Campagnolo Ekar the 13 Speed Era Comes to Gravel

Kevin Curry

Sep 24, 2020 — 2 min read

Thanks to constant patents, leaks and buzz, it’s no surprise to find out that Campagnolo has been developing a 13-speed drivetrain. That is was developed specifically for gravel riding, though, that would have been a heck of a prediction.

Campy announced today that it’s entering the gravel market with a new 13-speed Ekar drivetrain, which includes a teeny-tiny 9-tooth cog cassette option. The groupset is super light, very polished and quite the leap for the usually traditional Italian company.

The read derailleur is constructed from aluminum and a carbon and a Nickel-Teflon-plated 13-speed chain glides through it. Campy says the RD is designed with chain retention in mind, necessary for bumpy roads. The chain is Campy’s narrowest, but Campy promises it is strong and ready to handle off-road riding and the wide-range of the drivetrain.

As for the front derailleur, well there is none. Campagnolo Ekar is available in a 1×13 configuration only.

The cassette comes by way of a two-block design. The first part is steel and the other is aluminum. The former adds strength, the latter reduces weight. There are three gearing options: 9-36, 9-44 and 10-44. They are built to fit on Campy’s N3W freehub body. The chainring options to pair with the cassettes include 38, 40, 42 and 44 teeth. There are a wide variety of gearing options here.

The crank tied to those rings is carbon while the spider is a polyamide-carbon composite. The crankset is a two-piece setup with a steel axle.

Campy’s new 1×13 Ekar groupset is built for #gravelcycling and is the lightest option on the market.
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The Ekar group also comes with redesigned Ergopower controls. The thumb lever is easier to reach from the drops and the hood ergonomics have been tweaked to be more stable on rough roads.

For braking, the Ekar hydraulic disc brakes come in 140mm and 160mm rotor options.

Put the full Campagnolo Ekar groupset together and you have a very lightweight (2,385 grams) groupset for gravel riding and racing. In fact, it’s the lightest full groupset on the market. Being Campy, it’s also pretty easy on the eyes. More details on weights of the individual components and pricing below: