April 09, 2018 (Gran Canaria) – Today the clock strikes 12, and launches another new era in engineering greatness for Campagnolo, the legendary Italian cycling component manufacturer. For 85 years, Campy has been an industry leader in producing high quality, durable bicycle componens. This year Movement 12 was presented as we experienced bicycle frames and wheels in motion via Campy’s exciting and innovative 12-speed shifting technology.

For the past three years, Campagnolo has invited media from all over the globe to Gran Canaria to launch their latest creations. They choose Gran Canaria for it’s warm weather, amazing hostpitality and a road network that boasts post-card scenery, epic climbs and roller coaster descents to highlight the performance of their latest products – we heartily agree and appreciate the invite each year.

Super Record and Record

Their new 12-speed groupset has been in the works for close to two years and comes in Super Record and Record models, for both rim and disc brakes. Italian cycling icon, Alessandro Ballan, was involved with the project, providing his insight and expertise from the Pro peloton. And like all Campy products, they are designed at their Italy headquarters in Vicenza, and every part is manufactured and assembled in the EU.

Both Super Record and Record share the same design with the only differences being in the materials used and with Record having it’s own crankset.

The Ergopower rim brake shifters beam with performance, adjustability and beauty. Refinements in the internals reduce free stroke, allowing smooth, real-time shifing. The larger up-swing lever allows greater control when finding that low gear, while the larger down-shift button provides easier access when in the drops. The Ultra Shift mechanism allows for three upshifts and five downshifts with one press of the levers.

The brake levers feature a slight outswing with a subtle, pressed edge that allows for the natural placement of your fingers to modulate braking. The up-shift lever tucks nicely behind this brake lever for a clean, aesthetic design. With the simple push of a button you’ve got 3-position reach adjustability, a feature my short fingers appreciated as I negotiated the tight switch-back descents on our test rides.

The Ergopower disc brake shifters have their own new internals to reflect their specific performance needs and work with the new 12-speed derailleur. These shifters are 8 mm taller than the rim brake model to allow more room for the vertical master cylinder and bleed port. This placement allows for optimal bleeding and reduces the chance of air bubbles.

The Ergopower disc brake shifters are also fully customizable. Reach can be easily adjusted with the use of an allen key, while that same tool adjusts the AMS system to dial in braking force.

The front derailleur has been re-worked to allow a more horizontal pathway as it floats over the chain rings, due in part to a new 3-pivot design. A narrower cage and 2-position adjustment for each ring keeps chain rub at bay. To compensate for the many unique frame designs on the market, disc brakes and wider tires, the new front derailleur cable bolt can be placed either in front or behind the arm to maximize shifting performance.

The gleaming aero profile cranksets have been lovingly prepared with Campy’s in-house, unidirectional carbon lay-up, infused with a special UV protection agent to prevent any fade to the rich, black finish. The narrower chainring profile has been chemically treated for durability. The improved 4-arm, 8-bolt spider design maximizes stiffness and component integrity and reliability. Super Record has a built-in brace for increased stiffness, while Cult Ceramic Bearing allow spinning 9x faster than traditional steel bearings. There are three chainring options, 53/39, 52/36 and 50/34 and both cranks come in four sizes, including the new 165, allowing for multiple gear and custom length options.

Big changes have been made in the rear derailleur. Campy has created 3-D Embrace Technology which provides vertical and horizontal positioning, bringing the new larger, 12-tooth pulley wheels closer to the cassette and more forward to increase chain contact with the pulley wheels with each up-shift. This also prevents the need to alter chain length when moving between the two cassettes. The cage walls have been machined thinner, then chemically treated to accommodate the narrower spacing, while providing additional strength to the derailleur.

A new upper body return spring absorbs road vibrations maintaning smooth, precise shifting even as your hammering on classic cobble roadways. The rear derailleur has the ability to work with the current hanger mounting system, or the newer direct mount option.

The new 12-speed cassette is available in 11-29 and 11-32 combination. The extra cog allows for better gearing options and covers all gaps. The first eight independent cogs step one tooth at a time, while the remaining cogs are in two units containing three gear clusters and all are made of monolithic steel providing maximum stiffness to the larger cogs.

With the need to narrow the teeth while improving shifting performance, the cassette teeth are chemically treated, with new aluminum spacers supporting the cogs. While designing Movement 12, the enginereers designed the cassette to be compatible with Campagnolo’s 11-speed wheels, allowing current owners of Bora wheelsets to use their existing wheels if they wish to upgrade to 12-speed.

Like all of the re-designed parts, the chain maintains performance and strength while narrowing to accommodate the 12 gears. Bringing the plates closer actually makes the chain stronger, and refinements in the pins and rollers along with a chemical treatment will see the new chain performing for many quality kilometres.

In addition to these innovations the newly designed cables and housing provide maximum smoothness and durability while ensuring 100% Campagnolo integration between all of the moving parts.

With a new aerodynamic design the rim brake comes with the choice of traditional or direct mount systems. The traditional mount offers smoothness and improved modulation from bearing-assisted lever movements, while the addition of a brace to the direct-mount system adds increased rigity and frame integrity. Both brake versions feature Campy’s brake pads.

The disc brake version features a 160mm front rotor along with the choice of 140 or 160 mm for the rear. The calipers are compable with all flatmount frames through the use of bolt kits that come in six sizes, thus elimitating the need for adapters. With attention to heat dissipation being placed on the calipers, organic resin brake pads and rotors, Campagnolo engineers keep things cool, when the braking gets hot.

Test Report

It was a real treat to test Movement 12 on the roads of Gran Canaria.  The 60 km rides with over 1,000 metres of elevation allowed the opptunity to review the many features that the Movement 12 Super Record and Record groups have to offer.

As a first-time Campagnolo user, I was immediately impressed by the smooth, precise movements of the shifting. I was especially taken with their Ulta Shift that offers instant 3-upshift and 5-downshift options, which I used quite frequently with the sudden changes in elevation.

Once I dialed in the lever reach to accommodate my small hands, I found comfort and ease with braking, both with the rim and disc models. The long, twisty descents were perfect to test all-important brake modulation quality including hard braking when faced with unexpected traffic situations even around corners – both brake offerings performed flawlessly.

The gearing set-up for our test bike featured a 50-34 on the front along with an 11-32 on the rear. This user-friendly gearing option was much appreciated on those long, 10 km+ climbs with grades ranging from 7 to 14% as I was able to maintain a smooth, easy cadence without the need for additional lower gears. The descents on Gran Canaria were breathtaking and with Campy on board the smiles kept coming.

Movement 12 Super Record and Record groupsets will be available from May to July 2018 with EPS versions coming in the fall of 2018.

SRP pricing for the respective groupsets are as follows Super Record Rim Brake $4,060; Record Rim Brake $2,760; Super Record Disc Brake $4,570; Record Disc Brake $3,480.

Read more on Movement 12 here; Disc; Rim