CAMPAGNOLO POTENZA GROUP SET
£753.47 › Can Campagnolo overpower Ultegra?
FOURTH IN LINE BENEATH CAMPAGNOLO’S Super Record, Record and Chorus mechanical groupsets, Potenza (Italian for power) benefits from trickle-down technology. It’s made from aluminium, with the lever bodies and parts of the rear mech made from what Campagnolo calls Technopolymer, which is reinforced with carbon fibre.
Potenza’s Ergopower levers have familiar ergonomics but with a more rounded ‘horn’ and new Varicushion rubber hoods to improve vibration absorption and grip. There are alloy brake levers and composite shift levers, the inner thumb lever following the downswept EPS style, which improves control over Ergopower’s original right-angled design. The right-side lever’s Power Shift mechanism allows three upshifts (inboard) at once, but only one downshift. The left shifter maintains its trim function, with an extra click between ring shifts for fine tuning your chain line.
The aluminium front mech has a steel cage that’s shaped to improve downshifts and work with larger ratio cassettes and shift lever effort has been reduced. The rear mech promises identical performance to its loftier siblings, and reduces the spacing between the cassette sprockets and upper jockey wheel, engaging more teeth with the chain for better power transfer and reduced wear.
Five cassettes accompany the groupset, we tested the 11-32. Then there’s the four-arm chainset, which replicates Super Record performance in hollow-forged aluminium. Its eight-bolt fitting system is compatible with common road ring combinations, and the onepiece hollow steel axle has a Power Torque+ system incorporating an internal extractor driven by a 14mm hex key.
The groupset’s available in anodised black or polished aluminium. Our black version with 50/34 rings, outboard bottom bracket cups, medium cage rear mech and 11-32 cassette weighs 2442g. The new lever hoods feel superbly cushioned and grippy with or without gloves. There’s no obvious flex from the shift levers, and we’ve never found making one downshift at a time a problem. Shifts always feel positive, and are so swift that speed is not in question. The 11-32 cassette’s ratios are well spaced, and we didn’t spin out on a 25km descent. The brake levers’ familiar sculpted shape means they’re easy to tease with two fingers and still gain purchase. The skeleton callipers have ample power and great fine modulation. With a high-quality component finish and classy feel and function, Potenza outperforms its cost-based market position, and has enhanced our riding.
WE SAY The quality and performance to make an impact in the mid-range groupset market