Campagnolo Ekar GT gravel groupset review | quello è bello

Campagnolo is a brand you may not have heard of. In fact, I am not sure if it would have been printed in the pages of AMB before. The Italian componentry manufacturer boasts an amazing 42 Tour de France wins, more than the other two big manufacturers. But you’re reading this in Australian Mountain Bike magazine, so I am guessing many of you have little interest in tiny, hungry men hurting themselves in the French countryside for the better part of a month.

Enter stage right the Campagnolo Ekar GT gravel groupset. Named after mountain peak ‘Cima Ekar’ in province of Vicenza, Italy, the GT (Gran Turismo) groupset offers a wide range of mechanical gearing options for everyday adventures, with alloy components at a lower price point than EKAR. All bikes are cool and the rise of gravel and bike packing has opened up opportunities for even the most rusted on downhiller to explore in new ways.

Campagnolo EKAR (not GT) was the world’s first 1×13 gravel specific groupset, released in 2020. Featuring a lot of carbon, this 2385g groupset was targeted towards racer types, and the easiest gearing available was 38T chainring with a 10-44 cassette. Comparatively, the Campagnolo Ekar GT is slightly more portly at 2700g (on par with Shimano GRX’s ‘unstoppable’ mullet drivetrain with a 10-51T cassette at 2800g), featuring chainring sizes down to 36T and cassette options up to 10-48T. That represents a 480% range – up from 467% of the EKAR groupset, still a bit behind that of Eagle 10-52T and GRX’s 10-51T.

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Moving onto the cranks, they feature steel semi axles with aluminium arms, and swapping between chainrings is as easy as unbolting and replacing: they are available in 36, 28, 40, 42 and 44T and 170, 172.5 and 175mm lengths in understated black on black. Historically, Campagnolo is known for the thumb shifter and the Ekar GT ergo power brake/shift levers do not disappoint; featuring reach adjustment, increased hood texture for off-road grip, and the capacity to dump up to three gears at a time if faced with a sudden, savage berg.

The drivetrain is disc-only and can be specced with 140 or 160mm rotors. It must be noted that the Ekar GT requires a campagnolo N3W freehub, or compatible wheelset. We were provided with a set of Campagnolo Zonda wheels to test the groupset with.

What makes Campagnolo Ekar GT different?

Well, primarily it’s a 13-speed groupset which at the time of writing features one more gear than the two major components manufacturers*. The ergo power levers offer an alternative hood shape and shifting option which, in my opinion, suits smaller hands better than the other options on the market. While other brands can offer a wider range of gearing due to broader cassettes, EKAR GT is available with a chainring as small as 36T which could be perfect if you’re solely a hill-seeker.

Being a 13-speed groupset, the EKAR GT cassette requires Campagnolo’s specific N3W free hub body standard, which is available on Campagnolo’s own gravel Zonda wheels (which is what we tested the EKAR GT on). For those who are looking at a build and considering other wheel sets, there are N3W freehub body options available for brands such as 3T, DT Swiss, Hunt, Industry 9 and Zipp. Most wheel sets will be compatible with an adaptor, excluding Shimano wheel sets. While it may seem a pain to be looking at a different free hub body standard, the neat thing about the N3W is that it’s backwards compatible with all Campagnolo 10-13 speed cassettes: that’s nearly 20 years of components.

How does the Campagnolo Ekar GT perform?

I wasn’t hitting any super records on the first ride out on the Campagnolo Ekar GT, a leisurely 80km/3hr ride of 80% road and 20% gravel/doubletrack was enough to get a first impression. It had been a while since I had ridden a Campagnolo-equipped bike , but It only took a few minutes before shifting felt natural and I immediately felt at home with the Ergopower levers. 

The hoods were smaller and shorter than my existing GRX hoods and while there is a small bump at the base of the hood, it was perfectly positioned to hug the palm of my hand without being obtrusive. On a small bike, the impact of elongated hoods can be immense; if you are already running a short-ish stem and a shallow reach bar, long hoods can be difficult to accomodate. Perhaps this is less of an issue of proportionality if you’re on a large frame or above, but its certainly something that can be difficult to accomodate in a bike fit when you’re trying to optimise biomechanics, comfort and handling.

On my local landscape of short, sharp hills, we found ourselves using the full range of the 10-48T ‘adventure’ cassette, a feature specific to EKAR GT (comparatively, EKAR’s widest cassette is 10-44T, and smallest chainring is 38T). We selected a 40T chainring to keep apples as close to apples with my existing gravel groupset, with a pair of 170mm cranks. For tech nerds and the biomechanic-savvy, the Q-factor of the EKAR GT is 151mm: slightly wider than that of the EKAR 145.5 but on par with Shimano’s GRX.

While the lower range of gearing can be comparable a 51T cassette and a 38T chainring with GRX, what sets the EKAR GT apart is the configuration: single cog increases between the top five gears, followed by two gears with a two cog step, then two with a three cog step, one five cog steps and three six cog steps. Essentially, the wide-range ‘adventure’ cassette is a little business at the top, party at the bottom.

This whole business-party situation is facilitated by the longer cage of the EKAR GT’s derailleur, which is compatible with the narrowest ‘endurance’ 9-36T cassette up to the ‘adventure’ model we tested. The derailleur also features a simple clutch mechanism that’s activated by gently pulling the derailleur back it lock in place, which is unlocked with a small retraction and button to release. 

This makes for a realistic and enjoyable road-like feel on the flats and very shallow climbs; I felt like goddess Athena powering along to battle. It also meant that up some longer, steeper and more consistent climbs you could find yourself wishing you had a gear in the middle of what was on offer.

After a few hundred more kilometres we can report that shifting required a bit of finesse to keep true, and we did find some lagging shifts from the upper to lower part of the cassette. While we could adjust this and it seemed fine, it’s something to note and address early to ensure you’re not stuck in mid-shift mayhem.

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We did experience some brake shudder and some movement of the pads within the calliper, however brake performance was unaffected and daresay impressive. I wasn’t sure whether it was a case of ‘it’s not a bug it’s a feature’ as we were very impressive with the stopping power. Rotors are available in 140 and 160mm, and we experienced no drag or rotor scrape when out of the saddle.

Thoughts and feelings

We weren’t sure what to expect with the Campagnolo Ekar GT, so many years of the big two had us intrigued and excited for something new and different. Ironically what we loved about the groupset was also what we struggled with: the business/party cassette and this is where your specific riding need come into account. We loved the fast business end with 1 and 2-cog jumps for motoring along, we loved the large range of the 13-speed adventure cassette but we also felt that the gaps at the lower end of the cassette could send you searching for a gear that doesn’t exist, especially for undulating rides with a variation of hills. 

Spinners may also be disappointed, as the Campagnolo Ekar GT offerings are limited to 170, 172.5 and 175mm chainrings, we hope they offer a 165mm in the future as this is becoming an increasingly popular crank length. 

The ergo power shifters and ergonomics were molto bene, but if there is one drawback it’s the plastic feel of the thumb shift. It’s unlikely to be a wear or damage issue being located on the inside of the bar, but we felt a nice lightweight alloy would give a nicer feel. We also felt that the ergonomics of the thumb shifter lacked a little in the drops.

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Overall, if I was in the market for a new gravel groupset I would definitely consider the Campagnolo Ekar GT: a skerrick lighter than GRX around the same price, with great ergonomics that absolutely hums in the right conditions. For riders that need a wider range of gears, the 10-48T cassette does give you that range but just be aware that when climbing sometimes I wished there was a gear that didn’t exist. This may be mitigated by selecting a narrower EKAR GT cassette option with a 36 or 38T chainring, for example. Or perhaps just being a little less pedantic about optimal climbing cadences than I am. 

A big part of the pull of Campagnolo is the history and premium allure of the brand; but if you’ve ridden Campagnolo before then I’m probably preaching to the chorus.