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source. Both group sets also have accompanying apps which allow you to update, customize and
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just take ownership of your group set. From a maintenance point of view, the new Campagnolo
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doesn't need any new tools which is a great relief and the tools needed to maintain the
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SRAM group set are generally no different to what any normal workshop would have
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Again, I'm going to call this round a tie. On to braking performance, and I think Campagnolo takes this one
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The brakes didn't actually see any radical changes over the previous generation
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other than some aesthetic updates and a few changes to the internal components
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It was one aspect that Campagnolo didn't really feel the need to greatly improve upon
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as what they already had was already pretty good. And I'm inclined to agree
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They feel smooth and progressive while still maintaining a really high level of power and
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control. SRAMs aren't bad by any means but they don't possess the same level of feel
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and modulation. So this one goes to Campagnolo. Shifting performance is a huge part of what makes a good group set and both deliver lightning fast shifting at the rear I found on my short test ride with the Super Record Wireless groupset that it was slightly more prone to a misshift
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compared to Red. There were a couple of occasions when it felt like the gears were slipping
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or that the chain just wasn't properly engaging with the cassette but over 90% of the time the
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shifts were fast, smooth and reliable. Sram has a higher hit rate and it's only on the very rare
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occasion that you might feel something out of the ordinary. Now as I turn my attention to the front
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neck shifting it's clear that they both have their problems. While neither are especially bad
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neither are as fast as Shimano. Super Record Wireless did also carry that same vagueness of
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feeling across to the front neck as occasionally when the cadence was a little bit slower it did
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take a little bit longer to change. I'm going to give this round to SRAM as on the whole my
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experience has been better, but I will be happy to eat my words after spending more time with the
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Super Record wireless groupset. Aesthetics is really down to personal preference, but to me
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SRAM Red looks like a top-of-the-range groupset. Super Record doesn't. The mechs are much bulkier
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on Super Record, and it doesn't have one standout feature or aspect of design language that appears
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to be carving out a future for the brand. It looks more like the affordable version of the groupset
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that you really want. To my mind, you want your flagship groupset to be bold and daring in design
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so that you can then rein in the design for the group sets that sit below. However, with Super
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Record, it already looks like it's been reined in. I worry how tame or similar to Super Record
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the second tier record will end up looking. On the other hand, there is a very clear design
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language in the SRAM lineup, with red looking very bold and very sleek, with force taking on
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a more subdued look. This round goes to SRAM red, but you might disagree
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Ergonomics were something Campagnolo were very keen to improve upon, which is why the shifters
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are a complete ground-up redesign, and it's something which the engineers themselves are
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particularly proud of. SRAM 2 has been working on its shifter design, and we're now seeing the same
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hood shape pop up on Force, Rival, and Apex, and I would not be surprised to see the same appear on
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Red in the future as well. However, as it currently stands, there are a couple of key points which
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differentiate the two. While the Super Record hoods were comfortable when just riding along casually
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when I started to ride a bit more aggressively, especially up a climb, as I was pulling on the
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shifters, the gap behind the brake cleavers in the main shifter body dug into my fingers and it was
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quite uncomfortable. I believe that these hoods will suit those with larger hands as I felt they
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just dwarfed mine to some extent. Conversely, SRAM's hoods have softer curves and fit in my
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hands rather well. The softer edges, grippier compound of rubber and simple one-button actuation
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make it an easier shifter to interact with Now that not to say that I wouldn love to see the brake reservoirs shrink on a future generation but with what we have today red just feels better to me
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The number of features is an area where Super Record really falls behind. For example
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as it currently stands, Campaq doesn't offer any satellite shifters which SRAM does and you can't
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swap the batteries between the two derailleurs, which you can on SRAM. It's clear that SRAM has
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beaten Campag to the punch on many aspects, and it does start to show up here. Campagnolo has built
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in the ability to manually turn off the group set via a couple of buttons on the shifters
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This is so the batteries don't drain whenever the bike is in motion, as it'll just wake up
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every time it's moved. But this is less of a feature and more something that's just needed
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so that battery life is maintained. So really, this round goes to SRAM
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One of the big updates that Campagnolo made to the latest generation is the changing gear ratios
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It claimed that it wanted riders to always be able to find the perfect cadence, and this resulted
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in the brand joining SRAM by only offering cassettes that start from 10 teeth. It's unlikely
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that the resulting increase in chain actuation resistance will be on the minds of the CamPag
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customers as refining cadence is arguably a more tangible improvement to ride quality
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So how do the two brands go about it differently and more importantly who does it best? Well I used
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a gear inch calculator to tell me. While both group sets offer the same hardest and easiest
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possible gear it's the bits in the middle which are of more interest on the biggest possible
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chain rings and the tightest cassette essentially you'll go fast setup campagnolo offers a little
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bit more range as the easiest possible gear is slightly lower than strams on the other hand when
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looking at the setup best suited for climbing it's around that offers a slightly wider range
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Sheer gear ratios are one thing, but the jumps between those gears are also very important to
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allow you to fine tune your cadence. And once again, both are very similar. Each has opted for
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one tooth increments at the bottom of the block and then revert to two to three jumps at the top
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of the block. Now, I have always praised SRAM for this setup in this regard, as it always means that
9:00
you can really hone in on the perfect cadence. And I really enjoyed this aspect of the Campagnolo
9:06
group set too, so I'll call this round a tie. Our penultimate round is a simple one, power meters
9:18
Quite simply, SRAM has one and Campagnolo does not. It says that one will be coming in the future
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but as yet, we have no idea when that will be. In contrast, SRAM has some deep roots in the
9:32
power meter game. Since the brand owns Quark and PowerTap, it has some great technology at its disposal
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And this has resulted in a very accurate and cleanly integrated chainring based power meter For now though if you an early adopter of the Super Record Wireless Group Set then you need to look at other options for your power needs
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This one goes to SRAM. Perhaps one of the most contentious issues that people had on the release of the Super Record
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Wireless Group Set was its price. Maybe had the price been a little more in line with its competitors
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people would be more willing to forgive and look past some of the lack of finesse
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To highlight just how much more the groupset really is compared to SRAM on screen you can
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see the retail pricing of the standard 2x hydraulic red groupset. Below that is the price for the same
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groupset but with the power meter and then below that is the price for the super record wireless in
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its currently only available form. Here in the UK, the difference between the comparable group
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sets is £1,150 or $1,651, with it dropping to £705 or $1,141 when comparing the Power Meter
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version of Red to the only available version of Super Record. As I often say in many group set
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videos, few people are going to go out and buy a group set by itself. No, group sets come on bikes
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So how do the full build costs stack up against each other? Well, here in the UK, the specialized
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S-Works Athos is available for £13,000 with the full SRAM Red with power meter. The Campagnolo
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build is being offered at £15,000, an extra £2,000. It should be highlighted that this isn't
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just down to the groupset. The bike is also fitted with Campagnolo's own Hyperion Ultra wheels
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which will cost Specialized more money to fit over and above its in-house Roval wheels. But
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this is a story which I believe is likely to be seen across multiple builds. Really
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it's safe to say this round goes to SRAM. The result of this battle of top trumps paints a
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pretty harsh picture for Campagnolo but given my experience with both group sets and the hard facts
12:04
it's a reflection that I think will keep appearing. You may be questioning why I didn't bring Shimano
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into this video and that's because the current form of Dura-Ace doesn't share quite so much in
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common as these group sets do and on the surface pose a rather titillating comparison
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SRAM Red as we know it was last updated in 2019 so it would not be a surprise to see a new version
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of it very soon. Now if these results are anything to go by any potential new SRAM Red could be about
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to leave Super Record Wireless in the dust. Let me know down below what do you think of today's
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comparison. Would you be willing to purchase Campagnolo purely because of the name or do you
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want to adopt more of that modern approach that SRAM takes? If you enjoyed the video then please
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do drop it a like, subscribe to the channel for more content and I will see you again very soon
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