The ULTIMATE Gravel Groupset!? Campagnolo Ekar 13 Speed Long-term Review

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I ride the 3T Exploro
3t.bike
0:00 Intro
1:00 Why 13 speed
1:40 The clutch
2:05 The front chain ring
3:02 The hood thumb button
4:40 The left 1x shifter advantage
5:30 I love the brakes!
6:19 The discs
6:40 The crank
7:17 The chain
7:40 The bottom bracket
8:22 The shifting is so snappy
9:00 ALL THE DOWNSIDES
13:00 The pricing
14:00 The rest of my bike
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[@SuperAngryBastard]

Thanks for the good video, especially for getting to the heart of the disadvantages.

[@michaelrostoft2061]

A very good review. I don’t ride off-road but have spent most of my life riding and infrequently racing with Campag components. The freewheel test you did with spinning your cranks backwards is interesting because it demonstrates how pressure a derailleur can put into the chain in order to keep it tight enough to provide efficient shifting and stop it from being bumped off on uneven surfaces. You started your review by saying that in 6000km the chain has not dropped off once. Perhaps the high chain pressure is the price one has to pay for a chain that stays in the right place under all circumstances. I like your comment on the loud clicks that accompany gear changes. It is decidedly a Campag characteristic which e.g. SRAM has been wise enough to copy. When road racing it’s great to have the immediate auditory feedback that the gear change(s) happened exactly as intended. With Shimano’s smooth and quiet gear changes one doesn’t have that so, sometimes, a little pedalling is required in order be convinced that the gear change went as planned. When on the limit and at a very high cadence it can be surprisingly difficult to know for certain the gear was changed correctly. One would think it is straightforward but it isn’t always and the auditory feedback gives peace of mind in that situation. The shape of hoods is very personal, I think. I have always preferred Campag hoods to any others and it is, perhaps, the main reason I still ride with Campag. So many hours are spent on the hoods that any extra comfort, however small, is to be welcomed. With regard, to the roughness of the hood covers, I would not dream of road racing or riding off-road without wearing gloves. The chance of the grip slipping because of sweaty palms is an unattractive and very real prospect. The hoods are - and ought to be - made for wearing gloves. Someone here commented that he heard about a complaint about the quality of Campagnolo bottom bracket bearings. After using them for over 40 years I cannot agree with the view that Campag bearings are a poor product, on the contrary. I also have a sealed Shimano BB unit that, literally, have lasted decades despite daily use and the bike spending all its time outside. If someone has trouble with a BB bearing, they are either exceptionally unlucky, have not received the original product, the bearings have not been installed incorrectly or the BB is poorly manufactured and its the two ends don’t line up exactly.

[@gmram6925]

Live the honest review! Thanks!

[@JohnJohnBIKES]

It will be my first 1X groupset, so I'm a little nervous about it. Thank you for the comprehensive review with material pros and cons! Much appreciated!

[@andrehb]

how has Ekar worked out for you?

[@kevinhawker2946]

Very comprehensive review! Having been a life-long Campy fan, I naturally went w/Ekar when it came on the market. I’ve been highly satisfied with the robust shifting & braking. Will be racing this gruppo for the 1st time next week & am looking 4ward to testing it in extreme conditions!

[@davidlenneberg4303]

Glad to see you have enjoyed riding on Campagnolo hopefully A lot more people will give it a go as for spare parts I always have a spare set of cables and a chain in stock but Campagnolo stuff seems to last long time. 👍

[@CharlesOuimet]

Thanks! yes very durable

[@owenanstey436]

Good review.

[@1sigmabikes]

Looking good Charles. Great video. Personally, I don't have a clutch in my 1X - just narrow-wide chainring. Never had a drop - but them I don't ue it on serious off-road. Maybe not apples to apples...

[@CharlesOuimet]

Thanks!

[@MrPfef]

Agree with most of your points here Charles. I needed a bit of time to find the right gearing for me and went for a 40T front with 10-44 back (from 9-42). The brakes are very precise with an amazing feeling, the braking power is good as well and the overall wear of the pads and disk is good. The ergonomics is, after a bit of adaptation, good with the only drawback here being the rather large/bulky right hood that caused me some minor injuries and the large gap between the hood and handlebar. That can be solved with thicker handlebar tape/junction. Will do full maintenance on it this winter to check the overall wear of the system (1000kms in for now).

[@CharlesOuimet]

Awesome, thanks for sharing!

[@RED_PEPPER]

I agree about the hump transitioning from the controls to the handlebar. It can be very uncomfortable on endurance rides. Unlike SRAM or Shimano which are both flat = comfortable.

[@felixjackson2670]

BIG Campag fan...been riding Campag Record on my road bikes since early 1970’s..even built a MTB with Campag in late 1980’s....However, don’t like 1x on any bike. Dont like 9 or 10 tooth sprockets. Don’t fancy buying a new 13 speed chain and cassette and so stick with 2x11 speed... SRAM Red ETAP 11 speed works for my gravel bike

[@TUDOGRAVEL]

Estou muito satisfeito com Grupo Campagnolo , só não acha em todo lugar os componentes como pastilha por exemplo…

[@bengt_axle]

Regarding the drag under tension of the clutch, check the bearing on the free hub body (normally 2 of them). If these are dried out or worn, it’s going to cause more drag under load. 11:50 Also because the cassette is bigger, there will be more articulation of the cage and this will create more tension and drag on the freehub, bb and chain links.

[@CharlesOuimet]

Agreed!

[@chriskros8858]

I calculated gearings and for 10-44t casstte I must have 36t on the front. I agree the most universal cassette range would be 9-44t. So I must wait for combination 36T - 9/44T or maybe 1x15 and wider range.

[@bengt_axle]

Most Campagnolo shifters can be used with a “large hand” (large and, for you Charles) insert. This piece of plastic is a shim that fits in between the shifter body and the bar to increase the space between the bar and shifter body. If this piece is placed there, you can remove it Charles and the fit will be better for your small hands(ands) Charles. Belle vidéo d’évaluation! Je suis mordu de Campagnolo!

[@CharlesOuimet]

Merci!! Je vais essayer

[@rollingnome]

Probably the best review on Ekar, I've yet seen. I think I'm going to grab myself a titanium framed, Ekar equipped Camino! Thanks for the objective review.

[@CharlesOuimet]

Awesome!

[@didierforton6801]

I have a bike with Ekar since october 2022. But I already broken my chain at less than 1000 km. Does somelse have the same problem? And I agree fully with the wide range (in my case 10 - 44); it's cover correctly all the situation we can have on and off road. And regarding price, it's always complicate because it's depend on the bike manfacturer also (I was interested to have a single groupset.

[@williamroberts6937]

Been riding it a year no issues no creaking

[@HennieBours]

No words on the floating disk system and the magnetic brake pads? Other manufacturers don't have these features. Avoids squeaking brakes. And it works well. My dealer can easily get parts for campagnolo because it's made in Europe iso China (corona lockdowns). I have the 10-44 cassette and that works very fine. Maybe the biggest difference? It's a Campagnolo. Not the main stream SRAM or Shimano and a bit stubborn. It's like a Ferrari or a Ducati. It has the Italian looks and you buy it with your heart but in the MOTOGP they defeat the Japanese bikes. I have it on my TREK Checkpoint SLR and this is even rarer than a polar bear in Africa.

[@AdamRobergeCycling]

Fresh look 😍

[@CharlesOuimet]

Oui! But shimano stays king

[@alldaymagazine]

Campi does not do a smaller chainring. However, they offer 3 cassettes choices for the back.

[@CharlesOuimet]

yup!

[@davidwebber8028]

Street Price is now $1200, which seems excellent value. Buttery smooth shifting once tuned up

[@CharlesOuimet]

Cool price drop!

[@zipwukwuk]

Yes, and you also get a carbon cranks with the Ekar, and very very good break rotors. I think Ekar is the best bang for the buck now, until Shimano comes with a GRX dura-ace equivalent in my opinion, and that won't be as cheap.

[@Mark-ff8ir]

So how long before the system gets noisy after a tune and can you adjust it yourself to get it back in line? I HATE a noisy drivetrain

[@wokex]

How often would you say you need to adjust the cable tension on it? And additionally, is it very sensitive/difficult to adjust? Interesting groupset, thanks for sharing your thoughts!

[@CharlesOuimet]

Never adjust mine in over a year or usage, still works great

[@kozmicbluescali1]

Way to go with Cinturato Gravel, my favorite tires.

[@CharlesOuimet]

Great tires indeed!!

[@CA-ub6pf]

You say you sometimes could need a 36 instead of 38 but that's not available with this crank right? 38 is the smallest. I had this same issue so use another crank and can go smaller when needed like in Badlands

[@alvin.holbrook]

Your thoughts are very similar to my experience thus far. The hoods are magical and by far the best ergonomics of available. About 3k miles on my groupset, and I only got to the wear point to replace the chain. I've gone with a 40t chainring and a 10-44t cassette on mine and the gearing is about perfect; definitely better than the 10-44t SRAM XPLR cassette gearing. I wish the clutch was designed a bit better - or at least make the derailleur lock like SRAM's Eagle clutch lock - because otherwise, I need to remove the chain from the chainring every time I remove my rear wheel. The rear derailleur was also pretty finicky too until I went with fully sheathed shift housing. Overall I am happy with the group and would buy it again. Buy it with the 10-44t cassette and 40t/42t ring, and go for it.

[@CharlesOuimet]

Thanks for sharing Alvin!

[@vlahovicsamira7084]

My first chain change was after 5300 km, so almost like yours, I couldn't believe it, according to my experience with Shimano's or KMC chains.

[@Motorep146]

Yeah, I run 10-44 and a 40 on my Watia and my wife runs 10-44 with a 38 om hers. We've had no issues whatsoever with Campy on either bike. When we changed bars I had to shorten the shifter cable housing on both and that was quick and easy too. I'm looking forward to the new wireless Ekar and will be building up a new climbing bike with it.

[@kevindegarmo]

Love the review. I've had almost the opposite experience with the freeehub. Mine is almost silent and has minimal resistance. In short, I love the whole group.

[@MrSzwarz]

It is expensive in US, in Europe is about 30% less. About 1300-1400 USD.

[@wasupwitdat1mofiki94]

Something I want to bring up and hopefully you post a follow up video on after you log a bunch of kilometers on the Ekar group. I watched a video from BB Infinite about the creaking and the campy bottom bracket bearings in the Ekar cranks. He said the bearings are garbage and straight from the beginning you should toss them and use some better quality bearings. There is a problem with doing that because Campy have done some trickery to standard 6805 bearings. They call them 6805N. If you try to use a standard 6805 it won't fit and you can't get that retaining clip in on the drive side or the snap clip that inserts into those two holes outside the cups. Campy have always used some pretty good bearing in my experience but I would like to find out if the guy from BB Infinite was just talking out his butt and trying to sell us on the BB Infinite bottom bracket. So if you would be so kind to let us know if you experience any problems in a few months that would be great.

[@pmcmpc]

There have been a load of bearing failures on Ekar chainsets ... whether it's the bearing quality or the odd BB / cranksets interface I don't know.

[@thedownunderverse]

@@pmcmpc source? Where can I read more about this?

[@adrenaline33867]

A follow-up would be greatly appreciated!

[@CharlesOuimet]

Thanks for sharing! I recently just started to have bb creaks (after this review video) now that I'm a full year on the groupset. I was in guadeloupe islands and it was wet + very humid. Maybe the bearings gave up... I've investigate for the next season

[@hanssteenpoorte7249]

At 2:30 you mention you should have gone with a 36. But there is no 36, correct?

[@gregpatrisso4770]

Do you have any recommendations for a mobile multi-tool that has a chain breaker/plier that is compatible with the tighter clearances of the 13-spd chain? I have a Lezyne tool, but the teeth of the chain pliers are too thick for the chain

[@CharlesOuimet]

Hey Greg, I don't have any recommendaiton. I had the lezyne tool all year long, but never knew it was not going to work!!!!!! I'll check into it

[@DaveCM]

Maybe you could get Ceramic Speed or someone like that to sponsor you. Maybe better jock wheels would help. I've been contemplating this groupset. I would defend always to have on hand some spare parts since I can't just go out and buy them. As for the price, apparently the groupset isn't selling all that well. There are lots of bargains to be found. I've regularly find the groupset being sold at a discount.

[@pmcmpc]

Jockey wheels aren't the issue and CS are snake oil. It's a very basic, badly designed clutch mechanism with lots of unwanted back tension on the chain and a strong spring ...

[@CharlesOuimet]

True you can find the groupeset in big discount. I think they have a hard time selling it...

[@letheal]

Agree that a 38/42 is not enough gear for high teen / low 20% climbs. Idk why most people sell gravel groupsets that have 1:1 gearing as the largest gear.

[@1sigmabikes]

Depends on where you live, I suppose. Gravel riding exists where I am at, but epic climbs are rare.

[@CharlesOuimet]

yup!

[@jasonswift7098]

What do you mean it's been a year? the system only came out in July 2023

[@phreadi]

your barely tapping/budging the Ekar pedals, and your spinning a full half-rotation on the GRX and looks like flicking it on your release? FWIW, my ultegra 2x, XT 1x, and Sram X01 1x drivetrails all spin very little on equal pushes...

[@michaeljohl4669]

Strange that it is so expensive at your place. In Germany it is at the Moment sold for less then 1400€.

[@CharlesOuimet]

Good pricepoint!

[@lorenzodestefano4043]

in Italy it costs 1100 euro

[@pmcmpc]

Lot of clutch drag (spring tension too high and clutch design is crap), lack of lower gears, 9 tooth, no 2x option. All huge negatives. Brakes & thumb shifters are good, and it looks nice though. They need to fix the clutch (Campag deny any issue 😂), need a 10-52 cassette and support for up to 46T chainring if it's going to remain 1x. Maybe second gen?

[@CharlesOuimet]

Very good points dude!! I agree with that

[@thedownunderverse]

Whats wrong with the clutch? You seem to really dislike this group set (or Campagnolo). I simply cant find any other posts, blogs, forum chats or anything anywhere that would suggest issues with the clutch (or crank bearings)

[@pmcmpc]

Calipers aren't Magura. They designed Campag's hydraulic disc brakes originally. However this new design is an evolution of that with no involvement from Magura. Also they never made any of the Campag brakes - only designed.

[@CharlesOuimet]

Thanks, I must have read that somewhere and was wrong

[@larryt.atcycleitalia5786]

Sadly, a lot of the EKAR boxes say Made in Taiwan on them, including the brake pads....so?

[@kimnielsen4128]

Now the price of the groupset Ekar is down to half price

[@CharlesOuimet]

cool!

[@kimnielsen4128]

Ekar groupset 840 Euro i Europe

[@labmatthew]

Yah, I think many of us wish Campy offered a 36T (or 34T) chainring.........

[@Jkl158]

Honestly normally I love the look of campy but the ekar shifters look ugly

[@CharlesOuimet]

Ahahah :p thanks for sharing James!

[@larryt.atcycleitalia5786]

It all looks too much "Shimagnolo" to me but I like the ergonomics better than GRX. I like the brakes better than GRX too.

[@galenkehler]

9 and 10 tooth cogs are too small, not appropriate for bicycles.

[@jackriley1989]

For a road bike sure. I quite enjoy the 10t cog on my gravel bike though. I'm running GRX but put a SRAM eagle 1195 10-42 for a bit more speed range. I find range is more important than stressing about 3% less efficiency for off-road action

[@CharlesOuimet]

yeah the 9 is only to have decent cadence downhill

[@marcowalther7867]

To me, both tooth counts actually work pretty well. Back in the day, Shimano talked a lot about 10 not working because of the polygon effect. Guess what? Now they do 10 teeth on their MTB cassettes.

[@tomc0240]

Yeah all those dudes at sram, campagnolo, and apparently even shimano are totally wrong about the viability of 9 and 10 tooth cogs

[@dirkrudolf5014]

avoid to buy this campa gruoup! You`ll be a b-tester while paying a high price!

[@CharlesOuimet]

yeahhhhh not THAT great

[@williamroberts6937]

Been riding it a year no issues no creaking

[@CharlesOuimet]

great!