Campagnolo has announced Ekar GT, a new 13-speed gravel groupset designed to sit as a more affordable option below current Ekar.
Ekar GT (Gran Turismo) is designed to be more “adventure-ready”, with a wider-ranging 10-48t cassette and a smaller 36t chainring option.
By comparison, the easiest gearing you can achieve on Ekar is a 38t chainring paired with a 10-44t cassette.
The Italian brand has also revamped the rear derailleur and updated the shifter ergonomics.
The new gravel groupset is claimed to weigh 2,700g (although Campagnolo hasn’t specified the exact gear ratios and crank lengths used). By comparison, Ekar is claimed to weigh 2,385g in its lightest configuration.
The groupset will retail for £1,211 / $1,599 / €1,490 and will be available from March in the UK. Australian pricing is to be confirmed.
Alongside the new groupset, Campagnolo is also launching a new Zonda GT wheelset. It’s a far cry from the current road-oriented Zonda, undergoing a gravel makeover with a wider 23mm internal rim width.
Let’s take a look at each of the new Ekar GT components in turn.
Campagnolo Ekar GT shifters
Campagnolo says it has improved the Ekar GT Ergopower shifters to excel in “all gravel applications”.
For those worried Campagnolo would ditch the thumb shifter as it did on Super Record Wireless, you can breathe a sigh of relief. The shifters continue to use the brand’s traditional paddle behind the brake lever for downshifts (easier gears), and the C-shaped thumb shifter for upshifts (harder gears).
The C-shaped thumb shifter was introduced on Ekar to ease shifting from the drops and, like Ekar, you can downshift up to three gears at a time, but only upshift one. Campagnolo limits the upshift capability to avoid accidentally mis-shifting on more technical terrain.
The lever body shape appears slightly smaller in height than Ekar, but Campagnolo hasn’t confirmed this.
There’s in-built reach adjustment to suit a range of hand sizes and finger lengths.
Campagnolo has updated the hood covers too for improved grip, with the golf-ball like texturing reminiscent of the final 11-speed generation of Super Record EPS.
- Claimed weight: 230g (right-hand lever) and 170g (left-hand lever) without hose and brake caliper
Campagnolo Ekar GT cassette
There are four cassette options for Ekar GT, up from the three found on Ekar.
Like Ekar, there are 9-36t, 9-42t and 10-44t options, but there’s also a new 10-48t cassette.
The lowest 0.75 gear ratio is lower than the possible 0.78 on Shimano GRX RX-820 (with a 40t chainring and a 10-51t cassette), although it is possible to achieve an identical ratio when stepping down to a Shimano GRX RX-610 38t chainring.
Although not an apples-for-apples comparison, the lowest possible gear ratio on SRAM Apex Eagle is 0.73 when combining a 38t chainring with a 10-52t cassette.
Unlike the Ekar cassettes (which are constructed from two pieces), the Ekar GT uses a more conventional, multi-piece construction to achieve the cheaper price point.
The cassettes continue to run on Campagnolo’s N3W (Next Three Ways) freehub body, introduced on its Shamal wheels before Ekar’s release. The standard is backwards compatible with existing 10, 11 and 12-speed Campagnolo cassettes.
The current Ekar cassettes feature five one-tooth jumps and there are never any jumps larger than six cogs, so you don’t spin out on faster road-ride efforts or descents. Campagnolo has confirmed this is also true of the new 10-48t cassette.
- Claimed weights: 340g (9-36t), 380g (9-42t), 400g (10-44t), 435g (10-48t)
Campagnolo Ekar GT rear derailleur
There’s one rear derailleur to cover all of the cassette options and Campagnolo says it has been refined to ensure easier setup and serviceability.
It’s constructed from a technopolymer mix of carbon and plastic, as well as aluminium. Campagnolo says it has improved the derailleur’s durability by moving to a new, larger pulley designed to make cleaning easier and minimise dirt accumulation.
There’s a revised clutch system too, but details on this were not provided ahead of the launch.
Campagnolo says the existing Ekar rear derailleur is not compatible with the 10-48t cassette, but hasn’t confirmed whether the existing Ekar shifters are compatible with the new rear derailleur.
- Claimed weight: 310g
Campagnolo Ekar GT crankset
The new Ekar GT crankset moves to an aluminium construction, over the carbon fibre Ekar crank.
There’s also a new 36t chainring option, in addition to the 38, 40, 42 and 44t sizes, all with a 104mm BCD (bolt circle diameter).
Like Ekar, Ekar GT uses a four-arm design and you can replace the chainring without having to fully remove the crankset.
It continues to use Campagnolo’s tried-and-tested Ultra-Torque system, which sees the spindle split in two, with the two halves connected by a Hirth joint.
Like Ekar, it runs on the brand’s ProTech bottom bracket system.
Ekar GT will be offered in 170, 172.5 and 175mm crank lengths, with no 165mm option (which is offered on Ekar) available at launch.
The cranks use a wider Q-factor at 151mm, compared to the 145.5mm measurement of Ekar.
- Claimed weight: 850g (38t, 172.5mm)
Campagnolo Ekar GT brake calipers, rotors and chain
Campagnolo has confirmed Ekar GT uses the same brake calipers, disc brake rotors and chain as the existing Ekar.
Campagnolo Zonda GT wheels
Campagnolo is also launching new Zonda GT wheels to accompany the new groupset.
These feature an aluminium rim with a 23mm internal width, akin to the recently launched Bora Ultra WTO and Bora WTO wheel range.
Campagnolo says the wheels excel both on and off-road and are claimed to weigh 1,690g.
When Campagnolo announced the aforementioned Bora wheels, it said the C23 rim was compatible with “both wide gravel tyres and thinner road tyres” from 25 to 48mm.
The Zonda GT has a 29mm rim depth and uses Campagnolo’s G3 lacing, which sees the spokes arranged in a 2:1 ratio, with eight sets of three spokes.
The rims adopt Campagnolo’s 2-Way Fit design, meaning they can be used with clincher or tubeless tyres, and the hubs spin on cup-and-cone bearings.
The new wheels will retail for £614.99 / $749. European and Australian pricing is to be confirmed.
